i know that Alfa has been branded unreliable by most including the likes of the top gear crew, but they all say that you have never driven a car until
you've driven an alfa!
so whats the crack?
i really like the look of the 147 1.9 JTDM 16V diesel, its got 150 brake and looks great, but i don't want to to be sending it to alfa every
couple of months and opening up my wallet to them.
have all alfa's been tainted with the same brush, what are peoples thoughts on this, anyone drive a 147 diesel that can offer up an opinion,
i'll be commuting 100 miles a day soon (50 there,50 back) so i want a car thats going to be reliable as well as comfortable.
i've narrowed my choice down to two, the SEAT Leon FR 150 or the Alfa
Discuss. . . . . . . .
[Edited on 21/10/09 by omega0684]
I'd go for the seat any day over an alfa. Alfa's suffer from crap electrics. Plain and simple. A friend went against my advice and bought a 51 reg 147 2.0 TS after a few week it started cutting out while driving. He took it to alfa and they couldnt fix it. I like them they look great and are nice inside but nothing special to drive. There are some good ones out there but its just dropping on one. My money would be going to seat.
The Seat is probably the better car but you can't love it like you can love an Alfa
i'd say the seat is the better car, but i still wouldn't want one...
quote:
Originally posted by omega0684
they all say that you have never driven a car until you've driven an alfa!
so whats the crack?
[Edited on 21/10/09 by omega0684]
one of the girls in here had her Alfa taken away on a flatbed due to some engine management fault, so predictable
i really really like the 147, we would have bought one except we didn't find a nice one soon enough.
G/f got an Alfa.
(the exact model you're looking at I think).
Its great to drive with a good engine. The ergonomics are atrocious! I can't use the electric windows without jamming my elbow into my side! The
heater bit - she got 4 pages into the instructions before it said anything about how to get heat 
(but as its free diesel I'm prepared to overlook the silly italian design foibles)
I'll try and persuade her to come along 1st of the month and you can have a look (or just steal the car and you can look anyway).
I have a 147 JTD 1.9 16v M-jet, 140bhp spec. The version before they started bringing out the JTDm 150bhp types.
Omg, the loviest car in the world. I don't think I would want to not drive an Alfa from now on..
The only niggles I've had (car had 66k when I bought it) was the front ARB bushes needed changing. so far so good. ~think they were £35 off
ebay for the bushes and droplinks.
It flies and the fuel economy is amazing.
Parts are relatively cheap when you source them from ebay and the like..
I've had plenty of older Alfas [Suds and 33s] and reliability was always excellent.
Not sure about the new ones though.
Dont skimpt on things like fully-synthetic oil. The engine will last for ever if treated well.
With the high power JTD engines, things like the CV joints tend to wear on higher milage cars ~90k+
Untill you've had one you won't really get the "Every petrol head should own an Alfa once", and if you don't go for a quick
one then you might not even then.
I had a 156sportwagon 2.5 V6 24v. Brilliant sound and with 191bhp went like stink. I once had to get out of the way of a police VolvoT5 (he was
chasing a Merc) on the motorway; Dropped a gear and left the Volvo standing. I lost more £ on that car than all the other cars I've had put
together... but I would do it again. Was the most fun I had in a car untill I got the Fury.
Go for it, but find a good one. Once they start having problems the list seems to grow. Expect squeeks and rattles: Alfa wisdom runs "Who cares
as long as it looks good... just drown it with the engine sound!".
Fiats (and therefore Alfa) JTD's are good engines. They started the whole direct injection thing. Electrics aren't thier strong point,
though mine never had any electical problems.
adrian
get yourself a diesel audi
and for impartial reviews written by real & anonymous owners with no agenda, have a look at:
http://www.carsurvey.org/
I think the main problem is with the more unique models. My friends GTV 2l was so unrelaible, silly things, like the alternator cable comming loose.
Darren
quote:
Originally posted by paul the 6th
get yourself a diesel audi
buy one Alfa, buy one Premier Loom... blend the two together and you'll be in automotive heaven!!!
Italian car electrics + british climate = trouble
Ive run the 8v 147 diesel (new shape) because I couldnt afford to insure the 16v for 3 years and its a great car the only fault i have had is a new turbo pipe because it split. that was a recall anyway so no cash just dont take them any where near a main dealer for the service! as theyll want to butt rape you
Generally speaking Alfas have always been a bit cutting edge and styling wise have generally been better than the competition.
I was converted to Alfaholism 3 years ago (bought a 67 Guilia Sprint) and just cant imagine not having mine. Pics of mine are in my photo archive
under Alfa.
Most other modern machinery I see like "white goods". Nothing wrong with white goods but I cant get emotional about them like I can for my
Alfa or Fury.
- Jim
[Edited on 22/10/09 by jimgiblett]
Get the Seat, you know it makes sense....
Get the Alfa, If you buy the seat you'll spend your whole life wordering what it would have been like to have the alfa.
My uncle has had a few Alfas and they've not been any less reliable than most of his other cars, he's had much more reliability problems
with mazdas.
Alex
My new Alfa 147 let me down big style and repeatedly. Lucky for me I have a tolerant employer!! (Phone me for details - none of the problems my car
had would apply to the diesel youre looking at though)
I'll never have an Alfa Romeo again - at least not one to rely on. It was gorgeous though.
D
Hi,
Thought I'd add my tuppence-worth.
I ran a 1994 1.6l boxer 146 for five years. It was cheaper than the equivalent Escort at time of purchase.
I loved it but problems included
Leaky aerial seal resulting in disintegrating head lining.
Infrared alarm control was useless (especially in the rain)
Gearbox bearing wore out (I think the 'boxes in the 145/146 came from the Fiat Tipo)
Door locks needed regular greasing to keep them working.
clutch master cylinder needed replacing (wear and tear)
I think my '03 Focus is a much better car (though just had to replace the corroded sump!) but I loved the Alfa in a way i can't get attached
to the Focus.
Would I have another? I'm tempted by a Mito but could I ever risk it?
I'm sure the new ones are much better, but it was said on the release of the 156 that Alfa had turned a corner and that turned out to be untrue.
On the other hand, had a diesel-powered rental Seat for a week and hated it...
Anyhoo...
question -
nice car or reliable car you can depend upon to get to work?
g/f alfa is company car with less than 10k miles on it. It is reliable.
what age / mileage are you looking at?
I had a Leon FR170 on test when I was getting my last car, and though it wasn't very good - In fact I disliked it that much I went for a prius
instead!
I know what would have been paked on the drive if Alfas had been on the company list though.
I'd go for the Alfa any day of the week over the boring VAG option. VAG reliability isn't even that great.
.....I had a dally with a rather fit one a few months back.....Hoooooh!
Image deleted by owner
Apparently the newer ones are more reliable, made by the Germans.
You got to remember Alfa is the Fiat's "Special" range, kinda like Audi is to VW and Lexus is to Toyota
quote:
Originally posted by jimgiblett
I was converted to Alfaholism 3 years ago (bought a 67 Guilia Sprint) and just cant imagine not having mine. Pics of mine are in my photo archive under Alfa.
[Edited on 22/10/09 by jimgiblett]
The Mrs had a 147 that I had the misfortune of having to look after, horrible horrible thing. Looked pretty when it was parked up, which is fortunate
as that's what it spent the vast majority of it's time doing.
I don't know what the diesel engines are like but they can't be any worse than the petrol ones. Drink oil at about the same rate as they use
petrol (dealers and the muppets on the owners club forum think 1L per 500 miles is acceptable ), and if you even think about letting it get as low
as halfway between the high and low marks on the dipstick it will chew up it's chocolate big ends/mains. The low oil 'warning' on the
dash isn't a warning at all, warnings are supposed to happen before it becomes fatal. By the time it complains the engine is already a very large
paperweight.
The electrics fit the stereotype perfectly. The digital dash would spend most of it's time warning you of all the things it thought had failed
but actually hadn't (for now at least), usually phantom bulb failures. ABS/traction control system worked only when it felt like it. ECU died a
slow and horrible death, would stick itself into limp-home mode in protest at having to make any kind of foray out onto such scary things as 'the
road'.
Suspension bushes were knackered after 50k miles, and are integral to the wishbones meaning most of the front suspension needs replacing to stop it
clonking.
Scuttle drain channels are cunningly designed to fill with leaf litter and block, flooding the interior at the first sign of drizzle.
Still, you've got to have one at some point...
I'm kinda with Paul the 6th in that you're only going to get biased views and having owned an Alfa Spider, with BT in that the electrics are
troublesome, but not deadly.
I remember my Alfa days with fondness. The parts cost a bomb and the customer service was worse than 5hite but I honestly saw people pulled over for
looking at my car and not the road and it's so flattering. The noise it makes is fantastic but the money I lost out on it! It was like starting
on the car ladder all over again. Luckily I got a family loan but it was a great time. I wired a PC into mine with touch screen and had all my music
and videos on it.
I would never even look at a Seat. Just doesn't do it for me. Too much like a kids drawing and, not through personal experience only friends and
strangers, they tended to lack that VW reliability that's so boasted about.