3.2 Q4 is it a keeper?

[redvtec]

I have a 159 Q4 3.2 I'm not sure what to do with it, do people think they will be come collectable? I know there are few in the UK and the engine is "not a proper Alfa" whatever that means. but will that in fact make them collectable? I dont want to get rid and then kick myself in a years time if the prices start creeping up.

[jrock78]

If its the sportwagon they are rare as hens teeth and if in really good nick quite desirable. I would keep it.

[redvtec]

no it's a saloon, but most 159 seem to be oil burners.

I'm not sure if its a sleeper.

[anonymous-user]

What spec is it?

I've got one too; 3.2 Q4 Qtronic Ti with paddle gear change. According to How many left there are 3 on the UK roads, out of grand total of 5 ever registered in the UK

If you've got one of the others I'd be inclined to hold on to it.

https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/alfa_romeo_1...

As for the engine... Alfa worked over a Holden V6 lump so it's as much Alfa as it is Holden.

Edited by DrSteveBrule on Tuesday 15th September 20:18

[Shifter1]

Don't worry about the engine "not being a proper Alfa". This is a load of bull. Probably spread by frustrated owners of rusted out Busso cars.

The 8C is then also not a proper Alfa as it has a Maserati engine and gear box and suspension and basically everything besides the body. And it was made by Maserati in their Modena factory. Yet I doubt many of the purist 159 critics would not take a 8C.

The 159 Sportwagon and Brera are one of the best looking Alfas of the last 30 years. Only the GTV, 8C and 4C look as special. I think the 159 Sportwagon and Brera are better looking than the Giulia or the fat Stelvio.

They are also infinitely better cars than any Alfas before them. A coworker had a 156 back in the day and that car gave him so much trouble he was out of Alfa and into VW for a couple years. Then he got the Alfa bug again and bought an used 159 and it was the most reliable Alfa he ever had.

Purists act as if GM shipped the engine straight into the 159 and Brera engine bay. It's only THE BLOCK! The heads etc are Alfa!

Yes the cars are heavy. But this is probably why they are more reliable and stronger than the 156 and 147.

If I was going to bet on an Alfa for a daily, the 159 V6 Q4 would be it. Yes, the Busso is a legend but it comes in wrong wheel drive Fiat rusty boxes.

Edited by Shifter1 on Friday 18th September 12:32

[SeanST150]

OP, how much do you think you can sell the car for? Unless you need to sell it, I'd say keep it. I think the 159 and Brera have hit the bottom of the depreciation curve, how much they'll go up, I don't know, but having a model and spec as rare as yours there will always likely be a buyer.

I'm biased by the way, my 159 SW TI is the best looking estate car of the past 20 years!

[5 In a Row]

I used to live in a rented house and about 6 years ago the landlord offered me his 155 TS widebody, 156GTA saloon and 159 Q4 3.2 for £10k all-in.
Sadly I was saving to buy a house and didn't think he was serious.
I'll be kicking myself for the next 50 years.

[redvtec]

Thanks for the replies, its a 3.2 Q4 JTS Lusso Saloon.

I have sneaking feeling its a sleeper, Its worth bugger all at the mo, I might see if I can sort some storage, and work on it, I'm not desperate for the money at the moment.

As for a daily driver you will struggle to get 20mpg from it

[ian996]

Shifter1 said:

They are also infinitely better cars than any Alfas before them.

H'mm, that is quite a bold statement. I currently own a 3.2 JTS Brera and a 156 GTA and , while these things are always personal viewpoints, the suggestion that the Brera is infinitely better seems pretty high up on the garbage scale.

The friend with the archetypical flaw-filled Alfa also raises a smile -sure there were plenty of 156 that caused problems, but there were a lot of 156 out there when they were new. There were also plenty of 3-series, A4 and C-series that caused problems as well. The Brera / 159 are certainly more robustly built than the earlier cars, but I would not say that they are inherently more reliable (cam-chains / sub-frame / wishbones all more problematic than the equivalents in the Busso-engined cars...cam-belts are meant to be changed regularly, cam-chains, not so much.)

I like the Brera a lot, but I always think it has "flawed competence", rather than the "flawed genius" of every other Alfa I have owned. The flaws might be smaller, but the spectacular bits are a bit more muted too.

If you lean towards a slightly stolid Germanic stereotype, the Brera / 159 might be a considerably "better" car than a 156 / 164 / GTV, if you lean towards the slightly more effervescent Italian stereotype, I would suggest that the Brera / 159 lose a little more than they gain over 156 era cars.

That said, 159 Sportswagons are lovely cars - if the OP can afford the petrol and the subframe and cam-chain are in good nick, I'd say it will grow into a "keeper".

[WarnieV6GT]

Prices of the 159 2.0jtdm ti seem to be holding firm. The 3.2 imo only, is not special enough nor fast enough to justify the poor mpg. This will have an affect of values going forward. The ti's stand a much better chance but with the lusso's, I just can't see it.

I always thought my old 3.2gt would go up in value as its essentially a 147gta. But although I never lost money on it, it's the GTA's prices that are rising.