RE: Shed Of The Week: Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon

[suffolk009]

moustache said:

Gorgeous, love Alfas.

It's such a PH cliche but I feel I have to own an Alfa one day and I have always hankered after a 156 of some descriptions. I wouldn't care about the engine, as I would feel the urge to waft around in it and just relax. Saying that, I'd not say no to a 3.0 V6 166, hmmmm.

And by the second day you'd want to sell it. I promise you, I felt like that too.

[moustache]

suffolk009 said:

And by the second day you'd want to sell it. I promise you, I felt like that too.

Every manufacturer has cars that give people problems though. I have a SAAB 9-5 Aero and it is great but by no means perfect. It's a an old car and as such should be viewed with caution and the realisation that it will need work.

[over_the_hill]

Most things described as excellent condition. Recent major service.
MOT - 2 months to run - makes you wonder.
£50 for a fresh ticket could add another £200+ to the price.

[tjk123]

I'm amused by the way some sellers put 'to include' when describing the spec of their car, as if they're tradesman quoting for a new bathroom and there's some variability involved somewhere down the line. It's a spec for goodness sake - it's fixed.

[Itsallicanafford]

blearyeyedboy said:

Blackpuddin said:

Itsallicanafford said:

Come on shed, that's 7 saloon/estates in a row...where's all the convertibles? summers on its way...

Maybe people are using them rather than selling them?

Anyone selling a half-desirable and useable convertible in May for less than a grand has rocks in their head, surely?

Nice SOTW here.

Ahem...

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/s...

[Limpet]

The principal problem with the 156 is not any build quality shortcoming or even reliability, but that it's (now) a cheap car that needs relatively expensive maintenance, and is completely intolerant of neglect. That and Alfa saddled it with completely unrealistic service intervals which are basically half what the mechanicals really need for longevity.

If you can wield your own spanners, it's a realistic proposition, but if you rely on professional labour, you aren't going to run one of these properly for anything close to a sensible amount of money relative to its value. That's why so many of these are utter crocks nowadays. They won't tolerate skipped services or neglect like many other cars, and go downhill ridiculously quickly if owners take that approach to them. Parts can also be expensive, and although they are mechanically conventional, they are very much a car designed with next to no consideration for maintenance access.

They do drive well though.

[craig_m67]

I love mine but then it's a 1.9JTD and has never let me down. One set of wishbones, shocks all round, a clutch and a radiator/w'pump (cam belts etc.). Has done 120K miles and it goes anywhere and takes most anything, incl. a full kitchen from IKEA, 3M pine sleepers for the garden and 58x20kg bags of drainage gravel... Better than a ute really.

Can't think of much to replace it with to be honest, perhaps a 159 Sportwagon (Ti)

Edited by craig_m67 on Friday 15th May 13:58

[Chris1973]

Great Shed! I had a silver 2.0 twin spark one. It was brilliant apart from the bloody fuse box cover. Big enough for the 2 kids and lovely crushed velour interior. Sold it to buy a GT which was the biggest POS I've ever owned!

[Darsettian]

an attractive but nearly forgotten car. One that might've been better received when it was in production, had it been better. Yesterday's fish n chips wrapping.

[unsprung]

Is there any other accessible estate that looks this good? The silver paint only adds to the appeal.

Then... there's the usual chorus of warnings from those with hands-on experience. How unfortunate. But also a bit amusing for reasons of culture / cliche / romanticism.

For a mass-market product: such a lovely thing to look at.

[Oddball RS]

Chris1973 said:

Great Shed! I had a silver 2.0 twin spark one. It was brilliant apart from the bloody fuse box cover. Big enough for the 2 kids and lovely crushed velour interior. Sold it to buy a GT which was the biggest POS I've ever owned!

Chris1973 (Good year btw) can I ask how big are your Children?????

[alpha channel]

wal 45 said:

I've found the half leather in my 2011 159 Ti frankly shocking for wear (and others I've seen look exactly the same), will need some rework soon on a 3.5 year old car!!

Back on topic, really nice shed and even with "just" 120 BHP I'm sure this will be a fantastic bit of fun.

Really? The full leather in my 2009 159Ti (with 65000 on the clock) is as new as the day it left the showroom. Possibly the most comfortable seats my buttocks have ever touched inside a car.

[Craikeybaby]

I'm still quite tempted by one of these, rather than an E46 estate when I need to get a sensible car later in the year.

[cheekyron]

All show and no go... Lovely looking shed but I don't think my mrs would be happy with the smaller engine

[Mr2Mike]

I very nearly went for a 156 after I sold my Fiat Coupe 20VT, but I don't like diesels and the performance/economy ratio of the petrols is pretty mediocre. The final nail in the coffin was finding out just how badly some of them have rusted.

[DamienB]

No steering wheel audio controls? Thought they were standard on every trim level - very odd not to have them. Replacement steering wheel? No mention of cambelt history... weedy engine... nah, significantly overpriced. And I bet the floor is rusting through, most of them are sadly.

[soad]

Not bad. Probably a car for the city use though.

[Geoffcapes]

Chris1973 said:

Great Shed! I had a silver 2.0 twin spark one. It was brilliant apart from the bloody fuse box cover. Big enough for the 2 kids and lovely crushed velour interior. Sold it to buy a GT which was the biggest POS I've ever owned!

Exactly what I did. my 156 was a £750 shed. Ran it for two years, 30,000 miles, and only had to replace two tyres, and a battery, and oil.

Sold it for £500.

Bought a GT JTDm. And it's awesome.

[Mr E]

JZZ30 said:

Isn't this the estate car that famously has less boot space than the saloon?

Only with the cover shut. And the covers are usually broken.
We took a V6 sportwagon to 130K. It let me down once, and that was an easy fix.

[Krikkit]

Pat H said:

Gliaviate said:

I had two 156 saloons, one a petrol 1.8, the other one a 2.4 jtd. I have owned a number of Alfas over the years and still have a S4 Spider which I have loved. The 156 is IMO one of the most attractive mass produced cars since the dawn of motoring that was ruined by unreliable engines and badly underdeveloped, brittle suspension. Never again for me.

My take on the 156 is that the 2.4 20v diesel and the V6 are stonking engines and pretty bombproof.

The Twin Sparks are good engines, but with hopelessly short and expensive service intervals which are often ignored, with predictably catastrophic results.

The suspension is a disaster. The ride is pants and, with the heavier engines, the top arms start creaking every 30,000 miles. The bottom arms last a bit longer before they start knocking, then the ARB bushes give up. And that is a miserably time consuming and expensive job.

And the brakes are poor, the turning circle awful and the ground clearance inadequate.

I think they are fantastic looking cars, with magnificent interiors. If you get one with a tan, red or grey leather interior then they are a very stylish place to be.

I have probably covered 100,000 miles in my 156s and they have been completely reliable. But they have needed lots of expensive maintenance along the way.

If you only cover low mileages and you know how to use a spanner, then they are probably the most stylish motoring you can get for the money.

If you are able to set aside the style and the snorty engines, then a Focus is a much better car in every way.

Agree with every word of this. Even my ratty shed 156 looks fabulous, the seats are marvellous, but it's let down by a frankly bizarre ride - too much bound, but not enough rebound (or is it the other way?) in the dampers means it's wobbly and harsh at the same time.

The 20v diesel is a great engine, and the gearbox is surprisingly decent, but it's all let down by the suspension, what a nightmare to work on! Whoever designed it must be an absolute bd, because it's full of mind-bending design choices that I just can't fathom.