Alfa Romeo 2.2JTS 2008 model - driving/owning feedback

[Shezbo]

Hi

I am thinking of buying one of these, what do they drive like? Are they reasonable to own/run with regards to cost?

And what should I look out for i.e. service requirements/rust etc. etc

Thanks Mark

http://www.classicmarques.net/used/alfa-romeo/spid...

[lockhart flawse]

Well as no-one else has replied.

Look on alfaowners forum - plenty on these. In a nutshell: hood mechanism, hood mechanism, hood mechanism.

I have a 2.2 Prodrive Brera. It's surprisingly well built - not a single rattle or loose bit of trim on my 2009 49,500 mile car. But it's not a fast car. Nice drive though.

Check the hood mechanism.

[AlfaManc]

Shezbo said:

Hi

I am thinking of buying one of these, what do they drive like? Are they reasonable to own/run with regards to cost?

And what should I look out for i.e. service requirements/rust etc. etc

Thanks Mark

http://www.classicmarques.net/used/alfa-romeo/spid...

I owned a 2008 159 2.2 JTS for a while so I can only make a few observations about the items common to both cars.

The 2.2 JTS is a thirsty engine and you will be lucky to see 30mpg. The engine also suffers from a flaw, commonly referred to as hesitation. When moving off from a standing start, there is a flatspot and the engine seems to judder a bit around 2000 rpm. Once past this, the power delivery is quite linear and smooth, and I found it a decent engine once you get past the initial start. Not all JTS engines suffer from this, and there are mods out there that cure this hesitation. Do a few standing starts when you test drive the car and see how the car moves off.

The engine can suffer from a stretched timing chain issue. This seemed to affect earlier models (2006/7). My specialist suggested that if this has not happened after a couple of years of ownership, then you should be fine. Check in the service history to see if the chain has ever been replaced. If it hasn’t, then you probably have a good one. If it has had a few then I’d think twice. On a car of that mileage, I wouldn’t expect more than one change, if at all, as the chains are supposed to last for life. Mine had never been changed and my specialist had recommended leaving it unless it chucked up a problem or error code.

Other flaws include problems with the power steering. Some 159s were filled with the wrong fluid and this led to some cars need new steering racks. Mine had the red fluid, which is apparently the wrong fluid, but in 110K miles, I never had issues with the steering rack. Some owners flush the system and refill it with green fluid, but I was told that if my car was not showing signs of problems, leave it as is. Changing the fluid could cause the seals to go. At full lock you might hear a grating sound if there is a problem with the rack. Again, this problem does not manifest itself in all cars with the red fluid.

Window motors are a notorious problem on these cars. In two years, two windows stopped working on mine, but I had both replaced for about an hour’s labour and £60 for each motor.

Although I have highlighted some problems, these are not common to ALL cars with 2.2 JTS engines. In two years of ownership, I changed an engine thermostat (£60), two window motors, and some tyres. I have highlighted what I consider to be three major problems that some owners have suffered. I daresay that if you ask about another make, BMW, Lexus etc there will be similar issues common to those. What the Spider offers you is something stylish, distinctive, and not run off the mill. It is a 9 year old car, so it will eventually have issues common to all cars of that age. Give it a really good test drive and see if you bond with it. There’s nothing mechanical that should put you off.



Here is a 159 buyer’s guide but it has some useful info that is common to the Spider. If you want further reassurance, you could ask for the car to be checked over by an Alfa independent. They would charge around £60, and check the mechanicals, steering rack, subframe etc. I did this when buying my 159 and they found some minor issues (new brake pads, new battery) and I got this knocked off the purchase price.



http://www.alfaworkshop.co.uk/alfa_159_guide.shtml

[davidpstock]

Pretty much what AlfaManc said,I've had a 2.2 Spider for about 3 years, 45K and no real problems, there is the hesitation from stationary but you do get used to it. I get on average a genuine( not what car says) 28mpg. Had to change 4 gas struts on the roof which is a well known fault and not very expensive or difficult. Plenty of room for a 2 week roadtrip 2 years ago & we are going in it again this summer so can't have been too bad! Full electric seats would be nice but can live without them.