Alfa Romeo 156 Saloon

Anyway of getting one or two bikes in one without a rack? I fancy an Alfa, and I've spied one for cheap…

They are cheap for a reason…

you might just if you took both wheels out and undid stem clamp to twist bars and put frames on back seat and wheels in boot.

I'm guessing the back seats don't fold flat then. I've a 159 Sportwagon so don't have that problem. 😀

Yeah that's what I was thinking, Used to be able to do that in a MKII Golf with my Stiffee (without twisting the bars iirc) when I couldn't be arsed to put the seats down, and the Alfa shouldn't be that much smaller. Two bikes might be pushing it though

**edit** nah the seats won't fold, sadly. How do you find owning an Alfa in general?

me?

the cambelt went 3000 miles out of warranty and it was £2500 to fix.

other than that I quite enjoyed owning it.

older ones are cheap for a reason though.

A = Aaah
L = Look
F = F*cked
A = Again

😀

I ran a GTV for 2 years without any problems at all. And it was 8 years old when I bought it with 90000 miles on

See I'm looking at so cheap that if something DOES go wrong I can pretty much get half what I paid in scrap.

I

t for the fact that I can

f

d have another like a shot.
Evidence of servicing and cambelt changes are a requirement though.
Go to ww.alfaowner.com for lots of useful advice.

They are cheap for a reason…

+ 1

Just put them in the back, and the wheels in the boot.

I had a 156, the 2.5 V6 one for years. It never missed a beat. Lovely car. Couldn't get any bikes in it though because the back seats never folded.

The only thing less reliable than an Alfa is the dealers.

Good idea to take a bike with you; you might have a chance to finish some journeys.

I've looked into buying an Alfa at least once every 6months.

NO car is reliable- dont listen to what VW tell you. Every car has wear and tear and things going wrong.

The only difference is the VW, Ford etc would probably still be drivable to get you home.

The Alfa would need carrying home.

I'd have an Italian car/motorbike over a French one any day of the year. Indeed, I have done, I do have, and I will do again. 🙂

I've promised myself an Alfa one day. And I will do: Because I NEEEEEED one.
🙂

Everyone need one at least once…. I have not had my turn yet either…

If you looking at sub 1k motors, just buy the nicest you can find and give it a go, it will all be down to luck, and whatever the must have full serivice history brigade tell you, you will be lucky to find a real cheap any type of car thats all stamped up in the book (be lucky to find one with a book or any service papers at all at 1k!!), so you have to judge it the best you can and go for it.

tinsy, I am going to go down the stellar-mileage Volvo 240 or 740 estate route at somepoint 8)

Thats one itch a nerdy biker should scratch. Leave the cool cars to cooler folk 😆

I've looked into buying an Alfa at least once every 6months

😯

surely they should last longer than that!

Thats roughly how often I used to change cars 😆

How do you find owning an Alfa in general?

Great fun and great value. Historically they were rust buckets and un reliable. In my experience (156 and 147) more recent ones are no more unreliable than any other cars I have owned (Ford, Vauxhall, Peugeot) however if and when they break they are more expensive to fix so make sure you change the belts (at 39k, not what some sellers claim of circa 70k) and change the oil regulalrly with the best stuff.

They are fantastic to drive however!

We have a 159 Sportwagon (1.9 JTD Ti) and it's great. Lovely drive, nice seats, the boot is pretty big and the back seats fold flat too. It's so much fun to drive on windy roads. Love it.

I had a 145 for a couple of years too, which was brilliant to drive and was as reliable as anything else I've had. It ended when hit by a taxi and shunted into the car in front.

My 1999 Golf GTi cost far more in repairs than any other car I've owned so i don't tend to believe that Alfas are crap and VWs last forever.

Hora – buy a T5 😉

I've always fancied an Alfa… Just something about them. I think it comes from being a bit of a car geek.

Must admit when I watched the Alfa special on Top Gear I did reach subconsciously for the box of tissues.

my brother has one of the GTA 3.2 V6 versions of the 156. Beautiful car and pretty nippy. Despite the boot being extremely spacious and quite deep, i think you would struggle to fit anything bigger than a suitcase into it. i think a bike would be a challenge and you would end up with a few cursing moments trying to get the bike in and out. my brother would never try it becuase of the leather seats.

not the best biking car for me, but gorgeous for driving. he has of course had a few 'Alfa-moments' and the notorious expensive service but he decided that he wanted a fun car for driving around in, and fully understood that the car would require attention and a financial commitment to keep it running. As long as you don't buy an Alfa expecting to be reliable you'll be fine

I've had a 145 Cloverleaf and a 156 Sportwagon (2.4 diesel – Matt@singletrack has it now). They never let me down, but that doesn't mean they didn't suck money a bit… worth it though, honest 😉

I'd probably steer clear of the V6s (very cheap and tempting though they are). The JTD diesels are great (no cam belt issues there at all). Twinspark petrol engines are lovely… as long as the cambelt changes are up to date and they kept a very regular eye on oil levels.

156 saloon actually has a bigger quoted boot capacity than the Sportwagon (not sure how that's measured though!). Wheels off and carefully stakced you should be able to fit a couple of bikes in. We once squeezed 4 bikes (I think?) and 3 people and a weekend's worth of kit into a 155.. but they're proper Italian saloons 🙂

I had a saloon, in which me and the wife drove around france and spent 3 weeks in Tuscany on our Honeymoon. It never missed a beat and the bike problem was solved by removing the wheels and putting them on the back seat, and the wheels behind the front seats.

Mine was one of the finest handling cars I've ever owned and driven (and that's quite a few performance cars). Even the 1.6 sounds great and hits 130mph!! Just get it and if you don't like it just get rid. One tip is if you do, go to an Alfa specialist (not dealership) and get the cambelt and all rollers changed. Oh, always check oil when using it for pootling and commuting.

The dealers are a breed apart. They employ mechanics on quantity, not quality. I've had them fit a new rear screen to a 156 saloon, and put it on top of the bootlid so it wouldn't open. A new gearbox on a 159 and they didn't connect the clutch. And when they did it turned out to be a petrol box on a diesel. Top speed then only 70 mph. Not to mention the electrical faults which meant when you braked on the motorway, the traction control panicked and put the engine in limp mode, which meant the accellerator did nothing.

Greta to drive, horrid to live with. Swapped at last for a Subaru Legacy which has not had a single problem in 60,000 miles.

As above, get a non dealership specialist for great service, there is an excellent one in Leeds we used with the 145, and again now. and the owner's a cyclist.

I'm on my third Alfa and second 156, never had any more trouble with them than any other car I've owned and a damned sight more fun to drive than most things.

I got rid of my saloon because I could only fit one bike in and that was on the back seat, wheels in the boot. Sportwagon now, lovely to drive and practical. all cars have problems. 🙄

Started with a GTV 2L t-spark, superb car, shit for carrying bikes.

Next a 156 2L t-spark, full leather beautifull, reliable car, buy the roof rack.

My dream car was my next, GTA 156, same as above with the bikes, mpg was a killer though but the note from the back was……. 👿 sold afer 6 mths.

Now got a Jag X type est…….. Bikes still on the roof. mmmmm wish I had bought a 159 SW.

Worked at a fiat/Alfa garage for 6 years as a driver, they are lovely cars, but got to give them plenty of TLC, change the cam belt by the book, (if not before) service them by the book, the 2.4, 5 cyclinder diesel is the one to go for, miles of smiles, fantastic motor, GM even used the Alfa diesel in the last Vectra,
159 sportwagon is a pretty looking motor.

As I've said before, there are two types of Alfa pundit – those who have owned one and those who haven't.

The have nots tend to spout numerous pearls of wisdom about the cars' reliability.

I had a 2.5 v6. Great to drive, the electric windows all worked and the tyre wear wasn't at all excessive. On the other hand, the fuel consumption was excessive and it ate an air mass meter every twelve months and one day. The latter might have had something to do with the aftermarket air filter I'd fitted to it (Brrrrrrapppp! Brrrrrrrrrap!).

Older 156s have Magnetti Marelli electrics, which can be problematic. Alfa redesigned the 156 to take Bosch electrics from around the 2000 model year and these cars are the ones to go for, all the Italian flair without the gremlins.

You need to be on the button with servicing and cam belts as others have said, but that is also true if you're buying a sixteen valve Volkswagen Golf or a Ford Zetec. Also suspension groans shouldn't be ignored, part of the servicing routine is to keep replacement of bushings and track arms spread over the lifetime of the vehicle. If the previous owner has neglected this, then you're in for an expensive service. Again, the same is true of a good many multi-link designs.

Oh and to add to my post….

Everything you've ever heard about Alfa dealers is true. They're awful.

Find a decent specialist and under no circumstances go to a main agent.

I've had two 156 saloons and they were great. I used a tow bar mounted rack for the bikes. I now use roof mounted methods.
I've run Alfas for years so I'm rather biased. In fact the whole Fruitbat family rather likes the Alfa breed. Mind you I do all my own work on them otherwise I'd be bankrupt.
Here's the current fleet: