High mileage 1.8 T Sparks

[St00]

Looking at buying a 52 reg 1.8 Lusso, has full dealer history upto 78000 but has around 90k on the clock now. Are the 1.8's robust enough for a good few miles yet with regular servicing or should i leave alone? Price is £3200, which i thought was pretty reasonable for a fully loaded lusso.

[Dave Brand]

If it's been well-maintained there will be plenty of life left in it. The most important thing to look for is evidence of a cambelt & tensioner change - if that hasn't been done recently, get it done. Alfa specify a change at 72,000 miles, but 36,000 is a more realistic interval; it's essential that the tensioner has been changed, as tensioner failure appears to be the cause of a lot of cambelt breakages.

[pwig]

Change the variator while you are at it..

[Alfie Whizz]

A well maintained Alfa should get to at least 160,000 miles without drama IF it's been well looked after. The full dealer service history if obviously a huge plus point, but it doesn't necessarily indicate how well it's been maintained between services or more recently. Alfa engines tend to use a bit of oil and weekly checks are advisable, but at that mileage the car is likely to have driven by a rep, and many (but not all) are unlikely to bother. Check the oil level now and if it's below the minimum, it's probably best to walk away.

Look to the overall condition of the car as an indicator of how attentive the previous owners have been and if it looks good, strongly suggest you get the car to a reputable Alfa specialist in your area for an evaluation. Explain your concerns and they should be able to give you their "feel" of how well it's been looked after.

My local Alfa specialist offers such a service, which I have often used, that IMHO is a manditory part of buying an Alfa. They also a do a Alfa 156 buyers guide which you may find useful.

Totally agree about the cam belt/tensioner change (though a variator change isn't necessarily essential as long as you don't hear the "diesel" rattle on a cold start) which is another indication of attentiveness.

HTH and good luck!

Edited by Alfie Whizz on Monday 26th June 15:30

[JamesBondMI5]

I have to agree with Alfiewhizz - high mileage isn't a problem and only change the variator if it's broken.

£3200 seems like a lot though...

Mike
Roberts Aerospace & Automotive (Alfa Romeo, Fiat Coupe, and Maserati specialist in Hampshire)
www.cars.robertsaerospace.com

[Avocet]

I have to profoundly disagree with the advice in the guide to change the cam belt at 60,000. My wife's 1999 1.8 T'spark stripped the teeth off its belt at 57,000! Current Alfa advice to dealers is to change at 36,000 although published advice in the handbook still seems to be 72,000 (Grrrr!)

Other than that it has been very reliable. In fact, it just passed it's MOT today and it still has its original battery and exhaust! It has 75,000 miles on it and I've changed the rear suspension bushes and the bottom front suspension wishbones.

I also don't necessarily agree about the rust either. You can't see it easily but there are two chassis extensions that hang down vertically at the leading edge of each front wheelarch to carry the bottom corners of the front bumper and the undertray. Both are rotten on my wife's car. You'd need to remove the undertray or wheelarch liners to see them.

[Oldmanz]

I've been running a 156 18ts, now at 110,000 miles and engine still very good. The belts have been changed every 35,000 ish miles. Only problems so far have been:-
Bushes in wishbones.
Electric rear window new motor.
A cracked oil filter housing, leaking water!. Expensive to replace (£140) as the housing incorperates a water jacket.
I see now that the radiator is starting to disintigrate, so will need to be changed within the next year.

But all in all has been good motoring over five years.

Regards Bill