Discussion
I was wondering if anyone can tell me about living with one, any areas of concern or any day to day problems ect... I'm in a similar possition to you on this one. I took one for a test drive, got a deposit together and was made redundant. Otherwise I'd be more use.
For a similar price there's a 159 GTa Q4 up the road from me...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007-07-Alfa-Romeo-159-3...
...pity they won't take a Rover 213S as a part exchange.
For a similar price there's a 159 GTa Q4 up the road from me...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007-07-Alfa-Romeo-159-3...
...pity they won't take a Rover 213S as a part exchange.
Superb car.
I looked for ages to find one in the colour combo I liked, but settled for another combo when everything else about a particular car was right. One of the few cars I'd have again. Mpg can get silly, but on a run keep it steady and you'll see 35ish. A track day got 8ish, but the noise made up for it.
There was a buyers guide in Evo a couple of years ago, which you might want to have a search for.
The common problems are the:
The water pump has a plastic impellor, this should be swapped out for a metal one (cannot recall the other Alfa it comes from). It is a big job unless you're doing it yourself, circa 500UKP. Usually do it when doing the cambelt.
Check when the cambelt has been done. Don't rely on the Alfa schedule, which is change at 70K most don't last beyond 50K before being changed. They all snap, or are about to.
I had a lot of trouble with the coil packs on the rear bank, which required the plenum, etc to be remove, which is a 2hour job. Thankfully under warranty.
A lot of owners are on Alfa Owner where there is a lot of good info.
I looked for ages to find one in the colour combo I liked, but settled for another combo when everything else about a particular car was right. One of the few cars I'd have again. Mpg can get silly, but on a run keep it steady and you'll see 35ish. A track day got 8ish, but the noise made up for it.
There was a buyers guide in Evo a couple of years ago, which you might want to have a search for.
The common problems are the:
The water pump has a plastic impellor, this should be swapped out for a metal one (cannot recall the other Alfa it comes from). It is a big job unless you're doing it yourself, circa 500UKP. Usually do it when doing the cambelt.
Check when the cambelt has been done. Don't rely on the Alfa schedule, which is change at 70K most don't last beyond 50K before being changed. They all snap, or are about to.
I had a lot of trouble with the coil packs on the rear bank, which required the plenum, etc to be remove, which is a 2hour job. Thankfully under warranty.
A lot of owners are on Alfa Owner where there is a lot of good info.
D15CO D4VE said:
Cheers for the info Sclayto2 this is the sort of stuff I'm looking for, experiences and day to day living
You sir are most welcome.I've just remembered one other thing to. The later 147 Q2 diff will fit in the GTA. A GTA with a Q2 fitted is considered to be a very good car indeed.
Happy hunting.
Simon
There is some info in the Alfa section, and loads on the GTA section on alfaowner.
I have a 156 and I'm very fond of it. I have had it 3.5 years, longest I have owned a car. As above really, expect 25 to 30mpg roughly unless you drive like a loon everywhere. Make sure you get one that's been well looked after and had major jobs done. It's advised to have a Q2 diff fitted as the old diff is made of cheese. Most have the 330 discs, it was a upgrade offered by Alfa as the 305's warped. Creaking and groaning from the suspension means new lower and upper arms...around 400 quid. Alternator replacement is a pig, and around 600 quid. Cambelt change is labour intensive, and costs between 600-800 roughly.
Budget 2k per year to run it and you won't be far off. If you have a bad year like I did last year, expect closer to 3k.
I have a 156 and I'm very fond of it. I have had it 3.5 years, longest I have owned a car. As above really, expect 25 to 30mpg roughly unless you drive like a loon everywhere. Make sure you get one that's been well looked after and had major jobs done. It's advised to have a Q2 diff fitted as the old diff is made of cheese. Most have the 330 discs, it was a upgrade offered by Alfa as the 305's warped. Creaking and groaning from the suspension means new lower and upper arms...around 400 quid. Alternator replacement is a pig, and around 600 quid. Cambelt change is labour intensive, and costs between 600-800 roughly.
Budget 2k per year to run it and you won't be far off. If you have a bad year like I did last year, expect closer to 3k.
OK, so after years of lurking, it's my old GTA that finally rouses me to post on here.
It's a glorious car. Best I've owned. Ridiculously flawed - that engine overwhelms everything, but it's an absolute scream - fast (enough), sounds glorious, and always made me feel a million dollars. It replaced a Subaru WRX STi, and I MUCH preferred the 147. I had one for two years - it was a demonstrator, so nearly new - and 16,000 miles and had precisely zero problems. I'd happily have another. I'm guessing that a few years on even a good one will need a bit of fettling, but there are loads of great Alfa specialists out there.
Mine didn't have a Q2 fitted, but I've driven one that had, and the difference was spectacular. A must.
There's a great piece on Top Gear from '04-ish where Clarkson, May and Hammond all agree that the Focus RS and Golf R are better in every objective way, yet all three say that without a second's hesitation that they'd take the Alfa.
Just do it.
It's a glorious car. Best I've owned. Ridiculously flawed - that engine overwhelms everything, but it's an absolute scream - fast (enough), sounds glorious, and always made me feel a million dollars. It replaced a Subaru WRX STi, and I MUCH preferred the 147. I had one for two years - it was a demonstrator, so nearly new - and 16,000 miles and had precisely zero problems. I'd happily have another. I'm guessing that a few years on even a good one will need a bit of fettling, but there are loads of great Alfa specialists out there.
Mine didn't have a Q2 fitted, but I've driven one that had, and the difference was spectacular. A must.
There's a great piece on Top Gear from '04-ish where Clarkson, May and Hammond all agree that the Focus RS and Golf R are better in every objective way, yet all three say that without a second's hesitation that they'd take the Alfa.
Just do it.
Mate had one, has since replaced it with an RS Megane F1 due to reliability issues (rad fell apart, other things were on the way out). He still pines after the Alfa every time he sees a colleagues one in the work car park, and thinks he should never have sold it. As a passenger all I can say it was a great motor, and I've never been in a better sounding hatchback.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff