Views on this Alfa 156?
Discussion
Returning to the UK in a few weeks and need to get a car. Seen this Alfa:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1925780.htm
Whats the view on the car and the seller? Anyone ever dealt with them before?
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1925780.htm
Whats the view on the car and the seller? Anyone ever dealt with them before?
Looks good, fair price, if everything works and history is right and belts have been done. Facelift interior too, although no leather. A lot of people say good things about the JTD engine. Don't let unreliability horror stories put you off. My V6 is 2/3 years older and still starts first time, every time. I reckon if you could get that for £2k you'd have an absolute bargain.
Had an Alfa 156 before and loved it. My view is that the price is good, the vehicle (pictures) looks good but just concerned all stacks up.
Thing is i'm not returning for another 3 weeks and wished to have something available quickly on my return, rather than paying mucho $$$ on a rental car for too long. Just a question of whether i'm brave enough to put a deposit on this car unseen....
Thing is i'm not returning for another 3 weeks and wished to have something available quickly on my return, rather than paying mucho $$$ on a rental car for too long. Just a question of whether i'm brave enough to put a deposit on this car unseen....
Pommygranite said:
Had an Alfa 156 before and loved it. My view is that the price is good, the vehicle (pictures) looks good but just concerned all stacks up.
Thing is i'm not returning for another 3 weeks and wished to have something available quickly on my return, rather than paying mucho $$$ on a rental car for too long. Just a question of whether i'm brave enough to put a deposit on this car unseen....
The UK is FULL of used cars. Come back, have a look and then buy the car. You can tell nothing about a cars paint work from pictures that size. The seller could be lying about the service history. It could run like a dog. The suspension could be knocking badly. Thing is i'm not returning for another 3 weeks and wished to have something available quickly on my return, rather than paying mucho $$$ on a rental car for too long. Just a question of whether i'm brave enough to put a deposit on this car unseen....
There is nothing rare about that 156, so wait untill you come back.
Looks good, make sure the tensioners and water pump were done at the same time as the belt, as it's normally one of those that let go rather than the belt itself.
Accepted wisdom is to change these every 4 years or 48,000 miles on the JTD, so factor that in.
Mine is a 20V facelift on a 53 plate and it has never let me down.
Accepted wisdom is to change these every 4 years or 48,000 miles on the JTD, so factor that in.
Mine is a 20V facelift on a 53 plate and it has never let me down.
ExPat2B said:
Pommygranite said:
Had an Alfa 156 before and loved it. My view is that the price is good, the vehicle (pictures) looks good but just concerned all stacks up.
Thing is i'm not returning for another 3 weeks and wished to have something available quickly on my return, rather than paying mucho $$$ on a rental car for too long. Just a question of whether i'm brave enough to put a deposit on this car unseen....
The UK is FULL of used cars. Come back, have a look and then buy the car. You can tell nothing about a cars paint work from pictures that size. The seller could be lying about the service history. It could run like a dog. The suspension could be knocking badly. Thing is i'm not returning for another 3 weeks and wished to have something available quickly on my return, rather than paying mucho $$$ on a rental car for too long. Just a question of whether i'm brave enough to put a deposit on this car unseen....
There is nothing rare about that 156, so wait untill you come back.
Pommygranite said:
Returning to the UK in a few weeks and need to get a car. Seen this Alfa:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1925780.htm
Whats the view on the car and the seller? Anyone ever dealt with them before?
There is suprisingly little on the net about a company with such a specifically unusual name.http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1925780.htm
Whats the view on the car and the seller? Anyone ever dealt with them before?
as the previous poster said. you need to see any car like this before even contemplating putting a deposit down. The car industry is still up the sh!tter at the moment, so very very easy to find good deals on good cars.
You'd be mad to buy a 156 of that age unseen.
In my experience finding a really decent one is difficult.
They are also $hit.
I had a 55 reg 156 2.4JTDm SW (how many letters!) and although I loved it initially I grew to hate the bloody thing.
- Steering lock is laughable
- Suspension rock hard
- Sits too low - engine bottoms out on speed bumps or just uneven surfaces.
- No cup holders
- Took an age to get any heat into the car on a cold morning
- Stereo average and the ipod connector was w@nk (only worked sometimes)
- Bits of interior trim kept falling off
- Speedo was inaccurate (needle would stick at 45mph then jump up in notches
- All the interior bulbs blew within a week - (dash out twice)
- Driveshaft popped out - stranded the wife and 4month old baby in heavy snow.
- Brakes were wooden, no power or feel
- Headlamp rear cover snapped off misting up the light unit
I could probably go on if I thought hard enough about it. So many little things made me hate the car.
It was bought from an active member of the alfa owners club too, had a service history to die for and had all the big jobs done on it (belts, tensioners, fluid changes, brakes, all suspension arms etc).
On the plus side, point it at some twist roads and they handle great. Quick to steer and handling is rather good. Oh and I sold it for a grand more than I paid for it, first time thats happened.
In my experience finding a really decent one is difficult.
They are also $hit.
I had a 55 reg 156 2.4JTDm SW (how many letters!) and although I loved it initially I grew to hate the bloody thing.
- Steering lock is laughable
- Suspension rock hard
- Sits too low - engine bottoms out on speed bumps or just uneven surfaces.
- No cup holders
- Took an age to get any heat into the car on a cold morning
- Stereo average and the ipod connector was w@nk (only worked sometimes)
- Bits of interior trim kept falling off
- Speedo was inaccurate (needle would stick at 45mph then jump up in notches
- All the interior bulbs blew within a week - (dash out twice)
- Driveshaft popped out - stranded the wife and 4month old baby in heavy snow.
- Brakes were wooden, no power or feel
- Headlamp rear cover snapped off misting up the light unit
I could probably go on if I thought hard enough about it. So many little things made me hate the car.
It was bought from an active member of the alfa owners club too, had a service history to die for and had all the big jobs done on it (belts, tensioners, fluid changes, brakes, all suspension arms etc).
On the plus side, point it at some twist roads and they handle great. Quick to steer and handling is rather good. Oh and I sold it for a grand more than I paid for it, first time thats happened.
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