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Ok, now I know 156's are unreliable. BUT. Look at them. At they're just £2,000! Can they really be THAT bad?
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£2,000 for a 156!
That is the deposit - the rest is collected in blood, sweat & tears + £££s to the garage over the coming months - I would have said years but you will have traded it by then.
Not a personal experience but that of a former colleague.
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blah blah blah
There isn't a question you could have asked on here without a more predictable answer.
Research your purchase properly, buy a well looked after car, and you'll have no more problems than with any other marque.
Buy a badly lookd after car and fail to check the oil regularly and yes, it may sting you.
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Checking oil regulary is an important point. These cars work their magic best when drinking a little bit of oil. As many people never bother to check their oil level (most non-car enthuthiasts I'd say), it's no surprise that problems are common on neglected cars.
Having said that, the Selespeed flappy paddle gearbox is known to have a short lifespan. Otherwise, the cars can be pretty solid, mechanically at any rate.
One other point, the 2.4 JTD is a great diesel engine, but is a little heavy for the cars soft springs and so suffers frequent bottoming out damage.
Get a good, well loved example and they're a bargain at those kind of prices. Later cars are a bit better though, to be fair.
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2.4 JTD is a heavy lump, but depends on Spec, Veloces have harder springs & the only bit I bottomed out was the undertray.
According to my local dealer the newer the Selespeed the better, the ones that caused major grief were the <2000 ones. Can still generate big bills though, the actuator is £ 600ish....
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I get to borrow one regularly. They're a good car. I wouldn't get one with anything less than the 1.8 petrol though. I think they were available with a 1.6 petrol for the first few years and they'll be snails. They've mostly got full on climate control and comfy seats so for £2k they're excellent. One of the downsides is that the bonnet is very sloped so you can't tell where it ends.
As with most alfas - poor main dealer = poor reliability. Find a decent specialist and they'll be ok.
teabelly
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Car Mechanics bought a neglected one. They ended up doing the aircon, helicoiled the sump plug (failed "because of the cheap aluminium used") and lots of other work..
If you can't DIY and it has been neglected then a moneypit. imo of course..
I think they look lovely...
madf
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This is the mis-informed drivel that makes 156's cheap in the first place. The Car Mechanics car was a GTV NOT a 156. And a 97 from memory so 7-8 years old when they got it. Most of the other work they did was the cam belts & remedial paint work, they delibrately brought a car as they always do which needed work.
Cam belt need doing on any new purchase, Sump plug caused by neanderthal mechanics not used to working on proper engines, e.g. those with lots of Alloy. Air con fairly rare failure point on all Alfas aside from regassing, look at the bills a late Volvo 850 generates for unreliable air con or a Mundano.
But as I said it's an Alfa sooo All so many mre problems.
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"Sump plug caused by neanderthal mechanics not used to working on proper engines, e.g. those with lots of Alloy."
Ford Zetec engines are made from? :-)
madf
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Has the Zetec an alloy sump?
But the difference is they see lots of them & fewer Alfas.
Doesn't make no difference the work is the same thats carried out on lots of other makes at the same age & mileage but thats acceptable!
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Sump plug caused by neanderthal mechanics not used to working on proper engines, e.g. those with lots of Alloy. Air con fairly rare failure point on all Alfas aside from regassing, look at the bills a late Volvo 850 generates for unreliable air con or a Mundano.
Not sure I quite get the point, wife's Clio has an alloy sump, Mondeos do not suffer aircon problems, they have a much better reputation than a 156 and are more fun to drive if you like a crisp turn in etc.
That being said 156's are unfairly tarred with the old Alfa Lancia brush a situation not helped by the dealers. I did 2000 miles in a 2.4 JTD a couple of years ago, quite liked it, charaterful though did not really excel in any area.
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I'm not going to tempt fate by commenting on how reliale mine has been :-)but maybe £2K is just too cheap to be a good'un. budget in for the belts and as has been mentioned i did have to get my aircon re-gassed. They are comfy,quiet and i get 40+ mpg. So what you waiting for?
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The Zetec has an alloy sump and a decently designed belt system which lasts more than 50k miles....
madf
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Advice on Alfa 156s and 147s I got from my Fiat mechanic who, to be fair, is more interested in having happy customers than helping the sales figures:
- Don't buy a 2 litre, they tend to be thrashed
- Avoid the sports suspension. The Tourismo setup wears better than the Lusso.
- Prefer manual over flappy-paddle transmission
- Buy for condition rather than age/mileage
For what that's worth, hope it helps!
- Gromit
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