RE: SOTW: Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon
Discussion
VeeFour said:
They drink a bit of oil, so you need to check and top up the oil regularly. If you don't, the above happens.
Or, when you know damn well there was plenty of oil in it (and the fog bank created proved that), you have to hope the previous owner was as careful.It seems the exhaust runs under cylinder 3, very near the crank, and so when the car is parked it can bake cheap/low quality oil out of #3 big end
I use good stuff but maybe the other 70,000 miles were done on the cheap......
VeeFour said:
Here's a clue... you didn't change the air filter if you did that.
I don't know what you changed, but it wasn't the air filter!
I'm afraid it was. The element was in the bottom of the airbox which was accessible from under the bumper on the n/s.I don't know what you changed, but it wasn't the air filter!
I had to jack it to drop the oil, anyway. It just struck me as ridiculous.
Yep, it's a great shed at least partly because it's an Alfa.
The boss of the company next to ours had a red one of these years ago and I thoguht it looked like the coolest thing ever. Like all cars this one loses a lot by being in that generic light silver that was everywhere at the the time but at this price who cares?
However I think this is the first time I've heard an Alfa referred to as a "good work horse". Could this be the one?
The boss of the company next to ours had a red one of these years ago and I thoguht it looked like the coolest thing ever. Like all cars this one loses a lot by being in that generic light silver that was everywhere at the the time but at this price who cares?
However I think this is the first time I've heard an Alfa referred to as a "good work horse". Could this be the one?
Edited by probably chalk on Friday 27th May 15:03
DamienB said:
Big tip with looking for a 156 is to look past common cosmetic defects (peeling paint on roof rails, faded grille badge, peeling paint/bare metal on wing mirror mounts, bubbling on alloys, fuse box cover falling off etc.) because they do not necessarily indicate anything about the state of the important bits. I turned my nose up at a couple of otherwise decent cars because of these issues and ended up with one that the seller knew had a clutch on the way out but conveniently declined to mention it.
Overall great cars I think, and at 650 notes you could just drive it into the ground and hope to find another at the same price a year later.
Totally agree with all this post. Also.. they all have rusty looking wheels nuts for some reason.Overall great cars I think, and at 650 notes you could just drive it into the ground and hope to find another at the same price a year later.
I ran a 1998 1.8 156 saloon for 8 years having it serviced annually at my local specialist (Alfatune). It never let me down or required additional work other than replacing consumables. Swopped for a 159 2.4 JTDM but wish I`d kept the 156 as it is the best everyday car that I have owned.
I bought a 2.0TS from Touching Cloth for shed money, been a great car and lasted fairly well, only really broke when I lent to someone who overheated it and blew the headgasket. The cam locking tools are cheap then you can replace the timing belt yourself.
Mine has a dead clutch now, will get around to fixing it soon though.
Mine has a dead clutch now, will get around to fixing it soon though.
MC Bodge said:
The idea of having an Alfa sounds good, but people I know who've taken a gamble on them have ended up losing out. They might look good and handle well, but how can they have been such poor quality in comparison with many cars of the same age?
The answer is that they aren't - and you shouldn't believe everything you read in the media or hear from your local pub expert.VeeFour said:
The answer is that they aren't - and you shouldn't believe everything you read in the media or hear from your local pub expert.
I'm not. I'm referring to the experience of people I know, which is what I wrote....Without fail, everybody I know who has had an Alfa (or Fiat) has had problems. My mechanic father-in-law (independent garage, has seen a lot in the past 40-odd years) also has this view.
Yes, other cars have issues, but some more so than others.
I had a 146 twinnie (cost £1300) and now have a 156 v6 (cost £1000).
The 2.0 twinspark engine was a real peach, pulled hard, sounded fantastic. Big smiles.
I did, however, change the cambelt/variator/water pump as soon as I got it. I changed the oil every 5000 miles. Needed topping up every 1000 miles.
A mechanic that worked on it previously overtorqued the sump plug nut and that knackered the thread so all my oilchanges were done using a suction pump (Pella). I used semi synth from Opie at £20 for 5 litres and a filter at £3. Took about half an hour including a tea break.
It also needed wishbones (the bushes are integral) but these cost me £32 delivered for the pair and then labour to fit. They are a bit more nowadays I think.
Bought at 83,000, sold at 113,000. Reliable motor.
The 156. Needed a new downpipe, Alfa only and £240 plus fitting and a thermostat and radiator. Other consumables like tyres and brakes pads/discs needed doing. I got it all done and that put the effective purchase price up to about £2000. I also replaced most of the rest of the exhaust but from cars being broken that I got for around £10! I also change the oil/filter on this althought the filter is a b
h to get to. It doesn't need as much topping up as the twinnie, maybe every 2-3000 miles. Cambelt was done a few months prior to me acquiring it and the interval isn't as short.
It has leather, strut brace(helps with front end grip enormously) sports pipe/induction and sounds glorious, in fact it reminds me of the opening sequence to 'The Italian Job' every time I drive it. Again big smiles, gets loads of admiring glances for an 11 year old car too.
Bought at 85,000, currently 99,000.
Overall, as a reasonably seasoned owner I would say that they are beautifully designed cars that need to be maintained or they will dissappoint. It really doesn't take much to do this either, FFS if I can change the oil...
Blown engines are a product of (oil) neglect or a failed cambelt either due to bad luck or owners baulking at around £400 to replace it every 36,000. It really doesn't take much to keep one for high miles and happy motoring.
The 2.0 twinspark engine was a real peach, pulled hard, sounded fantastic. Big smiles.
I did, however, change the cambelt/variator/water pump as soon as I got it. I changed the oil every 5000 miles. Needed topping up every 1000 miles.
A mechanic that worked on it previously overtorqued the sump plug nut and that knackered the thread so all my oilchanges were done using a suction pump (Pella). I used semi synth from Opie at £20 for 5 litres and a filter at £3. Took about half an hour including a tea break.
It also needed wishbones (the bushes are integral) but these cost me £32 delivered for the pair and then labour to fit. They are a bit more nowadays I think.
Bought at 83,000, sold at 113,000. Reliable motor.
The 156. Needed a new downpipe, Alfa only and £240 plus fitting and a thermostat and radiator. Other consumables like tyres and brakes pads/discs needed doing. I got it all done and that put the effective purchase price up to about £2000. I also replaced most of the rest of the exhaust but from cars being broken that I got for around £10! I also change the oil/filter on this althought the filter is a b
h to get to. It doesn't need as much topping up as the twinnie, maybe every 2-3000 miles. Cambelt was done a few months prior to me acquiring it and the interval isn't as short.It has leather, strut brace(helps with front end grip enormously) sports pipe/induction and sounds glorious, in fact it reminds me of the opening sequence to 'The Italian Job' every time I drive it. Again big smiles, gets loads of admiring glances for an 11 year old car too.
Bought at 85,000, currently 99,000.
Overall, as a reasonably seasoned owner I would say that they are beautifully designed cars that need to be maintained or they will dissappoint. It really doesn't take much to do this either, FFS if I can change the oil...
Blown engines are a product of (oil) neglect or a failed cambelt either due to bad luck or owners baulking at around £400 to replace it every 36,000. It really doesn't take much to keep one for high miles and happy motoring.
MC Bodge said:
I'm not. I'm referring to the experience of people I know, which is what I wrote....
Without fail, everybody I know who has had an Alfa (or Fiat) has had problems. My mechanic father-in-law (independent garage, has seen a lot in the past 40-odd years) also has this view.
Ahhh, you are the 'pub expert'.Without fail, everybody I know who has had an Alfa (or Fiat) has had problems. My mechanic father-in-law (independent garage, has seen a lot in the past 40-odd years) also has this view.
(My wife is on her 2nd 156 - last one did over 150k miles before we sold it and never went wrong, current one is on 40k miles and hasn't broken, she's also had a 155 and a 33, neither of which let her down, either)
I'm generally a VAG man, but I do like driving her Alfas.
VeeFour said:
Ahhh, you are the 'pub expert'.
(My wife is on her 2nd 156 - last one did over 150k miles before we sold it and never went wrong, current one is on 40k miles and hasn't broken, she's also had a 155 and a 33, neither of which let her down, either)
I'm generally a VAG man, but I do like driving her Alfas.
Good to hear that they have been good. I'm not the pub expert at all.(My wife is on her 2nd 156 - last one did over 150k miles before we sold it and never went wrong, current one is on 40k miles and hasn't broken, she's also had a 155 and a 33, neither of which let her down, either)
I'm generally a VAG man, but I do like driving her Alfas.
If I was after a cheap car I'd inspect the available cars based on condition and give consideration to the likelihood of uneconomical failure.
People are free to take a punt on an old Alfa, but I wouldn't.
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