Alfa 147 - buying tips?
Discussion
Mrs Madmak has declared an interest in purchasing a used 147 5 door. She's not a fast driver so I don't need loadsa power. Prefer petrol to diesel (I think?) Need reasonable economy, decent aircon, sounds etc. Should it be 1.6 or 2.0? any particular models to look for/avoid?
Budgets £5K - £6k for the right car.
Any advice greatfully received
Andy
Budgets £5K - £6k for the right car.
Any advice greatfully received
Andy
My missis had a similar need and we went for a 1.9 (8 valve) JTD Lusso. It's got CD, climate, leather, cruise, alloys so very well specced. We went for the JTD 8 valve because it still goes well but is very simple and strong, economical and much easier to drive round town than the peakier petrols (she had a 2.0 Twin Spark 145 before this). Hard to get hold of though. I had to go down to London for it but it was worth it.
If you go for petrol ask to see proof when the cambelt was last done. It needs doing every 3 years or 36,000 miles and it's £400 or so. Plugs (8!) want doing every 60,000. Fuel economy is not Alfas strong point even on JTDs but petrols will average 30 at best and CO2 is high. On all models listen out for suspension bush knocks, check tyre wear is even across the tread (front and rear) and check all electrics work. You should get two identical black keys. Check they both start the car. Other than that same as any other used car.
Oh yes, probably best to avoid the 2.0 Selespeed. When it works it's great but it can cause bother.
If you go for petrol ask to see proof when the cambelt was last done. It needs doing every 3 years or 36,000 miles and it's £400 or so. Plugs (8!) want doing every 60,000. Fuel economy is not Alfas strong point even on JTDs but petrols will average 30 at best and CO2 is high. On all models listen out for suspension bush knocks, check tyre wear is even across the tread (front and rear) and check all electrics work. You should get two identical black keys. Check they both start the car. Other than that same as any other used car.
Oh yes, probably best to avoid the 2.0 Selespeed. When it works it's great but it can cause bother.
Edited by Wombat Rick on Thursday 24th January 13:15
Hi Andy. I had a 147 2.0 Twin Spark, Lusso. AFAIK the "chassis" 1.6, 1.8 and deisel with solid front discs etc and the 2.0 and 3.2 with vented discs. The mpg diff 1.8 to 2.0 is about 1%.
The ARB drop links can clatter and are straight forward to replace. All of the TS engines get through a fair bit of oil. The cam-belts need changing at five year intervals with checks at 36,000; don't miss this since not changing is frequently very expensive. 17" pretty, 15" best for winter, 16" wheels best for performance but rare on models over a year old. Watch out for dents from car parks - they are quite a wide car.
Turismo, standard; Veloce, performance; Lusso, leather.
Good luck, Jonathan
The ARB drop links can clatter and are straight forward to replace. All of the TS engines get through a fair bit of oil. The cam-belts need changing at five year intervals with checks at 36,000; don't miss this since not changing is frequently very expensive. 17" pretty, 15" best for winter, 16" wheels best for performance but rare on models over a year old. Watch out for dents from car parks - they are quite a wide car.
Turismo, standard; Veloce, performance; Lusso, leather.
Good luck, Jonathan
JR said:
Hi Andy. I had a 147 2.0 Twin Spark, Lusso. AFAIK the "chassis" 1.6, 1.8 and deisel with solid front discs etc and the 2.0 and 3.2 with vented discs. The mpg diff 1.8 to 2.0 is about 1%.
Turismo, standard; Veloce, performance; Lusso, leather.
I think you might have got mixed up with the 156. There is no Veloce on the 147, although there was a later Ti. There was never a 1.8 147. The solid front disks were on early 156s and stopped in 2001'ish. You are right about the consumption though - very little in it between the TS engine sizes.Turismo, standard; Veloce, performance; Lusso, leather.
I`ve had both 1.6 and 2.0 147`s and the 2.0 is much the better car. The 147 is quite heavy and the extra torque has a disproportionately positive effect. The 1.6 is OK but needs to be permanently thrashed and the fuel consumption on mine was worse than the Boxster I had at the same time!
Wombat Rick said:
I think you might have got mixed up with the 156. There is no Veloce on the 147, although there was a later Ti. There was never a 1.8 147. The solid front disks were on early 156s and stopped in 2001'ish. You are right about the consumption though - very little in it between the TS engine sizes.
Sorry, I was getting some 156 info mixed up but the comparisons are still useful.
ettore said:
I`ve had both 1.6 and 2.0 147`s and the 2.0 is much the better car. The 147 is quite heavy and the extra torque has a disproportionately positive effect. The 1.6 is OK but needs to be permanently thrashed and the fuel consumption on mine was worse than the Boxster I had at the same time!
Missus had a 1.6 147 and you're right, you did have to keep the revs up to make it go anywhere. I always got the impression that the gearing was a bit low too, probably because of the weight of the car - this made it a little buzzy at motorway speeds.I have a 2 litre twin spark in a similar weight car (spider) and it goes well from 2500 rpm onwards and returns 30 mpg. Alfa diesels are pretty decent (got a mate with a 2.4 156) and seem to have a bit more of a rev range than some of the bmw / french diesels but I still like revvy engines.
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