Alfa GTV Advice
Discussion
Afternoon all, I'm considering replacing my ageing Golf with a P 'reg Alfa GTV coupe Twin Spark 16v- (unfortunately not the V6!) Does anyone have any advice on these, good or bad. I've always owned VWs and I'm a bit hesitant about moving away from German cars, but I've been pretty taken by the Alfa. It's well specced up and within my budget and a little different to what I'm used to...
Hi,
I've got a 3.0 24v (2000 model) which I've had for a year with very few problems (it's vaguely for sale in the classified section if you're interested ?). I'd suggest you check out www.alfaowner.com as they have a GTV forum.
Stuff that tends to go wrong:
1) Noisy suspension due to wearing bushes, worse on the 2.0 because the 3.0 has (some) rose joints. Stupidly expensive to fix because alfa insist on changing the suspension arms. Look out for clonks (mostly) from the back
2) Cam variator thingy on 2.0 goes at 60k. 3.0 ok as far as I know
3) Windscreen wipers are temperamental. Can be fixed by stripping down and cleaning but dealers charge 400 quid for a new motor (!)
4) dealers (my opinion only) aren't up to much and charge a lot for everything
5) syncros on 2nd are weak
6) stereo isn't up to much
7) not great residuals (hardly unexpected this one I guess)
8) next to no boot (unless you go for the puncture repair kit + no spare which I would seriously not recommend), but who cares ?
Good stuff:
1) although not a bmw they don't seem to be any worse than average for stuff falling off
2) engines / handling / performance / looks etc
All in all, I say mine is a good car, rather let down by details and bad dealers. I'm very picky incidentally, so don't let me put you off too much.
Good luck, make sure you have it checked out, get a warrenty, keep your wits about you and I'm sure you'll enjoy it !
I've got a 3.0 24v (2000 model) which I've had for a year with very few problems (it's vaguely for sale in the classified section if you're interested ?). I'd suggest you check out www.alfaowner.com as they have a GTV forum.
Stuff that tends to go wrong:
1) Noisy suspension due to wearing bushes, worse on the 2.0 because the 3.0 has (some) rose joints. Stupidly expensive to fix because alfa insist on changing the suspension arms. Look out for clonks (mostly) from the back
2) Cam variator thingy on 2.0 goes at 60k. 3.0 ok as far as I know
3) Windscreen wipers are temperamental. Can be fixed by stripping down and cleaning but dealers charge 400 quid for a new motor (!)
4) dealers (my opinion only) aren't up to much and charge a lot for everything
5) syncros on 2nd are weak
6) stereo isn't up to much
7) not great residuals (hardly unexpected this one I guess)
8) next to no boot (unless you go for the puncture repair kit + no spare which I would seriously not recommend), but who cares ?
Good stuff:
1) although not a bmw they don't seem to be any worse than average for stuff falling off
2) engines / handling / performance / looks etc
All in all, I say mine is a good car, rather let down by details and bad dealers. I'm very picky incidentally, so don't let me put you off too much.
Good luck, make sure you have it checked out, get a warrenty, keep your wits about you and I'm sure you'll enjoy it !
Agree with the above, would also add that mine was all but impossible to get into after a bad freeze as the cenral locking freezes up and locks the doors again each time you unlock.
Used 4 different main dealers, all Crap!
Suggest you try and test drive one for a long run, I have quite long legs and my right one went completely numb after about 100 miles due to usual Italian Short leg driving position.
HTH Nick
Used 4 different main dealers, all Crap!
Suggest you try and test drive one for a long run, I have quite long legs and my right one went completely numb after about 100 miles due to usual Italian Short leg driving position.
HTH Nick
Yes indeed, freezing mornings can be really, really annoying.
The procedure is to unlock on the remote, listening for the second cluck as the central locking re-locks. Then swear a lot while getting hot water, probably spilling it all down yourself before pouring onto the locks. If it's been cold for a few days you will probably slip over on the icy patch from yesterdays warm water.
Then, after the neigbours have had a realy good laugh at you, with any luck you can get in, so you scape it etc etc. But whatever happens you have absolutely no chance of getting the washers working because they are on pipes out onto the wiper arms, which just has to be the daftest piece of design on the whole car.
Still, at least it's always started so it could be a lot worse !
The procedure is to unlock on the remote, listening for the second cluck as the central locking re-locks. Then swear a lot while getting hot water, probably spilling it all down yourself before pouring onto the locks. If it's been cold for a few days you will probably slip over on the icy patch from yesterdays warm water.
Then, after the neigbours have had a realy good laugh at you, with any luck you can get in, so you scape it etc etc. But whatever happens you have absolutely no chance of getting the washers working because they are on pipes out onto the wiper arms, which just has to be the daftest piece of design on the whole car.
Still, at least it's always started so it could be a lot worse !
Afternoon all, I'm considering replacing my ageing Golf with a P 'reg Alfa GTV coupe Twin Spark 16v
Handily, I had one of these a year ago (on a P plate too). As DougT has said, there's a few things to look for (my suspension clunked since I bought it, but everything was fine according to the local specialist).
Basically, I was advised to check the oil every week or so, which became tedious after a while.
Regarding spec, the Lusso's leather seats are (in my opinion) much nicer to sit in than the cloth ones - they seem to support you better.
The radio that the car comes with as standard is dreadful, but just changing the head unit to a decent Sony CD player give a HUGE improvement for me.
A mate of mine's still got a T reg one, and the face lifted models are much nicer inside - proper climate control and a nice silver dash when compared to the original one. Having said that, mine had some sort of wood effect stuff which made it all look much nicer.
You should probably get air con if you don't want to bake in the summer when sitting in traffic. The AC in mine wasn't up to much, but was much better than none at all!
You do need to check that the cam belt has been changed - at the age you're looking at, it'll be just needing a change (assuming the mileage is under 60k), although it seems that people recommend it's changed the service before the 60k one. It's almost worth changing it to be sure, as a new engine is expensive!
Finally, make sure the car comes with a security key as well as the normal ones - if not, loads of stuff will need changing if the electrics go, as the security key is needed to do anything relating to the ECU and alarm. I was quoted £1.5k for a new key, as all locks and the ECU would need changing - a 96/97 car may have lost this key, in which case walk away.
I also suffered from the locks freezing and locking me out of the car - warm water will fix this, but it's still a pain.
You've got to remember that it was a 20k car when new, so bits are going to be expensive - Alfa dealers also have a bit of a rep for being a little on the poor side, but you shouldn't let this put you off.
On the plus side, the looks and sound of it are great - it certainly attracted a lot of attention, and I still miss it.
Pics and some sound from my car can be found here:
www.dan.lingard.dsl.pipex.com/GTV.htm
Sorry for the length of the post.
Dan
Danster, sorry I'm a bit late on this one!
Basically I'd only be echoing most of what's been said already, but its worth stressing 1 or 2 points:
1. Oil.
They're renowned for drinking the black stuff
and the recommended lube (Selenia) isn't cheap. Saying that, my V6 hasn't actually used any (other than scheduled replacement) since 8000 miles.
2. Master Key
Never never never never buy a car without the master security key
. You can't get copies cut & chipped without it and, as already posted, its mucho expensive to get a new one.
3. Dealers
Mostly unmitigated crap IMO. (They're usually fiat dealerships as well, which might explain a lot
). Unless you need to for warranty purposes, I'd strongly recommend finding a local specialist to look after it.
4. Seating/interior
Definately try one, preferably for a good distance to see if you fit properly. A sunroof robs a lot of headroom, although without they're suprisingly spacious. Don't be fooled by the rear seats - they're for shopping bags only!
The phase 2 cars have a much brighter dash, but you can get nicer after market bits to liven up the phase 1 (which a P reg would be)
5. Suspension bushes
As dougt posted, Alfa only replace entire linkages, but I believe that AutoDelta produce replacement poly bushes that are better than the OEM ones.
6. Frozen locks
A good dousing with WD40 before the frost sets in should keep them working ok. Pouring hot water in helps in the short term, but will re-freeze even harder the next night!
Performance-wise, the 3.0V6 (220bhp, 199lbft) is the one ot go for
, but the 2.0TS is pretty nippy (and has a better turning circle, which is woeful in the 3.0), but the car's quite heavy, so 150-odd bhp might not set your world alight, depending on what you've been used to driving. You will, however, have fun on the twisty stuff... the passive rear-wheel steering keeps the nose tucked in harder than you'd give the modest tyres credit for.
Basically, you either fall in love with these cars or else you just don't get it - there doesn't seem to be much middle ground.
(cor, this was going to be a quick post, but I didn't half ramble on...
)
>> Edited by pdv6 on Tuesday 11th February 21:50
Basically I'd only be echoing most of what's been said already, but its worth stressing 1 or 2 points:
1. Oil.
They're renowned for drinking the black stuff
and the recommended lube (Selenia) isn't cheap. Saying that, my V6 hasn't actually used any (other than scheduled replacement) since 8000 miles. 2. Master Key
Never never never never buy a car without the master security key
. You can't get copies cut & chipped without it and, as already posted, its mucho expensive to get a new one. 3. Dealers
Mostly unmitigated crap IMO. (They're usually fiat dealerships as well, which might explain a lot
). Unless you need to for warranty purposes, I'd strongly recommend finding a local specialist to look after it. 4. Seating/interior
Definately try one, preferably for a good distance to see if you fit properly. A sunroof robs a lot of headroom, although without they're suprisingly spacious. Don't be fooled by the rear seats - they're for shopping bags only!
The phase 2 cars have a much brighter dash, but you can get nicer after market bits to liven up the phase 1 (which a P reg would be)
5. Suspension bushes
As dougt posted, Alfa only replace entire linkages, but I believe that AutoDelta produce replacement poly bushes that are better than the OEM ones.
6. Frozen locks
A good dousing with WD40 before the frost sets in should keep them working ok. Pouring hot water in helps in the short term, but will re-freeze even harder the next night!
Performance-wise, the 3.0V6 (220bhp, 199lbft) is the one ot go for
, but the 2.0TS is pretty nippy (and has a better turning circle, which is woeful in the 3.0), but the car's quite heavy, so 150-odd bhp might not set your world alight, depending on what you've been used to driving. You will, however, have fun on the twisty stuff... the passive rear-wheel steering keeps the nose tucked in harder than you'd give the modest tyres credit for. Basically, you either fall in love with these cars or else you just don't get it - there doesn't seem to be much middle ground.
(cor, this was going to be a quick post, but I didn't half ramble on...
) >> Edited by pdv6 on Tuesday 11th February 21:50
I am far too late to this one I loved my 2000/W V6, forced to sell it a few months back for bricks and windows 
Looks like the boys have taken care of you, don't be too put off with the windscreen. It feels like a letterbox at first, but you get used to it.
Mine did used to tear through front tyres and warp front brake discs every 9 months! So in addidition to everything else mentioned, get those brakes warm on the test drive and see if there is any judder. Don't be scared off one with it, just knock them 300 to get it done
I loved my 2000/W V6, forced to sell it a few months back for bricks and windows Looks like the boys have taken care of you, don't be too put off with the windscreen. It feels like a letterbox at first, but you get used to it.
Mine did used to tear through front tyres and warp front brake discs every 9 months! So in addidition to everything else mentioned, get those brakes warm on the test drive and see if there is any judder. Don't be scared off one with it, just knock them 300 to get it done
pdv6 said:
markda said:Mine did used to tear through front tyres
So did mine until I had the tracking looked at!
Apparently there was nothing up with my tracking, took it to Micheldever Tyres and had the car setup on a coupl e of occasions.
I think it was probably the way I drove it
Did however have to pay that £400 for replacment wipers dougt already mentioned. Not any fault of the car, but some little b**tard kids that decided to force the wipers off the windscreen! You should have seen my face when my local dealership told me.
Talking of dealerships, dont ever *ever* take your car to Alan Gibson in Basingstoke. Why? They put a stonking great scratch down the side of my car, added it to the damage report and claimed it wasnt there when I took it in.
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