Following on from my Honda HRV thread... where that heads a short shortlist for a temp (3mths or so) vehicle between new cars...
Searching the cheap end of the used market I keep being tempted to investigate Alfas.
Like this 147 in Autotrader tinyurl.com/bruxhsc
or this one tinyurl.com/cvsgkjv
For stupidly low prices they are often in tidy condition with lovely leather interiors.
The 156 is a possibility too.
Anyone on here run a late 90s-on Alfa?
|
|
Temporary it will be, cheap it wont be.
|
Happy to spend/lose up to £750 max over 3mths but that must include depreciation, VED, repairs & tyres etc. Might be possible even with an Alfa.
Example of a 156 on Autotrader tinyurl.com/cntbxg2
Last edited by: Fenlander on Tue 27 Nov 12 at 11:16
|
|
I know they wear badly, but the worn wood finish to the plastic gear knob suggests more than 58,000 miles to me.
|
Alfas are capable of starship mileages with minimal problems. I have known a few that have done exactly that.
The problem is, at best it's only every other Alfa. Some say it's one in three.
The V6 petrol engine is said to be more reliable than the four cylinder petrol or the diesel.
|
I run a 2004 156 GTA with now 126,000 miles on it. I have had it since it was an ex Fiat manager car (with 5k miles on it).
It has never broken down, it has never had electrical issues, it has been excellent. I still have the car as there is nothing out now that I would want to replace it with.
As for a cheap temporary car, its no more or less risky than any other as long as you do your homework. The most important thing on the twinsparks is the cambelt change, which although book says 72k miles, it was later changed to 36k. Once that is done then that is a major risk taken away.
Diesel wise the common 1.9Multijet is reliable. Early versions suffered from gunged up EGR valves but a modified one solved that issue. Very high milers have been known to need new DMFs, though that affects every modern diesel AFAIK.
(Our other car is a 2007 Fiat Bravo with that 1.9 Fiat group diesel and has covered 146k miles now, had the DMF done at 135k miles) Apart from that it has been great
|
My daughter had a 147 1.6 litre like that. It was a nice car, nippier than mine, with lots of torque, and just as thirsty. Its big fault was an engine problem, either bad rings/valve seals or an oil leak - it was very hard to tell - and the dog had mauled the interior trim in the boot and bitten through the wires to one of the rear lamp clusters. My daughter crashed it too, a white van controversy in a narrow place, but it was still going when she got rid of it.
Subject to hands-on assessment, judging by your figures Fenlander I wouldn't hesitate. Alfas aren't as classy as they used to be but they've still got that brio. No reason why it should turn out expensive either. Of course any car can spring a nasty surprise on you.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Tue 27 Nov 12 at 14:44
|
|
There was an article on doing this very thing in Autocar this week ! I reckon at that level any car can be a money pit, you may as well get a potential money pit with soul though...so you can get a real love/hate relationship going.
|
|
Early 156s with the 2.5 V6 are well under a grand now. Very tempting, just as a way to own one of the finest road car engines of all time, if nothing else.
Last edited by: DP on Tue 27 Nov 12 at 16:26
|
|
You may remember my brief flirt with one back in September 08 - saw one for sale at the side of the road in the Lakes.......V6 - Cream Momo leather..... :-0
|
Don't see why an Alfa should be any more unreliable than any other modern car.
Possibly owned by enthusiastic younger at heart if not years drivers, so checking for evidence of competent previous servcing and in depth vehicle inspecting might arguably be more important than on a Corolla.
Not a lover of the 147 TBH, but i've always found the 156's very attractive.
|
>> Don't see why an Alfa should be any more unreliable than any other modern car.
>>
Which? gives the 147 36% and rates it a "Don't Buy".
The 156 get 37% and is also a "Don't Buy".
Last edited by: Duncan on Tue 27 Nov 12 at 17:54
|
|
Which ain't got no soul at all !
|
Thanks for the real life experiences PR and AC.
The link to Alfaworkshop gave a very honest idea of what to expect too, thanks corax.
The oil consumption issue is probably the biggest worry to me. Happy to top up as required given my current low mileage but worry past owners would not have done so leading to the engine running constantly low on oil which isn't good.
I'll keep them on the shortlist but with a caution note attached.
BTW Humph mentioned a while ago a friend who drives new prestige cars all day for work so himself is content to own a basic Fabia. I have a contact who is a prestige car specialist with the choice of £10k-£50k vehicles at his disposal yet has always arrived at ours in his £1200 Alfa 156 diesel with a stunning leather interior.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Wed 28 Nov 12 at 09:22
|
I see it's possible to buy 156s for a few hundred pounds. A carefully chosen one can't be too much of a risk surely? Especially if thought of as more or less disposable if required.
For example, and I've no idea whether this one is any good or not but, there's a 2002 one with a 2.0 petrol engine and 49k miles on AT this morning for £290.
People pay more than that for bike racks !
|
|
Drive it to a scrappy and get most of your money back if it goes wrong.
|
I feel a TG type challenge coming on ! Boxing Day meet with the best Alfa you can find under a monkey sort of thing?
:-)
|
That one at £290 has a duff gearbox Humph but at a more realistic £700 is this on Autotrader.. tinyurl.com/d4uxkec
Has to be worth the money for that red leather interior alone... great to sit in while waiting for the RAC.
|
People pay more than that for bike racks!
Touché
}:---)
|
Why risk £750 or more. My Mazda is for sale and is perfectly runnable up to mid Jan (MOT due then) needing no tyres or replacement parts and then you can still weigh it in for £100-£150.
Will take offers in the £200's range.
Last edited by: nice but dim on Wed 28 Nov 12 at 09:38
|
This one.
tinyurl.com/d9t5rrf
Comes with "that" engine, a load of bills and receipts, and a long ticket for £695. Before haggling. :-D
If I had somewhere to put it, I would be seriously interested.
|
Wonder how much it'd cost to get that "wrapped" matt black? Not that I'd seriously...no of course not...be silly wouldn't it...
:-)
|
I too like that one DP, right age too that it couldn't be caught out should dick turpin decide to claw back some free dosh from high emission cars, ie those regd between 01 to 06 which would otherwise be in £470 VED catchment.
Don't mind the present colour either, get that interior cleaned up and the floor dried out would make that something quite special.
All it needed was RW or 4WD.
|
>>This one.
>>tinyurl.com/d9t5rrf
>>Comes with "that" engine, a load of bills and receipts
And is 2,000 miles overdue a cambelt?
|
>> And is 2,000 miles overdue a cambelt?
If it were a four pot, yes. Alfa reduced the interval to 36k for the Twin Spark engines after a raft of premature failures.
The V6 belt setup is more robust, and the official interval remains at 72k, although most specialists recommend 60k to be on the safe side.
|
>> This one.
>>
>> tinyurl.com/d9t5rrf
According to the AT 'Performance & Economy' tab it's only got 4 cylinders and 16v - perhaps that's why it's so cheap :)
|
Fenlander, that red one is a Turismo (= poverty spec) though IIRC its not too bad. The best ones to go for are Veloce or Lusso (sport or luxury).
That blue one is a V6
|
>> This one.
>>
>> tinyurl.com/d9t5rrf
>>
>> Comes with "that" engine, a load of bills
And loads more to come, I'll wager!
|
>> >> Comes with "that" engine, a load of bills
>>
>> And loads more to come, I'll wager!
>>
Minimal risk for £600 though. It's worth that to break if the worst happens. Plus the Alfa V6 is fundamentally a tough, reliable engine and assuming the MOT wasn't bent, this example should be fundamentally roadworthy.
Most of the 156s issues tend to be niggling faults with trim falling off, and electrical accessories packing up. In other words, not remotely of concern on a £600 car.
|
>> Its big fault was an engine problem, either bad rings/valve seals or an oil leak
>> - it was very hard to tell
At the time they were hugely popular as fleet cars at the place I work as Alfas were doing some very low fleet deals and you got a lot of car for your budget.
This led to a total ban on Alfas in the company, as more than half of the things blew the bottom end of the engine within the lease period.
Heavy oil use is the first sign it's on the way out.
Last edited by: TeeCee on Wed 28 Nov 12 at 13:52
|
|
I'm waiting for Breras to become bargain basement options. That should coincide with me being old and disgraceful and as such would seem to be a potential marriage made in heaven !
|
>> I'm waiting for Breras to become bargain basement options.
Autotrader has them from £5,950. Is that cheap enough for you?
|
No, not nearly, I'm talking hundreds here ! ( and anyway I'm not old enough yet ) I need to be into my sympathy gaining years before it's going to add up to the right package. You know, "silly old burgher, but he's still got a bit of spirit eh? " type thing. Might be a Golf GTi though...
:-)
|
|
Perhaps Primark might consider one as your next company car?
|
Don't start down that road again !
:-)
|
Never been a massive Alfa fan, but we get a discount on them through work.
Local dealer bought some in for us to poke about, and I was quite taken with the Giulietta. Pretty thing, and very nice to sit in. Alas, the discounts being offered are not big enough to tempt me into a new one
|
|
I fancy the Giulietta too, although after my experience of a friend's 159 I'm not convinced I'll fit inside. Alfas and I may, sadly, be fundamentally incompatible.
|
>> I fancy the Giulietta too, although after my experience of a friend's 159 I'm not
>> convinced I'll fit inside. Alfas and I may, sadly, be fundamentally incompatible.
>>
I'm 6'2" and found it OK to sit in and get comfortable
|
Well, you would, wouldn't you?
};---)
Seriously, you're in the M&S 80, the central band of the bell curve that clothes, beds, doorways and cars are designed to fit. Here above the 98th, Lygonos and I have to mind our heads.
Won't stop me having a go at a Giulietta, though.
|
>> I fancy the Giulietta too, although after my experience of a friend's 159 I'm not
>> convinced I'll fit inside. Alfas and I may, sadly, be fundamentally incompatible.
>>
I am 6'6" and have just chopped my 07 Bravo Multijet 150 for a 61 Giulietta Lusso with the 140 bhp 2.0 diesel. Plenty of room in it, and my commute these days is a 140-mile round trip (Arun Valley to Reading, cross-country), so any potential for discomfort would become apparent rapidly.
Always wanted an Alfa, and now I've got one. Lovely lovely motor it is too. Genuine (brim-to-brim measured) 51 mpg (vs Bravo's 46 on same journey) is most welcome, as is £30 a year road tax. Every toy I could want, too.
|
I am 6'6" and have just [bought] a 61 Giulietta Lusso with the 140 bhp 2.0 diesel.
Now that's more like the endorsement I was looking for, Paul! No budget just now, of course, but if and when we tire of medium-sized non-routine bills to keep the S60 going (latest will be a gearbox mount and some minor rear suspension bits - about £350) then it'll be something Golf-sized we look for, and a basic Giulietta could be more fun than a basic Golf.
|
-
>> about £350) then it'll be something Golf-sized we look for, and a basic Giulietta could
>> be more fun than a basic Golf.
Yea should be fun, after all you would rarely see that gawgy gaping gormless looking front end.
|
Only when I look in a mirror, Z - and I've banned those from our house.
}8---&
|
|
Back at the end of the last century (!!) I worked for Xerox, and Alfas were fantastic 'value' on the car scheme there too. I had the ubiquitous Audi A4 TDI Avant, but plenty chose the Alfa two litre twin spark selespeed (sp?), which had the most wonderful leather interiors - red or tan looked particularly special IIRC. No idea how they held up long term - there were none older than 18 months when left, but I don't remember large numbers of failures up 'till then!!
|
"I'm 6'2" and found it OK to sit in and get comfortable."
It doesn't matter how tall or short you are - there's still nowhere to put your left foot when it's off the clutch in a manual Giulietta.
I've known plenty of colleagues with Alfas - although not many recently: as said above, every other one was a good one. For me at least, life's too short to have a car which alternately delights and infuriates you.
|
>> "I'm 6'2" and found it OK to sit in and get comfortable."
>>
>> It doesn't matter how tall or short you are - there's still nowhere to put
>> your left foot when it's off the clutch in a manual Giulietta.
>>
>> I've known plenty of colleagues with Alfas - although not many recently: as said above,
>> every other one was a good one. For me at least, life's too short to
>> have a car which alternately delights and infuriates you.
>>
The one I sat in had a beautiful aluminium foot rest next to the clutch. Cant say if there was enough room for my size 11's as I didn't spend long sat in it though
|
|
If that was a new Giulietta then Alfa must have responded to criticism and had a redesign in that area. Good news. Lack of a footrest for the left foot sounds trivial but it can make a difference on a long journey, and I wouldn't have a car without one.
|
Was the one you sat in a TCT (double clutch automatic)? These will have a large footrest. The manual doesnt.
Talking of footrests, mine has a large footrest and the Bravo doesn't. I thought this was going to be a big issue, but after driving it for a few hours I got used to it. Now after long journeys in it I dont even notice....
Last edited by: PR on Fri 30 Nov 12 at 07:21
|
|
Never found the lack of a foot rest to be a problem on a long journey. You don.t stick your spare foot in one place for two hours anyway.
|
But you've got a buzzy little petrol engine that makes you change down to accelerate on a motorway. A nice torquey diesel engine (without a superfluous sixth gear) lets the left foot stay put across whole counties.
Part of my process of falling out of love with the V70 was finding that Volvo had omitted the footrest from manual RHD (but not, I understand, LHD) versions. It's not just the footrest; I want space around the pedal so I can get my foot up and on to it quickly and comfortably. With big European cars increasingly designed with two pedals first - and primarily for LHD - I suspect it's only going to get harder to find comfortable RHD manuals.
|
>> But you've got a buzzy little petrol engine that makes you change down to accelerate
>> on a motorway. A nice torquey diesel engine (without a superfluous sixth gear) lets the
>> left foot stay put across whole counties.
Did 1000 miles to Italy and back in a big torquey diesel, and my left foot didn't stay anchored to the footrest. Take your point about space, but my left foot is rarely extended behind the clutch pedal even without a foot rest.
Dont need to change down to accelerate on the motorway either, as I don't have a superfluous 6th gear.
|
Apologies for coming late to the thread; a work colleague of mine ran a couple of late 90s 156s in succession in bangenomics mode to decent mileages (nearly 200k) with very little going wrong. I recall getting a lift in one of them when it had about 180K on the clock and it was like new inside.
However, in more recent times he's been running a Brera and that needed a new engine the other week!
|
Been talking over cars with Mrs F today and I find it hard to explain the Alfa worries.... i.e. are the concerns real... and if they are why would I consider/risk one.
But when I showed her £1000 buys you a 100k 2001 Corsa 1.2.... or a 100k 2001 Alfa 156 with a stunning leather interior... it's still tempting to keep them on the shortlist.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Sun 2 Dec 12 at 14:26
|
And this is the Alfa she has shortlisted...
tinyurl.com/d6386k5
|
It looks a tidy example. I notice it has the updated interior, with the infocentre on top of the dash (the first generation ones didnt have this)
It is the JTS one (Jet thrust Stoichiometric) and has around 15BHP more that the equivalent TS one.
|
|
It also has the updated steering wheel (the same as on my GTA infact)
|
|
Very nice Fenlander. I'd be tempted, given the perameters you have set for this particular project.
|
And this is a realy cheapy I liked the look of...
tinyurl.com/bmbelug
Albeit at the type of dealer I don't like. Cambelt just done jumps out at you... but at 36k intervals only another 12k to go... that'll make over a year at current mileage though.
|
Blue one has 165bhp. That one has 120bhp. Erm, if yer gonna have an Alfa...
:-)
|
That one has the old style interior aswell (notice the steering wheel, the heater controls and the lack of infocentre).
The 1.6 is a revvy little engine, though not much torque. Out of the 2 I would go for the JTS...
|
|
Actually I'd prefer a Sportwagen... that one looks worth investigating.... Rugby is a do-able distance too.
|
|
Looks great. Watch the cam-belt mind. I worry about cam-belts...
|
>> And this is the Alfa she has shortlisted...
>>
>> tinyurl.com/d6386k5
>>
Pics look like they've been taken at the top car park where we walk our hound, about a mile from our gaff, nth Kettering.
Don't recognise car but i like it.
Assuming it is local to us, if you want to put car on our drive and lift it up with the trolley jack during test drive for a good butchers underneath by my guest.
|
|
That's good of you gb. Busy tomorrow, will view the Rover 75 on Tues and perhaps concentrate on the Alfa idea at the end of the week.
|
If you're serious about a 159 make sure you get your knees dirty and have a good route around underneath.
Some didn't get the attention to the floor pan and around the front subframe that you might expect.
Beautiful looking car, almost chopped the S60 for one until I started reading up on them.
|
BTW must thank corax for the link to this Alfa Specialist... www.alfaworkshop.co.uk/alfa_156_buyers.shtml
Not only are they generous enough to share a lot of information to help DIY but they do fixed price services, timing belts and other repairs.... plus selling all the commonly needed spares both pattern and OE. An easy run for me so that's a plus.
That site has taught me a huge amount about them. Going to see another tomorrow to see if I can get more comfortable in it than the last one I looked at.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Wed 5 Dec 12 at 20:51
|
I had a 2002 2.4jtd Sportwagon for 3 years and LOVED it. I miss it a lot and regret not replacing it with a 159.
Apart from front suspension niggles (a common problem with the 2.4) and having to replace DMF it was problem free.
I loved that car.
|
>> Apart from front suspension niggles (a common problem with the 2.4) and having to replace
>> DMF it was problem free.
Huh? Apart from being troublesome it was trouble free?
|
Yep.
It's an Alfa. It's going to have niggles. If it is a Mitsubishi then those niggles would be troublesome. It's an Alfa so therefore they are just niggles.
You wouldn't understand.
|
>2002 2.4jtd
That engine seems a superb choice in the 156 but I'd decided to look at petrols to avoid a cheap car suddenly a needing a DMF/Clutch which would effectively scrap it. They do at least have a longer timing belt interval though.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Wed 5 Dec 12 at 22:22
|
|
Clutch/DMF in mine was £600 fitted. Bought the parts from Euro Carparts and went to a garage I normally use.
|
A DMF adds 200 odd quid to the cost of a clutch change on many cars. While it's far from ideal, it really isn't the end of the world.
A complete Sachs kit for the Golf was 300 quid.
Last edited by: DP on Thu 6 Dec 12 at 07:52
|
>> A DMF adds 200 odd quid to the cost of a clutch change on many
>> cars. While it's far from ideal, it really isn't the end of the world.
Except of course when the clutch is fine and the only reason its out is to change the DmF
|
>> >> A DMF adds 200 odd quid to the cost of a clutch change on
>> many
>> >> cars. While it's far from ideal, it really isn't the end of the world.
>>
>>
>> Except of course when the clutch is fine and the only reason its out is
>> to change the DmF
>>
Of course but that's not happened to me. Mine was the original at 120k and was shot, but the clutch was also slipping.
When the clutch failed on the Scenic at 60k, the DMF was still perfect and was reused.
I don't deny people have bad experiences but I haven't had them, and neither have the dozen or so owners of other DMF equipped cars I know. A lot of the problem is hysteria blown up from a handful of bad experiences posted on the internet. The same mindset that insists all common rail diesels are almost guaranteed to explode in a cloud of burning £50 notes . Some do, but the vast majority don't.
Last edited by: DP on Thu 6 Dec 12 at 08:08
|
Oh well indecision ended. £200 deposit paid on the vehicle of choice.
Didn't have to trawl through the Autotrader back street garage dross any more as by chance a contact gave me the nod of a private one in the local ads.
2003 2.4JTD Veloce saloon. Not leather seats but ticked all the other boxes. Nice guy in a smart house who'd owned/cherished it for 6yrs... and only changed because he found a nice 159.
I went to view worried over the three biggest common issues... Timing belt/water pump age, DMF/clutch condition & front suspension wishbone play/noise.
Amazingly the guy produced receipts to show the car had been run regardless of cost as if a much newer car and all those things had been done in the recent past by a local Alfa specialist.
Needs 2 tyres min but will probably fit 4. MOT only a few months so the very first thing before I spend any money is to get it in for one next week. After that it can have a service, valet and tyres.
It has the Bose sound system too.
Low but fair price given the need for an all filters service and tyres.
|
|
Well done Fenlander. I confess to a bit of envy. I hope it lives up to expectations.
|
|
Sounds great. Surprised that a Veloce has cloth seats though.
|
>> Oh well indecision ended. £200 deposit paid on the vehicle of choice.
Sounds like a good buy Fenlander. These cars need a bit of looking after, and it sounds like the guy has done just that. Just out of interest I'll post another link from Pistonheads - there was a discussion on this car only a few days ago.
tinyurl.com/d3xnkhh
Love to hear a mini report in due course :)
|
Good lad, you will enjoy it!
Get yourself over to alfaowner.com there is a great and active forum on there...
|
Thanks for the verbal thumbs up (so far) guys.
Hope to collect Sat and drive home carefully but after an oil/filter change and quick look over then a quick blast round I'll post some thoughts and a bit more detail.
No expert on the trim levels Dieselboy but despite seeing most of them with leather there are a few Veloce models on Autotrader with cloth. My interior and seats are the same style/colour as this car with the slightly red centre panels.
|
>> quick blast
Don't be too quick to redline it will you? Listen to it for a long time when it's hot before trying that. I would anyway, whatever its pedigree.
|
Well played FL, nice car and bit of reasonably economical muscle to enjoy and sounds nice if my memory serves, glad you found one that had some TLC.
Neither of us are great fans of leather in cars to be used daily in the UK climate, it looks nice so long as its in a decent colour but the cold shock to the bum and back even with good seat heaters we can both do without, good cloth not slippery either.
|
Quite agree re initial care AC. For something 9rs old you need a mental bedding in period to its character and any foibles that appear. I know the oil has been in 1000mls over schedule so that's a priority.
Anyway it's more of a torquey engine with max grunt at just 1800rpm. Interesting sound to it being a 5cyl. We had several of the petrol Audis with the 5cyl 20+yrs ago.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Thu 6 Dec 12 at 19:26
|
|
Glad you found a wagon with some character, now - it does not have much longer on this planet, so drive it like you stole it while it can still rock your socks.
|
>> For something 9rs old you need a mental bedding in period to its character and any foibles that appear. I know the oil has been in 1000mls over schedule so that's a priority.
You can say that again. I have a friend, a very good foreign hack actually and personable, who is hopeless with cars. At one point he had a high-mileage but bodily sound 5 cylinder Mercedes diesel. Solid motor, good for many miles driven prudently. However when he drove me round a few blocks to show it off he was pedal to the metal most of the time, and I could hear the damn bearings from the passenger seat. I said yeah, well, I wouldn't drive it like that if I were you man. Go gently, it'll last longer. Change the oil.
But he didn't. Three weeks later he got a dodgy short engine from that outfit down the A40 or was it A4, anyway dodgy. His rubbish bloke round the corner put it all together for him. Then that one went too. Perhaps there was a secondhand engine in there somewhere, I've blocked the whole thing out it was so traumatic.
When I was young I hammered the bejasus out of every car I owned or drove. And it cost me. I don't do it any more.
|
*** Forgot the link when posting this above...
No expert on the trim levels Dieselboy but despite seeing most of them with leather there are a few Veloce models on Autotrader with cloth. My interior and seats are the same style/colour as this car with the slightly red centre panels.
www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201211284433517
|
Blimey, Fenners! Yours doesn't have that thing on the boot as well, does it? Nothing needs that much character.
Looks like a fun choice all the same. Five-cylinder engines have character in a good way. Hope it works well for you.
Last edited by: WillDeBeest on Thu 6 Dec 12 at 21:38
|
Fair play, I thought they all had leather. Personally I think an Alfa without leather is just wrong, but that's IMHO.
When my clutch started slipping I managed to eek out another 13000 miles before changing. I probably goosed the DMF in that time, but hey-ho.
Enjoy it. I lurved mine.
Right, I'm off to look at 159s on AT.
|
>>>Personally I think an Alfa without leather is just wrong, but that's IMHO.
In principle I agree but this one is something of an experiment in bangernomics so cloth will do.
No it hasn't got that wing on the back WDB... I'd be thrown off the residents committee.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Thu 6 Dec 12 at 22:59
|
Lovely car. A degree of envy here too. :-)
Enjoy it. That 2.4 diesel is a peach.
|
Great stuff Fenlander, a little envy here also.
As it's a stop gap car, you couldn't see your way clear to advertising it on here when the time comes, could you?
;-)
|
>> Great stuff Fenlander, a little envy here also.
>>
>> As it's a stop gap car, you couldn't see your way clear to advertising it
>> on here when the time comes, could you?
Let's wait and see what it's like first :)
|
|
BTW, Fenlander, did you manage to get comfortable in this one? You said that in the other one you looked at, you couldn't. Was this one any different or are you just going to put up with it?
|
>>>As it's a stop gap car, you couldn't see your way clear to advertising it on here when the time comes, could you?
Let's not go over the top... it's only a £1000(ish) car which could have all sorts of issues I've yet to discover. The enthusiasm for this "project" is good to see though as this is a car forum after all and the clinical reliability of my C5 has provided little fodder for posting.
Not getting comfortable in the first one I sat in was probably much to do with it being wedged in between other cars so I could only just open the door, streaming with condensation inside on a freezing cold day and a totally flat battery so I couldn't start it or try anything. Add to that is had been superbly valeted and no-one had yet soiled the carpets or white paper temp floor mats. The whole thing was off-putting.
The one I've bought was still in daily use and hadn't been valeted so I felt more at ease stretching about with dirty shoes to push the seat into the right position and get the right recline. With it idling the heater soon gave out heat and with all the dials working it felt more friendly. Also on this one I found the steering wheel adjustment which helped.
I need to do a few miles to get a better impression but the seat is only 90% as comfortable as the C5 which I find superb. After all the cars I've had for the past ten years the Alfa position is a little different in that the steering wheel, even on the highest position, seems a bit down in you lap and far away.
As I understand it the 2003 Veloce has sports suspension, but only on 16" 55 series wheels/tyres thankfully, so it is a lot less cushy than the C5... but it's a very different car. I would never have bought one if we still lived deep in the fen as the 156, and 2.4 diesel in particular, has a reputation for catching the undertray/sump on hightly cambered narrow roads with bumps when pressing on... and speed cushions need care apparently.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Fri 7 Dec 12 at 10:55
|
I can confirm leather was an expensive (four figure) option on the Veloce. A friend of mine was looking at a new one in 2004, and that was the only extra he wanted to spec.
I seem to recall it was standard on the Lusso.
EDIT: Friend didn't go ahead when he looked at the 3yr old used values. That was all that put him off.
Last edited by: DP on Fri 7 Dec 12 at 11:18
|
Alfa Romeo - Cheap Alfa as temp car. Risky? - Zero
