Buy with my Head or my Heart ?
Discussion
I'm looking at buying my first Alfa,it'll be the second car so low miles,kids in it a couple of days a week for a very short trip(6 and 9 years old),this trip will no longer exist come easter(kids move back to their revamped school which is walking distance).
I have the opportunity to go and look at a 147 jtd m-jet,a 54 plate pre face lift,non exciting met grey ish colour,good history,leather and sounds as if its been looked after for its 69000 miles.
Will I wish though that i'd bought a petrol car ??,low use so I'll probably never benefit from an oil burners economy!
I'm thinking an Alfa as mostly a play thing should only be a petrol
I started off looking at 147s and I've now progressed
to scouring the classifieds for 3.0 GTVs !
The max budget is 3k,I have a couple of Ducatis so I have the Italian passion already which isn't helping the diesel 147s cause
Happy Christmas,hope you are all sitting totally bloated with the top button of your jeans undone like myself with your fave tipple in front of you
I have the opportunity to go and look at a 147 jtd m-jet,a 54 plate pre face lift,non exciting met grey ish colour,good history,leather and sounds as if its been looked after for its 69000 miles.
Will I wish though that i'd bought a petrol car ??,low use so I'll probably never benefit from an oil burners economy!
I'm thinking an Alfa as mostly a play thing should only be a petrol
I started off looking at 147s and I've now progressed
to scouring the classifieds for 3.0 GTVs !The max budget is 3k,I have a couple of Ducatis so I have the Italian passion already which isn't helping the diesel 147s cause
Happy Christmas,hope you are all sitting totally bloated with the top button of your jeans undone like myself with your fave tipple in front of you
Kids will not thank you for stuffing them in the back of a GTV.
I'd go for a 2.5V6 156, perhaps an SW if you can find one though they are rare with the V6. A 2.0TS (or JTS)would still be good fun though, but budget for a bit of suspension work for either car as the damping wasn't that good when new, so a few years on it would certainly benefit from a set of the new Koni's.
The diesels are good, but if it's just for fun you still can't beat a revy Petrol IMO
I'd go for a 2.5V6 156, perhaps an SW if you can find one though they are rare with the V6. A 2.0TS (or JTS)would still be good fun though, but budget for a bit of suspension work for either car as the damping wasn't that good when new, so a few years on it would certainly benefit from a set of the new Koni's.
The diesels are good, but if it's just for fun you still can't beat a revy Petrol IMO
Can your budget stretch an extra 1k?
An Alfa GT offers all the brilliance of the Alfa 147 with a bigger boot, better suspension and a coupe body!
The Alfa GTV is very very special but as others have said, your kids will kill you if you stick them in the back and the boot is laughably small (just chuckled at the thought of trying to put a standard sized bucket in the boot...no chance!)
An Alfa GT offers all the brilliance of the Alfa 147 with a bigger boot, better suspension and a coupe body!
The Alfa GTV is very very special but as others have said, your kids will kill you if you stick them in the back and the boot is laughably small (just chuckled at the thought of trying to put a standard sized bucket in the boot...no chance!)
Thanks for your comments Guys,I think it has to be a 156(possibly a 147 TS if its nice,but I prefer the bigger cars),a GTV is do able but though we obviously have a family chariot there is always going to be the odd situation when a 2nd car has to ship kids about further than the 5 minute school run....my Wife doesn't help,she's a mega petrol head to,though she isn't into bikes as much,she's dribbling over GTVs to but I know who'd get the boot in the b
ks if the thing had to be used as a family motor !
There are a couple of 156 JTSs local ish to me(I'm nr Edinburgh)but neither has leather...got to have leather.There are some crazy cheap prices out there,sorting the crap from the good uns is a nightmare.
2.5-3k is the limit by the way.
Thanks again.
Col
ks if the thing had to be used as a family motor !There are a couple of 156 JTSs local ish to me(I'm nr Edinburgh)but neither has leather...got to have leather.There are some crazy cheap prices out there,sorting the crap from the good uns is a nightmare.
2.5-3k is the limit by the way.
Thanks again.
Col
I'd look for a 2002 to 2003 156 V6 Veloce with the facelift interior (any later V6 will have spent a large part of it's life in a storage compound or won't be UK spec), JTS can be a nightmare with lambda sensors and dodgy wiring - a good one can be excellent though. Avoid diesels if you are only doing short journeys.
I have both a 156 2.5 V6 and recently bought a 3.2 GTV to replace it.
I still have the 156, partly because it isn't worth selling and partly because it is a wonderful old thing.
Of the two, the 156 is the better car. It is a bit more modern, the seats are better, it is more refined, more comfortable and more pleasant to drive.
The 2.5 is a sweeter and more characterful engine, but the 3.2 is much more powerful.
The 156 feels like a big friendly labrador that is happy loping along at its own pace. The GTV is a bit of a rottweiller, always straining at the lead.
The brakes are poor on both of them, more noticeably on the 156. Ground clearance and turning circle are hopeless.
The GTV is hard work on the motorway because the frameless windows create lots of wind noise.
Cambelt/waterpump service is expensive on either of them.
As an alternative, the 156 2.4 JTD is fast, economical and sounds good for an oil burner. I've also driven a 2.0 TS 156 which gives surprisingly little away to the 2.5 petrol.
Finally, watch out for parking dings on the sides of GTVs. They are made out of tinfoil and are a magnet for minor knocks.
My magic dent man was here only a couple of days ago sorting out the most recent handful of dings.
Personally, I would buy a 156 2.5 Veloce.
Here are mine:
I still have the 156, partly because it isn't worth selling and partly because it is a wonderful old thing.
Of the two, the 156 is the better car. It is a bit more modern, the seats are better, it is more refined, more comfortable and more pleasant to drive.
The 2.5 is a sweeter and more characterful engine, but the 3.2 is much more powerful.
The 156 feels like a big friendly labrador that is happy loping along at its own pace. The GTV is a bit of a rottweiller, always straining at the lead.
The brakes are poor on both of them, more noticeably on the 156. Ground clearance and turning circle are hopeless.
The GTV is hard work on the motorway because the frameless windows create lots of wind noise.
Cambelt/waterpump service is expensive on either of them.
As an alternative, the 156 2.4 JTD is fast, economical and sounds good for an oil burner. I've also driven a 2.0 TS 156 which gives surprisingly little away to the 2.5 petrol.
Finally, watch out for parking dings on the sides of GTVs. They are made out of tinfoil and are a magnet for minor knocks.
My magic dent man was here only a couple of days ago sorting out the most recent handful of dings.
Personally, I would buy a 156 2.5 Veloce.
Here are mine:
) anyway.....Go with your heart. I bought the first 156 V6 SW (well they are quite rare) I found and drove... 5 years later and 30k, we're thinking about replacing her as she has a few creaks and niggles, but I'm buggered if I can find anything to its equal.
I'm almost tempted to blow the 3-5k budget on doing her up she's been that good.
I'm almost tempted to blow the 3-5k budget on doing her up she's been that good.
I went to look at '99 phase 2 3.0 GTV today,stunning looking car silver/red leather but unfortunately it had a major ish oil weep from gearbox/clutch bellhousing area,(6" round puddle on floor) amongst other things that the seller never mentioned even though i asked before doing 280 miles round trip to view !
You do need an Alfa V6 whether it be 2.5 or 3.0 or even the 3.2 
For 3 grand you should be able to get a good example.. Check for knocks from suspension when driving and also check for any oil leaks.. Service history is very very important.. cambelt changes should be every 4 years or 40,000 in my opinion although guidelines are actually 60,000 and 5 years.
the 1.9 JTD 16v (not the 8v) has a good punch and is bulletproof.
For 3 grand you should be able to get a good example.. Check for knocks from suspension when driving and also check for any oil leaks.. Service history is very very important.. cambelt changes should be every 4 years or 40,000 in my opinion although guidelines are actually 60,000 and 5 years.
the 1.9 JTD 16v (not the 8v) has a good punch and is bulletproof.
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