Am I mad? drawn to an Alfa 159
Discussion
Seen a nice Alfa 159 Ti estate (1.9 diesel)on auto trader not too far from me. Its 2008 and 40K fsh and £10k. I'm strangely drawn to this even though its diseasal.
I currently have a 57reg 525i 3.0 petrol that rather nicely does 30 - 35mpg (dependent on use) and so far has only cost me petrol, MoT and Servicing £costs in the 2years I've had it.
Its due a set of tyres soon so that will potentially be the biggest outlay (approx £500) other than the car its self.
I generally get bored of cars after 6months to a year so done well to keep the BMW for 2 years, but now feel strangely drawn to the 159 and its exotic latin looks!
I don't think the alfa will magically save me money and will probably cost the same to run as the BMW - and will potentially be subject to the usual diesel borkables (dpf, egr, turbo, MAF, injectors etc etc) - am I mad?
I currently have a 57reg 525i 3.0 petrol that rather nicely does 30 - 35mpg (dependent on use) and so far has only cost me petrol, MoT and Servicing £costs in the 2years I've had it.
Its due a set of tyres soon so that will potentially be the biggest outlay (approx £500) other than the car its self.
I generally get bored of cars after 6months to a year so done well to keep the BMW for 2 years, but now feel strangely drawn to the 159 and its exotic latin looks!
I don't think the alfa will magically save me money and will probably cost the same to run as the BMW - and will potentially be subject to the usual diesel borkables (dpf, egr, turbo, MAF, injectors etc etc) - am I mad?
I'd drive one first.
You'd be swapping from one of the sweetest engines ever produced to a diesel. To my ears, anyway, there is a mahoosive difference. Tried a mate's 5 pot diesel Brera once and and to me the thing was just dominated by diesel rumble (which instead of ripping musically up the rev range as an Alfa should just went from loud to louder to very loud). Was very disppointed.
You'd be swapping from one of the sweetest engines ever produced to a diesel. To my ears, anyway, there is a mahoosive difference. Tried a mate's 5 pot diesel Brera once and and to me the thing was just dominated by diesel rumble (which instead of ripping musically up the rev range as an Alfa should just went from loud to louder to very loud). Was very disppointed.
Love mine:
Mine's the 1.9, and I love it. They are not that good on fuel, mind. On a run I get very low 40's, and due to a lot of recent local driving my trip average is 36 mpg!
But just look at it!
Tis' my 3rd Alfa in a row, too, so I'm not put off by their reputation. All 3 have been very reliable.
Mine's the 1.9, and I love it. They are not that good on fuel, mind. On a run I get very low 40's, and due to a lot of recent local driving my trip average is 36 mpg!
But just look at it!
Tis' my 3rd Alfa in a row, too, so I'm not put off by their reputation. All 3 have been very reliable.
AC43 said:
I'd drive one first.
Indeed. After the BMW the Alfa would be a step backwards dynamically. Be under no illusion, you will be swapping technological superiority for the looks of the Alfa (and some extra fuel economy). Make sure you can reconcile yourself with this and you aren't going to regret it the first time you try to hustle the car along or the first time something goes wrong! They just look so perfect from every angle. I stare at every one that drives past, if they have the nice wheels as well it's just a mess.
As I'm a stupid sort, the thought of a red 3.2 V6 Q4 Sportwagon (with chrome mirrors and roof rails) sends me into a man maths frenzy, only abated by the fact I walk to work and have no children or any need to cart anything around ever. Every winter I desperately want one for sliding about in though.
As I'm a stupid sort, the thought of a red 3.2 V6 Q4 Sportwagon (with chrome mirrors and roof rails) sends me into a man maths frenzy, only abated by the fact I walk to work and have no children or any need to cart anything around ever. Every winter I desperately want one for sliding about in though.
Axionknight said:
Don't they do the 2.2 petrol in the 159 estate? I'd try that instead personally, the 525i you have now has a sweet, sweet engine and IMO going form that to a 1.9 tdi is a bit of a killer.
Lovely looking cars though, for sure
Great looking cars but that 2.2 petrol is not one of Alfa's greatest. (Being polite now).Lovely looking cars though, for sure
OP - see if you can find a 2.0 JTD within your budget. That's probably the most reasonable performance/economy option.
phil1979 said:
Love mine:
Mine's the 1.9, and I love it. They are not that good on fuel, mind. On a run I get very low 40's, and due to a lot of recent local driving my trip average is 36 mpg!
But just look at it!
Tis' my 3rd Alfa in a row, too, so I'm not put off by their reputation. All 3 have been very reliable.
That is feckin lovely...I really fancy one of these one day.Mine's the 1.9, and I love it. They are not that good on fuel, mind. On a run I get very low 40's, and due to a lot of recent local driving my trip average is 36 mpg!
But just look at it!
Tis' my 3rd Alfa in a row, too, so I'm not put off by their reputation. All 3 have been very reliable.
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