Alfa 156 GTA on sale for under 5 grand!!!

logie101

Just spotted an Alfa 156 GTA on Carzone for under 5,000!

Lovely V6 Alfa engine.

That is seriously cheap. Alot cheaper than in the Uk. They go for around 10,000 sterling in uk.

Drummerboy08

Link?

Jarren

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Alfa-Romeo/156/*FEB-SAL/201107201316118/advert?channel=CARS

-Corkie-

Mileage is very very low. Car looks a bit ropey on the outside.

Drummerboy08

Jesus thats cheap! Shame that the tax will put most folks off.

.Longshanks.

Is the same one that keeps popping up every so often that have never been sold? I.e. zero owners but 51K miles clocked up my the garage on trade plates?

Drummerboy08

kev_Longshanks100 wrote: »

Is the same one that keeps popping up every so often that have never been sold? I.e. zero owners but 51K miles clocked up my the garage on trade plates?

Na, I think that was an actual unregistered car that was never sold...

fonecrusher1

An amazing car. I respect anyone that would take on such a beast of a machine. Huge tax, huge fuel bills, huge maintenance....huge smile on the face of whoever drives it though.

Unfortunately it will probably sit unsold for a long long time.

logie101

If I had 5 grand to spare it would make a great Track day car!

Or maybe buy it and register it on UK plates and try and sell it...

jamesk_irl

Not sure I could handle the Reg : 03-D-666 :eek:

A-Trak

Was viewed by a Dublin poster from the Alfa Owner forum.
It wasn't driven, but the observations aren't great.

It was advertised last year for 7500 and was reported to be in a poor state back then. No improvement so, as it's still in a very sorry state. It's a crying shame that such a stunning car, in probably its best colour, has been starved of affection for most of its life (the beautiful intake manifolds have probably never been wiped).
I figured it was worth a look given that it had a 'fresh NCT', as promised in the ad.
I should have known better with Irish dealers though. As usual, it merely means that they will guarantee to put it through once it's bought; if there are serious hidden problems uncovered in the NCT, the car could potentially be off the road for weeks. At least with a fresh NCT report in your hand you can have some confidence in the state of the suspension/brakes/emissions, and rule out major leaks.

I didn't bother driving it, so can only comment on obvious issues.

From a distance, the colour is stunning.
On closer inspection, there's a dent in the rear passenger door.
The bonnet looks to be discoloured and there is a stain on it (might come off with an abrasive polish).
There is bad scuffing on the underside of the front bumper which would need to be resprayed (can be partially seen in one of the pictures).
Ideally, the car would need a full respray as it's a difficult colour to match.

There were a few invoices for minor work done over the years, but none for the (alleged) cambelt service; there is (handwritten) mention of a cambelt service in the service book, but no mention of what parts were renewed (the water pump likely wasn't replaced).
The clutch will need to be replaced. All the gears select ok, but that was with the car stationary.
Although I didn't drive the car, I suspect (from browsing the few invoices) that the suspension will need an overhaul.
The engine sounded fine on tick over and with light revving. No warning lights. I didn't wait for the fans to kick in, but the temp was rising at a steady rate.
There was a small amount of fluid on top of the gearbox (and some oil spillage around the filler cap).
The tyres (Pirelli's) have plenty of tread left.
All the alloys will need to be refurbished.
Backbox has some life left in it.
The windscreen is cracked and will need to be replaced.
The interior isn't too bad up front. The driver seat bolster isn't badly scuffed, but there is a lot of wear on the back seats.
The steering wheel trim is very badly worn, bizarre for such low mileage (the few invoices present suggest the mileage is genuine).
Will need pads and discs all around. The calipers would benefit from a refurb (305mm setup).
The second key wouldn't start the car for some reason.

In conclusion, if they repaired the dent, replaced pads and discs, replaced windscreen, sorted 2nd key, retrimmed steering wheel, and put it through the NCT, it could be decent value at 5000 for someone.
That would leave some room for cambelt/w. pump, clutch, Q2, respray and any worn suspension bits.

Personally, I wouldn't buy it for any amount of money as it has obviously been abused and unloved.

-Corkie-

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Does anybody else think that report is a load of cack?

How does he know the clutch needs replacing without actually driving it? It would need a full respray because of a few little blemishes? Needs a full suspension rebuild from looking at invoices?

Pure and utter. I know the car has a few marks on it but thats OTT.

Nonoperational

Maybe... I thought seriously about buying this. There are a few good points in his post:

Only a handwritten cambelt change record, no way I'd let that go. Alfa engines need belts and that engine needs the water pump changed too. That's expensive on that engine, over €1000 I think.

The front bumper definitely needs repainting, you can see it in the photo. It's the kind of car you want looking well. The dent and the bonnet would need sorting too. Wheels may or may not be kerbed. Steering wheel looks crap in the photo.

The Alfa 156 is an absolute disaster on front suspension. That's with a light 1.6-2.0L twin spark, with the V6 it's worse. There is no history of any suspension work, but they do guarantee the NCT so at least the wishbones will be ok. It will need an anti roll bar if it hasn't had a new one fitted and the NCT can miss this. Pads and discs would need doing soonish based on the post too.

I still think it's cheap but it's the kind of car I would want mint and I'd also be much happier getting one that was looked after well. I don't know if this one was.

Big Nasty

How can anyone 'review' a car without driving it!?!:eek:

That review is utter muck. Anorak car enthusiast, educated by forums :pac: A good lash of various 3M products and a machine polisher would go along way to sort the paintwork before anyone should consider a respray. Hilarious that he didn't drive it but he reckons the clutch is on the way out.

Matt Simis

RoverJames wrote: »

That review is utter muck. Anorak car enthusiast, educated by forums :pac: A good lash of various 3M products and a machine polisher would go along way to sort the paintwork before anyone should consider a respray. Hilarious that he didn't drive it but he reckons the clutch is on the way out.

Exactly my thoughts!!

Nonoperational

LIGHTNING wrote: »

I had another read of it

1) The backbox has some life left in it? I dont get that?

Dont get that either

2) "but the temp was rising at a steady rate". Thats normal behaviour as engines tend to heat up when the start up

Nope, Alfa stats tend to get stuck open. They rise to about 70 and fall again. They never hit 90 if they are stuck open they fall before they get there.

3) Did he even look at the engine bay? He/she can figure out clutch issues without driving so maybe he can see issues in the engine bay without actually looking

That's true. Impossible to say anything about the clutch without driving. That car did drop a valve before but was apparently main dealer repaired so shouldn't be an issue.

RoverJames wrote: »

That review is utter muck. Anorak car enthusiast, educated by forums :pac: A good lash of various 3M products and a machine polisher would go along way to sort the paintwork before anyone should consider a respray. Hilarious that he didn't drive it but he reckons the clutch is on the way out.

How do you know that? It could be riddled with chips and scratches. That is pure speculation!

In fairness gpf101 dude they'll only drop from 70 when the car is moving, also if the stat was stuck open it wouldn't be rising rapidly from startup at idle as the entire coolant system would be being pumped around. Wait long enough at idle and she'll get to whatever temp the fan kicks in at before dropping again So saying they'll never get to 90 with a stuck open stat is not true at all.

Surely if it was riddled with chips and scratches anorak boy would have mentioned it.

Lex Luthor

to be honest, if it was in good nick and well taken care of, I dont care what size engine it is, what tax it costs, it would fetch more than 5k...

Henry Ford III

I was in one of these GTA's (passenger seat) around Mondello a few years ago.

It was a Alfa corporate day (they were looking for fleet sales) and the 156 GTA was just out.

The 2 cars were driven by Italians and one of them (an Estate I think) had a prang late on.

Lovely tuneful almost musical v6, and it went well too.

Matt Simis

Lex Luthor wrote: »

to be honest, if it was in good nick and well taken care of, I dont care what size engine it is, what tax it costs, it would fetch more than 5k...

I disagree, Ive seen and bought examples of cars that were priced to move, didnt yet forum experts debunk them in exactly the manner you just did.
There isnt a magic price for everything, some cars just need to sit and wait for the 1 or 2 prospective owners to come along with the cash.

From owning and selling exclusively cars with big engines, I can assure you that is a massive mental wall for most Irish people. Combine that with an Alfa badge and you get a double hit to saleability.

Lex Luthor

Matt Simis wrote: »

I disagree, Ive seen and bought examples of cars that were priced to move, didnt yet forum experts debunk them in exactly the manner you just did.
There isnt a magic price for everything, some cars just need to sit and wait for the 1 or 2 prospective owners to come along with the cash.

From owning and selling exclusively cars with big engines, I can assure you that is a massive mental wall for most Irish people. Combine that with an Alfa badge and you get a double hit to saleability.

but Matt if they are fetching more in the UK then €5k then you'd expect that to show up on the radar of the alfa forums over there and it'd be worth the trip. But getting canned like that on an alfa forum will just turn them off

Tragedy

On the paintwork, I have a car with pearlescent paint - to get two smallish scratches repaired on both drivers side doors is minimum €1,300(PaintDoctor is awesome!) and rising to over €2,000.

Not far off full respray, and that's only two doors - this needs bumper, bonnet and one door.

Lex Luthor

Lex Luthor wrote: »

. But getting canned like that on an alfa forum will just turn them off

Would you honestly reckon anyone interested in the car would be turned off by that review without viewing it themselves?
When I mixed paint (way back before all this waterbased lark came in) pearlescent stuff was about 25% more than metallics.

Matt Simis

Lex Luthor wrote: »

but Matt if they are fetching more in the UK then €5k then you'd expect that to show up on the radar of the alfa forums over there and it'd be worth the trip. But getting canned like that on an alfa forum will just turn them off

Not really. I find car buyers in the UK exceptionally lazy. Regularly they tell me they wouldnt travel to the next county over within the UK and when they hear that we have flown over to the UK to drive all the way back, they think we are mental.

Look at any of the UK Search engines, you have to manually specify National over their local postcode searches.
People there also have no clue how to actually import a car into the UK either, its very rare for someone from the UK to buy a car from here, no matter the price.

Regardless, presumably my point is already proven by the fact that they havent flown over, considering they wouldnt know what it looks like first hand other than reading that (clearly) absurd review.

Matt Simis

Matt Simis wrote: »

Not really. I find car buyers in the UK exceptionally lazy. Regularly they tell me they wouldnt travel to the next county over within the UK

That's very true, the English lads consider 100 miles an absurd distance to travel to buy a car. They'd only go that far with the caravan in tow for the hols :pac:

bmoferrall

RoverJames wrote:

Anorak car enthusiast, educated by forums

I came across this thread in a google search and had to respond as it was my review of the car. Apologies for resurrecting an old thread, especially as the car has now evidently sold.

I've owned two of these cars for the last 8 years and know them very well, notwithstanding the fact that I'm not a mechanic. Yes, I've learnt a lot from reading forums as well. Isn't that part of their purpose?

I would say that my 'review' makes a bit more sense when seen in the context of the full original thread. Taken in isolation I can understand some of the negative comments.

I went to view the car with the intention of buying if it checked out ok. I didn't drive the car because I didn't want to waste the salesman's time. I looked it over thoroughly and knew I wouldn't be interested in buying it.
My review was intended to give interested parties who may not have first-hand experience with GTAs some idea of likely expenses in the near to mid future; it was predicated on the assumption that the new owner would want to enjoy the car to its fullest potential, cherish it, and pass it on in as good, or better, condition to a subsequent owner.
These are special cars that have the potential to be future classics. As such, and given their rarity, I would want to see the car restored to something like its original glory.
In this irridescent red colour, they truly are stunning to look at.
Maybe I'm a little sad, but the looks of the 156 GTA are a major part of its appeal.

Did the car need a full respray? Of course not. It was only a suggestion for more particular owners as the colour is difficult to match (similar story with the pearlescent white).

As for the clutch? Generally speaking, with averagely enthusiastic driving, clutches on the GTAs tend to last around 50K (the mileage of this car). The head mechanic at Alasta confirmed that this has been his experience over the years with the V6 clutches. Sure, they can be nursed to much higher mileages, hardly the point of these cars though.
This one was very stiff, much more so than when I had the clutch on my first GTA replaced; it was also clicking at the end of its travel. Sure, you could have eked out some more miles from the clutch, but it was definitely close to the end of its life - something a potential owner would have to expense for if they were to fully experience the car's intoxicating power delivery, and the reason I mentioned it.

There was no evidence in the service history that any suspension part had been replaced in 8 years. Anyone that knows these cars, even the non-V6 variants, will agree that the wishbones, droplinks and probably ARB bushes, will need replacing around 50K or, in may cases, much earlier. A bit of digging into its history, coupled with a good drive, would have given a better picture. I made it clear that my comment was based purely on the service history and my experience with the cars.

Again, as anyone who knows these cars will confirm, cambelt services are critical with V6 alfas. Rebuilds after snapped belts (all too common) can cost over 3K.
There was no evidence in the sparse service history that the cambelt had been replaced (this is for an 8-year old car). There was a hand-written mention in the service book that one of the services was for the cambelt. Someone who looked at the car when it was on sale a year ago said that this wasn't there at the time he was looking (fair enough, this could be checked out more thoroughly if you were interested).
A full cambelt service on these cars (belts, tensioners, pulleys, water pump, gaskets, plugs) can cost up to 1300 euros.

Other common expensive issues with these cars:
- standard diff is weak and prone to breaking (although more so with the 147 GTAs), usually taking the gearbox with it. There are regular reports on AlfaOwner.com of this happening. Wise owners will fit a Q2 diff as a precaution.
- alternators can fail early (mine was replaced after 38K, another Irish GTA owner had his replaced after 32K) - 800-1000 euros to replace as they are very difficult to get at.
- oil cooler pipes are prone to rusting at certain points - again, 800-1000 to replace because of difficult access.
- rusting in the inner wheel arch area, probably not such a big issue with Irish cars.

Hopefully, whoever bought the car will see this thread and let us know how they got on with the car (03 D 666).

Hello
Welcome along, good thing I used a smiley after the anorak comment :pac: Of course, the review had to be taken in isolation as that's all we had to go on. No offence meant

bmoferrall

I find car buyers in the UK exceptionally lazy.

This is also true in my experience.
I spent around 6 months trying to sell my 147 GTA back to the U.K. (while still on UK plates).
It was far superior to anything else on sale there in the price range.
One chap paid a deposit and didn't bother coming over.
Another wanted me to detail the full cost of him traveling over from Liverpool before he would consider buying. He's still looking for a GTA 2 months later.
Another chap pulled out just before paying a deposit. He bought a cheaper car which he wrote off after a week when the brakes failed.
In the end I sold it to an Irish buyer.