Alfa. Would I be a complete moron to...?
Discussion
Bought my first car last year aged 20, a 1.1 206 and had it for a month. After realising that paying 215 a month for Hastings Premier was a tad steep and my old boss had me out of half my tax return, I had to sell up. A year later, now 21, I can insure most 1.6s for 109 a month with Hastings Premier, much better, considering I'm now on 300 a week and managing finances is a lot easier.
Was looking to go for a 1.4 206 but then was wooed by a 2002 Alfa 147 1.6 Twin Spark for 800 quid. Unfortunately, it sold before I had chance to have a look. My budget is between 700 and 1200 and my heart is now set on the 3dr 147 TS (pre facelift). What are they like, do they have that 'thing' Alfas like to do and is it worth me waiting for another to come up for sale nearby?
Cheers
Was looking to go for a 1.4 206 but then was wooed by a 2002 Alfa 147 1.6 Twin Spark for 800 quid. Unfortunately, it sold before I had chance to have a look. My budget is between 700 and 1200 and my heart is now set on the 3dr 147 TS (pre facelift). What are they like, do they have that 'thing' Alfas like to do and is it worth me waiting for another to come up for sale nearby?
Cheers
A good one should be no more trouble than a similar age cars from other brands. However, some service items are more regular/expensive. Having done almost 6 years Alfa v6 main cars of a similar vintage, I have never been let down. Probably a few £100 each year on maintenance + servicing and a bit more occasionally on nice to have things. A few little fiddly jobs need doing every so often, so if you can do that sort of thing yourself, you'll be fine, but the same goes for any old car. As a counter to that, a friend bought a very good condition 147, which cost him £1000+ in all sorts of things going wrong almost immediately. Watch for rust, and find a well looked after car if you heart is set on it. Budget £500 a year for issues, and expect most of it back as a bonus when it works ok!
Don't listen to the doom mongers. If you want an Alfa, get one. You'll have to have one eventually anyway, otherwise you're not a real petrol head.
If you're half decent with a set of spanners, and owning a car is an adventure to you, then it'll be perfect. If you want a simple no frills, no nonsense A-B machine, you might be better off with something else.
After years of Alfa ownership in various guises, you have to approach ownership with a sense of humour.
Choose wisely.
If you're half decent with a set of spanners, and owning a car is an adventure to you, then it'll be perfect. If you want a simple no frills, no nonsense A-B machine, you might be better off with something else.
After years of Alfa ownership in various guises, you have to approach ownership with a sense of humour.
Choose wisely.
Ignore all the nay sayers .
Yes they do need maintenance, yes they do go wrong .
Find a well sorted and looked after car and they are ok , pretty much like any older car .
Don't go near one thats had a cambelt failure , even if its had a replacement head . They go bang in the bottom end within a few thousand miles .
Get a good one and you will love it , get a bad one and it will bankrupt your wallet .
Yes they do need maintenance, yes they do go wrong .
Find a well sorted and looked after car and they are ok , pretty much like any older car .
Don't go near one thats had a cambelt failure , even if its had a replacement head . They go bang in the bottom end within a few thousand miles .
Get a good one and you will love it , get a bad one and it will bankrupt your wallet .
Get one but take extra care to pick a nice one!
Won't be any better or any worse for reliability than anything else of the same age that has been looked after to the same standard. Pick condition over colour at this price point. They're not especially prone to rust any more but cam belts need changing every 5 minutes. Either factor that in or decide how lucky you feel at cam belt roulette.
When they were new the Focus was probably a more fun car to drive but with 10-15 year old bushes and dampers it's anyone's guess. It's very subjective the Alfa thing, you'll either love it or won't get it at all, but you won't know until you try it.
Won't be any better or any worse for reliability than anything else of the same age that has been looked after to the same standard. Pick condition over colour at this price point. They're not especially prone to rust any more but cam belts need changing every 5 minutes. Either factor that in or decide how lucky you feel at cam belt roulette.
When they were new the Focus was probably a more fun car to drive but with 10-15 year old bushes and dampers it's anyone's guess. It's very subjective the Alfa thing, you'll either love it or won't get it at all, but you won't know until you try it.
Edited by Wooda80 on Tuesday 10th April 16:29
These are pretty reliable a decent garage will look after one easily, the 1.6 is a very robust engine to the thing to look out for on these are worn bushes so check them carefully but I'd say get one you can buy some well looked after ones.
I prefer the facelift model for some reason.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
I prefer the facelift model for some reason.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Agree with the other positive comments. I bought a 2007 Spider a year ago, and think it's a great car. It's been perfectly reliable, everything works, and the only issues it's had are no worse than any other car (e.g. window regulator).
(Incidentally, I owned a 1.8 Focus once - a 3 year old one - and it wasn't fun to drive).
(Incidentally, I owned a 1.8 Focus once - a 3 year old one - and it wasn't fun to drive).
Appreciate the comments guys! Think I'll just do some hard research and look for a nice tidy one! Like some of you said I am pretty decent with tools and basic work so will be happy to spend weekends working on it and will most likely only be driving a few days a week, mostly on the weekend too. After all, Clarkson is an Alfa fan 😂. Hopefully some day move onto a GTV6 or 75, but for now my search for decent 147 will continue!
mcpoot said:
Usual load of predictable b
ks spouted on PH about Alfa. Ex ran a 147 1.6 T-Spark for 6 years and other than blowing a few sidelight bulbs had nothing go wrong with it. She now drives a Seat Leon TDi and bitterly regrets selling her Alfa.
You do realise that more people have said it’s worth a shot than didn’t?ks spouted on PH about Alfa. Ex ran a 147 1.6 T-Spark for 6 years and other than blowing a few sidelight bulbs had nothing go wrong with it. She now drives a Seat Leon TDi and bitterly regrets selling her Alfa.Also you don’t mention what age this unicorn was when you Ex got it? Have you ever owned one?
It’s a slightly different market the op is kicking around and bearing in mind this is just his second car ever!
That’s coming from someone that’s had Alfa’s and had a soft spot for them!
Buyer beware.......
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