RE: Alfa Romeo 159 | Shed of the Week

[Dog Star]

valiant said:

One of the best looking mainstream saloons of modern times.

I'd argue that in estate form - as with a lot of cars these days - they look better.

[Finglescave]

I wonder what the “full service history” actually translates into, if its frequent services and cambelt changes then nice, if not (and I’ll assume not given the bodywork) then I’d get breakdown cover and keep a phone charger/battery bank in the glovebox.

[BlackPorker]

aestivator said:

Dog Star said:

Er.... how come that's on a 64 plate? Old-new stock? Import? I thought a 61 plate might be the newest that would ever be seen.

Registered November 2014 apparently.... and an advisory on the very first MOT for rust, so it's definitely legit

There is a story behind the car: It was built for the Australian market and languished in the factory for months, if not years, at the end of the production run. Alfa Italy eventually decided to send it to the UK and it was registered here by Alfa UK in 2014. It *must* be the last 159 registered in the UK.

The subframe rust was treated way back and the car was in exceptional condition with only 35k. The previous owner was a serial Alfa Romeo and Maserati collector.

There is a video of the car here:



It's a proper unicorn and, if I had the space, I would have kept it. The Alfisti amongst you will notice it is not UK Ti spec with different seats and other interior trim.

Edited by BlackPorker on Friday 13th May 10:19

[HJG]

Last year I needed a replacement diesel commuter with max budget 2.5K and needed to be 'something different'.
Found a 159 1.9 JTDM around the corner from me.
115K miles and within budget. 7K miles put on it now and really enjoying it. Also turns out it is a 'James Bond Limited Edition', which I had no idea about beforehand.

The diesel engine is nothing to write about...it's not as good as the BMW equivalent from the same era.

Front subframes rust out. Mine is good - more by luck than anything else.

Stunning cars when in the right spec.

[NGK210]

Beautiful – it’s a crime the 159 wasn’t on a RWD platform.
I’m guessing the remodelled boot was caused by reversing into a sturdy hedge in a pub car park – was probably only a love tap? Not that I speak from experience

[Turbobanana]

sjabrown said:

I’ve yet to own an Alfa / yet to play Alfa roulette but one day I will.

If that's how you view it, you probably won't.

[the-norseman]

I really wanted a red V6 estate in Ti trim but Alfa UK told me they didn't sell many in that spec in that colour. Then I realised the V6 wasn't a Busso either.

Settled for a cheap SAAB V6 estate in the end, as the Alfa's were commanding bigger money.

[Turbobanana]

Gareth9702 said:

Has there ever been a time when Alfa Romeo has not been in a "sink or swim" situation? Alfa is a brand that is continually searching for its market niche. Never built to a quality to challenge the Germans, never enough performance to set itself apart, and not quite enough style to overlook the other two.

Looking back further into history, this isn't quite true.

Alfa Romeo had a strong reputation for building quality sporting, dynamic cars long before Audi, BMW or Mercedes built anything other than fairly prosaic family cars. What has happened in recent times is that the Germans have built an enviable reputation for reliable, solid, and (latterly) quick cars and have more-or-less wrapped up the market for this sort of thing to the exclusion of other brands that didn't keep up: Alfa included (see also Renault, Fiat, Peugeot etc etc). Alfa attempted to trade off its heritage for too long.

[Jhonno]

DrBrule said:

JottoSW1 said:

Looks nice at a distance, wonder how long a replacement ECU would be available. If you're going to have a money pit Alfa you'd want a V6 really - wouldn't you ???

The 159 V6 isn’t a Busso and the 1750 TBi 4 cylinder they used towards the end of the 159 life has the same torque without so much of the thirst. V6 were 4wd though so there is that but the V6 can be susceptible to stretched timing chains if the oil isn't changed regularly. The petrol turbos can suffer from overheating issues but there is a mod available to improve the cooling.

Love the red leather in this.

I emailed the current owner of my old 159 V6 asking if he wanted to sell it back but he politely refused to part with it. I bought a Sportwagon TBI Ti instead. If anybody wants a set of mint TI alloys with Micheln Crossclimates on I have a set in my garage.

Edited by DrBrule on Friday 13th May 09:58

Great looking thing! Would love a 156/159 sometime.. Wagon of course and V6.

Quality shed.

[HJG]

Interesting fact is that the chief engineer (or similar role) got fired because the car was way too heavy.

[Twoshoe]

BlackPorker said:

There is a story behind the car: It was built for the Australian market and languished in the factory for months, if not years, at the end of the production run. Alfa Italy eventually decided to send it to the UK and it was registered here by Alfa UK in 2014. It *must* be the last 159 registered in the UK.

The subframe rust was treated way back and the car was in exceptional condition with only 35k. The previous owner was a serial Alfa Romeo and Maserati collector.

There is a video of the car here:



It's a proper unicorn and, if I had the space, I would have kept it. The Alfisti amongst you will notice it is not UK Ti spec with different seats and other interior trim.

Edited by BlackPorker on Friday 13th May 10:19

The speedo would be in kms then?

[anonymous-user]

BlackPorker said:

There is a story behind the car: It was built for the Australian market and languished in the factory for months, if not years, at the end of the production run. Alfa Italy eventually decided to send it to the UK and it was registered here by Alfa UK in 2014. It *must* be the last 159 registered in the UK.

Was it 4wd? I had heard that Alfa did some V6 that were FWD but I'm not sure whether they were sold in the UK.

[86wasagoodyear]

HJG re: your James Bond Special Edition.

More from pub quiz knowledge of James Bond than of Alfa special editions, at the start of Quantum Of Solace there's a car chase along the shore of Lake Garda that miraculously then finds the Carrara marble quarry just off the lake road hehe. The baddies are in a couple of 159s.

[Court_S]

BlackPorker said:

I had a 3.2 V6 Ti in 8C Red a couple of years ago which I ended up selling back to the previous owner:



It was utterly beautiful and very reliable.

That’s a lovely example.

[pSyCoSiS]

This car has one sexy front end. The colour combo on this is great and bodywork aside, it's a decent Shed.

[wpa1975]

pSyCoSiS said:

This car has one sexy front end. The colour combo on this is great and bodywork aside, it's a decent Shed

Is it really a decent shed, one step away from financial ruin and going wrong.

Even for the asking price I would not consider it yes I like the way they look even more so in TI trim but would never consider buying one.

Edited by wpa1975 on Friday 13th May 13:43

[MikeM6]

wpa1975 said:

Is it really a decent shed, one step away from financial ruin and going wrong.

How so?

[wpa1975]

MikeM6 said:

wpa1975 said:

Is it really a decent shed, one step away from financial ruin and going wrong.

How so?

Being an Alfa plus lack of spares, diesels have issues with ECU failure plus many other issues.

[Filibuster]

BTW we are on page 3 about an Alfa Romeo without anybody writing Alpha! Way to go!

[georgeyboy12345]

Not really when it only cost £1500 in the first place. If it sts the bed big style, just scrap it.

I ran a 147 with this motor for 5 years and 64,000 miles. As far as I know it’s still on the road as it’s taxed and has an MOT. The engines on these are pretty solid, the rest of the car will fall apart before the engine does.