Realistic guestimation ...

[90 B]

Would there be a big difference between the 2.2 and 3.2 with regards to running costs?

Obviously worse miles per gallon but what else?

[matthias73]

In regards to borrowing 0% apr, look closely at the smallprint.

[90 B]

Yer. I will. Thanks.

I wont be purchasing the whole car on finance. Just a small section of it incase I find my perfect example for a few thousand over.

Insurance comes to about £890.00 for me which is OK.

Not great but OK.

Or is it good for a 21 year old?

[andy-xr]

Is a warranty actually worth it? I know that on costs adding up it's not a lot, but I've never really seen the benefit of them compared to the outlay

[90 B]

Well ...

Alfa's are known to be unreliable AND VERY expensive on parts.

So if you ask me, yes.

If I was buying an Astra, I wouldn't bother.

But just look at it!!!

[fozzymandeus]

andy-xr said:

Is a warranty actually worth it? I know that on costs adding up it's not a lot, but I've never really seen the benefit of them compared to the outlay

The difficulty is actually getting a warranty to pay out on anything.

The older the car is, the easier it is for the warranty company to squirm out of things on a "fair wear and tear" basis.

I know of people who've taken them to court about it, and lost.

Another trick they employ is they make you pay for strip down costs to inspect failed componentry, so you end up paying the lion's share of the labour anyway.

I think you're better off underwriting your own warranty by putting money aside each month.

Edit: on the subject of Alfa Romeos, it is my suspicion that they possess this unreliability reputation due to first owners not looking after them properly. I have a feeling that they need more care and attention from new due to the relatively high state of tune the engines are in. They also have Fiat quality electronics which may cause trouble...

I dunno, I think it's quite possible to run an Alfa on a reasonably low budget to a high mileage, provided you find one that's been cared for from the word go. They fall off the perch quickly if not maintained, much more so than some other marques.

Edited by fozzymandeus on Tuesday 3rd April 10:42

[SWoll]

fozzymandeus said:

The difficulty is actually getting a warranty to pay out on anything.

The older the car is, the easier it is for the warranty company to squirm out of things on a "fair wear and tear" basis.

I know of people who've taken them to court about it, and lost.

Another trick they employ is they make you pay for strip down costs to inspect failed componentry, so you end up paying the lion's share of the labour anyway.

I think you're better off underwriting your own warranty by putting money aside each month.

Edit: on the subject of Alfa Romeos, it is my suspicion that they possess this unreliability reputation due to first owners not looking after them properly. I have a feeling that they need more care and attention from new due to the relatively high state of tune the engines are in. They also have Fiat quality electronics which may cause trouble...

I dunno, I think it's quite possible to run an Alfa on a reasonably low budget to a high mileage, provided you find one that's been cared for from the word go. They fall off the perch quickly if not maintained, much more so than some other marques.

Edited by fozzymandeus on Tuesday 3rd April 10:42

Have recent experience with Warrantywise and TBH have been impressed with them. Our E61 5 Series was suffering with a misfire on cold start that required 2 main dealer visits and eventually an independant specialist to finally resolve (2 knackered injectors). Diagnostics, parts and labour ended up approacing £1500 (they replaced all the ignition coils + plugs + o2 sensors twice at the main stealer before I gave up on them) and WW covered 90-95% of the costs without question. Best £500 I've ever spent.

[PaperCut]

I was in a similar postition as to you OP - i wanted a 159 2.2 and i'm 25. I tested the 159 and it was great, but i felt, personally that i'd get bored of it fairly quickly - and i was coming from an E46 320i.

Have you though about an Alfa GT 3.2 V6? They have the 'proper' V6 and are much lighter on their feet to drive. Plus, they cost as little as £4-5k now (for 2005/06 with average miles) and look just as good - if not better IMO - than the 159/Brera.

[andy-xr]

fozzymandeus said:

The difficulty is actually getting a warranty to pay out on anything.

This is my perception of them, though I've never actually taken one out. Whenever I've had newer cars, they've been covered by manufacturer warranty (and I used BMW Assist quite extensively when I owned a new E60) but on anything over 3 years old it seems to make more sense to just front it up yourself

[90 B]

fozzymandeus said:

The difficulty is actually getting a warranty to pay out on anything.

The older the car is, the easier it is for the warranty company to squirm out of things on a "fair wear and tear" basis.

I know of people who've taken them to court about it, and lost.

Another trick they employ is they make you pay for strip down costs to inspect failed componentry, so you end up paying the lion's share of the labour anyway.

I think you're better off underwriting your own warranty by putting money aside each month.

Edit: on the subject of Alfa Romeos, it is my suspicion that they possess this unreliability reputation due to first owners not looking after them properly. I have a feeling that they need more care and attention from new due to the relatively high state of tune the engines are in. They also have Fiat quality electronics which may cause trouble...

I dunno, I think it's quite possible to run an Alfa on a reasonably low budget to a high mileage, provided you find one that's been cared for from the word go. They fall off the perch quickly if not maintained, much more so than some other marques.

Edited by fozzymandeus on Tuesday 3rd April 10:42

Yes. This warranty does seem touch and go for me. Mixed bag of opinions.

I never thought of putting money away each month just in case something goes wrong. That is a really great suggestion. I could put capital which I would of spent on the warranty anyway into a seperate account.

3.2 V6 seems to be " me " as I would really appreciate the sound and ...

People mention it isn't fast ... Maybe not compared to an E46 M3, but it really is compared to a 1.2 Corsa.

I think either red, white, silver ...

My favourite colour is that deep red Alfa do. Staggeringly stunning.

[SWoll]

andy-xr said:

This is my perception of them, though I've never actually taken one out. Whenever I've had newer cars, they've been covered by manufacturer warranty (and I used BMW Assist quite extensively when I owned a new E60) but on anything over 3 years old it seems to make more sense to just front it up yourself

If you've read my post above I couldn't agree less.

If you put £40-50 a month aside (the cost of the warranty) and after 6 months you have an issue like I did you would be £1200 out of pocket.

The cost of labour and parts is so high nowadays that even the simplest of issues would wipe your £40-50 a month out in seconds should something go wrong.

[90 B]

PaperCut said:

I was in a similar postition as to you OP - i wanted a 159 2.2 and i'm 25. I tested the 159 and it was great, but i felt, personally that i'd get bored of it fairly quickly - and i was coming from an E46 320i.

Have you though about an Alfa GT 3.2 V6? They have the 'proper' V6 and are much lighter on their feet to drive. Plus, they cost as little as £4-5k now (for 2005/06 with average miles) and look just as good - if not better IMO - than the 159/Brera.

I appreciate your point but I'm not coming from a 320 It doesn't matter what engine I go for, it will feel vastly superior to what I have now! Saying that ... So would a skateboard.

The GT does look lovely but the interior is inferior to the 159/Brera and the 159 is the one I want. With the GT I would feel I have settled for " 2nd " best even though it has greater performance.

You never know, I need to drive them to be honest.

Not yet as I am in no position as of yet, so don't want to waste any dealers time.

[GreatGranny]

Until your last post I was going mention that you are out of work so why are you looking to spend £7k on a 2nd car!

Is this a question for when you are in employment?

Also is it wise to buy a 2nd car part financed by a loan when you lost your last job after a short time? If it happens again you'll be stuck with 2 cars and no way to pay off the debt.

[90 B]

GreatGranny said:

Until your last post I was going mention that you are out of work so why are you looking to spend £7k on a 2nd car!

Is this a question for when you are in employment?

Also is it wise to buy a 2nd car part financed by a loan when you lost your last job after a short time? If it happens again you'll be stuck with 2 cars and no way to pay off the debt.

I dont need to be told about my personal circumstances. And I have stated I am not looking to buy yet. I have also found employment (not that it's anything to do with anyone but myself).

I am just researching the 159 to determine whether it is a genuine contender for a second car. Then when I find I can realistically afford it, I can then gun for it.

And this will keep me motivated and creates a goal in my life.

Thanks anyway.

I dont see the reasoning behind your post but ... Each to their own I guess.

[SWoll]

It does all sound like a bit of a dream TBH, but nothing wrong with that (as long as you aren't 19 and getting an SLK apparently...)

If you do end up in a position to buy the Alfa OP, and I hope that is the case, then make sure you have a drive of a few other cars also. You sound like a young guy who has understandably fallen for the "aesthetic charms" of the 159, but you may find the atual driving/ownership experience doesn't quite reach the same heights.

Oh, and please take my advice and look into a WW warranty. My £500 upfront has already save me £1000+ this year for repairs on a 4 year old <50,000 mile BMW 5 Series.

[Otispunkmeyer]

90 B said:

Afternoon,

I am looking into the running costs of an Alfa Romeo 159 2.2 Petrol.

I need this motivation for my second car. I have quotes on certain aspects and I am trying to project the real life running costs.

Flag up anything you disagree with

Purchasing cost: £7,000
Warranty: £400.00
Fuel: £2,350 per year (Based on 10,000 miles)
Insurance: £1,000
Servicing: £300.00 per year
Tyres: £1,000
Tax: £235.00 per year


Total: £12,285 for initial purchasing cost and first year running costs. Chances are that the car will come with tax, MOT and insurance.

Please note, I have purposely made these figures the WORST case scenario.

If I expect these figures, I hopefully will be pleasantly surprised.

Opinions?

Seems reasonable.. though I think the tax band is one higher than you have there. Parkers list it as 218g/KM, Band K, £260. I could be wrong though. Agree on fuel, I worked it out about £100 more based on 26mpg and 1.37 a litre. 26mpg is the average of the 7 cars on spritmonitor.de. I know thats not a vast sample, but they were all pretty close to each other.

Tyres seem a bit OTT! You can get 4 decent boots for a Focus ST (18 inch wheels) For 150 per corner and Kwik-Fit will basically give you 4 for the price of 3 if you buy online (or some such deal) so a bag for tyres is a massive over estimation (just stay away from scruffy roads!). Other than that, seems OK!

Not sure on that 2.2 though. Need to work it to get some gusto from it, I drove a Brera with that engine and I have to say it didnt feel any stronger than my Civic. Guess the Brera is a bit lardy. It was smooth though, a lot smoother than my civics engine, but for the performance on offer I didnt think it was good enough. Apparently its a Direct injection engine as well.

[fozzymandeus]

SWoll said:

It does all sound like a bit of a dream TBH, but nothing wrong with that (as long as you aren't 19 and getting an SLK apparently...)

If you do end up in a position to buy the Alfa OP, and I hope that is the case, then make sure you have a drive of a few other cars also. You sound like a young guy who has understandably fallen for the "aesthetic charms" of the 159, but you may find the atual driving/ownership experience doesn't quite reach the same heights.

Oh, and please take my advice and look into a WW warranty. My £500 upfront has already save me £1000+ this year for repairs on a 4 year old <50,000 mile BMW 5 Series.

Warranties are always going to work out cost effective for a minority. (notably NOT a majority).

This is an example of risk management, though. You could not take out a warranty, and you could break down and end up out of pocket. Unfortunately, the side of the deal that has better actuarial access is the warranty company, ergo they will make money on the deal, amortised over the entire warranty purchasing population. If your car behaves typically for that make, model age and mileage, then you will lose out.

Warranty companies add perceived value to their product by selling "peace of mind". This is flawed since should your car break down, you won't be able to relax, thinking "OK, the warranty will sort it", you'll instead be worried, "OK, now I've broken down... will the warranty sort it?".

I run a car that is statistically likely to fail. As a result, warranties for it fall into two categories:

1) Expensive.
2) Cheaper, but won't pay out on anything that is likely to fail.

Note that in practice the former condition may also be the latter, just more expensive.

They aren't for me, or my circumstances, and I doubt they are for someone purchasing an out of warranty Alfa, for similar reasons. This doesn't mean they are unsuitable for everyone, but they are certainly not suitable for everyone.

[90 B]

fozzymandeus said:

Warranties are always going to work out cost effective for a minority. (notably NOT a majority).

This is an example of risk management, though. You could not take out a warranty, and you could break down and end up out of pocket. Unfortunately, the side of the deal that has better actuarial access is the warranty company, ergo they will make money on the deal, amortised over the entire warranty purchasing population. If your car behaves typically for that make, model age and mileage, then you will lose out.

Warranty companies add perceived value to their product by selling "peace of mind". This is flawed since should your car break down, you won't be able to relax, thinking "OK, the warranty will sort it", you'll instead be worried, "OK, now I've broken down... will the warranty sort it?".

I run a car that is statistically likely to fail. As a result, warranties for it fall into two categories:

1) Expensive.
2) Cheaper, but won't pay out on anything that is likely to fail.

Note that in practice the former condition may also be the latter, just more expensive.

They aren't for me, or my circumstances, and I doubt they are for someone purchasing an out of warranty Alfa, for similar reasons. This doesn't mean they are unsuitable for everyone, but they are certainly not suitable for everyone.

Best response yet pal.

Really puts everything into perspective.

I don't think I have a choice. I think I would need one ...

[fozzymandeus]

90 B said:

Best response yet pal.

Really puts everything into perspective.

I don't think I have a choice. I think I would need one ...

You probably want something tougher than an Alfa then, if you're not buying a new one.

[90 B]

But what are the alternatives?

They are all pretty mundane.

And I never want to own a BMW.