Alfa 159 or something else?

[Unlight]

Been seriously looking at an Alfa 159 Sportwagon for daily driving duties, and have come across this example :

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

I can't think of anything else for the budget of around £7k. Can anyone critique the above car at all? From the description it sounds well looked after - unfortunately its quite far away so can't just pop over to see it.

I'd prefer an estate, something slightly interesting (hence the Alfa) with reasonable economy.

Any suggestions would be welcomed!

[PaperCut]

Great under-rated cars these SW 159s. Personally i don't like the colour combo (black with red leather for me!) but as you've picked this one out that's irrelevant.

You could get a Saab 9-3 estate or the Volvo V50 for similar age/money. There's also the Jag X-Type diesel estate.

Alfa would be my pick though.

[Unlight]

PaperCut said:

Great under-rated cars these SW 159s. Personally i don't like the colour combo (black with red leather for me!) but as you've picked this one out that's irrelevant.

You could get a Saab 9-3 estate or the Volvo V50 for similar age/money. There's also the Jag X-Type diesel estate.

Alfa would be my pick though.

Thanks, ideally I'd like grey/red leather but I can't really find any within budget that don't have mega mileage on them.

Anything that you can see jumping out as concerning from the ad? Any other opinions would be great!

[anonymous-user]

Go for it! I have a 156 Sportwagon and it's been very good, and still is at 11 years and 73,000 miles. More stylish and more fun than comparable German and Swedish machines.

[Unlight]

Cheers, just wondering if anyone has opinions on the example posted above?

If anyone is local it would be worth beer tokens if you could take a look?

[icepop]

Definitely something else, for no other reason than most of the posters on the Alfa forum are a bunch of up themselves, types.

Edited by icepop on Sunday 25th November 02:06

[anonymous-user]

Avoid Forum = problem solved. Next week: Israel v Palestine.

[10 Pence Short]

BV, Israel Palestine was last week. It finished 1-1 after extra time.

[Rollcage]

icepop said:

Definitely something else, for no other reason than most of the posters on the Alfa forum are a bunch of up themselves, types.

Edited by icepop on Sunday 25th November 02:06

Really? I've found them pretty helpful in the past. Many of them post on here......

[Unlight]

Don't want this to descend into an argument!

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

advert said:

18' light alloy wheels

[Spinal Tap]
"Nigel gave me a drawing that said 18 inches. Now, whether or not he knows the difference between feet and inches is not my problem. I do what I'm told."
"But you're not as confused as him are you. I mean, it's not your job to be as confused as Nigel."
[/Spinal Tap]

[Rollcage]

Unlight said:

Don't want this to descend into an argument!

No, fair enough.

[anonymous-user]

Dr Mike Oxgreen said:

advert said:

18' light alloy wheels

[Spinal Tap]
"Nigel gave me a drawing that said 18 inches. Now, whether or not he knows the difference between feet and inches is not my problem. I do what I'm told."
"But you're not as confused as him are you. I mean, it's not your job to be as confused as Nigel."
[/Spinal Tap]

Arf!

[Unlight]

Any other opinions on what to get for circa 7k? Open to suggestions. Car hunting is driving me mad!

[Backtobasics]

Get that, its a nice car.

[Unlight]

Also seen a couple of 08 Alfa GT 1.9 diesels for sale for around the 7k mark - worth a go?

[Baron Greenback]

I have a 159 sports wagon TDI, great car would change the belt before the recommended change! I am on 99700 miles and no problems. I am so tempted to get one chipped.

[ImpossiblyDaft]

Unlight said:

Also seen a couple of 08 Alfa GT 1.9 diesels for sale for around the 7k mark - worth a go?

The GT is 156 based, so the main thing with the 155/GTV/156/GT cars would be that it'd wear out the bushes in the wishbones pretty quickly (~80k or so). Not really a big deal, though, as you should get change from £200 getting that sorted.
Other than that, should be pretty ok. I would say though, that I don't see why you'd pay £7k for one when there looks to be plenty of selection around the £5k mark. They'll all be worth pennies in a couple of years so I'd be looking to save a little on the purchase price, really.

[Alfahorn]

If you can find one, I would go for the 156 JTDM SW, I've had mine for two & half years its been great and consistently does 45 mpg and I don't tend to hang about. You should be able to get a good low miles one for about £4,500.

[Unlight]

ImpossiblyDaft said:

The GT is 156 based, so the main thing with the 155/GTV/156/GT cars would be that it'd wear out the bushes in the wishbones pretty quickly (~80k or so). Not really a big deal, though, as you should get change from £200 getting that sorted.
Other than that, should be pretty ok. I would say though, that I don't see why you'd pay £7k for one when there looks to be plenty of selection around the £5k mark. They'll all be worth pennies in a couple of years so I'd be looking to save a little on the purchase price, really.

Just was looking at newer ones really, 08 blacklines for around 6.5k-7k.

Currently looking at a few examples of the Octavia VRS...