Alfa 147 Gta

[CBXRT]

There is an Alfa 147 GTA Monza for sale (dealer so I can just trade - cant be bothered with private sale as my T isn't worth much) for 16K - 60,000, 6sp auto, one owner, black with everything you could want (sunroof, leather etc) - looked good too I thought.

Anyone have any comments? Honesty welcome!

Its already depreciated massively, and it was great fun to drive, sounded really good - also felt quicker than the XR5, but probably isn't as all turbos are deceptive......if anyone knows if Alfa reliability, issues etc has improved that would be great

ps: It will be just a second car to have fun with....hence my reliability worries.

Edited 25/07/11 08:18 AM by CBXRT

[WILD_XR]

Mate the wife had exactly the same car for 2 years. Beautiful car to drive but as soon as something went wrong with it, parts were an issue.

Sevice was extremely expensive which is what they don't tell u. I think around $600 for a standard service. Service must be done through Alfa to keep warranty.

Overal.... Didnt regret buying it, Beautiful to drive, expensive to run.

[Pazzo]

If it has the selespeed walk away, people think the ZF is expensive to fix. The selespeed will be in excess of $5000 just to rebuild, try and find a manual if you can. That v6 has about 184KW 300nm if I'm correct and does the qtr in low 14s. To me will beat a stock xr5. Hopes it helps a little.

[CBXRT]

Thanks very much guys for the advice, much appreciated

Yes, the selespeed was the disappointment......also take on your comments about servicing and other costs etc, sort of expected that being European where they all cost $$ to maintain - but it might be a constant and unnecessary worry!

Will have to think it over (which means I won't buy it...ha ha), as it really does go well for a small hatch - suprised me to be honest as current "hot-hatches" generally don't excite me but this car was different.

Thanks again.

Edited 25/07/11 09:56 AM by CBXRT

[Pazzo]

If you want a really good hot hatch, and dirt cheap to buy and fix, look at the ford fiesta XR4. Can be had for $13000 to $17000 and has the focus 2.0 in it, nice set of wheels lowered and exhaust looks good. Handles even better than a focus zetec.

[Corzza]

Beautiful car those GTA's and good to drive but yes once something goes wrong it really goes wrong!

[PhilMeUp]

I sold my Alfa Romeo 156 last week. Was an interesting car but it didn't get enough use to justify keeping it (2,000km in a year).

As I described it on Facebook:

"My Alfa Romeo 156 that I bought at auction. Not quite the ultimate Italian red sports car but it'll do for now (ie it is a very distant cousin of Ferrari).

Love the car. HATE the gearbox. It's a manual gearbox with an automatic clutch. You push the gear lever backwards and forwards to change gear, or press the buttons on the steering wheel.

Nice idea, bloody terrible implementation. Clumsy doesn't even begin to cover how this thing operates. This thing makes Mr Bean look like a professional stuntman.

I do rather like how it automatically changes gear when you rev it to 7,000rpm, but by the time it actually does get around to finishing the gear change you could have put the kettle on, built a house and solved world hunger. With time to spare.

Alfa Romeo is owned by the same parent company that owns Ferrari (ie FIat). Ferrari gearbox people and Alfa Romeo gearbox people need to start having lunches together. I'm positive that Alfa's employee recruiting policy consists of making job offers to people that fail completely at gearbox school.

People that commit hideous crimes such as rape and murder should be punished by being forced to drive a car with an Alfa Romeo Selespeed gearbox.

Number one item on my birthday/Christmas list now is a voodoo doll of an Alfa Romeo Selespeed gearbox that I can keep sticking pins into."

[ZAP]

Alfa's are the type of car that are fun to drive but awful to own. Walk away, walk away fast, you have dodged a bullet by not buying it

[jsmith]

I specialize on italian cars, mainly older ones but still do a bit on the newer alfa's and Fiat's. Selespeed, as has been mentioned DONT TOUCH IT. If the car is out of warranty, dont take it to a Alfa dealer, thieving f#^kers! timing belt, all idler pulleys, aux belt, water pump on a twin spark 4cyl is like $2500 from a dealer.

A customer bought a 156 selespeed against our recommendation, crapped itself shortly after. Luckily he got the car cheap, as it aint so cheap now!

Some of the servicing items on the V6's are a right royal PAIN IN THE AR$E!!!!! oil filters are slightly harder than impossible to get to, air filters are nowhere near as easy to change as on the falcons, rear bank spark plugs require plenum removal (well the last one I worked on did, wonder if they changed that yet?), gear shifter brackets have been known to break (mounted underneath the car, but above the heat shielding resulting in another PITA job).

most of the selespeed dramas are pre '05' cars, same as the shifter problem. overall, would I buy a good 147 GTA, FARKEN OATH, hopefully I may be getting a work supplied car of my choice within the next year, in which case these are one of any italian cars I will be looking at.

CBXRT, where abouts are you? if your interested I probably know a good bloke who can look over the car for you, make sure its sound.

[PhilMeUp]

Alfa's are the type of car that are fun to drive but awful to own. Walk away, walk away fast, you have dodged a bullet by not buying it

Sort of like a fling with a bitchy chick - great fun initially but expensive and frustrating to maintain. I got lucky and didn't have any dramas, but when the buyer took it home the fuel pump died, resulting in him sitting on the side of the road for a couple of hours waiting for a tow truck. On the first night. Ouch.

But, like a lot of flings, a heap of fun to reminisce about later on. The trick is to get in (and out later) without it costing too much.