alfa romeo GT - opinions?

jon1981

hi,


I notice a low mileage 04 alfa GT is ~24k ... what are peoples opinions on these? do they suffer the stigma of the 156 ? i.e constanly fixing and replacing bits and pieces?

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=647969

cavanmaniac

One of the best looking coupes out there IMHO, and the Alfas have a great reputation for driveability etc.

However, the general public still have to be convinced that an Alfa purchase isn't a potential bundle of problems because of reliability and crappy dealers.

bazz26

The 1.9 turbo diesel is one of the best in the business, lovely car.

My only two concern are one resale value due to the forementioned bad reputation among the general public. Though the prices of GT seem to be steady at the moment.

The other concern is that I have read on this forum of owners asking fellow boardies to keep an eype out for one or two that have been stolen probably to order. So if you are buying one make sure it is well locked up at night,out of sight and have a tracker system installed in it.

jon1981

just found these user reviews... its promising...could be my next purchase!

http://www.whatcar.com/car-review-readers.aspx?RT=631

ciarsd

I had one last year, loved it so much and caused me no pain, I went and got another in January. It's a 'Monza' spec with the JTDm engine.

Go on, you know you want to

redman

IMHO great to drive but I much prefer the Brera's looks

Look at http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-gta-and-gt/ for far more insight!

franksm

Gorgeous looking cars - haven't been in one yet, but they tick all the right boxes.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/models/?model=1203

jon1981

redman wrote:

IMHO great to drive but I much prefer the Brera's looks

Look at http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-gta-and-gt/ for far more insight!

agree but too expensive

Mr. Larson

I was really close to buying one of these last year, a 2.0 165BHP one on sale for €24k - really loved the car and I had test driven a 1.8 so was really looking forward to the 2.0 version. It turned out to be a massive disappointment but only because the owner hadn't looked after it. I test drove it with my girlfriend in the passenger seat and she couldn't wait to get back into the Astra we drove down in as the ride was incredibly bumpy - the rear view mirror was vibrating like crazy in 3rd gear upwards - a right bone-shaker. They look amazing inside and out come with huge spec but they do drop like a stone, even if you can live with the bumpy ride. I guess if you're picking one up second hand you'll get a lot for your money since the first owner has taken the hit. Even with all the problems with the car I still wanted to buy it and was raging walking away from it - common sense had to prevail. Definitely go for the 2.0 or the Diesel - Diesel has bags full poke (for a diesel) and is defintely the better option. If it checks out when you test drive it and has FSH then go for it I say... Good luck!

Hotwheels

The Diesel is the one to go for...the JTDm (same as my 159) has bags of Torque and they drive...well they love the twisty stuff
On the plus side the T-belts don't need to be changed a frequently as the petrol versions...if you do a lot of town driving your MPG will suffer but on long runs it should Avg out at about 45-47MPG depending on how heavy yer right foot is...

I had a GT out before for a few days test, Fab car in every way, but was to small for a growing family...

Though the prices of GT seem to be steady at the moment.

I agree, the Diesel version of the GT (Alfa's) have held their value reasonably well, and should fetch a good price whenever ya sell it on....

Best of luck with the car, make sure you get a proper Alfa mech to look it over for you
Loads more info to be had here

jon1981

whats insurance like on a 1.9 JTDm ...would it be classed as a high powered sports car? would it be similar to a 1.8 petrol?

ciarsd

jon1981 wrote:

whats insurance like on a 1.9 JTDm ...would it be classed as a high powered sports car? would it be similar to a 1.8 petrol?

My insurance premium come renewal was €140 in the difference moving up to the JTDm. They didn't charge me for the remaining 1 month of the policy on the 1.8 to the 1.9

I dunno if this was because of the performance or the higher value between both cars. I'm with Hibernian.

galwaytt

ciarsd wrote:

I had one last year, loved it so much and caused me no pain, I went and got another in January. It's a 'Monza' spec with the JTDm engine.

Go on, you know you want to

Wanna give us a review - I'm currently shopping for a 2+2, and drove the 1.9M..........bloody hell, pulled better than my TT. And bigger in the back, too. Loved, loved the seats...........

Quality of dash silver not in Audi class, but it's not Audi price, either.......

What would I get, mpg-wise, for urban/short haul use?

prospect

I have driven the 1.9JTDm in the GT a few times.
I have the same engine in my 147, which similarly shares the same dash & centre console as the GT.

Cracking engine, nice to drive, very comfy seats, and pratical for a coupe.

It probably isn't the best at any one thing in its class, but is a serious competitor in each section with very few failings.

ciarsd

galwaytt wrote:

Wanna give us a review - I'm currently shopping for a 2+2, and drove the 1.9M..........bloody hell, pulled better than my TT. And bigger in the back, too. Loved, loved the seats...........

Quality of dash silver not in Audi class, but it's not Audi price, either.......

What would I get, mpg-wise, for urban/short haul use?

Have you seen the updated dash galwaytt? Like prospect has said, it is pretty much like the revised 147's dash - there are two different colours in the updated GT however, mines dark clocks & red detailing that is lit up with white numbering & lighting - pretty classy looking
Mines this one, I've rudely taken it off the AR IE website!



Anyway, with the older dash (individual clocks) I'd have to agree with you, the quality of the dash silver was not on a par with a lot of other cars in a similar class. In fact, this dash layout was inherited from the earlier 147's.
But the improvements made to the updated GT are a good contender IMO - it's much cleaner looking and looks more expensive for want of a better description.

I do a bit of mixed driving. My daily commute is little more than 25KM's of mainly backroads but I do quite a bit of driving at weekends.
Short hops are returning anywhere between 38-43mpg mid week and a recent trip down the country returned an average of 49MPG. I have however had similar trips to the Southeast which have returned a little more than this and a little less on other occasions. This trip is typically a mix of 15% motorway and then National roads for the remainder.

Those figures are by no means list topping for fuel consumption - but are a dam sight better than the figures for my previous 1.8 T Spark GT :eek:

I know I could have better economy from a diesel - but hey I like the GT, love the engine and it's performance... as such it's not a bore to drive. If I wanted more economy I could've bought a VAG diesel - but then I would not have the luxury of the GT nor it's 'extras' as standard.

Stats currently are 150BHP/305Nm 6-Speed - there is nothing in 1st, it merely gets the wheels moving. 3rd/4th are superb. Motorway overtaking is a pleasure and is done in relative safety without the need to drop a gear I can comfortably do so in 6th or 5th.

Size wise, I had my father, mother, girlfriend and 4 weekend bags for a 2 hour/160KM trip a couple of weeks back - the only complaint I had was the BOSE sub in the boot and the lack of rear doors for handy passenger access :rolleyes: some people just dont understand cars eh?!

Negatives so far?
There is a little more road noise than I would've thought for this car, although I'm putting it down to the larger tyres (225/40/18) as there is significantly less on the demo model I drove with 17s.
The bootlid had to be realigned as it wasn't perfect when delivered and rattled somewhat as a result of the misalignment.

There are some more shots of the car I have currently here: (mine is Argento Silver however).

.Longshanks.

Hotwheels wrote:

On the plus side the T-belts don't need to be changed a frequently as the petrol versions...if you do a lot of town driving your MPG will suffer but on long runs it should Avg out at about 45-47MPG depending on how heavy yer right foot is...

Does anybody know how often the timing belt needs changed in the diesel GT? I tried to finding this out online but having no luck.... I know the petrol version now needs done every 35k miles or so but how often is the diesel?
I've got a real soft spot for one of those 1.9JTDm GT's but don't know if i'd be brave enough. Oh and plus the fact that if the timing belt needed changed as often as the petrol version then i'd be forking out for it every 16 months or so....:eek:

Hotwheels

According to the book for the 159 JTDm its 150,000 KM's, as far as I know the 156 JTDm was about the same..because the engine has a lower operational rpm the T-belts don't need to be changed as often as the T-Spark's...

Ohh ya, for anyone thinking of buying new! try Lismard in Portlaois, I found them very good, and the service dept excellent.

ciarsd

Longshanks100 wrote:

Does anybody know how often the timing belt needs changed in the diesel GT? I tried to finding this out online but having no luck.... I know the petrol version now needs done every 35k miles or so but how often is the diesel?
I've got a real soft spot for one of those 1.9JTDm GT's but don't know if i'd be brave enough. Oh and plus the fact that if the timing belt needed changed as often as the petrol version then i'd be forking out for it every 16 months or so....:eek:

They recommend a replacement (regardless) at 120K KM's for the JTDm

.Longshanks.

Hotwheels wrote:

According to the book for the 159 JTDm its 150,000 KM's, as far as I know the 156 JTDm was about the same..because the engine has a lower operational rpm the T-belts don't need to be changed as often as the T-Spark's...

Ohh ya, for anyone thinking of buying new! try Lismard in Portlaois, I found them very good, and the service dept excellent.

A new one is definitely out of my league (plus i'd let somebody else take the biggest hit on the depreciation) but a '04-'05 is obtainable!
Anyways, isn't the older ones a JTD engine and not a JTDm? Did that make any difference to how often the timing belt needs changed?

Dilbert75

Diesel Alfa GT? Mmmmm, orgasmic...:p

hobochris

i drove one before my boss had one that he asked me to drive from work to his house, lovely car.. a frightening amount of poke... his was the JTD.

Id deffinatly get it if i were you. Even though id personally love a brera even more... *drools*

ciarsd

Longshanks100 wrote:

A new one is definitely out of my league (plus i'd let somebody else take the biggest hit on the depreciation) but a '04-'05 is obtainable!
Anyways, isn't the older ones a JTD engine and not a JTDm? Did that make any difference to how often the timing belt needs changed?

Nah, pretty much the same engine - main differences are that the JTDm gets the addition of a diesel particle filter and the engine becoming Euro4 emissions compliant (for when our wonderful government start taxing on emissions too :eek: )

Conlai

I bought a 04 diesel Sportivo model about 2 weeks ago, has every extra and then some. Goes like the clappers and I love it. Changed from a 03 Passat Tdi (100bhp) best decision I ever made.

Lex Luthor

I'm also waiting on the Brera used values to come down a bit before I trip to the UK for a nice used diesel in black

If I had the money I'd dive a GT until then, but my 7yr old 156 has not been letting me down so I'll keep it til then.

endplate

Very encouraging an Alfa thread that has not decended into the usual rants. I get the impression Alfa seem to be getting something right as regards reliability and build quality with the GT. My preference is the 159 tho

siralfalot

its kinda funny when you think of it, the GT was only a stopgap car made when production of the GTV ceased and production of the Brera had not yet started, now its one of the best made and best selling Alfas at the moment :cool:

Conlai

On the timing belt issue, the previous owner got it done at 35k. On the build quality, it's not up to the standard of the Passat but seems to be good.