1993 155 2.0 litre Cheap as chips but should I buy it.

[thescamper]

Been offered a 155 looks reasonable inside and out been told its a 'good' car. What should I look for? I do know the 'abs' light is on but been assured that the sensors need cleaning.

Any advice gratefully received and thanks in advance.

[negative creep]

Check all the electrics very carefully! Also make sure the belts have been changed; iirc it needs to be done every 32k or 3 years, and is quite a pain to do. Great cars, just be prepared to get your hands dirty, deal with uninterested dealers, expensive bits and people saying 'nice Volvo mate'!


www.alfa155.org will be helpful

[penryar]

A 1993 2.0L 155 will be an 8v car so will run chains rather than belts so that is one thing less to worry about.
Nice torquey engine but will drink oil. Galvanised structure ody so if there is any rust its been repaired badly. Electrical gremlins, yes but not as bad as all non alfa drivers make out.

[dougal]

I had a 94 1.8, I loved it, as was said I think it had a timing chain on the 8v. I didn't have any probs with it apart from the wiper linkage broke at 90 things on the motorway in the pissing rain causing the blades to eat each other for lunch, which was fun. Alfa dealer wanted £130 for the part, I found a breaker that had just stripped a 3 week old 155 and bought a basically brand new part for £30 instead, fitted it myself for a beer.

However, it's now 10 years on from then and how they have aged I'm not sure, but whenever I see one I want one, so if it's a good one and you can afford to take the hit should it die, then yes I would, not the best car in the world, but it was fun, fastish and practical, I could get 3 mountain bikes in the boot!

[thescamper]

Just to avoid any confusion its an 8 valve so no timing belt, its a skinny body, its mot'd to end of the month and comes with six months tax, haven't had a good look yet but it seems ok with everything working and if I don't buy it the woman selling it is going to cash in the tax and send it to the scrap man.

Seems a real shame to scrap it. For the amount of money its going to cost I don't care if it dies big style coz i'll just scrap it myself.

[pooh]

The later 96 onwards wide body cars are far superior and still very cheap, if you fancy a 155 I would go for one of those. I had a 96 wide body v6 and it was a great car with superb handling, good reliability and a brilliant engine.

[penryar]

Get ready for the wide vs skinny debate. If I was after a cheap hack I'd still go for an 8v engined 155 because of the chains over belts, and lack of variator problems. The engine is going to cost far less to keep maintained.
Yes the widebodied cars are slightly better handling, and look better, but they don't have the BTCC racing heritage
In fact why not have the best of both worlds and go for the 1995 8v widebodied car!

[thescamper]

Ive seen a buyers guide which told me more about the car as a touring car. What I need to know is what should I look for.

Thanks for any advice.

[fade2grey]

rust (rear arches), wishbones/suspension etc. there's not a lot to the 8v's so go for it. I loved mine ('94 silverstone & a '93 Q4) both were fab & reliable.

alfa155.org (as it is now) will be v helpful with advice, parts & assistance. Get a copy of the workshop manuals (I used to give them away but there's plenty on fleabay for a fiver). Don't worry too much about the electrics - seriously never had a hitch with mine. Oh & I have my silverstone for 138000 miles!

[julesv]

If you are paying scrap value for it what have you got to lose? I had had three Alfas of different types and loved them. Yes they will need a bit of attention from time to time and the narrow bodied 155 is probably not their finest hour but what the hell. It is a great engine. Go for it!