Alfa 145 2.0 Cloverleaf - Experiences

[davidspooner]

Hello all,

First post for me - been lurking for a while so thought it was about time I took the plunge.

I've had the sudden idea of getting myself an Alfa 145 cloverleaf like this one: http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/376412.htm 

I live in London, so don't really need a car. I just really miss driving. On the other hand having grown up in the post spanner days, i'm definitely not handy myself.

Is this idea madness, or will I probably be lucky and get a 150 bhp hot hatch for not too much. Even the insurance isn't too bad for a 23 year old at £700 TPFT or £900 fully comp.

Any opinions or experience welcome. As it's just a toy I'm only looking to spend £1-1.5k.

Cheers!

[car.chic]

My first car was an Alfa 145 Cloverleaf, it was great fun, though £900fc at 23, it only cost me £1000 at 17 shop about, yeah I get insurance cheaper being a girl but not cheaper than a 23 year old at 17!

Anyway onto the car, I loved mine they are a little different than your usual hot hatch, not the usual suspect but great fun. Mine drove lovely and Alfa's sound great, good soundtrack, decent chassis, great B road fun!!

Mine loved to drink oil, common with most Alfa TS engines.

My only advice would be get one with original Alfa alloys, they look so much better, but £1000 for a W plate ... what a bargain!

Oh and you want experiences? My best experience must have been my first proper improptu hoon, 2 days after my test, a Saturday morning round all the best roads in Derbyshire! Good job the cops weren't around with their mobile speed guns! My first hoon, one of many.......

As your a Londoner, Alfa 145 Cloverleafs where made for beautiful B-Road assults, if you get one get yourself out to plenty of meets and not these posey show and shine things either

Edited by car.chic on Sunday 24th February 17:37

[hornetrider]

I so nearly bought one of these... or a 146Ti (same engine). The few I test drove were superb - as mentioned the engine note on full chat was glorious. I eventually plumped for a Golf VR6 though as I was scared of reliability and depreciation and the engine note on that was even better.

[Kinky]

I've had 2 146 Ti.

And loved them both

K

[pano amo]

Honestly,honestly, honestly this is a fab little car! I owned one for two years and I should not have sold it. It handles remarkably well and is a very quick hatch. I love the looks. Very angular and purposeful looking and the pepperpot alloys are the biz. Looks may not to everyones taste though. I honestly think this is one of the best cars that Alfa have made in recent times and its destined to become collectable. In fact I think you will find the best ones are already with enthusiasts. I've owned pretty much every modern day alfa (and my low bank balance proves it) and this out-handled them all with the exception of my GTA.

Inside, you sit quite high up which is a bit off-putting for a while but you get used to it. The downside like all t-sparks is the variator and belts need doing but its likely the car you are looking at it will have had it done by now. It wont be the cheapest hatch to maintain but I guarantee you it will piss all over other cars of its time for fun. Parts still in plentiful supply. If you see a 1.7 16v, walk away. Theres 1.6 and 1.8 models out there and the 1.8 comes close but the cloverleaf will keep its value best. They revised the cloverleaf in 99 I think and changed the nose a bit and stuck on the teledial alloys similar to the gtv and ruined the look in the process.

Edited by pano amo on Sunday 24th February 17:40

[davidspooner]

Brilliant response - thanks guys. Agree about the original pepperpot alloys - they look so much better. I was considering a puma - but then I though why not get something a little bit more special as I don't "need" to rely on the car or do high milages.

I've always liked the look of these. This morning I saw one coming the other way and though "mnnnn" must take a look how much they are fetching.

Is it realistic to purchase one for around £1500 - or will they be complete dogs? Seems most have 90+k on them. I guess so long as they have been maintained, this shouldn't be a massive problem.

Cheers,

[davidspooner]

car.chic said:

My first car was an Alfa 145 Cloverleaf, it was great fun, though £900fc at 23, it only cost me £1000 at 17 shop about, yeah I get insurance cheaper being a girl but not cheaper than a 23 year old at 17!

Anyway onto the car, I loved mine they are a little different than your usual hot hatch, not the usual suspect but great fun. Mine drove lovely and Alfa's sound great, good soundtrack, decent chassis, great B road fun!!

Mine loved to drink oil, common with most Alfa TS engines.

My only advice would be get one with original Alfa alloys, they look so much better, but £1000 for a W plate ... what a bargain!

Oh and you want experiences? My best experience must have been my first proper improptu hoon, 2 days after my test, a Saturday morning round all the best roads in Derbyshire! Good job the cops weren't around with their mobile speed guns! My first hoon, one of many.......

As your a Londoner, Alfa 145 Cloverleafs where made for beautiful B-Road assults, if you get one get yourself out to plenty of meets and not these posey show and shine things either

Edited by car.chic on Sunday 24th February 17:37

My insurance is high because I do not have any no claims as I moved to London 3 years ago and drove parents' cars before that, and, unfortunately I have no drive, live in a bit of a dodgy area and have to park on the road . This makes insurance around 50% more expensive compared to being outside of London on a drive.

One of those things I guess

A car will be purely for driving pleasure - I want it for the B-roads! I thought this morning (whilst driving the parental's 1.9 td Laguna!) how wonderful it would be to have an exciting car.

I take it they are fine on the motorways - I was happy driving my 1.0 yaris hundereds of miles at a time, so I have fairly high tolerances!

Cheers!

[pano amo]

davidspooner said:

Is it realistic to purchase one for around £1500 - or will they be complete dogs? Seems most have 90+k on them. I guess so long as they have been maintained, this shouldn't be a massive problem.

Cheers,

90k is not that bad given the age of them, if you want a 95-98 model (before the exterior revision) then then 90k is average. Over 100k mark though, I think the t-sparks best days are definitely behind them. T-sparks always need to be watched and maintained. But there are other things to consider at 90k like bodywork and suspension components, everything really. Just pick carefully and get it checked over by someone who knows the car. If the buyer can show you lots of receipts for work done over the cars life, then that will prove its been loved (or its been troublesome! )
I'd say 2k would get you a very sorted clover. less than that, I'd expect you would have to get some work done here and there. With any Alfa, always budget in 1k on top of your purchase price for remedial work. There is always something that needs doing...

[pano amo]

looking at that add, I'd chuck those alloys ang get the pepperpots. That exhaust looks pony so bin that too. The nose will be the revised look but that just a grille change and you can pick one a phase 1 nose grille easily and cheaply. Suppose its cloth interior? Not much info on the car. Get as much info before going to see it. Nice colour though. Proteo red its called. Build quality wont be great, its a 90s alfa after all but it wont be that bad. Radio is positioned behind the gear lever so thats always fun. Loads of legroom up front, particularly for passenger. Seats fold at back to give loads of carrying space. Ah, I do miss my cloverleaf. My missus who is not into cars, loved to drive it.
PM or mail me if you want some more thorough advice. happy to help

[robemcdonald]

If I had a choice I would go for the pre-facelift version. I remember Adrian at Alfa Aid explaining that the face lifted cars were slower despite having a few more horsepower. The explanation was that so much weight was added during the face lift; heavier bumpers, loads of airbags, additional sound proofing etc.. At the time I had a 146ti, but a mate had a brand new (W reg i think) 145 cloverleaf. I always felt my car seemed a bit better - mainly down to the induction noise, but just seemed a bit nicer to drive.
That said this car looks nice in that colour. Not sure about the alloys though. If they are 17" rims they will rub on the rear arches if you get someone in the back or go for it too much. Check the tyres and inside of the arches.

[immigrant]

I had a 146 and really enjoyed my time with it, even though it was generous in its 'character'. The variator and alternator were among the characterful losses. Thankfully I found an indo Alfa mechie who had to be booked 6 weeks in advance, but did great work at half the price of the franchise idiots.

This is definitely the most fun FWD car I've ever driven, lift-off oversteer was so balanced and controllable that I could do it as I wanted on fast roundabouts. The T-Spark motors are great too, revvy, flexible and great noise.

[lance1a]

Great little cars, though mine was only the TS 1.6, it still was a hoot. Make sure the variator and cambelt have been done though.

[Kinky]

As mentioned above the variator is the 1 item to check.

Although, that said, I had no end of grief with the electrics on my 2nd one. It was almost as bad as the TiV. Some of our problems even had the AA man scratching his head as to what was causing it - totally stumped them!

And the cambelt should be replaced every 36k miles - not 72k as documented in the original manuals.

K

[Shropshiremike]

This might interest you Click

[Wombat Rick]

I've had two - an early 1996 one and a facelift 1999 version and I echo everything that's been said above. They are great fun cars. Hugely practical too.


Random electrical mysteries are often caused by the "Black box of bks" in front of the battery. Take the cover off and check all the fuses and relays aren't just one mass of green fungae as they are positioned perfectly to catch all the crud coming through the grill....

[Twincam16]

Strikes me as a good buy. I've just bought an Alfa Romeo 155 2.0 T-Spark, which for the money seemed a better buy than a 156 simply because I could buy a good 155 or a bad 156 - and there's more to go wrong on a 156.

Think Tarquini, Warwick, and winning the 1994 BTCC.

[pano amo]

yea do like the 155s too. A big car! Loved them in red with the black alloys. Again, the good ones are safely horded away by enthusiasts.
The belts on my 145 went just before 65k on the clock. Was due to get them changed a week later. Cost a fortune to fix the engine. Ouch! Bloody Alfa engines and belts!!

[Twincam16]

pano amo said:

yea do like the 155s too. A big car! Loved them in red with the black alloys. Again, the good ones are safely horded away by enthusiasts.
The belts on my 145 went just before 65k on the clock. Was due to get them changed a week later. Cost a fortune to fix the engine. Ouch! Bloody Alfa engines and belts!!

Mine is being fitted with new belts and variator as we speak. I wouldn't buy it without 12 month's servicing and MOT from a specialist, but Italian cars are reliable so long as servicing is kept up. They're designed for a nation of petrolheads where even Grandma actually knows what a cambelt is- never forget that!