Where have all the 156's gone?

[jimmy156]

Having owned a 156 2.0 TS for about 5 years, i often find myself looking at autotrader to see if a nice V6 is about or even a GTA (not that i could keep up with with cost of running one of those the way they deserve)

But there are currently 9 for sale nationally, only 3 of which are within 100 miles!

Where did they all go!

[velocemitch]

There was a constant stream of them arriving at the scrappers next door to where I work up to about a year ago, now it’s 147’s, GT’s and even 159’s. (They are Alfa specialists)
Most of the 156’s which didn’t die from uneconomical engine problems have died from rotten floor pans. It saddens me to see such beautiful cars being scrapped.
That said I saw a phase 3 Sporwagon Veloce on the road today, I happened to be in a Porsche so didn’t wave.

[jimmy156]

Such a shame isn't it! I suppose i was "part of the problem" when i part ex'd mine for £600 at 150,000 miles with an intermittent EML, i don't suppose that ever got sold on!

I wonder if they will ever get their time in the spotlight and see values rise!

[velocemitch]

Yes I think they will, the GTA’s have already started, 2.5 V6’s will follow and the others will tag along of the spec and condition is right. Probably about five years away yet though.

[davebem]

I agree I dont see any on the road, are fans holding onto them, or are there lots of sorn'd ones in peoples garages and driveways because of issues? Theres something very sad seeing one on a scrap pile, its a shame the factory didnt prepare the bodyshells very well leading to various issues causing rust in the floors. GTAs may start to tumble in price because of japanese imports. 2.5 V6s deserve to go up in price.

[MarkwG]

They're becoming a very rare sight, which I agree is a shame, but when you do see one, they still look lovely.

We parted with our GTA Sportwagon last summer, it was priced to keep (I think the missus sussed it, though ) but a very pleasant guy decided to call my bluff, & we quickly agreed terms we both were comfortable with. Ours was a gorgeous example, much loved & papered, even so, I was slightly bothered he'd paid too much, & the bubble might have burst for him. Doesn't look like it has, he might even have made a bit on the deal (although I don't think he plans to sell), which is fine by me, means we're both still very happy with the arrangement.

[waynedear]

Floorpan, sills, V6 I sold recently had 60% of the floor cut out, sills were Swiss cheese, bottom of the front wings had rot as did the o/s door bottoms.