Yet another advice request!

superflyninja

Hi all,
Im loooking to get a second car for myself. It will be used exclusively on the motorway to and from work.(m50 about 20km each way). I only plan on keeping the car for about a year and have been eyeing up 00- 02 alfa 156s/147s (petrol 1.6). I know that have can be trouble etc. But they match my budget which is about 1- 1.5k.
I hear bigger engines are more economical being driven at higher speeds on motorways? ( i currently am driving a 1.2 ibiza).
So taking the useage of the car into account what would my est option be?

thanks

Anan1

Alfas need care, and if your budget's only €1500 max then you won't be able to afford to maintain one. Pretty much any car will easily manage 40kms daily on the M50; very few will be appreciably more economical than the Ibiza, and fewer again within budget. What do you want the new car to do that the old one can't?

superflyninja

well i wont be driving the ibiza, the missus will, so i need my own car!

So its not true that the bigger engined cars are more suited to motorway driving?
In terms of maintenance for the alfa, outside the norm of any car (taking the alfa guzzling oil into account) what would be the major costs?

Alanstrainor

You'd need to make sure the timing belts have been changed at the right times. Every 30,000 miles I believe.

The Alfa would be a good car for some cheap fun if you're not too afraid of getting your hands dirty. But something like a fiesta 1.25 ghia would probably do the job. Should be able to pick up a decent one for a grand I would have thought. And it'll be fine on a motorway too.

Anan1

superflyninja wrote: »

well i wont be driving the ibiza, the missus will, so i need my own car!

Fair enough!

superflyninja wrote: »

So its not true that the bigger engined cars are more suited to motorway driving?

Well they are in the sense that they're generally more comfortable, but all other things being equal a larger engine will use more fuel, not less. Plus, 20kms on the M50 isn't 'really motorway driving'.

superflyninja wrote: »

In terms of maintenance for the alfa, outside the norm of any car (taking the alfa guzzling oil into account) what would be the major costs?

With €1500 cars the big worry is the unexpected. Alfas don't take at all kindly to neglect, and most at your budget will have been neglected. We had a 156 in the family from new to 130,000 miles - it was completely reliable (and never needed a drop of oil between services), but we were spending well over a grand a year on maintenance. Something Japanese would be far more likely to see the year out without heartache, IMO at least.

Edit: I'd second Alanstrainor's recommendation for the Fiesta.

kerten

I would go for a mk1 focus 1.6 for that kind of budget and use.

superflyninja

hhhmmmm Yeah to be honest since the car will be a short term thing im curious to try out an alfa. Ive wanted to drive one for a long time but the other suggestions have given me food for thought....

Alanstrainor

superflyninja wrote: »

hhhmmmm Yeah to be honest since the car will be a short term thing im curious to try out an alfa. Ive wanted to drive one for a long time but the other suggestions have given me food for thought....

You'll have a better chance of getting a trouble free fiesta and selling it on quickly than an Alfa. But I can't blame you for wanting the Alfa, awesome looking cars and the engines are good to go too.

superflyninja

not a massive fan of fords......ugly looking things id say which car ill go for will depend on what available at the time......but i do need to look into the sensisble fords ...if the alfa broke down the missus would kill me lol

Anan1

The 1.25 Fiesta is actually surprisingly good to drive.

veetwin

kerten wrote: »

I would go for a mk1 focus 1.6 for that kind of budget and use.

+1

Alot better bet than a 10-12 year old alfa. Love alfas but one for €1500 could well be knackered.

This one looks ok if it could be had for €1500. If it is a 1.8 petrol there won't be too much competition for it and it's well specced. Best car around for the money imho

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3324655

166man

With your mileage I wouldn't be worrying about the issue surrounding Alfa timing belt's. Your mileage is about 8k miles a year. If you're only keeping it for a year it shouldn't be much of an issue. There are plenty of them around with belts done and clean looking for in or around €1500.

Test drive a few and then come back to us.

superflyninja

thanks everyone for all the thoughts. going to get some prelim insurance quotes for the different types of cars/engine sizes and then hopefully in next few days actually go see a few cars!

Anan1

If I were in the market for a 156 i'd be looking at this one: http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201216207857101

Needs belts, but you might come to an arrangement on price.

superflyninja

Anan1 wrote: »

If I were in the market for a 156 i'd be looking at this one: http://www.driving.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=201216207857101

Needs belts, but you might come to an arrangement on price.

oooh that does look nice. only thing is the engine size....id be more looking for a 1.6
any idea how much it is to change the belts?

166man

superflyninja wrote: »

oooh that does look nice. only thing is the engine size....id be more looking for a 1.6
any idea how much it is to change the belts?

Cost's about €400-€450 on the 1.6 for the belt, water pump and variator. That includes labour too.

Anan1

166man wrote: »

Cost's about €400-€450 on the 1.6 for the belt, water pump and variator. That includes labour too.

The 2.0 is a bit more again, as it needs balancer shaft belts too.