My first car, an Alfa Romeo 147
Discussion
Hello everyone,
Today I picked up my first car
. When I started looking for a car after starting a new job I wanted to get something out of left field, not the usual Focus or diesel Audi or Hyundai which have taken over the roads over here in Ireland. Always liked the look of the 147 but thought it would be out of my league insurance wise however I budgeted two grand for insurance, so with that in mind I thought I'd leave my choice up to the insurance companies, depending on which I could insure would decide which way I would go. Happily, after finding a nice example 147 the insurance was actually much less than I expected so a deposit was left and I picked this up this morning:
The day I test drove it last Wednesday in Cork
Then took these today on the drive home!
Had to take one with my fathers BMW on the way home as well
It's a 2006 Lusso model with a 1.6 twinspark. Timing chain was done just less than 2000 miles ago with all the supsension replaced less than a thousand miles ago. NCT (or MOT) came back with no advisories. Immediate plan is to get some new badges as the current ones have faded a bit, replace the a switch for the right hand window, top her up with some oil and drive! Then in the next month or two get matching rubber all around and in the far future maybe look at getting the GTA rims from the 147 GTA!
Today I picked up my first car
. When I started looking for a car after starting a new job I wanted to get something out of left field, not the usual Focus or diesel Audi or Hyundai which have taken over the roads over here in Ireland. Always liked the look of the 147 but thought it would be out of my league insurance wise however I budgeted two grand for insurance, so with that in mind I thought I'd leave my choice up to the insurance companies, depending on which I could insure would decide which way I would go. Happily, after finding a nice example 147 the insurance was actually much less than I expected so a deposit was left and I picked this up this morning:The day I test drove it last Wednesday in Cork
Then took these today on the drive home!
Had to take one with my fathers BMW on the way home as well
It's a 2006 Lusso model with a 1.6 twinspark. Timing chain was done just less than 2000 miles ago with all the supsension replaced less than a thousand miles ago. NCT (or MOT) came back with no advisories. Immediate plan is to get some new badges as the current ones have faded a bit, replace the a switch for the right hand window, top her up with some oil and drive! Then in the next month or two get matching rubber all around and in the far future maybe look at getting the GTA rims from the 147 GTA!
Nice car ensure you change the cambelt at less than 40k intervals, keep an eye on the oil consumption, not as bad as the 2ltr which goes through it as fast as it does petrol lol, back boxes rot the second they get wet but are double skinned so last longer than you think and as long as its not a selespeed you should be ok 
ensure you change the cambelt at less than 40k intervals, keep an eye on the oil consumption, not as bad as the 2ltr which goes through it as fast as it does petrol lol, back boxes rot the second they get wet but are double skinned so last longer than you think and as long as its not a selespeed you should be ok 
tonyb1968 said:
Nice car ensure you change the cambelt at less than 40k intervals, keep an eye on the oil consumption, not as bad as the 2ltr which goes through it as fast as it does petrol lol, back boxes rot the second they get wet but are double skinned so last longer than you think and as long as its not a selespeed you should be ok
Just for balance I had 2 156 twin sparks 1.8 and 2.0 and neither used oil. I think some do and some don't - pot luck for a great engine! ensure you change the cambelt at less than 40k intervals, keep an eye on the oil consumption, not as bad as the 2ltr which goes through it as fast as it does petrol lol, back boxes rot the second they get wet but are double skinned so last longer than you think and as long as its not a selespeed you should be ok Thanks guys, the cam belt was changed at 140k and it's just ticked over 142k.
Only problem is at the moment there seems to be a leak between the washer bottle and the nostrils. Topped up the washer bottle today but it won't spray the water onto the windscreen despite the motor working. I'll have to get under it and have a look!
Only problem is at the moment there seems to be a leak between the washer bottle and the nostrils. Topped up the washer bottle today but it won't spray the water onto the windscreen despite the motor working. I'll have to get under it and have a look!
Great first car! Well done.
I've a 147 Lusso JTDm & I love it. It will get under your skin & you'll be Alfa mad in no time!! They are a cut above all of the competition in terms of passion.
Not sure of your interior but I've heated leather in mine & it's very luxurious for a hatchback.
Washers will be a loose hose joint.
Regularly check the oil & enjoy.
I've a 147 Lusso JTDm & I love it. It will get under your skin & you'll be Alfa mad in no time!! They are a cut above all of the competition in terms of passion.
Not sure of your interior but I've heated leather in mine & it's very luxurious for a hatchback.
Washers will be a loose hose joint.
Regularly check the oil & enjoy.
Solid choice OP. Just sold mine last month. Did a readers car article on it. As said above, much more interesting choice than the usual equivalents. Make sure you keep an eye on the oil and use decent stuff. Mine used to get through 500ml/1000 miles over the 58k I had it
ETA Pic
ETA Pic
Edited by flight147z on Sunday 18th December 23:00
I have a lovely 2004 147 1.6 TS Lusso 5 door with 36000 miles. It replaces an udentical one that served me well to 167k miles and then began to jump out of 3rd gear on hard acceleration. I bought the new one with a damaged bootlid (very lightly) and it took an afternoon to change the bootlids round. I just renewed the MOT at no cost and yes its a delight to drive and does 36 mpg . Enjiy your ;new' and enjoy the attention you get. My next project is a 159 estate as I need more space.
Excellent choice! Cambelt and suspension are the main thing to watch for and you seem to have those covered. You will need to keep an eye on the oil level though. Some TS engines use gallons of oil, others use very little. My 2002 1.6 TS was pretty good middle of the road one and would use maybe a litre between services - enough for me to make sure I always had some topping up oil with me at all times, just in case!
BlueHave said:
That's a relatively sensible left field choice, but I hear road tax in Republic of Ireland is a bit mental on fast cars with big engines
Performance car which would be about £400 in the UK is over about 1000 Euros in Ireland
Yea it's 514 euro a year to tax it and insurance is 1200. They don't want you driving anything which might give you some sort of joy over here...Performance car which would be about £400 in the UK is over about 1000 Euros in Ireland
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