RE: Alfa Romeo 159 JTDM | Shed of the Week

RE: Alfa Romeo 159 JTDM | Shed of the Week

Friday 10th July 2020

Alfa Romeo 159 JTDM | Shed of the Week

Shed value doesn't have to mean Shed looks



Some cars hardly ever appear in the selection of SOTW candidates that Shed puts forward to PH's Star Chamber of stern-faced judges on a weekly basis. Why is that? Sometimes of course it will be down to rarity. You just don't see that many Hotchkiss Gregoires on the roads these days, so the chances of you seeing one in Shed of the Week are about on a par with the chances of Mrs Shed cutting her toenails on anything other than a biannual basis.

Another possible reason for the non-appearance of certain cars here is that owners like them and are annoyingly refusing to sell them at Shed's qualifying price of £1,500 or less. When it comes to Alfa 159s, that's the only conclusion you can draw because rarity doesn't come into it. They were on sale for six years from 2005. As at the end of 2010, just before sales stopped, 6,142 saloons and 2,331 Touring estates had been sold in the UK. Looking at the numbers of 159s running around on British roads in 2020, even if we restrict it to the JTDM diesels there are still around 1,100 saloons and just under 500 estates left.

Compare that to the number of sub-£1,500 3 Series BMWs from the same period that you'll find on sale today. Obviously there were more of those in the first place, but in relative terms it still seems odd that this is only the second Alfa 159 ever featured in Shed of the Week. Is the 159 the best kept secret on the cheap used car market?


You do get a lot for your £1,295, not least bucketloads of handsome. 159 styling was a 'Giugiaro in collaboration with Centro Stile Alfa Romeo' affair, which may well mean nothing more than the non-committal raising of one haughty eyebrow when the 159 drawings were waved in front of the great man as he delicately balanced a dod of pesto sauce on an exquisitely shaped piece of pasta. The backroom machinations of the Italian motor industry mean that we'll very likely never know the truth, but Shed hopes that whoever was responsible for the final version was given a bonus case of Valpolicella that Christmas because this pre-'08 facelift 159 still looks great 15 years after launch, and especially in this colour scheme of black with tan leather and silver alloys.

Our shed is a mid-spec Lusso rather than a top-spec Ti, but you can see from the ad that you're not short-changed on the important stuff. Price-wise, the nearest 159 Lusso that Shed managed to find outside this one on PH Classifieds was a silver one with 57,000 more miles on the clock, four fewer months on the MOT and another £55 on the price. Which perhaps goes to show that you get all the best cars on PH Classifieds.


Although the 159 was arguably not such a driving treat as the 156 that preceded it, it was a lot stronger and stiffer, albeit also quite a bit heavier - 1,525kg for the 1.9 JDTM versus 1,270kg for the equivalent 156 JTD. The 200hp 2.4 JTDM diesel engine was a fine unit, especially with a 260hp remap, but many considered the 159 with the 1.9 JTDM lump to be a better drive and some even thought it was the best all-round 159 you could buy as long as you didn't mind the slightly odd mix of a heavy feel combined with Alfa's trademark quick steering, and you weren't afflicted by thrown timing belts, clogged EGR valves, or frangible swirl flaps - though in fairness you could get the last two of those in any older (but not too old) diesel and it wasn't a hard one to sort. You didn't really want the 6-speed Q-Tronic Aisin auto gearbox in a 159 JTDM, and this one doesn't have it, so that's good, but it has to be said that the manual box (the GM M32 that was also used on the Astra and Vectra) doesn't have a spotless record for strength either.

One PHer's mate who worked at an Alfa dealer told him that 159s were the worst Alfas ever for warranty claims. There was electrical glitchery. Back windows had a habit of not going up and down like they were supposed to, ignition keys weren't always as good at activating and de-activating the immobiliser as they should have been, and the headlight switch on the left-hand stalk didn't always turn the lights off. That last one is a 20 minute fix with a soldering iron. Driveshafts and suspension parts (particularly upper wishbones and coil springs) do break.

Rust is an old Alfa trope, but more recent cars like the 159 went a long way towards changing that view. Although the front subframe wasn't immune to corrosion there's been no mention of rust so far on this car's MOT record. What issues there have been have mainly been consumables. The May test for our shed had advisories for some damage to the n/s lower windscreen and a non-excessive oil leak, hardly enough to put off the determined buyer who would quite rightly want to have a thing of such great beauty on the drive.


See the full ad here


 

Author
Discussion

to3m

Original Poster:

1,226 posts

169 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
Love the interior. Used to walk past a GTV each day with similar light-coloured ribbed seats, and I always admired it just on that basis. Looked really tasty. It had the proper Alfa Romeo ring-y alloys, too.

But that's not to say I'd buy this one, not even with your money. Everybody I know that's had an Alfa Romeo has had a terrible experience with it. "They're not THAT bad", people say - well, OK, I do admit I don't know anybody whose Alfa Romeo has paid somebody to kill their spouse and children.


Edited by to3m on Friday 10th July 01:37

spodrod

224 posts

149 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
That looks like a lot of car for the money

sjabrown

1,910 posts

159 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
Yep that design still looks quite fresh. And those front seats look wonderful especially in that tan colour. Alloys look to be a pest to clean though, and it’s rare to see that style of alloy without an excess of caked on brake dust discolouring them. £1295 is in that ‘I know I shouldn’t but I’m really tempted’ territory where an alcohol containing beverage might just lead to ownership.

728 days later

590 posts

62 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
Handsome shed always liked these. I’d love the 1.75 TBi at some point

to3m

Original Poster:

1,226 posts

169 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
One man’s cat sick is another man’s... well... ok, you got me, I suppose I just like the colour of cat sick.

anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
to3m said:
Everybody I know that's had an Alfa Romeo has had a terrible experience with it.
My mate bought one, every week something went wrong. he ended up having to press pedals to get it started, it was funny really, can't remember fault. Put me off buying one.

Arsecati

2,284 posts

116 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
Absolutely gorgeous - still genuinely better looking than any NEW model from the German 3, I can't believe that car is 13 years old. Sure, people may go on about the 'reliability', but is any £1200 3-Series, C-Class or A4 going to be any more reliable? I strongly doubt it!

If that's all I had to spend on a motor, I don't think I'd feel short-changed at all, you'd still look back at it as you walked away - top, top shed!

Oh, and let this finally FOREVER put to bed any wayward thoughts of increasing the limit to £2k again...... this absolutely proves bang on that quality sheds are more than alive and kicking below £1500! wink

A1VDY

3,575 posts

126 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
Not bad cars but better with the 1.9 which provides more than enough power/torque and there's less chance of lunching the M32 gearbox than with the 2.4.
Comfort of 156/9/147 seats always leaves something to be desired though..

Checkmate

626 posts

206 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
I really like these, well, the later Ti versions at least, they can look really special. This one just looks depressing. I can't put my finger on why, but it just looks so hopeless.
Still, better than a number of the more recent sheds!

remedy

1,635 posts

190 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
I've got a 2.4 TI with the auto box remapped to 260 and I've had no real probs in 2 years. For my first Alfa, it's been great. Only 76k on it too.
It's going into Autocasa in Cov at the end of the month for a service and front brake change as its had a very squeaky wheel/brake since I've had it but that's it.
Oh, my brake lights stopped working but that was just a connector opening up. I crimped it back together and it's been fine since.

Pulls like a train, looks awesome and drives lovely. Not frugal on fuel though but I don't drive it enough to care.

Ray_Aber

473 posts

275 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
A great car, and so lovely to see a proper leather colour in a car, not bland anodyne 70s vinyl lookalike black leather. It’s design has aged well.

Arsecati

2,284 posts

116 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
remedy said:
I've got a 2.4 TI with the auto box remapped to 260 and I've had no real probs in 2 years. For my first Alfa, it's been great. Only 76k on it too.
It's going into Autocasa in Cov at the end of the month for a service and front brake change as its had a very squeaky wheel/brake since I've had it but that's it.
Oh, my brake lights stopped working but that was just a connector opening up. I crimped it back together and it's been fine since.

Pulls like a train, looks awesome and drives lovely. Not frugal on fuel though but I don't drive it enough to care.
Ahhhh mate, that looks the absolute dogs!!!! I love a fast estate anyway, but that colour with the red calipers? Fu€& me mate - you've nailed it! Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! wink

Christian85

842 posts

137 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
remedy said:
Stunning, timeless design and will still look good in 20 years time.

Always wanted a 159

g3org3y

20,606 posts

190 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
to3m said:
One man’s cat sick is another man’s... well... ok, you got me, I suppose I just like the colour of cat sick.
yes

Looks a very nice interior to me. Good looking car cool

Numeric

1,393 posts

150 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
g3org3y said:
to3m said:
One man’s cat sick is another man’s... well... ok, you got me, I suppose I just like the colour of cat sick.
yes

Looks a very nice interior to me. Good looking car cool
I think its come up a bit more Orange in the pictures - but yes I also seem to be a fan of cat sick.

humphra

480 posts

91 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
2nd week in a row of top shedding! In particular, I love the front of these. In my opinion, one of the best designs out there. The colour combo is also very nice indeed. There's something about cat sick tan that looks right in these biggrin.
The only things I'd want different are the wheels and for it to be an estate - one of those models of car that I think suits being an estate........ Basically, something that looks like Remedy's car is ideal!

remedy

1,635 posts

190 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
Thanks all cool

And before anyone starts, the alloys are anthracite, not black laugh

Court_S

12,764 posts

176 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
remedy said:
I've got a 2.4 TI with the auto box remapped to 260 and I've had no real probs in 2 years. For my first Alfa, it's been great. Only 76k on it too.
It's going into Autocasa in Cov at the end of the month for a service and front brake change as its had a very squeaky wheel/brake since I've had it but that's it.
Oh, my brake lights stopped working but that was just a connector opening up. I crimped it back together and it's been fine since.

Pulls like a train, looks awesome and drives lovely. Not frugal on fuel though but I don't drive it enough to care.
That does look bloody good in all fairness.

I always thought that 159 was a good looking car. I prefer it to the 156 because it’s hot a nicer interior. The 156 is lovely outside, but the interior I don’t like.

This weeks shed looks like a lot of car for the cash...that’s less than a new set of BBS CH-R’s for my car. The tan seats are lovely.

Peppka

107 posts

189 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
728 days later said:
Handsome shed always liked these. I’d love the 1.75 TBi at some point
Alfa Workshop always said the 1.75 TBi was the one to have same with the Brera, the V6's were a disappointment in the 159 and Brera compared with the Busso V6's in the GTV, GT, 156 and 147 gta's.

JRaj

63 posts

72 months

Friday 10th July 2020
quotequote all
Still looks fresh. Certainly hasn't aged significantly like some other marques of the time.