Are Alfa Romeos crap or not?

Andrewf20

More expert opinion here:

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?p_make=ALF&h_make=ALF&p_model=%207

If it was me, Id look elsewhere.

prospect

Surveys are not worth much imo.

What is the actual difference between the last placed car and the first?
It could be as little as 1 extra visit to the garage a year and €50 more in servicing prices.


I always laugh at these, because when Renault of Alfa etc come last people will say, "see they must be bad". But when cars that are 'preceived to be great come last those same people say "the survey is flawed".

See this site:
www.reliabilityindex.com
Porsche, Subaru and Jaguar(FORD), all rank worse than Alfa, and Audi only comes in Barely ahead.

Biro

Jigsaw wrote:

Well I did open up an can of worms didn't I!!

As a fairly inexperienced Boards user so far I wasn't aware of the passions that got stirred up by Alfa discussions. Thanks to various posters above for providing me with links to various other Alfa resources.

What I seem to be getting here (of course discounting any ridiculously subjective comments) is that Alfas are nice cars and they are fun to drive. They suffer from a reputation that was gained perhaps in the 90s for unreliability. The more modern models are much more reliable. That said, they will require the owner to look after the car properly, which is of course what you should do with any car I suppose, just that Alfas need regular attention (not necessarily maintenance). If they do not receive it things will start to go wrong, whereas a Ford Focus or Toyota Corolla could survive a bit longer under the ownership of a driver who doesn't look after their car.

Thing is, I would not mind this. This would be the first car I have bought myself and it would be treated the best, especially as I was paying for it with my hard earned cash. My first car, I was a named driver on my mum's insurance on a 1992 Renault Clio. Didn't drive at all then for a few years as I lived near central Manchester and public transport was grand. Moved back home here nearly a year and a half ago and my dad gave me his old 1997 Ford Escort. So you see this will be my first opportunity to go out there and get what I really want.

Think I will head to the showroom and see if I can get a wee drive in it this afternoon, although no purchase would be made today. Can't wait

You have it summed up fairly well alright. I do reckon that if you go for a revised model in the Fiat/Alfa range they tend to have the original nigglies sorted. So as someone said, a '04 147 will be sound. The Quality Control isn't the best, but then again, neither is VW and Audi's of late. And Audi give you a nice kick in the arse after forking out the premium by giving you a one year warranty. And I know of a few cases where plenty of stuff happened to just over a year old Audi's, but you don't hear anyone shouting that from the rooftops, no cause it's more fun to bash Fiat/Alfa. [/Rant].
Pick a well minded late model Alfa and continue to mind it well and it'll reward you. Fiat are leaders in engine technology, for example all those who love to shout about how great BMW diesels are, need to realise that common rail was invented by Fiat together with bosch. Their diesels are particularly good, ask any Opel or Saab driver!

Borderfox

I had a 156 1.8 for 18 months and didn't have a problem with it. Super car to drive. Super steering feel great handling. As said above needs TLC checking oil weekly and such. I would think they are not a car to dawdle around town in as I felt mine when driven with gusto (revs not speed) it went great. I didnt have any build issues with mine and put about 12000 miles on it in the 18 months I owned it. Sad to see it go. Only can say that about one other car (my old Civic VTI) I think the problem with surveys is that if somebody buys a Hyundai and it doent give any problems its a superb car because the expectations are much lower than if you bought say a Mercedes where if you had one little problem it could be percieved as a disaster. IMHO. I have to admit I would love to get another Alfa but its hard to take the chance, but

Jigsaw

Found a link there to a car that is identical in every way to the one I have my eye on. Same colour, year etc. The only difference is that the one I was looking at had an interior upgrade to cream leather.

http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carid=632812

All this for just over €8000/£5500 and you can see why I am tempted by this sort of thing which is within my budget and previously have been considering Focuses or Astras

Tony Danza

I knew somebody with a 147, said he put around €200 aside each month for repairs and just general expenses for the car, outside of his car loan and petrol and all that.

He still seemed to think it was worth it though, so that's saying a lot for the car.

Guess it costs money to look good!

Andrewf20

prospect wrote:

Surveys are not worth much imo.

What is the actual difference between the last placed car and the first?
It could be as little as 1 extra visit to the garage a year and €50 more in servicing prices.


I always laugh at these, because when Renault of Alfa etc come last people will say, "see they must be bad". But when cars that are 'preceived to be great come last those same people say "the survey is flawed".

See this site:
www.reliabilityindex.com
Porsche, Subaru and Jaguar(FORD), all rank worse than Alfa, and Audi only comes in Barely ahead.

These JD surveys are put together by compiling thousands of peoples experiences of car ownership. I think that the JD survey is a good way to get an indication of how good a car is. I looked into the way the JD power surveys are compiled a few years ago and was impressed with the way they are made up. That www.reliabilityindex.com does throw a spanner in the works though! However I dont think that website looks at the wider aspects of car ownership though. (Vehicle Performance, Vehicle Interior / Exterior, Dealer Service, & Ownership Costs)

SouperComputer

Andrewf20 wrote:

These JD surveys are put together by compiling thousands of peoples experiences of car ownership. I think that the JD survey is a good way to get an indication of how good a car is. I looked into the way the JD power surveys are compiled a few years ago and was impressed with the way they are made up.

JD Power is certainly a resource for information. But you must remember that the survey is based on subjective opinion rather than facts.

OP it sounds like an alfa would work for you. Again, ill reiterate: shop long, shop hard, be meticulous and you should find your experience satisfactory.

junkyard

prospect wrote:

I'm in the pro Alfa club, being an actual owner, as opposed to a 'hear-say'er.

I generally find that people who give out about them have never actually owned one, and those who own them generally love them.

That said, they to require that extra bit of TLC, like very regular oil checks, and get the servicing done religiously.

I've owned Alfa's, real Alfa's from the 50's and 60's, and have rebuilt many as restorations and crash damaged ones from the 70's through to to 06 models and as far as I'm concerned life's just too short to be putting up with tedious problems, that really is my only point. Sure, I was all enthusiastic about them too once upon a time but I moved on. I can see what the attraction is, some of them are really nice cars to drive but so are plenty of other makes that aren't so high maintenance. That said buy one if you want and get it out of your system I know that's what I did. As for Ferrari unkel, only ever had 2 of them and once again crazy service costs scandalous parts prices and just head wrecking to work on, that is all.:(

Sonnenblumen

kbannon wrote:

Yet another thread to sit back with the popcorn and watch the bickering!

Surely not, more likely the italian farce will offer a few laughs!

junkyard

unkel wrote:

Howdie, junkyard. Hope you enjoyed your holiday. There wasn't a lot of bashing while you were away

I am a panel beater you know unkel, bashing is my business.;)

jimmycrackcorm

I once owned a 156. A beautiful car and I was delighted with it since I bought it. The downside however is that I bought it new and suffered the depreciation on selling it.

So I say that they are a lousy new buy but and absolutely fantastic second-hand bargain. I've yet to come across any second-hand car that hasn't given one person or another problems and issues to deal with.

Lex Luthor

Mike07 wrote:

donohues were selling sparkplugs at half price a few weeks ago---if ayone wants to save a few bob

still works out cheaper if you get them from shop4parts in the UK, get them shipped to a relative or friend over there and then shipped here. I think it worked out at just under €120 from my set of 8 last time around (over €310 in the dealers)

Mr. Presentable

OP..

If you are an enthusiast - Alfa

Taxi driver - Toyota


Basically, the key is balancing the joys of driving it with the woes of owning it.

Me, I can't afford passion in my motor. I drive a diesel Polo saloon. Utilitarian in the extreme. But my heart cries out for an Italian........

redman

Ahhhhhh , can I get into this again?

THEY ARE FANTASTIC CARS.:)

I've had 2x156's, 1x166 v3lv6, BMW 530d, 523,318 amongst others further back ( I get bored easily with cars)
and the best car to drive so far has been the 166 followed by the 156.

Buy a good one(they are brilliant value after depreciating), maintain and take care of it and enjoy!!!
Go to Alfaowner.com to see those who have them and the real issues and advice.