Alfa Romeo 156, Good car?

Typewriter

Alfa Romeo 156

I'm considering getting one. (< 2002)

Are they as bad as everybody says (dodgy electrics, timing belt, drinking oil, etc)?

People seen to either love them or hate them.

CianRyan

Car you buy with your heart, not your head.
and buy a hacksaw while you're at it, cause that is one bloody horrid spoiler.

pburns

I like 156s a lot but not that one. Look-at-me paintjob and ugly spoiler. A bit chav...

bazz26

That car looks terrible to be honest, the 1.6 litre will be lucky to drag that rear boot spoiler and those "lexus" rear lights shout "bad taste" to me.

OP you should be looking at minimum 1.8 litre in the 156. The most common problems with the 156 are worn suspension and timing belts which need to be changed every 36k miles. Also do a search here for Alfa Romeo threads, there is plenty of debate here about them usually decending into silly fighting and ending in the threads being closed by the mods.

These threads usually open up a:

EPM

If there's one car that I think should never be modded it's an Alfa. Any 156 I've seen so far thats had any work done has looked rubbish.

I like the colour and alloys on the linked one but the spoiler and lights are wrong...

bladespin

Have a 05 156 1.9 JTDM, lovely car, with a great engine, the petrol engines on older cars need TLC but are fine when looked after.
The Diesel is great, checked consumption comes back at over 50mpg depending on how I drive it - the 150bhp engine is nothing short of brilliant. I didn't go for a buggy handle as they look sh1te IMO but each to their own, personally I thing the clean look and good lines, it's timeless, these were competing with he round passat and mondeos when released, the Alfa still looks great and gets looks, does any of it's competitors (even when new lol)

They are as mentioned much more or an enthusiasts car than the usual box you sit in and drive, mine still tries to kneecap me everytime I get out, wraparound dash wraps a little too far, the handbrake is in the wrong place if there's an armrest too lol.

Belts on both petrol and diesel should be done before Alfa recommend, around 50k miles should be fine, water pump belts should be changed too not just timing.
Some cars use oil, not a big problem but the level should be checked regularly.
Shocks are soft and don't last, many older cars will have upgraded suspension anyway.
Electronic issues were usually sorted under warranty so a car that has a few years on it should be fine.

Stevie Dakota

Agree, hate that spoiler and rear lights, but if you can live with its foibles the 156 is a super car. Just have a bit of money ready for when the inevitable goes wrong.

miju

Thats spoiler is the standard boost spoliler that was fitted to certain 156 marques. OP theres been a million threads on 156s. To sum up , great car to drive , great looks but need to be cared and maintained properly. Have had 2 156s and loved em both

On another note that car you linked to is overpriced IMO and you'd pick up a higher spec / similiar mileage model for about €900 less including VRT.

turbocabrio

Stevie Dakota wrote: »

Agree, hate that spoiler and rear lights, but if you can live with its foibles the 156 is a super car. Just have a bit of money ready for when the inevitable goes wrong.

hi folks,
My sister has one of these. A 2004 model 1.6.Well where do i start,firstly when the car was only 3 years and only 31kmiles on it the timing belt went with disasterous results. 5000euro bill to repair.garage paid with some persuading. then the electrics acted up.the fuel gauge indicating half full when the car had run out of fuel leaving her stranded on the road.Most recently the car was left in for a service,where upon she was told the suspension needed 1000euro worth of parts and labour. When i enquired what was required i was told that the front anti roll bar bushes were shot as were the rear suspension bushes, Well i would have thought the bushes could be replaced on there own ,but no the roll bars have to be replaced as well, even though the roll bars are perfect themselves.Thats the first i ever heard of replacing the hole bar just for the bushes.Maybe unique to alfa models.Well looks to me that the only thing alfa got right from the 1970s is the rust issues. everything else sucks with these cars,build quality is as you can see from above leaves a lot to be desired.


yours P o

Volvoboy

:pac:

kona

turbocabrio wrote: »

hi folks,
My sister has one of these. A 2004 model 1.6.Well where do i start,firstly when the car was only 3 years and only 31kmiles on it the timing belt went with disasterous results. 5000euro bill to repair.garage paid with some persuading. then the electrics acted up.the fuel gauge indicating half full when the car had run out of fuel leaving her stranded on the road.Most recently the car was left in for a service,where upon she was told the suspension needed 1000euro worth of parts and labour. When i enquired what was required i was told that the front anti roll bar bushes were shot as were the rear suspension bushes, Well i would have thought the bushes could be replaced on there own ,but no the roll bars have to be replaced as well, even though the roll bars are perfect themselves.Thats the first i ever heard of replacing the hole bar just for the bushes.Maybe unique to alfa models.Well looks to me that the only thing alfa got right from the 1970s is the rust issues. everything else sucks with these cars,build quality is as you can see from above leaves a lot to be desired.


yours P o

Ha Ha, did you actually search for a thread to bitch about alfa romeos in?:o:o

Thats quite sad.

Alfas are a fantastic car, I find most people who bitch about them dont have a clue about cars. IMO.

Tragedy

kona wrote: »

Ha Ha, did you actually search for a thread to bitch about alfa romeos in?:o:o

Thats quite sad.

Alfas are a fantastic car, I find most people who bitch about them dont have a clue about cars. IMO.

What? While dragging up the thread is a bit gay, your reply makes his post look positively heterosexual.

His sister bought a new Alfa, it's had terrible reliability, and he's bitching and doesn't have a clue about cars?

kona

Tragedy wrote: »

What? While dragging up the thread is a bit gay, your reply makes his post look positively heterosexual.

His sister bought a new Alfa, it's had terrible reliability, and he's bitching and doesn't have a clue about cars?

If he had a clue about cars he wouldnt be bitching because he would have done the maintenance before it broke.
Also If he had a clue and a tool box he would have saved a few grand by fixing it himself.

So yes he doesnt have a clue. Alfas are well known for their faults, anybody who buys one and then complains is a tit IMO, you know what you bought.

klaus23

Buy with an engine rebuild factored into the price or/and that whoever had it before you knows what a dipstick is, if they were ever low on oil the chances are likely that they'll go cannibal and eat themselves.

Ensure that all suspension components are replaced with OEM quality parts.

Make sure that cambelt changes were/are carried out with proper locking tools.

Then enjoy. A lot of the time you're purchasing a chequebook on wheels but when they work they will put everything that merits comparison in the saloon category to shame. I'd recommend the 1.8 and the SP3 if you can find one still going, but haggle hard, hard, hard.

Kudos to you, young Jedi. Women will think you're a driving god, men will consider you a racing legend.

cpoh1

kona wrote: »

If he had a clue about cars he wouldnt be bitching because he would have done the maintenance before it broke.
Also If he had a clue and a tool box he would have saved a few grand by fixing it himself.

So yes he doesnt have a clue. Alfas are well known for their faults, anybody who buys one and then complains is a tit IMO, you know what you bought.

That is the most ridiculous post I have ever read on here. What you're saying is that its the LADY owners fault the cambelt snapped after 30k on a three year old car? She should have anticipated it and done maintenance on the belt? As far as im aware 99.9% of women cant change a cambelt on their own to save money, even fewer would rebuild the engine afterwards. How exactly is she meant to "save" money in the this case???

How exactly can you do maintenance on a bushing? Its a consumable part and need to be replaced during the lifespan of the car at some stage. The fact that the bushes cant be bought separatly from the roll bar like all other manufacturers is a joke, period.

Finally, is it too much to ask for a car that looks and drives well and doesnt have reliability issues? Fair enough a perfromance car that needs TLC but a run of the mill family saloon? Alfas will never be a fantastic car to the mainstream until they up their game and build cars with equal quality to other established brands. I certainly wouldn't buy one as an everyday car.

miju

turbocabrio wrote: »

Well i would have thought the bushes could be replaced on there own ,but no the roll bars have to be replaced as well, even though the roll bars are perfect themselves.

your sister would be better off finding a garage that doesnt rip her off and even if the anti roll bar needed to be done as well as bushes that price of €1000 is WAYYYYYYYY over priced as to give you a ballpark figure I paid €200 for the exact same work late last year on one of my older alfas.

turbocabrio

kona wrote: »

Ha Ha, did you actually search for a thread to bitch about alfa romeos in?:o:o

Thats quite sad.

Alfas are a fantastic car, I find most people who bitch about them dont have a clue about cars. IMO.

I actually have had several classic cars over the years,and know a fair bit about them. Everthing stated in my thread was fact and can be backed up with paperwork.I still have never heard of ANY modern car breaking its timing belt after 3years and only 31kmiles,with the engine needing replacement.

yours sincerely
Po

Eoin

bazz26 wrote: »

There is plenty of debate here about them usually decending into silly fighting and ending in the threads being closed by the mods.

Funny you should mention that...

Absolutely nothing new being "discussed" here, and it's going downhill already.