I’m considering a change of car a bit later this year and really like the thought of owning an Alfa Romeo, specifically a 156.
I’m not sure which engine except i’m pretty sure it wont be the 2.5 petrol.
Anyone here got any experience of Alfa ownership? Needn’t be 156 but the brand.

Yes, I have a 2.0 TS 147.

Email in profile to discuss.

Bro on law had a 10 plate 156. It was the 1.9 diesel. Had it remapped. Still wasn’t that quick but improved performance a bit. It was a beautiful bit of kit, held its money well according to the final value on the lease agreement. He always wished he’d had the bigger engine tho.

Very nearly just bought one. Though I’ve not owned one, but…

General consensus seemed to be that if buying a petrol, do not go near it unless it has FSH, cambelt done at 1/2 the suggested intervals, and regular spark plug changes. Big end bearings are very weak apparently, and tend to go at 100k miles or so even on well looked after cars.

Seems the diesels are a much better bet, though not without their problems. 1.9’s not that powerful (until the later 16v versions), the 2.4 is a great engine though not all that economical (though still better than a diesel) supposedly. The 10v 2.4 has a much stronger 5spd gearbox (Alfa’s own) than the later 6spd (GM sourced!) on the 20v. Standard 10v’s are pretty reliable so I hear, though a remap can start to make the clutch slip. Standard 20v’s the clutch doesn’t last all that long anyway (and driveshafts can be weak), but a remapped one will need an uprated clutch in reality which can be expensive.

They go through suspension linkages and bushings quicker than most other cars apparently, so worth checking the suspension is in good nick. Though not stupidly expensive to fix at least.

And that’s about as far as I got with my research. I just bought a B5.5 Passat instead!

I have a 159 TI Sportwagen, well, technically as I traded in my wife’s mini and came home with this it’s her car 🙂
Its great – we’ve had it since new (now four years old) and thus far not had any issues at all.

It’s only the 2litre diesel but it genuinely makes me smile to drive. It’s 180BHP so got some decent poke and capable of comfortably sitting at 130mph whilst fully loaded up (on an autobahn of course!).

The only downside are the costs of parts if done through a main dealer -Pirelli P-Zero tyres £400+ [/u]EACH, brakes and rotors £500, the recommended oil is crazy money, etc.
Other than that though it’s a great car.

Naffa,

We are currently on our 6th alfa romeo and 4 of those have been 156’s they are no less troublesome than any other marque, cambelts on petrols are 36k or 3 years and do the water pump every time. Front suspension is a weak point and the bushes wear and creak. Diesel cars are stronger with the star being the 2.4 20v 5 cylinder affair.

159s had the gearbox issues.. And tyre wear issues…

147,GT,156 and Gtv all have similar issues, petrol engines are brilliant in 2.0 or 2.5v6 form but as I said diesel is the best.

I currently have a guilietta which is by far the best alfa I have owned.

The megane is a bag of poop mad has cost me 2k this year

Head over to http://www.alfaowner.com my username is Zoo were a friendly bunch

Zoo

Is there a subject that mboy doesn’t know about? 😉

About 18 months ago I bought a 159 2.4 JTMD saloon as a stop gap as I had some repairs on the Octavia estate done and it wasn’t practical to use the Caterham on a daily basis. Some 35k miles on its the only car I’ve got now. Sexy looking car, great for doing distance in. You can buy them cheaper than the equivalent 3 series but, I’ve replaced the clutch, had a new cam belt and sorted some minor electrical gremlins so probably ended up what I’d have spent on the same age condition Beemer. Do I think its been worth it? Yes, and the key to it is that its a car you have a relationship with. Not faultless, not the best driving car but its got character and if you stay on top of potential problems you’ll love it. Try to find a good independent garage like I have and you’ll enjoy it.
I’ll get a newer 159 sportswomen next time as that’ll be more economical. The Alfa forums are a good source of info and if you buy with your head you can enjoy it with your heart.

159 sportswomen? Yes please 😉

I had a 156 1.8TS Sportwagon, that got written off so i then bought a 147 1.6TS which i had for four years and today I’ve just swapped it for a 59 plate MiTo 1.4 155hp Veloce with all the toys!

You have to try don’t you! I’ll let you know how I get on.

I had a 2.4JTD 156 Sportswagon for 10 years, the engine was brilliant (avg 45mpg) and didn’t miss a beat, the rest was pure Alfa constant minor electricals and replacement of the front suspension bushes every 2 years at around £500 a pop but despite this I loved it. (ps if going for a 156 watch out for one with the Bose sound sytem option).

I now have a 3 year old 159 2.0 JTDTi Sportswagon which looks lovely drives far better than the 156 but is overly thirsty (avg 32mpg) and I miss the the flexibility and sound of 2.4 engine.

PS I was intending to buy something different but one sight of the 159 in red and I was in love! 😀

Is there a subject that mboy doesn’t know about?

Spent the latter half of last week doing my homework on 156’s… Cos I was soooooo close to buying one! Found an 03 plate Sportwagon 2.4JTD Lusso with Bose soundsystem etc. Looked the nuts. And at the price too it would have been a steal.

2 things put me off… Alfa’s, though much more reliable than old, do have their little niggles, and this had a couple that needed sorting out (though they would have been cheap to do). That and the car was in Saaaaaarfend, which isn’t exactly round the corner, and was owned by a boy racer as this was his “get to work” car as he owned a 470bhp Sunny GTi-R also!

1.9JTD 16V Sportwagon here. Currently being very well behaved and in my good books, so on the plus side its lovely to drive, plenty powerful enough for me, reasonably economical, looks good.

It has however generated a big pile of bills while I’ve had it so do take a thorough look at history and think about what may be lurking. Some have been typical wear and tear for its age (e.g. radiator exhaust etc) but I’ve had an alternator die (difficult job to change, earlier cars had very reliable Bosch units that outlasted the car, later ones like mine had cheaper Denso one), assorted turbo control system problems, and hard to track down battery discharge.

Minor niggles – seems to eat bulbs, sportwagon is not that spacious an estate. Diesel is also a 36k cambelt interval BTW.

Minor niggles – seems to eat bulbs, sportwagon is not that spacious an estate. Diesel is also a 36k cambelt interval BTW.

Really!? General consensus on alfaowner et al is that the 1.9jtdm will do 60-70k before belt and pump need doing.
Mine was done at 76k (previous owner) and is now on 105k.

OP – have a GT diesel , so same floor pan as the 156. As stated, the suspension is the weak link on these. On the plus side, it’s unlikely to leave you stranded at the side of the road. More so than any other car it must have FSH. Alfa’s aren’t as bad as the pub bores will tell you, but they need to be looked after.

JTS engine is regarded as a bit weak and only to be had if you really don’t want the diesel (or V6!!!)
Early 156 can be had with the twin spark.

Oh and it must have leather, in red. Alfa’s are all about red leather 🙂
(On a serious note, it’ll be a lot harder to sell on If it’s not got leather interior)

Twin spark petrols are 36,000 or three years, diesels are much longer intervals.

Years ago I had a 2.5 petrol auto, I bought it entirely on looks to replace a v8 Beemer which I thought was a bit juicy at the time.

Bad points: the engine was heavy and the suspension soft so handling took some getting used to, the front door shape was odd with a projecting frame that was easy to catch yourself on. However worst was a combination of 13mpg and a tiny tank meaning 200 miles between fill.

Good points : it looked great, the body, the dash even the engine you could just look at it.

If I were to buy another of that vintage it would be a smaller engine manual which I think would suit the cars character.

Years ago I had a 2.5 petrol auto, I bought it entirely on looks to replace a v8 Beemer which I thought was a bit juicy at the time.

Bad points: the engine was heavy and the suspension soft so handling took some getting used to, the front door shape was odd with a projecting frame that was easy to catch yourself on. However worst was a combination of 13mpg and a tiny tank meaning 200 miles between fill.

Good points : it looked great, the body, the dash even the engine you could just look at it.

If I were to buy another of that vintage it would be a smaller engine manual which I think would suit the cars character.

I had a 1.8 twin spark sportwagon 156. Red with a cream leather interior.

Lovely car. Was pretty old (13 years/140k) so the suspension was a bit soft, but other than that no real problems. Occasional sticking callipers (I didn’t use it much) and needed a new O2 sensor at one point.

Looked good, engine was OK power-wise (they are quite light cars) and sounded nice. Was a nice place to be in.

Avoid Selspeed

Although not a 156, my BiL had a 10 plate MiTo for his first car. It was back at the dealership so many times he got shot of it after a year. It seemed to bit eating its own suspension, I think it had less than 20k when he got rid.

Used to have 1.6TS 156 Sportwagon – lovely car.

The 1.6 needed to be worked hard, but it performed well and sounded lovey 🙂

One of my most missed cars

Alfa’s are all about the engine, to look at, to listen to and ring out. And that engine would be the petrol. Why would you buy a diesel Alfa?
As mentioned the TS needs love and care but if done right and on time (or before) they’re fine. Suspension; tend to knock out the lower arms quite often but not too expensive – it’s just a Fiat under there. But because of that, Italian rot worm is hibernating in there somewhere so be vigilante and of the electrical Gremlins (tm 1970’s BL) – carry plenty of spare fuses.

I’ve had 2 2 litre 156s, a T reg and a V reg. And now I have a 2litre GT. Always petrol as the diesels don’t seem to be as alive to me, and don’t sound as good either.

The T reg was more trouble, I think they got better from the V plate.

Both really nice – the V reg had the sports pack and was more fun to drive.

The engine is a bit flat below 2 3/4 k revs, which can be a bit annoying. The JTS engine in the GT is much better, although maybe doesn’t sound quite as good at high revs.

If I was going for a 156 I would get a JTS one, even though I think they messed the boot lid up a bit.

The Halfords High Mount rack is perfect for carrying bikes as the top bit can be angled back at the same rake as the rear window, making it all a bit more secure.

Oh and it must have leather, in red. Alfa’s are all about red leather

Wrong! Black leather, red car is the way to go. And if buying a 156, alloys need to be the 5-circle “veloce” ones (the similarly styled 18″ GTA ones are a bit much for my taste).

156s are good cars, most of the things you need to know I think have been covered, but imo:

the 2.5 petrol V6 is a good engine if looked after.
The twinspark engines are also good if looked after, the 2.0 is obvious one to go for, but the 1.8 is very close, and needs only very mild “adjustment” to bring the power up to the same levels as the 2.0. Not many 1.6s around, and they tend to be a bit “poverty spec” regarding trim levels etc.

Full service history and the belt changes are detailed by others already are an absolute must. I’d avoid any on sale with “niggles” that need sorting – for me it indicates an owner who isn’t proactive with keeping the thing tip top, and really that is a must on these cars.

Absolutely, most definitely avoid the selespeeds (semi-auto) – to be fair I doubt there’s many of those still on the road anyway by now.

Someone mentioned boot space on the sportwagon – technically iirc the sportwagon actually has less cubic litres of boot space than the saloon, worth being aware of if this is a factor.

Oh, and find a good independent specialist to service / repair / tune it – try and avoid going near main dealers, ime they are, without exception, rubbish.

Plenty of advice, keep it coming please.
I definitely wont go down the selespeed route nor the 2.5 route.
Currently I’ve got a Fiat multipla 1.9jtd which has proved to be more reliable than many cars I’ve owned its just getting a bit long in the tooth @ 190k (fsh).
I’ve read about oil usage and front suspension woes. I guess my other consideration is rear seat room. Still got 3 kids at home so they’d need enough room to travel in the back.

Of no help at all but once I saw a navy 156 sportswagon with beige cord interior. What a sight, it was gorgeous. What colours/balance. Why can’t Vauxhall etc do this?!

On the belts- when I was looking at one- I ignored ‘had belts done’- I simply factored in me having the belts done straight away after purchase for total piece of mind.

I had a 2.4 20v sportwagon for quite a while. Ran it to over 100k miles, no breakdowns, just a bit heavier on maintenance stuff than other cars. Every service it seemed to need a few other bits doing to keep it working fine – once it was handbrake cables (they fray and will freeze up in winter), once it’d need a new driveshaft, or front wishbones (actually surprisingly cheap – nowhere near £500!), vacuum hoses, etc.

Mine was a Veloce, which was very low and very hard-riding – combined with the tall engine it needed care with speedbumps (there’s a reason there’s a sump guard fitted). That plus the optional Recaros meant it wasn’t really comfy at all. Lusso is preferable IMO.

Diesels and V6s are 5 year / 72k mile belt changes, only the TS petrols are lower.

The GM box in the 20v is there because it’s stronger, the engine makes too much torque for the regular Alfa one. Mine was on it’s original clutch when I got rid.

Sportwagon rated boot space is up to the load cover – obviously you have plenty of space above it. On that point, make sure you check the load cover, they do break and they’re a rare part to find.

I never had any electrical issues other than the odd blown bulb (as with any car). Most electrical things on it had Bosch logos.

I always thought diesel Alfas were a bit wrong, but I needed a boring car for work miles and that 5-cyl engine is infinitely preferable to all the 4-cyl ones.

Really!? General consensus on alfaowner et al is that the 1.9jtdm will do 60-70k before belt and pump need doing.
Mine was done at 76k (previous owner) and is now on 105k.

You’re right – I was getting mixed up with the strong messages about shorter intervals on the petrol engines. Bonus as I thought I was about to have to shell out for mine 🙂

Wrong! Black leather, red car is the way to go. And if buying a 156, alloys need to be the 5-circle “veloce” ones (the similarly styled 18″ GTA ones are a bit much for my taste).

Black car / red leather or red car / black leather

I currently have a 156 2.0JTS Sportwagon on an ’03 plate. I love it but thee are niggles.

I bought 16 months ago without history of cam belt so drove it home and straight to a garage praying it wouldn’t go. Luckily for me it didn’t but it’s not a cheap job. I also did the thermostat myself staright after.

Minor niggles I’ve contended with include the common suspension troubles, radio cutting out intermittently, airbag light coming on intermittently despite replacing the faulty component, aircon controls going a bit haywire and a regular helpful message warning that either my brake fluid is low or my handbrake is on (normally when I’ve applied the handbrake)! I also replaced the faded bonnet badge which is a tad pain.

MPG isn’t great (32.2 according to trip computer) but it is an engine that loves to be revved. It’s never failed to start. The interior is interesting and def go for leather.

There are some good write ups on the various Alfa’s at alfaworkshop. You can also get ideas of maintenance and parts costs there.

I looked at quite a few online and a couple in the flesh before I found the one I wanted. The sportwagon didn’t have as many available for sale so I had to bide my time. I would recommend Lusso trim over Veloce, hitting pot holes is bad enough without lowering the suspension….

Has anyone mentioned that you need to find a good independent Alfa specialist locally. Don’t rely on the franchises, unless you are really lucky.

If in the south MDX Italtec is very good.

I have to have dull but practical cars for work, so when given a choice of saloons last time, I went for 159 JTDMi saloon. OK it was only a diesel standard family saloon but damn I miss that car. Had it on a 3 year contract hire from new, servicing was good value, no mechanical issues, and it actually divided opinion and people talked about it, as if it was anything but a bog standard saloon car.
Had an avensis afterwards, perfectly good car and probably more practical than the Alfa, but it was like having all my life-force being drained out of me owning that car. The only people who would come up to you and say “how you do like your avensis, are the exact sort of people you spend your life trying to avoid”
I am not one of these Alfa romantics who are in denial that it isnt simply just another saloon car, and that in some way has Italian passion and a soul, its still a diesel saloon car, but it just looks a billion times better and makes you smile when you walk up to get in it 🙂 The day the lease came to an end and they took it away and brought my new shiny Avensis Estate to replce it, I felt instantly 10 years older.
Car came from Mangoletsi, but my local Alfa dealer ES Jones (nr Chester) did the servicing and were bloody good blokes if I am honest.

Although not a 156, my BiL had a 10 plate MiTo for his first car. It was back at the dealership so many times he got shot of it after a year. It seemed to bit eating its own suspension, I think it had less than 20k when he got rid.

Ah I was thinking of one of these for my son as his first car as would be reasonably cheap to insure. May have a rethink now.

Never buy a new model alfa until it has been out for a few years.

For the last 3 years I’ve had a 55 plate 1.9JTD 16v 156 Sportwagon.

The issues/bills I’ve had are;
– When I got it 3 of the alloys were egg-shaped so needed refurbing (some of the styles are notoriously soft).
– It’s had the usual suspension creaks.
– Needed a new battery
– Bit (sometimes very) smokey when you floor it (normal for a diesel?).
– Passenger window only goes up from the drivers control panel (goes up and down from passenger one).
– Random cam-phase sensor warning.
– Cam belt being replaced next month.

Other than the 2 minor electrical niggles there’s nothing I’d not expect of any car (in fact even those aren’t exclusive to Alfas).

I really like the car, and plan on keeping it for a good few years. My only grumble is that I wish I’d gone for a petrol rather than diesel (I don’t do particularly high mileage).

When it finally dies I’ll definitely look at a 159 to replace it.

Had a 2.2 jts brera and loved it. Just bought a new giulietta as now need a family car and she is also nice and far more fuel efficient than the heavy brera.

Gary_M – Member
Although not a 156, my BiL had a 10 plate MiTo for his first car. It was back at the dealership so many times he got shot of it after a year. It seemed to bit eating its own suspension, I think it had less than 20k when he got rid.

Ah I was thinking of one of these for my son as his first car as would be reasonably cheap to insure. May have a rethink now.

POSTED 2 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

If you start ruling out cars cos of an anecdote you read on the internet, you simply won’t buy ANY car. Every car will have someone who’s had a problem with it…..people rarely write on forums when there car is perfect.

The trick is to decipher which models have endemic problems that you wish to avoid

If you start ruling out cars cos of an anecdote you read on the internet, you simply won’t buy ANY car. Every car will have someone who’s had a problem with it…..people rarely write on forums when there car is perfect.

when I had my first 156, which had some problems, the guy at the garage said that the car they were having the most problems with were the passats that their VW franchise were selling.

All this Alfa talk has got me looking at what’s about, there’s some lovely Spiders for not a lot of money.