Alfa Romeo's Reliability

martydunf · 16-11-2008 2:45pm #1

Is it true that Alfa Romeos are brutal for reliability?

When Top Gear get Alfa GT on the show they fall in love with it!..well on its looks anyway but they never mention anything about its reliability.
They even say to be a true petrol head you have to have owned an Alfa!:rolleyes:

So my question is are Alfa Romeos reliabilty only an issue when they become second hand and are a few years old?

Like if I were to buy an Alfa should i buy it brand new or just steer clear altogether?:D

NewApproach · 16-11-2008 3:14pm

The reliability of Alfa's isn't nearly as bad as people make out, though in the past it has been horrendous. Since 02/03 they have been much better than before.

However, because of this bad past, the stigma will always be attached to them, which means they depreciate very heavily, especially in the first year or two.
For this reason, I wouldn't recommend buying new, wait a year or two and you will get a great deal.

bazz26 · 16-11-2008 3:14pm

Anyone for some:

This thread has the potential to go on for a while.

OP I'll put this way to you. There is probably as much chance of an Alfa Romeo impoding these days as a VW or MB not impoding imo.

Reputations are easier gained than lost.

Alanstrainor · 16-11-2008 3:19pm

:pac:

Lex Luthor · 16-11-2008 3:22pm

martydunf wrote: »

Is it true that Alfa Romeos are brutal for reliability?

When Top Gear get Alfa GT on the show they fall in love with it!..well on its looks anyway but they never mention anything about its reliability.
They even say to be a true petrol head you have to have owned an Alfa!:rolleyes:

So my question is are Alfa Romeos reliabilty only an issue when they become second hand and are a few years old?

Like if I were to buy an Alfa should i buy it brand new or just steer clear altogether?:D

Marty, my advice would be to never buy an Alfa Romeo new as you will get killed in the first 2-3yrs of depreciation. Best off buying one 2yrs old, that way depreciation has taken a good bit off it already and you still have a years warranty remaining.

I'm on my 2nd and for the last 9yrs, I have had no serious issues with them. The repair costs are no more than any other marque, but the timing belt freq for the 156 was a bit hard to swallow at first.

If you buy one out of warranty, make sure it has a full service history.

There are plenty threads out there on Alfa's so lots for you to read.

As for the GT, its one of the best cars they have produced in a long time. The 1.9 diesel engine is superb aswell.

I know someone selling one if you are interested....;)

su_dios · 16-11-2008 3:23pm

There was a post on here recently about a 2006 Alfa GT going for 20k. You cannot go wrong at that price. Beautiful car! My Dad's on his second he likes it so much. He went from the 2.0 to the 1.9 Jtd. To be honest, I much prefered the 2.0 engine sound. Alfas always had great sounding engines. a lot of people frowned when the diesel became popular and while a great engine thats hard to fault, I miss that sound from the 2.0.

martydunf · 16-11-2008 6:04pm

Glad to see that Alfa has decided to put the reliabilty of thier cars higher on their list of priorities.:D (aswell as keeping it a very good looking car)

I was always under the impression that these cars were bought just purely based on their looks!

Thanks for clearing that up for me!

CharlieCroker · 16-11-2008 6:08pm

I'd agree with not buying new, you'll lose your shirt after 2 or 4 years. but as for reliability i can't fault mine. 03 156 1.6 with 120k and still going like a train!!!!

Lex Luthor · 16-11-2008 6:11pm

su_dios wrote: »

There was a post on here recently about a 2006 Alfa GT going for 20k. You cannot go wrong at that price. Beautiful car! My Dad's on his second he likes it so much. He went from the 2.0 to the 1.9 Jtd. To be honest, I much prefered the 2.0 engine sound. Alfas always had great sounding engines. a lot of people frowned when the diesel became popular and while a great engine thats hard to fault, I miss that sound from the 2.0.

I think it was the 3.2 V6. High tax & insurance & running costs which made that one a bargain....

For the GT though I think it needs the 3.2 or the 1.9JTD. My next Alfa will be a V6.

mickdw · 16-11-2008 7:24pm

I had an alfa a few years ago and to be honest, it did swallow up money a fair bit but not because it was any worse than any other make of car but because the parts were expensive and dealers were poor and expensive.

examples: rear anti roll bar bushes were not available seperately to the actual anti roll bar so cost was a couple of hundred instead of €20

rear wheel bearing had to be bought together with a large part of hub, again costing a couple of hundred instead of about €30

All suspension arms needed to be bought complete, Very few bushes available seperately.

Stuff like this leads to the high depreciation in my opinion.

Nonoperational · 16-11-2008 7:25pm

They're not bad but they do have to be looked after and do have their issues. Oil must be checked, belts must be checked and suspension needs attention usually after 60000 miles or so.

Lex Luthor · 16-11-2008 8:22pm

gpf101 wrote: »

They're not bad but they do have to be looked after and do have their issues. Oil must be checked, belts must be checked and suspension needs attention usually after 60000 miles or so.

no more than any other car....

if you look around you will find places online selling the spares in the UK at a fraction of what they cost here

beka · 15-12-2008 2:48pm

i'am driving a 2004 alfa 147 and love it. It needs a new anti roll bar and i've been quoted €932 + vat for anti roll bar, top front arms, rear arm, stub bushings and labour. Is this excessive? I'm worried cos they quoted me €450 to change timing belt that was done last year for €297. This is with an alfa agent in the midlands.

Ivan E · 15-12-2008 2:58pm

martydunf wrote: »

When Top Gear get Alfa GT on the show they fall in love with it!..well on its looks anyway but they never mention anything about its reliability.

Anytime I see the programme they do nothing but slag the reliability issues. They normally say that it isn't as fast as the other cars they are reviewing or isn't as comfortable or any of those things and always say it will probably break. Yet they always choose it simply because it's the one they most want to drive.

Anan1 · 15-12-2008 3:03pm

Ivan E wrote: »

Anytime I see the programme they do nothing but slag the reliability issues. They normally say that it isn't as fast as the other cars they are reviewing or isn't as comfortable or any of those things and always say it will probably break. Yet they always choose it simply because it's the one they most want to drive.

Top Gear isn't about cars. It's about the presenters, the cars are just props.

NewApproach · 15-12-2008 3:46pm

beka wrote: »

i'am driving a 2004 alfa 147 and love it. It needs a new anti roll bar and i've been quoted €932 + vat for anti roll bar, top front arms, rear arm, stub bushings and labour. Is this excessive? I'm worried cos they quoted me €450 to change timing belt that was done last year for €297. This is with an alfa agent in the midlands.

I also have a 147 and needed some minor things sorted. Was quoted €350 and when the did the work last week I got a bill for €169. Didnt affect me as the invoice was being passed on to the dealer I bought the car from but it just shows that they tend to over estimate rather than under estimate.

testicle · 15-12-2008 4:28pm

beka wrote: »

i'am driving a 2004 alfa 147 and love it. It needs a new anti roll bar and i've been quoted €932 + vat for anti roll bar, top front arms, rear arm, stub bushings and labour. Is this excessive? I'm worried cos they quoted me €450 to change timing belt that was done last year for €297. This is with an alfa agent in the midlands.

If you're near Naas, try George Frayne.

GavMan · 15-12-2008 4:48pm

Beautiful Car Lex.

I'm a huge fan of the charcole and cherry leather interior.

Sadly, it's been discontinued and replaced with cream or charcole

siralfalot · 16-12-2008 12:12pm

beka wrote: »

i'am driving a 2004 alfa 147 and love it. It needs a new anti roll bar and i've been quoted €932 + vat for anti roll bar, top front arms, rear arm, stub bushings and labour. Is this excessive? I'm worried cos they quoted me €450 to change timing belt that was done last year for €297. This is with an alfa agent in the midlands.

sounds steep to me, personally I avoide Alfa dealers like the plague, independant specialists are much better

try either of these two;

if you're in Dublin.
Gerry Campbell, TI autos, Cowper street, Dublin 01 8386567

or if you are in the midlands.
John Staunton, JOMO Engineering, Killucan Co. Westmeath. 044 9376700

JOMO have been looking after my road Alfas and Fiats for years, and after christmas they will be starting to build my Fiat Coupe 20VT trackday car

Sonnenblumen · 16-12-2008 2:34pm

nice piece of recycling, amazing how they managed to eradicate rust spots!:D

Alanstrainor wrote: »

:pac:

beka · 16-12-2008 9:59pm

siralfalot wrote: »

sounds steep to me, personally I avoide Alfa dealers like the plague, independant specialists are much better

try either of these two;

if you're in Dublin.
Gerry Campbell, TI autos, Cowper street, Dublin 01 8386567

or if you are in the midlands.
John Staunton, JOMO Engineering, Killucan Co. Westmeath. 044 9376700

JOMO have been looking after my road Alfas and Fiats for years, and after christmas they will be starting to build my Fiat Coupe 20VT trackday car

thanks siralfalot, dont suppose you can recommend anyone in laois or surrounding counties?

Redsoxfan · 16-12-2008 10:27pm

beka wrote: »

thanks siralfalot, dont suppose you can recommend anyone in laois or surrounding counties?

There's a guy called theredx19 on the alfaireland forum-think he's based in Laois-you might get in touch with him-I think he's in the trade.

I'll second that recommendation for Gerry Campbell-you would probably need to take the day off though. If nothing else, worth calling Gerry for a quote.

smcgiff · 27-12-2008 7:13pm

martydunf wrote: »

Like if I were to buy an Alfa should i buy it brand new or just steer clear altogether?:D

Bought a top spec Alfa 159 new in Jan 08 and the best thing I can say about it is that I've one year's ownership down. The problem with Alfas is that the dealers don't seem to be able to work with them.

As an example...

Alfa sent out their cars with the wrong tracking - for over two years (my model at least). When I asked the dealer to check the tracking they made it worse. I took it to a local garage and they improved it, (but see below) and they showed me the settings they had to fix and they were way out.

Now, I hate taking my car for a drive. It's got great acceleration, and power, but it's got a wicked pull to the left (not just torque steer - although it obviously has that), but under steady driving it still pulls to the left. If I took my hand off the steering it would be in the ditch in a few seconds.

I need to find someone that knows what they're doing with cars, but the main dealers don't seem to be the ones. Can't wait to get rid of it, but will be waiting another 2 years or so, in the mean time I'll continue to have to come up with excuses to take my wife's 206 whenever it's free!

Perhaps second hand an Alfa may be an option, one you've totally checked out yourself and know there are no problems with it, but I'd never recommend an Alfa ever again.

Biro · 27-12-2008 8:59pm

smcgiff wrote: »

Bought a top spec Alfa 159 new in Jan 08 and the best thing I can say about it is that I've one year's ownership down. The problem with Alfas is that the dealers don't seem to be able to work with them.

As an example...

Alfa sent out their cars with the wrong tracking - for over two years (my model at least). When I asked the dealer to check the tracking they made it worse. I took it to a local garage and they improved it, (but see below) and they showed me the settings they had to fix and they were way out.

Now, I hate taking my car for a drive. It's got great acceleration, and power, but it's got a wicked pull to the left (not just torque steer - although it obviously has that), but under steady driving it still pulls to the left. If I took my hand off the steering it would be in the ditch in a few seconds.

I need to find someone that knows what they're doing with cars, but the main dealers don't seem to be the ones. Can't wait to get rid of it, but will be waiting another 2 years or so, in the mean time I'll continue to have to come up with excuses to take my wife's 206 whenever it's free!

Perhaps second hand an Alfa may be an option, one you've totally checked out yourself and know there are no problems with it, but I'd never recommend an Alfa ever again.

Because of tracking? Wow. Some guy is having major problems with his A5, but everyone will still come on here saying things like "Alfa's - I'll never own one again, I'll buy an Audi next and when it does go wrong (and it will) I'll pretend it didn't and claim it's the best car I've ever owned".

unkel · 27-12-2008 9:24pm

I'm not sure what I am more shocked about, smcgiff. The fact that Alfa can't get the car's tracking right or the fact that you are letting them away with it. You spent a fortune on a new car and you are unhappy. Go give out hell!

smcgiff · 27-12-2008 9:53pm

Biro wrote: »

Because of tracking? Wow. Some guy is having major problems with his A5, but everyone will still come on here saying things like "Alfa's - I'll never own one again, I'll buy an Audi next and when it does go wrong (and it will) I'll pretend it didn't and claim it's the best car I've ever owned".

It's more than just tracking.

miju · 27-12-2008 10:08pm

Have been driving Alfas for the last 10 yearsxand only problem ive ever had is a fan belt snapping.

On an ALfa you just gotta make sure you service and look after the car as it's less forgiving than other marques.

Amazingly fun and quick cars to drive IMHO (and slightly biased opinion :-) )

smcgiff · 27-12-2008 10:09pm

unkel wrote: »

I'm not sure what I am more shocked about, smcgiff. The fact that Alfa can't get the car's tracking right or the fact that you are letting them away with it. You spent a fortune on a new car and you are unhappy. Go give out hell!

The above is only part of the story.

The two front tyres were shot after 5k miles (inside of front right tyre was like a slick) - I'd the car in for above tracking and they even took photographs of the state of tyres, and never told me. It only came out by accident later, when I got a puncture and the person I got to change the tyre discovered how bad the front tyres were. I then got onto the garage (in Cork) and the person on the phone mentioned they'd known about the tyres and he emailed me photos to prove they knew about it! I don't think he was too popular with his superiors that eventually paid for two front new tyres approx €320 each.

The above is the short version of the story and they tried to fob me off, and it's only when I mentioned legal action they coughed up.

They changed the tyres and said that when I got the puncture I damaged the axel. Not enough to warrant it getting fixed, but enough to cause the "slight" pull to the left. So, they quite cleverly used this to cover themselves.

Sadly, I don't have the energy to deal with them anymore. Yes, I know they win because of my lethargy, but I'm sixty plus miles away from the garage and life's too short to drag it out with them.

Now, it could be the axel, but I very much doubt it. The pull to the left was bad before I got the puncture, didn't improve after the garage changed the tyres (their tracking made it worse) and only improved to a degree when I got it tracked independently. I do believe it’s more than tracking, not the axel. When I do get time in the new year I’ll look around for some garage that will do more than just hook it up to a computerised tracking machine.

redman · 27-12-2008 11:23pm

If you want more opinions on Alfa have a look at this great resource:

http://www.alfaowner.com/aohome.php

Darragh29 · 27-12-2008 11:39pm

Forget about top gear for a start, absolute idiots with big personalities who know sweet FA about cars. Alfa do continue to have reliability issues, I wouldn't go near one to be honest with ya OP, they are nothing but glorified Fiats...

miju · 27-12-2008 11:51pm

Darragh29 wrote: »

Forget about top gear for a start, absolute idiots with big personalities who know sweet FA about cars. Alfa do continue to have reliability issues, I wouldn't go near one to be honest with ya OP, they are nothing but glorified Fiats...

What specific reliability issues (pre 2003 models suspension / tbelt issues are well documented)?

Have you actually ever owned an alfa?

Alfa Romeo's Reliability

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