147/156 GTA

[Fury RS]

After a year out of owning a weekend toy and having to sell it due to over expenditure on a house refurb i'm just getting back on my feet.
I have always wanted to own an Alfa of some sort and the 147 GTA and the 156 GTA have always floated my boat.
My last weekend car was an E92 V8 M3. A great car but it did cost me a fair bit over my 15 months of ownership but so have many of my other past cars. I know the Alfa is going to lack some of the grunt of the M3 but that's not an issue.
Any help off you current GTA or previous GTA owners would be much appreciated after recently mulling over so many different cars.
Thanks...

A link to what looks a nice example of a 156 GTA on PH. Anyone's on here by chance?

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

[Nigel_O]

GTAs are definitely appreciating (assuming they are basically sound). However, many of the parts are bespoke and are getting hard to find

If you want the full GTA experience without the same costs, consider the GT 3.2 - its effectively a GTA without the GTA badge and (IMHO) just as desirable, as well as (IMHO) a bit more stylish

[W111AAM]

There seems to be an influx of ex Japanese GTA's appearing on the market. Prices of them are all over the place and a lot of them have the selespeed box. Didn't even know this was an option on the 147 GTA.

Should they be avoided or anything to look out for?

[Chimune]

Get one with or budget for suspension upgrade if planning to go anywhere other than smooth motorways.
Mine would bottom out on country roads when pressing on. Factory dampers are same as standard 156. Q2 helps too!
This was the only thing that really bugged me in 5 yrs ownership.

Oh and the turning circle is hilarious 😂

Edited by Chimune on Wednesday 15th August 17:41

[MarkwG]

You're welcome to have a look at mine - it's the blue Sportwagon below the silver saloon

[VitorioVeloce]

Nigel_O said:

If you want the full GTA experience without the same costs, consider the GT 3.2 - its effectively a GTA without the GTA badge and (IMHO) just as desirable, as well as (IMHO) a bit more stylish

I havent driven either a GTA or a GT 3.2, but after driving a 147 for two years, and now a 2.0 GT, i would expect there are some more differences. The GT is more built towards cruising comfort, and while the 3.2 obviously has the right engine, i would expect it to feel less like a hot/hyper hatch then a 147 GTA.

Given the price difference though, the GT 3.2 is a good choice, more then enough money left for some choice upgrades such as eibach ARBs, which should sharpen it up

W111AAM said:

There seems to be an influx of ex Japanese GTA's appearing on the market. Prices of them are all over the place and a lot of them have the selespeed box. Didn't even know this was an option on the 147 GTA.

Should they be avoided or anything to look out for?

I would personally avoid a selespeed. While they apparently arent bad for an auto of its vintage, it will still be a 15 year old auto box, which to me feels wrong for something like a 147 GTA. Another concern is that the arent the most reliable gearboxes, and if they break, the bills arent small, keeping 2K in reserve for the likely event of a gearbox breakdown seems like a good idea.

[Wallby]

I've owned my 147 GTA for over 7 years now and loved every minute of it! In that time I've only passed another on the road once!

I like the fact that not many people know much about it and are quite shocked when they find out the size of the engine.

Q2/Quaife diff is a must - for reliability reasons as much as performance. Mine has standard suspension and the smaller 305mm brakes and are ok unless you are really pushing on or on track.

Cambelts are every 4 years and cost around £700 to change.

I have mine up forsale at the minute but haven't 100% decided that I want to sell it. Get in touch if your interested.

[velocemitch]

I always feel the V6 GT isn't going to give you the full GTA experience, it doesn't have the ludicrously quick rack for a start. It is just a GT with a bigger engine. A late model GTV V6 will get you into that engine and probably has more drama.

a GTA is a GTA, that's why the demand a higher price.

I reckon the 156 has more presence than the 147 too, never really liked the interior of the 147 (or GT which is the same).

156 GTA SW would be my choice....... (which it was back in 2006)

[Scalino]

I've owned a 156 GTA SW for about five months now. I use it daily and would not change it for the world, the sound alone .

As mentioned, get the suspension sorted (mines booked in for a Novitec setup/rebranded KW in a months time), Q2 is nice and will prevent your diff/gearbox from blowing up. Other than that, check for rust in the arches and the flour, the 147 is less rust prone than the 156.

Edited by Scalino on Thursday 16th August 19:31

[VitorioVeloce]

velocemitch said:

I always feel the V6 GT isn't going to give you the full GTA experience, it doesn't have the ludicrously quick rack for a start. It is just a GT with a bigger engine. A late model GTV V6 will get you into that engine and probably has more drama.

a GTA is a GTA, that's why the demand a higher price.

I reckon the 156 has more presence than the 147 too, never really liked the interior of the 147 (or GT which is the same).

156 GTA SW would be my choice....... (which it was back in 2006)

Agreed on the GT thing, again i havent had the pleasure of a busso, but i was rather disappointed that my 2.0 GT has less drama then my previous 1.6 147, i would assume the difference with a GTA would be bigger, despite having the same engine

I also agree with the GTV recommendation, its a lower, wider car, and generally i think a bit more special then a GT, id have a GTV over my GT , if it werent for the fact the rear seats/boot in a GTV are useless, and at the moment i prefer one car that does it all.

[WarnieV6GT]

velocemitch said:

I always feel the V6 GT isn't going to give you the full GTA experience, it doesn't have the ludicrously quick rack for a start. It is just a GT with a bigger engine. A late model GTV V6 will get you into that engine and probably has more drama.

a GTA is a GTA, that's why the demand a higher price.

I reckon the 156 has more presence than the 147 too, never really liked the interior of the 147 (or GT which is the same).

156 GTA SW would be my choice....... (which it was back in 2006)

The 3.2gt has the same rack as the GTA'S, there is no difference. Everything is the same apart from the 3.2gt has a longer throw as standard on the gearbox.

A 2.0gt is not comparable to the 3.2. The 3.2 has a stiffened floor, gta suspension and gta roll bars, 330mm brembo brakes plus that engine. It will feel a different beast to the standard GT. I would never own a GT without that engine as the rest of the car including the gta bits imo are not up to standard.

The GT is also based on the 156gta sportwagon chassis with 147 interior bits.

[psi310398]

W111AAM said:

There seems to be an influx of ex Japanese GTA's appearing on the market. Prices of them are all over the place and a lot of them have the selespeed box. Didn't even know this was an option on the 147 GTA.

Should they be avoided or anything to look out for?

I have a Selespeed 156 GTA.

It's been very reliable and is a hoot to use. I think the basic system is the same or similar to other Alfa Selespeeds but the control electronics have a lot in common with the similar Ferrari/Maserati systems. It's a very responsive system.

It can be driven manually, semi-automatically or in City mode - full automatic. In City mode, you can use the flappy paddles or the gearstick to change up or down as you see fit while staying in City mode.

The only downside is that car can kangaroo a bit in 1st gear so is less fun in city traffic than out in the wild.

Not specific to the Selespeed, but above 120-130 mph the GTA's wipers tend lift off the windscreen...or at least mine do.

[Ransoman]

WarnieV6GT said:

velocemitch said:

I always feel the V6 GT isn't going to give you the full GTA experience, it doesn't have the ludicrously quick rack for a start. It is just a GT with a bigger engine. A late model GTV V6 will get you into that engine and probably has more drama.

a GTA is a GTA, that's why the demand a higher price.

I reckon the 156 has more presence than the 147 too, never really liked the interior of the 147 (or GT which is the same).

156 GTA SW would be my choice....... (which it was back in 2006)

The 3.2gt has the same rack as the GTA'S, there is no difference. Everything is the same apart from the 3.2gt has a longer throw as standard on the gearbox.

A 2.0gt is not comparable to the 3.2. The 3.2 has a stiffened floor, gta suspension and gta roll bars, 330mm brembo brakes plus that engine. It will feel a different beast to the standard GT. I would never own a GT without that engine as the rest of the car including the gta bits imo are not up to standard.

The GT is also based on the 156gta sportwagon chassis with 147 interior bits.

I can confirm this. I have a GT 3.2 and it is mechanically identical to the 147/156 GTA. The steering rack is perfect

[Fury RS]

Thank you for the replies guys...
That blue SW GTA looks a nice example...
Food for thought on some of the replies...
Still nobody familiar with that Silver example at Autolusso for sale then???

[george123]

Fury RS said:

Thank you for the replies guys...
That blue SW GTA looks a nice example...
Food for thought on some of the replies...
Still nobody familiar with that Silver example at Autolusso for sale then???

Don’t know the silver GTA but Laurence at Autolusso is a top guy , he’s serviced my Alfas for a few years and has a great reputation.

[MarkwG]

Fury RS said:

Thank you for the replies guys...
That blue SW GTA looks a nice example...

Cheers, I like to think we've treated it well &....

george123 said:

Don’t know the silver GTA but Laurence at Autolusso is a top guy , he’s serviced my Alfas for a few years and has a great reputation.

....absolutely agree, Laurence & his team have looked after ours since almost the day we got it.

[SimianWonder]

If you're buying a GTA, go in with your eyes open and budget accordingly. I budget £2000 a year to cover maintenance on my 147, not including insurance, fuel or tax.

[psi310398]

SimianWonder said:

If you're buying a GTA, go in with your eyes open and budget accordingly. I budget £2000 a year to cover maintenance on my 147, not including insurance, fuel or tax.

That sounds about right from my experience. I tend to change the oil every 4-5000 miles or so as well.

It is also worth joining Alfaowner.com as the GTA owners there do group buys on hard to get bits (organised by Autolusso in Penrith, amongst others).

[S100HP]

SimianWonder said:

If you're buying a GTA, go in with your eyes open and budget accordingly. I budget £2000 a year to cover maintenance on my 147, not including insurance, fuel or tax.

Ditto. I owned mine between 2008 and 2012 and spent 2k a year in maintenance.

Epic car tho.