Are Alfa Romeos really unreliable?

motorguy

almillar wrote: »

I'm sure there will be 156s cheaper with higher specs, but that's for a reason...

I think its for the same reason than mondeos can be bought cheaper than a focus, vectra than an astra, etc - there are more buyers for a hatchback than a saloon car.

I'd no particular issues with the 156's i had. Nothing to make me think they should be avoided.

LL_Cool_Dave

I wanted something different whilst I could. Only previous car was a Focus LX 1.6 so bought my 2005 Alfa 156 1.9 JTDM in Oct 2011 with 89k on the clock for £2.5k. Now it's on 110k miles.

Since that time I've had to replace/repair the

Thermostat
Turbo pipe
Intercooler pipe
Wishbones and bushes
Drop links
Handbrake Cables

And now it's in need of new power steering pipes as it's developed a leak, Right wishbone needs doing again and I think the starter motor needs replacing as it has problems starting sometimes (could be the connections to the battery, am checking tonight). Cam belt needs doing soon and it's not a cheap job. The car came with Full service History and all the jobs listed above are quite common from what i've read on Alfaowner.com

I'm at the stage where I'm probably going to stop spending money on it and go for something a bit more sensible (new born on the way). That said, it seems that every car has it's problems and you pay through the nose either way (expensive car = lower maintainence vs cheap car = High Maintainence)


All said, they are great to drive (I was reminded this after having driven my sister in laws 2011 Clio), are powerful, look great, relatively cheap to insure and good on fuel. People notice it as well.

Main problems are is that they're not the easiest cars to work on and the Alfa specialists will charge a premium and generally insist on using official parts. Minor stuff like it going through bulbs and suspension like nobodies business really grates. The standard Blaupunkt stereos are awful as well.

Not the car to get if you want to be a money saving expert.

The 159 is supposed to be an improvement on reliability, need less servicing and they also have chain driven engines so if it's in your budget, I'd take a look at the 159

cardinalbiggles

They are no more unreliable than any other cars and the so called "mechanics" who wont touch them need to stop living in the past.

The newer ones are all Fiat engines which are extremely reliable.

I remember a few years back going to look at a new Saab with the Fiat 1.9JTD engine and pointing this out to the salesman who then told me I was wrong and it was an Alfa engine.... really, cos I thought FPT made them all. The MiTos are basically Fiat Puntos and they use the same buttons on the dash.

If I was buying an Alfa now (after owning many Fiats) I would have no hesitation, but I would have to accept depreciation would be high.

For the comment about them being no Audi or BMW having been subjected to having to sit in an A4 I would say that it is no bad thing!

londonTiger

they're not all that great or special, theyre just like your regular cars. if you want to look different go for them, partys will be expensive because theyre not common cars

motorguy

LL_Cool_Dave wrote: »

Since that time I've had to replace/repair the

Thermostat
Turbo pipe
Intercooler pipe
Wishbones and bushes
Drop links
Handbrake Cables

Sounds fairly typical for any 8 year old diesel car with 100K miles.

motorguy

londonTiger wrote: »

they're not all that great or special, theyre just like your regular cars. if you want to look different go for them, partys will be expensive because theyre not common cars

Unless you go for the v6 variants, no they're not really.

Ionkontrol

Owners forums are a good place to start.

http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-159-brera-and-946-spider/71531-brera-reliability-round-up.html

Tilt

Retrogamer wrote: »

From my limited experience they feel like a luxary Fiat. Built quality is still a bit shoddy considering the price they are and reliability is still an issue.

I used to work as an apprentice mechanic and the general concencus amoungst the qualified mechanics was to avoid them. Unreliable.

Recently bought a car and when i was chatting to the dealer (well established family business) he said he won't sell Alphas due to the reliability issues and puts them to auction instead.

My friend had an estate (can't remember model number) with the 1.9 TDI JDM (IIRC) lump in it. Engine wasn't too bad to be honest but he had other issue like the leather trim peeling away from the doors (2002 model with 39k and FSH), the plastic that supports the gear linkage shattered and the gearstick more or less came away in his hand. Various warning lights on the dashboard comming on and power steering system had some leaks.

Every car has it's faults i guess, but for the price of an Alfa, i'd rather pick something else

If your'e going to slate Alfa's off with your "limited experience" and expect your comments to have any credibility, may I suggest you learn how to spell the marque correctly first?

And yes, Alfa's are a luxury version of Fiat just the same as Lexus is of Toyota. They are widely considered to be a true driver's car and have had their share of build issues up to the mid 1990's.

Unlike people with "limited experience" of the Italian car market, I have personally owned 13 Fiats (which has been FAR from an unlucky experience) and have worked in an Fiat/Alfa main dealership during the 1990's when Fiats actually had a better reputation than Alfas. In 1996 a new boss took over the Fiat group and the investment began in earnest to turn Alfa around. The 155 was replaced with the 156 and so on. Since then reliability has vastly improved and the range of cars have been very exciting indeed with the likes of the Brera, Spider and 159.

I myself have just bought an 07 plate JTS 3.2 Q4 version of the 159 and took it to Norfolk and back (460 mile round trip). I can only describe the experience with this;

ILW

My Missus has had a 2 litre 147 for a few years now, it was pretty cheap and really is nice (if not that relaxing) to drive. Cannot quite figure out why it gets through so much oil though.

Tilt

ILW wrote: »

My Missus has had a 2 litre 147 for a few years now, it was pretty cheap and really is nice (if not that relaxing) to drive. Cannot quite figure out why it gets through so much oil though.

Alfa engines are designed to burn oil. The cylinders have microscopic groves to enable the oil to pass up and down the pistons under high pressure enabling the engine to achieve added performance.

The downside is that the oil actually burns thus increases consumption and as such the level must be checked and maintained regularly in accordance with the owner's manual.