Tell me more Pinkus.
it’s a beautiful drive, gorgeous engine, and a pretty car no?
Yes and no, m8. It was a bit like having a very beautiful but very moody girlfriend. When the Alfa felt like turning it on, it was an incredible car to drive. When it wasn't feeling like it - which was most of the time - it was sluggish, lethargic and vindictive.
I've a mate who's only had alfas - his first car was a 33 Sportswagon.and he's had a 156 and a couple of 147s. Laz is correct that the reliability isn't that much of an issue to the extent that it won't leave you stuck by the road waiting for a tow.
But, the thing about owning an Alfa is the sheer number of almost comical things that go wrong with them due to the poor construction and bad design.
The GT I owned required a cam belt and water cooler change every 32,000 miles.
One time one of the windows just randomly opened and it started beeping due to the fact it thought the door was open (doing 70 on the A14). The air con broke so it could only be full heat or full cold. My mate's engine was so fucked that he had to have the blowers on constantly and it was stuck on full heat. My mate's roof leaked in his newest 147. Mine required an oil top up every week (this was normal). The suspension randomly started squeaking. And on and on.
If you buy one either be prepared to get your hands dirty or find a a decent mechanic.
Agree with Laz and Pinkus. Just got rid of my Giulietta and no major faults, just lots of little things that all seem to happen at once.
Rear windscreen wiper just stopped working, fuel cap flap needed to be greased all the time to get it to open, lights saying things no longer worked when they were fine, front windscreen wiper going mental on the motorway and flapping against the driver’s side window, electric mirrors just dying for no reason...
other than that great car (no really). I still lust after a GT or 159.
It’s an awful lot of fun for a relatively small amount of money.
It has the “Busso“ V6 engine which is just glorious. I have the later Brera Spider and whilst it is a V6 it has the “wrong“ V6 as it is not the Busso, I don’t regret having my spider at all and it brings a smile to my face everytime I see and drive it.
Despite all the negative saloon bar chat, Alfa’s are actually reliable – the GTV is a relatively modern car and is a world away from the GTV 6 it replaced. it’s a bit like British Leyland produced unreliable cars in the 1970s, but if they were around today they would not do so – nobody can get away with producing un reliable cars these days.
Have a look at some YouTube videos for the GTV. It’s an appreciating classic and definitely go for it! Look out for a good service record, and only go to an independent Alda specialist who can look after these cars.
Do they have one with a smaller engine? I need a Ulez compliant runaround (with two small back seats) for about 4k and don't want a ten year old mini with a 1 litre engine.
0
1
Thinking of buying one for about 4K - 3 litre V6 - 220bhp.
madness?
0
1
Depends whether you like repairing Italian junk really
0
1
Owned a GT for a couple of years.
Never again.
0
1
Tell me more Pinkus.
it’s a beautiful drive, gorgeous engine, and a pretty car no?
0
1
Buy it while you can. If it’s shite, there’ll always be another buyer.
0
0
Rented a 156 about 20 years ago. The bonnet opened on the motorway. Hertz tried to charge me £14k.
Alfas are only good in Spyder or SZ form.
0
0
I took that view with the 05 cooper s I recently bought.
It has been functional for just over half the time I have owned it, and I now own an impact wrench and permanently black fingernails.
Love it tbf. Girlfriend not such a fan.
0
0
Brera seems to be the one many Alfa hedz like?
It does sound pretty norty.
0
1
their reputation for unreliability has always been overwanked and is basically a myth since the 156/164 generation cars
0
1
0
1
0
1
Yes and no, m8. It was a bit like having a very beautiful but very moody girlfriend. When the Alfa felt like turning it on, it was an incredible car to drive. When it wasn't feeling like it - which was most of the time - it was sluggish, lethargic and vindictive.
I've a mate who's only had alfas - his first car was a 33 Sportswagon.and he's had a 156 and a couple of 147s. Laz is correct that the reliability isn't that much of an issue to the extent that it won't leave you stuck by the road waiting for a tow.
But, the thing about owning an Alfa is the sheer number of almost comical things that go wrong with them due to the poor construction and bad design.
The GT I owned required a cam belt and water cooler change every 32,000 miles.
One time one of the windows just randomly opened and it started beeping due to the fact it thought the door was open (doing 70 on the A14). The air con broke so it could only be full heat or full cold. My mate's engine was so fucked that he had to have the blowers on constantly and it was stuck on full heat. My mate's roof leaked in his newest 147. Mine required an oil top up every week (this was normal). The suspension randomly started squeaking. And on and on.
If you buy one either be prepared to get your hands dirty or find a a decent mechanic.
0
1
Brera is a pretty car, like most of what Alfa have done in the last two decades tho it suffers a bit from nowtspeshness
0
1
Agree with Laz and Pinkus. Just got rid of my Giulietta and no major faults, just lots of little things that all seem to happen at once.
Rear windscreen wiper just stopped working, fuel cap flap needed to be greased all the time to get it to open, lights saying things no longer worked when they were fine, front windscreen wiper going mental on the motorway and flapping against the driver’s side window, electric mirrors just dying for no reason...
other than that great car (no really). I still lust after a GT or 159.
0
1
picking up a hyundai i20 next. cheap, cheerful and great mpg
0
1
hyundais are good cars these days, albeit in the car-as-white-goods category
0
1
i think they look pretty good too
0
1
Dollapat has been reading Which.
0
1
Piggybacking on this thread, can somebody who knows far more about cars than I do tell me the general downsides of getting a hybrid?
Other than cost, which in this case is immensely cheaper as it is via salary sacrifice lease scheme through work.
Got a Q3 at the moment, would be getting something around the same size or slightly bigger.
0
1
Not madness at all – I would go for it.
It’s an awful lot of fun for a relatively small amount of money.
It has the “Busso“ V6 engine which is just glorious. I have the later Brera Spider and whilst it is a V6 it has the “wrong“ V6 as it is not the Busso, I don’t regret having my spider at all and it brings a smile to my face everytime I see and drive it.
Despite all the negative saloon bar chat, Alfa’s are actually reliable – the GTV is a relatively modern car and is a world away from the GTV 6 it replaced. it’s a bit like British Leyland produced unreliable cars in the 1970s, but if they were around today they would not do so – nobody can get away with producing un reliable cars these days.
Have a look at some YouTube videos for the GTV. It’s an appreciating classic and definitely go for it! Look out for a good service record, and only go to an independent Alda specialist who can look after these cars.
0
0
wise words irnbruiser. it is a glorious engine....
0
1
nb123,
not many downsides. Less fuel consumption, less need to fill up so cheaper as electric engine will kick in at certain points.
probably less torque/speed etc but with a Q3 that's less of a priority
0
1
Joked to the girlfriend that the GTV - like her - looked better from the rear than the front. Bit of a sense of humour failure followed.
0
1
I looked at buying one recently. Agree it's a great car, agree you need to be hands on.
It's like dating a wild eyed hottie. Bella!
In 20 years it will have appreciated significantly I would say. Not Integrale money, but enough to cover the costs.
What other cars should we consider?
0
1
porsche 996
0
1
I didn’t buy it 😕
0
0
Is this a 2 + 2 ?
Do they have one with a smaller engine? I need a Ulez compliant runaround (with two small back seats) for about 4k and don't want a ten year old mini with a 1 litre engine.
0
1
Wow, just seen there is a new GTV coming out in 2021. It looks stunning...
0
0
0
2
they dropped plans for the new GTV at the end of last year sadly....
0
0
Oh what a bunch of stone cold losers. I will never buy another alfa again.
0
1
Feel sorry for the company Got stuck in between Maserati and Fiat and now being controlled by Chrysler/Fiat.
They can't make anything too sporty in case it steps on Maserati's toes. The Brera and Spyder were crap because their performance was restricted.
0
1
But they run a Formula 1 team FFS!
Join the discussion