residuals on 159

agent_smith

Hi guys,

I took a look at the 159 during the week. I must admit to having a lot of the typical preconceptions before i entered the show room (originally went in just to take a quick look at the alfa gt a mate is considering .. im personally not gone on the styling.. much prefer the 159 and brera but i digress).
Anyway the build quality looked , forgive me for saying , great! I'm a german fan typically, and i could understand what people were saying about the 156, which a friend of mine owns. The fit and finish was really ncie on the 159. Plastics were soft. Seats were very plush and at least as comfortable as the german rivals I was impressed.
I took a test drive for the larf in 1.9 jtdm and it was a crackin car to go. very quick, lots of torque and surprising thing to notice (particularly) abotu a diesel , it actually sounded real good when it was getting going, there was a bit of a roar to it if revved hard. The dealer had a model second hand for about 6k cheaper than last years but it has 33k on the clock which is fairly high mileage. Online this appears to be the going rate. So residuals look fairly good and no diff so far to other brands. That being said this could be the heart trying to convince the head!
I took a 1.9jts for a test drive as well, it also drove lovely , but did not feel quite as quick or as nice to drive . Modern diesels surely have come on a long way. Im very interested in the s40 at the mo myself but this really tickled my fancy. The sale guy was saying that alfa is being run by ex Bmw lads who are responsable for the much improved build quality.
Does anybody with a 159 have any experiences to share. I know there are a mixed bag of opinions amongst 156 owners. Some swearing by them, others thinking crazy. Residuals are important to me. I normally change my car anually primarily because i find it easier to find 5k a year than to find 15k every 3 years etc.. I have a mate who changes his 3 series every year for about 5k going back to the same dealer. If i was to stretch the extra for the alfa over the s40 i would plan to do the same but dont want to find that because it has an alfa badge i am forced to change annually for 10k whereas if it had the bmw badge i would get away with 5k

Henry Ford III

Residuals are not class leading. Haggle harder.

Diesels are great.

E92

Wait till July if you do decide to buy the diesel. Lower VRT for these from then will have to force down the prices of used ones. Though the diesel Alfas are worse than petrol BMWs for emissions, so the price of them won't drop that much really.(30% VRT now going down to 24% in July, the petrols are taking a big hike upwards then though).

Hotwheels

Go for the 159 JTDm excellent engine (as you found out)
I've just passed 50K miles and the car has been great, they are an excellent mile muncher and very comfortable to drive.
Over all MPG is about 45-47 MPG (depending on how you drive) but even if you give it a bootfull you get about 41MPG.
On the looks front (imo) nothing comes close to the 159, and the build quality is excellent...
As for the Residuals,Alfa Diesels hold their value fairly well..
I'll be changing shortly for another, and found Lismard in Portlaois very good, ask for John Lynch, service wise I found them excellent as well (if its any help)

TomMc

I'd say the new Legacy diesel will do everything the Alfa does and more besides. With far better engineering, higher standard spec (virtually no options list compared with an Alfa) and for less money. The number of cars available to the Irish market could be quite scarce, so residuals will be sound.

Can't see any Alfa with a decent spec losing only 5k from new. The new tax situation will only hinder this more as BMW's will be holding all or most of the aces.

Personally I think buying a new car is madness these days given the value of 2 year old cars. But each to their own I suppose. Changing (a new car) every year seems somewhat profligate. Buy a car you really like and will not get bored of so quickly.

agent_smith

saw pics of the accord and it looks nice alright. I still do not think its anywhere near the alfa looks wise. As for engineering, i would imagine the it will be built great. But will it drive as good as the alfa. I have driven the current accord. Nice car, but does not excite at all in the same way as the 159.

pburns

I'm in a very similar position at the moment. Got a Mazda 6 Sports Touring (all the extras, great handling, great looks). I want to change but am struggling to come up with something that really grabs me. Have considered - new 6 is (nice but crap specs), A4 (yawn), Golf GTI (too IT-geeky). When push comes to shove I guess I don't like German cars.

Dropped in to see a 159 and it was a beauty. A well-speced 159 JTDm is over 42 grand which is the very top end of what I want to spend. Residuals (especially against a non-Alfa) and possible reliability worries are holding me back - I'd be going from one of the most reliable brands to one of the least. I'd be delighted if someone could convince me otherwise though!

I mentioned the CO2 thing to the salesman but he spun me some line about Beemers only achieving this through the use of very expensive particulate filters that need to be changed on a regular basis.

agent_smith

well i took a 320 diesel for a spin from joe duffys yesterday and it definately did not drive as nice as the 159 IMHO. By the way i should point out i woudl traditionally be what would be considered a beemer fan, most bikes ive had have been boxer engined, da drove a few beemers. Like i said i went out yesterday expecting to be wowed by the 320 and ended up being wowed by the last car in the world i thought would wow me. I suppose im posting here because i want people to tell me they are great cars, will not depreciate and to go buy!

TomMc

The accord is an excellent car (well built and all that) but more for sales reps/solicitors and the like. Bit too conservative, staid and boring. The S40 is more of the same. Both are a bit middle of the road, worthy but uninspiring. They are both for the types who aspire to own a new BMW or Audi.

For people who are more individual, non-conformist and put design or character, above badge snobbery, then look beyond the Germans and their wannabe Japanese and Swedish clones.

The Alfa has a very good engine, beautiful styling, nice furnishings but that is it. It is an upmarket Fiat, nothing more and not with the character of models from the marques illustrious past. The Legacy on the other hand is over-engineered (the way Merc's use to be), with far more dynamic ability, a real drivers car. Because they have not had a diesel up to now, they hardly register in the general publics consciousness. The Legacy is very polished and is not in yer face like Impreza's. Has all the engineering but in a wonderfully understated (classy) refined package. It appeals to more cerebral enthusiasts who put engineering character and driving excellence above image. A bit like back in the 50's & 60's when the more clued up bought Lancia's (even at a price premium) over their Italian & German rivals. A time when Lancia were the aristocrats of the motoring world and built the best cars imaginable even if they made a net loss, rather than make a profit and settle for engineering mediocrity. Bad business model yes, but you have to take your hat off to them for their principles. Subaru are the only manufacturer who share a similar philosophy but been Japanese can still turn a profit.