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Are the Alfa 156 any good?



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 18th 04, 12:27 PM
Laurence
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Default Are the Alfa 156 any good?

Hello all,

I know this is possibly the wrong place to ask, but I am considering
getting an 01/02 Alfa 156 2.4 JTD. But am hearing mixed reports about
the reliability of the car and how well it is put together. Now the
question is are these concerns justified?

Thanks for any help.

Laurence
Ads
  #2  
Old August 18th 04, 01:32 PM
Gareth Tuckwell
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I am fairly new to this group, but I can tell you that all you will get here
is various opinions and I get the impression that we are all dedicated alfa
fans.

They used to have a bad reputation for falling apart and rusting, but I
believe that image has now been shed.

My personal view is that they are great. I have the 2002 156 JTS with the
new interior and I love it. I had teething trouble with a knock sensor,
otherwise, 19k miles of fun so far!

You won't regret it - join the club!


"Laurence" > wrote in message
om...
> Hello all,
>
> I know this is possibly the wrong place to ask, but I am considering
> getting an 01/02 Alfa 156 2.4 JTD. But am hearing mixed reports about
> the reliability of the car and how well it is put together. Now the
> question is are these concerns justified?
>
> Thanks for any help.
>
> Laurence



  #3  
Old August 18th 04, 02:16 PM
Martin Smarda
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"Gareth Tuckwell" > schrieb im Newsbeitrag
...

> They used to have a bad reputation for falling apart and rusting, but I
> believe that image has now been shed.


Yes, rust won´t be an issue anymore, AFAIK.

> My personal view is that they are great. I have the 2002 156 JTS with the
> new interior and I love it. I had teething trouble with a knock sensor,
> otherwise, 19k miles of fun so far!


I also like the cars for their looks and their suspension.
In my surroundings there are quite contrary experiences about the 156.

One friend has the second V6, both without any troubles except fuel consumption
.

Another one has the 1.6 with quite a few things (phaser, suspension, exhaust
just
to mention a few). But this was an "early" car.

Friends from Germany drive Alfas for 30 years and do a lot of mileage per year,
no serious problems so far. They had 1.6, 2.0 JTS and now drive a GT JTS without
problems.
Only recent Alfa with loads of problems was a GTV 2.0TS.

If buying a newer car, nothing _should_ happen.

Go on, join the club

cheers, Martin


  #4  
Old August 18th 04, 04:45 PM
Alfistagj
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GET THAT CAR!!!
--
Ciao from Holland
AlfistaGJ (Gert-Jan)
Alfa red 156 SW 1.8 Madeno tuned (2000)
Golden Montreal 1428700 (1973/4)

"Laurence" > schreef in bericht
om...
> Hello all,
>
> I know this is possibly the wrong place to ask, but I am considering
> getting an 01/02 Alfa 156 2.4 JTD. But am hearing mixed reports about
> the reliability of the car and how well it is put together. Now the
> question is are these concerns justified?
>
> Thanks for any help.
>
> Laurence



  #5  
Old August 18th 04, 08:23 PM
Grahame
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Posts: n/a
Default

"Laurence" > wrote in message
om...
> Hello all,
>
> I know this is possibly the wrong place to ask, but I am considering
> getting an 01/02 Alfa 156 2.4 JTD. But am hearing mixed reports about
> the reliability of the car and how well it is put together. Now the
> question is are these concerns justified?
>
> Thanks for any help.
>
> Laurence


Hi Laurence,

I own a 2000 156 1.8TS Lusso and have had very few problems with it. I did
have some suspension problems early on, but they were fixed under warranty
and since then it's been fine. A friend of mine manages a fleet of cars for
a large company and they have quite a few Alfa's "on the books" and the only
major problem that seems to be a common feature of the 156 is that they wear
the inner edge of the front tyres very quickly. The only other common
complaint with Alfa's these days is the quality of the dealerships - they
frequently come out worst in customer satisfaction surveys! Overall I've
been very happy with my 156, I'd say you should do your homework, have it
inspected and if it all looks OK, go for it


  #7  
Old August 18th 04, 09:30 PM
Carl Farrington
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Laurence wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I know this is possibly the wrong place to ask.


Obviously.


  #8  
Old August 19th 04, 08:45 AM
Simon C
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Laurence

I have a '02 156 2.4JTD and it is great. A pleasure to drive, extremely
quick (faster than my Dad's B*W 530d Touring), and handles great.

However, and please don't let this put you off because it hasn't me, I
believe I have an Italian Friday afternoon car!

I have suffered terribly from problems with ABS/VDC sensors, anti-roll bars,
engine mounts, steering rack and general suspension problems. I have also
had a new starter motor fitted after 15k miles, new door handles after
10-12k miles, tracking was way out after factory set-up. Electrical failure
of wipers, indicators, hazard warning lights, etc.

Having said all this, I want to say again that this has not put me off and I
will almost certainly have another. This is a great car let down by many
poor dealerships with no attention to customer service. If you are buying
the car outside of a warranty then great. You can use proper Alfa mechanics
who appreciate the cars they are working on.

Buy the car...you will have a hoot!

Simon C
156 2.4JTD V1 (2002)
To reply: remove nospam. from the address


"Laurence" > wrote in message
om...
> Hello all,
>
> I know this is possibly the wrong place to ask, but I am considering
> getting an 01/02 Alfa 156 2.4 JTD. But am hearing mixed reports about
> the reliability of the car and how well it is put together. Now the
> question is are these concerns justified?
>
> Thanks for any help.
>
> Laurence



  #9  
Old August 19th 04, 05:54 PM
Zathras
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Posts: n/a
Default

On 18 Aug 2004 04:27:01 -0700, (Laurence)
wrote:

>Hello all,
>
>I know this is possibly the wrong place to ask, but I am considering
>getting an 01/02 Alfa 156 2.4 JTD. But am hearing mixed reports about
>the reliability of the car and how well it is put together. Now the
>question is are these concerns justified?


Yes..it's an Alfa Romeo and they built up a bad reputation for
reliability and customer service. I had these concerns too when I
considered getting mine.

On mine, the suspension bushes wearing out every five minutes has
seriously dented my wallet (two £800 bills before 3 years and 24000
miles) at service time. The indicator relay (which I changed in a shop
car park waiting on the wife and kid) packs in every 18 months. 12UKP
for the part and easy to fix..in fact..*trivial for an Alfa"*. The
fuel filter seal is supremely delicate. It's at the rear of the engine
and, if you or a mechanic pulls it, the seal will never be reliable
again. You have to replace the fuel filter. This also happens all too
often after service replacement too.

Note that main dealer servicing may well start at about 300UKP for any
service.

Having said all that, mine's a 2001 and it's never let me down. AA/RAC
membership, 3 year warranty etc have been a waste of money. If you get
an 01/02, the only stock issue that should be left on it is worn
bushes.

Check all the tyres on the car, they should wear perfectly evenly.
Check, also, the metal panels for dents (the boot lid is particularly
easy to dent just shutting it). Check radio reception (all bands) with
and without the rear demist (where the antennas are). If there's a
difference, you may well have a broken demist element which means new
back window.

One last thing, look under the front and ensure the under tray is in
excellent condition. A new one is 80UKP but it's plastic instead of
fibre so is far more robust (flexible). You can also check on how
badly the car has been scraped along the road (sadly a normal
occurrence).

I think the 2.4JTD is, overall, the best in the 156 range and I'd get
another one if some pillock hadn't screwed up the front of the current
ones!

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email without 'Alfa' in subject are auto-deleted..sorry!)
  #10  
Old August 19th 04, 07:38 PM
canard
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Default

I'm up to 165,000 miles now on a 1998 Twinspark. I bought it
second-hand four years ago, and apart from a rear window winder (that
was broken when I got it), the only things that have gone wrong have
been made by a company called Bosch.

I still get 34mpg when taking it steady and it still just reaches
130mph when pushed. And there's very little rust. And it does not
need oil top-ups in between changes. And spares seem very reasonably
priced compared to other brands.

AndyM
 




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