Gorgeous 155 in the classifieds..

[podman]

worth nearly 4K thou?

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/284911.htm

[Pooh]

One of the best handling fwd cars ever, I loved my V6. As to the value, they are not going to be many about in that sort of condition/mileage, so it is hard to value, it comes down to how much you want it.

[sclayto2]

Its worth what the market dictates.

It certainly looks in good nick and an enthusiast would probably pay for it.

[Podie]

Blimey... rocking horse poo.

Looks

[cirvy]

still my favorite Alfa..... must better than today's offerings

[SCOOTERMAN]

Wrong engine cover for a 1995 model, non?

cirvy: if it's so much better than your supposedly "cr*p" Brera, why don't you buy one and demonstrate that fact?

I'm willing to be good money after a few months you'd be longing for the Brera back once more.

Edited by SCOOTERMAN on Tuesday 13th November 16:14

[cirvy]

SCOOTERMAN said:

Wrong engine cover for a 1995 model, non?

cirvy: if it's so much better than your supposedly "cr*p" Brera, why don't you buy one and demonstrate that fact?

I'm willing to be good money after a few months you'd be longing for the Brera back once more.

Edited by SCOOTERMAN on Tuesday 13th November 16:14

Had one many years ago, & i'll see your money thanks

[wrinx]

SCOOTERMAN said:

Wrong engine cover for a 1995 model, non?

cirvy: if it's so much better than your supposedly "cr*p" Brera, why don't you buy one and demonstrate that fact?

I'm willing to be good money after a few months you'd be longing for the Brera back once more.

Had three 155s so far...great cars!

...as for the engine cover, the 2.0 16v was introduced with the widebody 155s in April/May 1995 with the 1.8 coming a year later.

wrinx

[Griffless]

I have a 155, it's also a 16V, and my daily driver / workhorse - 168K miles on it so far (with many thanks to Mangoletsi for its early care history).

The one you're contemplating looks simply cracking though, & if you intend doing a lot of (highly entertaining!) miles, then go for it, if this is really the age & type of car that you're after. Mine's never let me down (though certain garages have), and I absolutely love my bella to bits - far more fun than the 156, and it's also more "mine" than the 75 track car I share with my brother, hence I enjoy my 155 far better than the others.

I really do wish I could afford to buy a mint one like this to stick in my garage & keep as new... I'll be one very sad lass if my own "Poetry in Purple" ever wears out irrepairably. My only regret with my 155 is that the bodywork was far from perfect when I bought it - and will at some point soon need a bodyshop to sort it out - regardless of the days and hours of polishing invested to date. Italian pain is soft. Ouch - ££££ on the horizon, but for my bella, it simply needs to be done.

Alfa 155: Very capable and eager engine, impecable manners, and if you love your 155, it will love you back to the point of thoroughly enjoying whatever high-rev, silly speed, manic-cornering nonsense you can throw at it (only on autobahn and track day limited use, of course *ahem* *cough*).

However, beware! - Anyone owning a 155 risks being smitten with the Alfa bug - and who knows what you'll end up with next! (I currently have 2 and a half Alfas - and still feel that another may be on the way soon...)

With the exception of insisting on Selenia oil (check your handbook - the right oil can be bought cheaply on eBay), I have found no negative points whatsoever in 2 years of ownership. The TwinSparks will, however, chew cam variarors on a regular basis if you stick fully-synthetic oil in them - they don't like it, they weren't made for it. Fully-synthetic simply doesn't have the required viscosity to coat all moving parts thoroughly from start-up; similarly, Halfwits screenwash will rot your seals & block washer jets - use the recommended Tutela screenwash to avoid this happening.

A good "indy" garage is worth their weight in gold, half the labour cost of a dealership, with all of the care. I was badly bitten with a local "we fix all cars" garage, please don't even think of going down that route, it really is not worth it at all in terms of the unwitting damage they can do to your car.

I really wish you well, and as many happpy miles of ownership as I have had / still look forward to in my 155.

All the best,
Mx

[SCOOTERMAN]

cirvy said:

SCOOTERMAN said:

Wrong engine cover for a 1995 model, non?

cirvy: if it's so much better than your supposedly "cr*p" Brera, why don't you buy one and demonstrate that fact?

I'm willing to be good money after a few months you'd be longing for the Brera back once more.

Edited by SCOOTERMAN on Tuesday 13th November 16:14

Had one many years ago, & i'll see your money thanks

Viewed through rose-tinted specs? If a 155 is *that* much better than "the current offerings", why not abandon said offerings and get one?

People beat on and on about "the good old days" (read: old cars), yet those who say it rarely stick to their words and actually BUY these cars which are supposedly better. Personally, as an owner of a v. late 146ti, I can't want to be rid of Alfas of that era. The newer offerings are much, much better in every single way.

Edited by SCOOTERMAN on Wednesday 14th November 10:29

[penryar]

SCOOTERMAN said:

People beat on and on about "the good old days" (read: old cars), yet those who say it rarely stick to their words and actually BUY these cars which are supposedly better. Personally, as an owner of a v. late 146ti, I can't want to be rid of Alfas of that era. The newer offerings are much, much better in every single way.

Not every single way, Alfa's from the 90's had character, unlike the modern day Alfa's which tend to leave me feeling cold and uninvolved.
Also older Alfa's mean you can sidestep the biggest drawback of running a new Alfa, that is the official dealer network.
I'm not just someone who preaches this, my car range in age from 13 to 38 years old.
Oh and I have owned several 155's, in my opinion one of the most underrated cars of the 90's. And still own (and will always own) a 155 Q4.

[sclayto2]

penryar said:

SCOOTERMAN said:

People beat on and on about "the good old days" (read: old cars), yet those who say it rarely stick to their words and actually BUY these cars which are supposedly better. Personally, as an owner of a v. late 146ti, I can't want to be rid of Alfas of that era. The newer offerings are much, much better in every single way.

Not every single way, Alfa's from the 90's had character, unlike the modern day Alfa's which tend to leave me feeling cold and uninvolved.
Also older Alfa's mean you can sidestep the biggest drawback of running a new Alfa, that is the official dealer network.

To be honest that can be said about a lot of manufacturers, e.g.t he press talk about the original Golf being a better car than the current.

Thing for me is better is a very subjective term.
On the one hand; reliablity, safety, performance (in most cases) and comfort I'd agree with you, Scooterman.
On the other; looks, ease of repair and in a lot of cases the handling (lower weigh coupled with modern tyres) of an older car can be much better.

Really Penryar puts it best with the term 'Character'. What does it mean to you? What value you put on it? That defines your choices. Doesn't make it right or wrong, just different.

One mans Angelina Jolie is another mans Jade Goodie.

[cirvy]

penryar said:

SCOOTERMAN said:

People beat on and on about "the good old days" (read: old cars), yet those who say it rarely stick to their words and actually BUY these cars which are supposedly better. Personally, as an owner of a v. late 146ti, I can't want to be rid of Alfas of that era. The newer offerings are much, much better in every single way.

Not every single way, Alfa's from the 90's had character, unlike the modern day Alfa's which tend to leave me feeling cold and uninvolved.
Also older Alfa's mean you can sidestep the biggest drawback of running a new Alfa, that is the official dealer network.
I'm not just someone who preaches this, my car range in age from 13 to 38 years old.
Oh and I have owned several 155's, in my opinion one of the most underrated cars of the 90's. And still own (and will always own) a 155 Q4.

I assumed he was kidding!

[Andy_sx]

if only my silverstone looked that tidy i would be an extremley happy man! in the mean time im just happy, pep'd up 1800 t spark is a great engine, chasis is sublime, and imo a truely under rated saloon

must admit i bought mine to either fix up and sell on for profit, or use as a track weapon, but as soon as i drove it i knew it would become a daily driver. already had the italian bug anyways, so what better step from fiat than alfa?

the missus cant see the obsession with it, and cant stand the money that needs spending on her, and more to the fact why i dont just buy a newer car, but that wont be happening for a long time (just dont tell her that)

[75_Steve]

Looks nice, but that's a hell of a lot of money for a 155.

You'd get a perfectly good one, although not as shiny, for a quarter of that price.

My biggest concern is that it hasn't done enough miles to keep it running nicely - Alfas hate being left stood unused for lengthy periods.

Ref: 155 Silverstone.... if you think a Silverstone drives well, you really need to try a widebody car or a decent 156, they both moved things on by an order of magnitude, IMHO.

I'm not saying the narrowbody cars are poor, mine was pretty good, but the widebody and 156 are just so much better - probably two of the very best handling FWD saloons of all time.