I fancy an Alfa

Tilt

Now before anyone contributes who dosn't have actual experience, let me tell you that I am a through and through Italian car fan. I have owned 13 Fiats and have nothing but praise for the marque. Also, I have worked in a Fiat/Alfa dealership in the mid 90's where (surprisingly enough), we had more Alfa issues than Fiat.

But time have changed and I am looking at the possibility of buying either a decent 159, Brera, GT or Mito.

If anyone out there owns or has owned one of these, please can you let me know what you think.

TradePro

I say go for it, though you do seem to be concentrating on the brand more than your needs - a Mito and 159 are not usually compared...

Tilt

Reason I say Mito is because it is a current model. But I do like the styling of the 159/Brera and also the potential toys and performance. But if a Mito comes along at the right price/spec/mileage then I wouldn't cross it off the list.

Joe_Horner

Here you go....






Oh, not that sort of Alfa! :P

fivetide

I was also tempted by the Brera. Chap I know has the Prodrive version and by all accounts, if you want a car that handles like it looks, that's the one to go for.

Isn't the Mito on the Punto chassis so might be easy enough to look after if you know Fiat??

Tilt

i'm not sure my budget will stretch to the Prodrive version (Brera S) which are very rare. But I am aware that that is the the real deal (as you correctly say). The one down from that is the 3.2 litre V6 Q4 version which looks tasty. There are a few of those around but I would want to know the cam belt history if it was +50k mileage.

And yes, the Mito dose share the Punto platform which is another reason why I won't discount one. I would want a decent spec though so again, it comes down to mileage, price and age.

vaio

Tilt wrote: »

i'm not sure my budget will stretch to the Prodrive version (Brera S) which are very rare. But I am aware that that is the the real deal (as you correctly say). The one down from that is the 3.2 litre V6 Q4 version which looks tasty. There are a few of those around but I would want to know the cam belt history if it was +50k mileage...........

the V6 is chain driven rather than belt, I think it's a GM sourced engine rather then the classic Alfa V6 with the chrome inlet runners

Coincidentally I've been looking at one to replace my OHs GTV so had a word with Jamie at Alfa Workshop, his view is they are pretty good "bomb proof" with no real problems reported although they are starting to get a few in for timing chain issues at 100k+ miles. If the chain does need doing you are looking at grand up depending on what needs doing. His web site has lots of useful info together with a buyers guide.

They do seem a lot of car for the money, 06 plated 80k miles 3.2l V6 with four wheel drive and all the toys just gone on ebay for under £4k from a dealer. Not perfect but still a lot of car for £4k

DKLS

Tilt wrote: »

Now before anyone contributes who dosn't have actual experience, let me tell you that I am a through and through Italian car fan. I have owned 13 Fiats and have nothing but praise for the marque. Also, I have worked in a Fiat/Alfa dealership in the mid 90's where (surprisingly enough), we had more Alfa issues than Fiat.

But time have changed and I am looking at the possibility of buying either a decent 159, Brera, GT or Mito.

If anyone out there owns or has owned one of these, please can you let me know what you think.

Please award yourself some extra Man points.

jase1

The newer Alfas (Mito) are nothing more than Fiats in drag -- "Small Audi Syndrome".

So, if you like Fiats, you have your answer. See Chrysler for more of the same.

GolfBravo

vaio wrote: »

the V6 is chain driven rather than belt, I think it's a GM sourced engine rather then the classic Alfa V6 with the chrome inlet runners

It is a GM Holden HFV6 (high feature v6) engine, quite bullet proof, except for timing chain issue: for about 9 months they were making them with 7.7 mm pitch timing chain instead of 9.5 mm.

There was an issue with the timing chain manufacturing process that caused, in a small number of engines, the chain links to be outside design specifications, which over time, may result in chain elongation.
The degree of chain elongation will depend on the number of affected links and the drive cycle of the engine during its life. Typical expectation is that ECM detectable chain elongation would only occur in early engine life. i.e. 10,000km to 20,000km.
...
This condition, in isolated cases, only affects the 7.7 mm pitch timing chain
...
The 9.525 mm pitch timing chain installed in earlier HFV6 engines is not affected. The customer will only notice an engine warning light in the Instrument Panel. This timing chain elongation condition does not cause any obvious driveability concerns or any abnormal engine noises.

So you would expect an older car to have this issue resolved by now.

PS
The issue was identified during durability testing at Holden before any customers were actually affected. Not sure how Alfa dealt with this issue though.

Prothet_of_Doom

155 is about the only alfa I'd look at.