First car: Alfa Romeo 156 JTS Ti

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When I was about 14, I saw the advert for the Alfa 156, having been recently released and also winning European Car of the Year, and I wanted one.



At about 17, my parents gave me driving lessons as a birthday present, but since I never had any money, did have a bike and always lived in the city, I never took them up on it.

That promise got a bit close to expiry at the ripe old age of 26, so I did learn to drive in July 2010, just for the skill set. Sadly, it turned out to be fun - who knew? That gave me the idea that I could actually do what I'd bked on about for so long, specifically 'not having a car until I have a shiny red Alfa'.

I spent three months looking for exactly that - facelift 156, red, leather, petrol - only to find them being sold before I could get there, time & time again. Finally in September 2010 I went to a dealer, laid down £5,000, got most of that right and bought this:









So. I love it. Obviously I don't have much to compare it to, but it drives really well and just feels right. In retrospect it's a bit underpowered for what I want, but a first car probably should be. My driving style is a sort of unexpectedly compliant IAM manner that largely involves sticking to limits but accelerating hard wherever possible, and it would have been nice to have the 3.2 for that. Not really any regrets though.



It's got the 4-pot, two litre JTS lump. For the unfamiliar, this is basically the Alfa Twin Spark with a new head on it. By 'new' I mean direct injection, and an early iteration thereof - introduced in 2002. Frankly the JTS gives me The Fear through endless tales of other people's woe. It's given me a serious problem once: the injectors, and this cost nearly £800 largely because they're hidden away behind the inlet manifold. It's not a highly thought of engine in this regard, but I'm neither critical nor deeply positive about this engine. I think it makes an alright sound for a 4 pot, and it's fun enough for now.

With that in mind, the best way to describe this car is 'more than the sum of its parts'. It's just a great package. One of the biggest components in that is the interior. The Ti spec gives you Recaro sport seats from the GT, dark headlining, a different steering wheel and a few bits and pieces. The binocular dials mean your missus can't see how fast you're going, everything points at the driver and I think the materials are pretty good for a car in its class - especially once brought out with Autoglym. If I thought I wouldn't end up sectioned, I'd just go and sit in it for hours - my happy place!









Ah, what else?

The Good:

• The looks! I think the only cars in the 'might one day feasibly afford' bracket that I prefer are the 156 GTA, the 159 and the facelifted Jaguar XF. I know the 156 facelift isn't to everyone's tastes, but I pull a stupid giggly face every time I walk away from it & look back, which is every single time.

• Actual reliability. One major problem in two years and 16,000 miles, and never left me stranded. Not enough evidence yet, but it's hardly fraught with disasters. I should say the previous owner was less fortunate - cambelt snapped and was fixed at a dealer for a few quid short of £3k. Ouch.

• The steering when driving - I think 2.2 turns lock to lock, not too light, not too heavy. It's completely planted everywhere it's been.

• I've met a lot of nice people. Alfa people are great! A special mention to the Alfaowner forum lot who help me out with all my worries and whims, to Mike at A&M, and Loz at Autolusso Bournemouth.

The Bad:

• Those fking injectors

• Cheese wheels. They look good but they're made of brie, and cost at least £150 each if you can find them. Two of mine bent (below) and were replaced. The other two are curbed and stained from the previous ownership, but not enough to worry too much.

• The brakes aren't brilliant; not really sure of their maximum potential but it feels a bit poor.

• The steering when parking - a stated turning radius of 238,857 miles.

• Not too fussed, but a typical 28mpg isn't brilliant. The best ever was 34.9mpg on 270 miles of pure motorway.

• The fact that it beats riding my very expensive bike and I spend too little time doing that. It's also how a drive from Southampton to Blackpool can take in Aberystwyth.

• I paid a premium for it, and only two years later, petrol cars of this type are worthless. Doesn't matter, it's hopefully a keeper.

The Ugly:

• The paint, which is a lovely metallic colour I like to call blurple, has been a headache. The whole front end was stonechipped when I got it, as well as scratches elsewhere. I then very gently drove into a few walls. The saga to fix this was a comedy of errors which you can see below. Fortunately it is all sorted now, and except some very minor chips and scratches, it's near perfect. The photos don't even begin to show how good it can look.

• 81p/mile on motoring, not including cleaning kit. In part that's the fact that it's a bit too precious and I spend silly time and money on keeping it that way.

• The stereo doesn't work when it's cold - some problem with the aftermarket amp the last guy installed. Warms up after a bit. One of the door speakers is giving me trouble too.

Things I've done besides routine servicing:

• The front badge!

• Took out the CD changer & stock stereo; replaced with an Alpine 113BT head unit and put an iPod cable through to the glovebox

• New radiator & thermostat

• Two new wheels, three new Eagle F1 Asymmetric tyres, four new centre caps

• Paintwork, several times

• Injector refurb and replacement, as well as sparks, a coil pack and wiring loom

• Powder coated wing mirror mounts

• Replaced the air con console what with its wandering temperatures

• Four wheel alignment

• Undersealing

• Handbrake cables after they broke

Blooper Reel

Paint job attempt #1 - note the wings vs bonnet



Paint job attempt #2 - how much more black could it be? The answer is none; none more black.



And behold the cheese wheels:



That's yer lot. Sorry about the essay. Hope it was faintly interesting

Rob

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Yachtworker said:

Great write up, it seems Alfa owners have all the best stories and well written to boot! You should read stuff like this;
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... To get an idea of dedicated but entertaining ownership.

That's a brilliant thread, ta! 'YOU CAN IMAGINE...'

In a similar vein, NEVER ADD UP THE COST OF MOTORING. Only a FOOL would do that.

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robsco said:

Lovely car OP and great write up. Sums Alfas up to a tee in most respects, as well as the passion of ownership! I bought some of those TI wheels for my old 147, without really considering they might be square. They were and they didn't stay on long... they're also a nightmare to get hold of. As for the 156, well despite their quirks, they are a wonderful car (I had an almost genetic bond with my old one). The brakes are the biggest let down.

You can at least buy identical replica wheels now, and they can't be much worse.

As for the brakes, like I say, I haven't ever tried for the minimum stopping distance from speed, but it doesn't feel great. I had to slow down to walking pace from 60mph for a cyclist the other day and let's just say it was a long way. I may uprate them one day, possibly to the GTA brakes. I'm keen to see how she's doing long term mechanically before I commit to stuff like that though, so probably post-cambelt and service this year would be the time to think about it.

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S10 GTA said:

Were those pictures taken at Beaulieu Road Station?

• before you answer, I know they were*

I went to a different car park just for you, but when I say different, I mean over the bridge.

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iggysport said:

Gorgeous car, they are so cheap now but i always read the reliability reviews and do a legger

I know a lot about them now and I don't really feel that reliability is any worse than other cars, especially of that era. With the 156, and more so with the interior facelift in 2002, they moved a lot of the electrics from Magneti Marelli to Bosch and that was a bit of a sea change I think. Rust had been fairly well sorted by FGA in the 90s too. Do the cambelts on time, FREQUENTLY CHECK THE OIL and arguably avoid the JTS and I think you will do well. If it's diesel then you don't have the later problems of EGR, DPF etc so again happy days.

If you're posting on PH then you are probably competent enough to stay out of trouble - and by this I mean not the type to never open the bonnet, run out of oil, destroy the big ends and then post on some review site about how the engine makes a sad noise. You can't treat them like a fridge but they're not exactly divas either.

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S10 GTA said:

The GTA on the other hand....

Do you think the GTA would be 'unreliable' in the eyes of the ordinary punter? I always thought that it was because it was far more of an inherently special car that it demanded extra attention (and money) from us, but that objectively it's comparatively bulletproof. Not cheap though, as with most cars in its class, which is why I haven't made the jump.

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A lex said:

Lovely the car, the Ti - and a great write-up.

Good to see that you arent blind to the 'quirks' of the JTS - too worrysome for me, and im happier with the TS in my Alfa.

Did they ever make a 156 JTD Ti with the 5-pot 2.4 diesel?

That would make a good car!

Yeah, it was just a end-of-life spec that they added to shift a few more - actually the first of two, the latter being the 'Sport'. At least I think they still did 2.4s at that point.

The biggest potential JTS pitfalls are carbon buildup and cam lobe wear. The former was a problem with engines made prior to April 2004, although it happens to them all (as it does any car). The latter is probably precipitated by faulty injectors putting fuel into the oil and thinning it. Both of them give nagging doubts about the longevity of the engine but it remains theoretical for me for now. Other common problems stem from the four lambdas and also the engine wiring. Unlike some other engines, it's also not used across many cars (only the Alfa GT used it) so in the very long term parts and expertise might be harder to come by.

If I could push a button and swap the engine for a TS or a V6 then I would, but it doesn't work like that. I wouldn't trade the facelift (in & out) for the earlier engines I don't think, and I can't afford to run a GTA, so there has to be a compromise.

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GTASmallville said:

My mechanic told me about how much of a PITA the injectors are on the JTS which did make me chuckle :lol:

It was something like six hours labour, and when reassembled the first time it leaked fuel. Plus they had to be sent off for reconditioning.

GTASmallville said:

Regarding the brakes though, I found fitting fast road pads, braided hoses and super blue racing fluid makes a world of difference, maybe you should look into it

Yes, definitely one to try. Do you have a clue on cost, out of interest? I might do that at the next brake service, which may not be too far off.

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Oh, I forgot. I did have to call the AA once. I locked my keys in the boot on Christmas Eve.

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Chris Peacock said:

Although Alfas are nice to look at, your thread among others on PH goes to show how turd they actually are........


Throught with problems, ste build quality, poor running......the list goes on....


Although nice,....not for me.....

I don't really see what you're on about. I've been frank about the past & potential ailments, but it's not exactly the disastercar is it? If you trawl forums and sum up all the reported issues with a type of car, you will have something where every component had already failed by the time it left the factory. The thing that has cost me the most money, far ahead even of expensive injectors, is that it's not just an appliance and I care for it accordingly.

It sounds a little bit like you came to this with an opinion and selectively read the stuff that backed it up, perhaps to justify not going for one. TBH it's fair enough - I justify having one using the opposite, rose-tinted view, but I feel that the underlying truth is closer to my version than yours.

Edited by trashbat on Wednesday 9th May 15:50

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Chris Peacock said:

OK, so lets say that you ran 10 ....eg Honda accords against 10 Alfa 156s for the same amount of time over the same mileage, lets say over 100k miles, the repair bills and servicing costs would be the same?.....

I dont think so..........

To answer your question, no, I don't think it would be. I just had a peek at cambelt changes and the Honda owner would be doing better there in price & regularity for starters. However (again assuming competent ownership) I don't think it would be drastically different over the long term, and importantly, not close to a point where someone who had chosen to own the car for any reason at all would have any regrets. I've no experience of comparable Hondas but with whatever car you go for, it depends on your priorities and the overall package.

With the exception of the injectors, the only big bills in the PO's service history were from running low on oil and from ignoring the revised cambelt interval. It's not been long enough owning this car to derive any real trends, but the only 'must fix' was the injectors and possibly the bent wheels and the rad. In 20 months, on a seven year old car, that's OK in my book.

TL/DR: reliability is not a source of constant burning pain.

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Squadrone Rosso said:

Nice car mate. Usual anti-Alfa stereotypes above though by Captain Peewee COCK

Chris Peacock said:

^^^^^..Did I touch a nerve?
Whats with the insults?...

Now now, no fighting in my most brilliant of threads.

wormburner said:

Nice car. What on earth happened with that paint?!

Well. I took it to some backstreet painters next to an Alfa specialist. At first they did the rear bumper and side skirts, in the wrong colour as per blooper #1, but you couldn't really tell because of the angles when comparing those pieces - no straight edges. This mismatch only became apparent when they did the bonnet & bumper, as shown. (I had it done because it was so heavily stonechipped).

Basically their paint supplier had made a mess of it, and it wasn't obvious until on the car, and even then only in certain lights. On the second attempt the car shouldn't have been delivered to me, but it was due a replacement rear windscreen so I had to pick it up. They couldn't leave it in primer so had to persist with the obviously wrong near-black.

Eventually I am told that the paint supplier ordered a very expensive tint from Alfa (I have my doubts) and it all ended well. I then drove into some walls and had it fixed a second time this April at the same physical location but by a different guy, since the first lot had done a runner. Same paint supplier so the same thing happened again (black!) although I never saw it. Anyway this obviously rang some memory bells since the second attempt was sorted, and now it looks right as shown.

Hopefully if I need any more work, someone will remember this saga and get it right first time. I should say that I have nothing against either painter (will happily recommend by PM if you're looking for work done near Southampton) but perhaps the paint supplier could get their act together.

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They made the facelift V6 (and possibly Twin Sparks) for other regions like the Middle East, where emissions weren't the same barrier to entry. IIRC someone on here's dad has a white Ti one of exactly that.

The facelift looks seem to be very slightly marmite but I really like it. I was just saying how I can see the evolution to the 159. Respect to any original shape owners too - such a good looking car - but for now I think the facelift has aged well and however it does it, just makes me tick. It's certain angles on this car that really do that to me; looking down at the front quarter from upstairs when parked in the street, and it just looks like it's ready to pull a train. Same for the rear quarter as aimed for in one of those pics; the rear is arguably less pretty than the original, but from the right position it just exudes class.

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Malaysia the tax rules changed I think, making them a silly price, so they all came back.

The other unrelated incident was a ship to Australia caught fire. Only smoke or no damage at all to most cars but the lot got written off by the insurer. Again they were bought and eventually returned.

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Time for a little update on this.

At the end of September, it'd been three years, and on Saturday, this:



Didn't explode and noone died. Who knew?

Since I wrote the original post, it's been pretty much perfectly reliable - eek. Got through a few lightbulbs, a couple of slow punctures, and it uses a fair bit of oil on long runs, but no faults to speak of. The last MOT saw no advisories and the bloke commented on what good care I'd taken of it.

I had the front suspension refreshed including Powerflex, which should increase its notorious longevity a little.

It took us to Ireland and around the beautiful Ring of Kerry several times, the Dingle peninsula and even through the 'you must not drive it in a car' Gap of Dunloe. Oh, without breakdown cover. I don't think the undertray enjoyed it, but I did.





Back home, someone scraped into the rear door whilst it was parked, and put a bit of a dent in it, and I also lost a mirror to the marvellous people of Portsmouth, although I have a spare that's almost the right colour. When I've more cash, all that will be fixed, although the machine polisher I bought hides most of my problems very well.

Similarly, if money ever permits, I'm thinking of having an engine rebuild at Autolusso Bournemouth along with a map, C&B cams and a new exhaust system from Alfatune. Whether that ever materialises, we'll see. I can't remember if I ever posted it, but I once had it dyno'd and the results are here. Not the claimed factory 165hp as you can see, nor a great torque curve, although apparently they're all like that Sir. The aforementioned work could notionally take it to about 185bhp from today's reality. Either way, it's a testament to the car that I'm even thinking about serious work.

This ain't the winter tyre thread but I also had a couple of days of fun with my Nokians last winter, and they'll be on again as soon as it gets cold. Who would have thought that an Alfa would be one of the only cars on the road not stuck or bimbling perilously at 5mph? It behaved immaculately in the untreated rural roads of Hampshire and many fun times were had.

Well, long may it continue. See you at 200k? Or in my 4C if it ever goes a bit too well over on the Share Tips thread.

Edit: I still keep my PH costs blog up to date if anyone is interested in the detail, here.

Edited by trashbat on Tuesday 22 October 22:31

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kapiteinlangzaam said:

I think if I wanted/had to go back to shedding, a 20V JTD 156 SW facelift would be right at the top of the list.

The 156 is aging so very well indeed

It was you with the 'YOU CAN IMAGINE' thread, right? Ace.

I do think the facelift is ageing much less rapidly than its contemporaries. It's a shame that it didn't evolve properly into the 159 and then keep going from there.

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AlfaManc said:

Lovely car. Although I own a 159, I still think the 156 edges it in terms of looks. It is just so pretty. The deep blue really suits the car. I never really fathomed why some people never rated the facelift. In Ti guise, with those alloys, it has aged superbly and holds its own against anything out there.

It's good to read a positive write up about an Alfa. It's uncanny how they get under your skin. I had to smile when I read "I pull a stupid giggly face every time I walk away from it & look back, which is every single time". I keep on telling my wife it's not just me ! I hope you continue to enjoy it for many more years.

Thanks! I can extract big waves out of other 156 drivers so it can't just be us.

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Time for another little update.

So, at 107,500 miles exactly, it broke down for the first time (in my few years with it, anyway) a few weeks back. The alternator gave up the ghost, which led to the question ' how far can you drive without one', and the answer being - with a liberal application of Rainaway and a heavy right foot - at least 40 miles.

The alternator is buried deep in the engine bay and access involves dismantling the engine. This and the impending cambelt were the final straws that pushed me into Stupid Plan #1, rebuilding the engine. A perfectly working engine. Well why not, since you save about three hours labour?

There is reason to this, but that can wait. Here's an engine, or at least the head - didn't do rings as it's not burning oil and the bores are OK.







Now I might have said this in this thread before, but the JTS loves smothering itself in carbon build up. It can't get enough of the stuff. That's early and for all I know current direct injection engines for you. Wonderful.

Well happy days, because here's afterwards:









What else? Well the injectors were also refurbed, except it's only been 40k miles since they went wrong, with use of injector cleaner in between, and they were fine. Since they typically go properly wrong every 50k-70k, using cleaner might be a bit of good advice to fellow owners, or it might be useless. As well as that, the aux belt tensioner was knackered, the flexipipe in the exhaust was knackered, and obviously the alternator got fixed (twas the voltage regulator).

Now I have to run it in sub-4k revs for a little bit, so can't be sure of the benefits straight away, AND my expectations are a bit skewed by having been driving about in the 2.4JTD version of the same for three weeks (more on that later), AND I was driving about in a noisy car before because of my failing exhaust.

The first thing: as Bjork once put it, IT'S OH SO QUIET. I can barely believe how quiet it is. It's also smoother, and I believe has better low down torque with less of a flat spot. As soon as Southways let me, I'm going to get it dyno'd again, and hopefully the results will be a bit nicer than this slightly lumpy thing from a while back. We shall see.

What was the point of all that? Well, once this fairly large bill is out of the way and some more money cobbled together, I'm going to engage in Stupid Plan #2: off to see Alfatune oop north and get a new exhaust - Supersprint manifold, sports cat and full stainless system - and a remap. The aim isn't really about power per se, but that might see 180+bhp from something last known to be burping out a rather weak 145. And who knows, it might be noisier again

I mentioned the 2.4JTD which was my loan car, an older internally updated Lusso, which was interesting to drive, having never really had a diesel other than brief loan cars. I did about 600 miles in it. It's a nice enough engine, with the obvious diesel benefits, but to my ears at least, it also has a ridiculous (good) sound when sufficiently revved. On the other hand, it's not as smooth, and noticeably nose-heavy thus handles quite differently. All in all, I can appreciate it, and would now happily own one, which surprises me. However coming back to petrol is a refreshing change and I don't regret my choice. Also am I the only person who machine polishes a loan car and brings it back with the airbag light fixed? I hope so.

Finally, all of the above work so far has been done by Laurence at Autolusso Bournemouth, who has been excellent to me and my car both on this occasion and many in the past. Very much recommended.

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So, this turned up today:





So pretty!

What better way to say 'it's Christmas' than with the traditional gift - erm, to yourself - of a stainless steel exhaust manifold?

This, the rest of the exhaust, and a remap on the way before the holiday. If I can bear to part with its shiny company, that is.

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I'm going to become the Liquid Knight of Alfas