Talk me out of it
Discussion
RicksAlfas said:
Let's see...one of the most elegant mass produced cars ever, with one of the finest engines ever.
What was the question again?
Someone else will be along shortly to tell you about suspension bushes, dampers, rust and thirst, but for the moment leave me in my happy place. Ta.
What's the price difference to the 159 v6 sportwagon? What was the question again?
Someone else will be along shortly to tell you about suspension bushes, dampers, rust and thirst, but for the moment leave me in my happy place. Ta.
That's the only reason I can think of without knowing the price of the car you are looking at to throw out some other cars that might tempt you in that class.
Sold mine after 6 years of ownership two years ago, still miss it. Ride and handling now seem dated and brakes in standard form leave a little to be desired. As for the noise, mine had a Ragazzon quiet(ish) system and sounded like nothing else. Never had a car that created so many positive comments about the noise. In six years had one rear caliper stick and the usual air bag light caused by loose seat connections but that was it.
I have a saloon v6.
I would say this car still has the plastic water pump and original belts, no?
Change them, all of them and the pulleys too plus put in a metal impeller pump. It won't be 'cheap' but then what cam belt jobs on V6s are? ... and while you are there do the spark plugs and the thermostat and the coolant and the oil and filter(which is difficult to access from underneath)
Check the rad and the air con works
Previous owner changed all the brakes, tyres and air con before I got mine which was nice. The brake pads however aren't great, worth changing for EBC yellow stuff all round as I have heard good things about them, on my to do list.
Check the suspension and bushes are in good nick, I think the front lot are almost consumables.
Make sure you use good tyres, they will make or break the handling.
The upside to these cars is they sound bloody great and I love driving mine despite it not being quite as fast or dynamic as some other stuff, although unintentional lift-off oversteer is entertaining on slippy roundabouts.
Even so, it goes well and if I drive it gently it does ok mpg.
They are tunable, I think the later ones are odb wotsit pluginable so a remap is easy and makes a big difference. Some sort of induction and exhaust mods will enhance the aural pleasure too.
Enjoy, few cars these days are as pretty and make you enjoy driving them I find
I would say this car still has the plastic water pump and original belts, no?
Change them, all of them and the pulleys too plus put in a metal impeller pump. It won't be 'cheap' but then what cam belt jobs on V6s are? ... and while you are there do the spark plugs and the thermostat and the coolant and the oil and filter(which is difficult to access from underneath)
Check the rad and the air con works
Previous owner changed all the brakes, tyres and air con before I got mine which was nice. The brake pads however aren't great, worth changing for EBC yellow stuff all round as I have heard good things about them, on my to do list.
Check the suspension and bushes are in good nick, I think the front lot are almost consumables.
Make sure you use good tyres, they will make or break the handling.
The upside to these cars is they sound bloody great and I love driving mine despite it not being quite as fast or dynamic as some other stuff, although unintentional lift-off oversteer is entertaining on slippy roundabouts.
Even so, it goes well and if I drive it gently it does ok mpg.
They are tunable, I think the later ones are odb wotsit pluginable so a remap is easy and makes a big difference. Some sort of induction and exhaust mods will enhance the aural pleasure too.
Enjoy, few cars these days are as pretty and make you enjoy driving them I find
Edited by Oilchange on Wednesday 28th August 18:02
Thanks for the info , this one looks fishy,it's advertised as 2007 on a 56 reg yet is a pre facelift model (I think). Can this be right? I know little about these other than what I have dug up on the net, it caught my eye as a nice toy and looked ok at only £1600. Reckon I will give it a miss and go for something sensible like a 69 Eldorado 
There are quite a few of these late reg cars around. I had one which was an 02/03 model on a 55 plate. Originally bound for the Far East and Australia the ship cought fire and the cars were, in the eyes of Alfa written off. Some were of course damaged others were untouched. Mine arrived makers plastic seat covers still in place through a guy in Kent who had a field full of them and I picked the one I wanted. As I said before I had 6 years of fun and reliable motoring. Only down side I think for the car registered after Jan 06 is the high road tax.
Thanks again for the additional info Ad is here if anyone fancies a look . Bit odd as it's advertised as a 2.4 jtd but pics show a 2.5. http://www4.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
[quote=duckwhistle Ad is here IE anyone fancies a look . Bit odd as it's advertised as a 2.4 jtd but pics show a 2.5. http://www4.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
[/quote]
Pretty sure that's one of the previously mentioned Far East cars, iirc they ended up with a guy in Tenterden in Kent. The 2.4 is probably because the Autotrader menu system won't accept it as a V6, for that year, it struggles with non standard stuff.
[/quote]
Pretty sure that's one of the previously mentioned Far East cars, iirc they ended up with a guy in Tenterden in Kent. The 2.4 is probably because the Autotrader menu system won't accept it as a V6, for that year, it struggles with non standard stuff.
Interesting bit of history there, I would have thought that these should have been registered by the date of manufacture. Would these be classed as imports for insurance etc ? Could be a future problem re parts etc if the model & year show as not existing on the computer systems. In my 50 years of driving I have never owned an Alfa but I reckon I will give this one a miss. A V8 Rover 75 has appeared on the horizon so I'm on the trail. Thanks all for your interest PH is indeed a goldmine of info.
duckwhistle said:
Interesting bit of history there, I would have thought that these should have been registered by the date of manufacture. Would these be classed as imports for insurance etc ? Could be a future problem re parts etc if the model & year show as not existing on the computer systems. In my 50 years of driving I have never owned an Alfa but I reckon I will give this one a miss. A V8 Rover 75 has appeared on the horizon so I'm on the trail. Thanks all for your interest PH is indeed a goldmine of info.
yes, I recall wondering that at the time. Parts wise, there are enough specialists out there who can help, tbh Alfa dealers are fairly useless with a standard UK car, anyway! The Rover's an interesting idea, much the same in terms of fun/frustration I should think, quite fancy one myself! There's a blue supercharged MG Tourer out there somewhere I'd love to find some space for :-)Never had any problem with parts as the car came with a new mph speedo and correct uk radio. Ran the chassis through the Fiat parts system and it showed full spec build details etc. Local indy serviced it, I even retro fitted cruise control buying the parts for £50. The more I read this thread the more I miss the damn thing.
Whereas ours, being one of the first & registered in May 2000, before the Sportwagons started coming across, would get the "teeth sucking" response sometimes - even though Alfa/Fiat were the first owners, & the surrounding registrations appeared in the brochures & magazine articles at the time !
!Gassing Station | Alfa Romeo, Fiat & Lancia | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff