Aalfa Romeo 147

BGozIE

What are peoples perception on these at the moment? A friend of mine just bought a nice 2007 one and he has fallen in love with it.

Just from recently looking at cars myself I noticed in the hatchback range of cars with small-mid sized engines, that are fetching a premium price at the moment, the 147 represents really really good value (presumably because of there bad name).

What do people think, are the alfa romeo victims of there bad press (in the past, it was probably deserved?) or are they actually just bad cars.

Would you buy one yourself?

Opinions please

Anjobe

Nice looking car with great engines.

They're never going to be among the most reliable cars on the road but I don't think there are any serious issues. The twin spark petrol engines can be expensive to service though, and have a relatively short recommended interval for timing belt replacement (36000 miles iirc). They do seem to be susceptible to timing belt failures as well so it really does need changing that often.

kooga

In the early noughties i was the owner of two alfa 147's had a 01 1.6 and a 02 2.0

I really loved the 2 litre petrol one i had which i bought as a demo from a main dealer when it was a year old i kept it for three years. My advice make sure the car has a full service history and depending on mileage check to see if it has the timing belt done I couldn't fault them never gave an ounce of trouble the only reason i left them was in 05 i wanted a 1.9jtd diesel one and there wasn't any second hand in the country and i wasn't going to buy a new one.......................they were the headt days of the boom celtic tiger and all and i then wanted a Golf GTI! Go ahead and get one

Tea 1000

BGozIE wrote: »

What are peoples perception on these at the moment? A friend of mine just bought a nice 2007 one and he has fallen in love with it.

Just from recently looking at cars myself I noticed in the hatchback range of cars with small-mid sized engines, that are fetching a premium price at the moment, the 147 represents really really good value (presumably because of there bad name).

What do people think, are the alfa romeo victims of there bad press (in the past, it was probably deserved?) or are they actually just bad cars.

Would you buy one yourself?

Opinions please

They're fairly decent, the diesels are particularly good, and the post-facelift ones (2003 approx) are more reliable.
I'd go for it if you want one, just make sure the paper history is solid and go for a fresh, well minded one.

H3llR4iser

A 2007 is a late model, so any possible early niggles would have been resolved - including a reported problem with a plastic wheel bearing in one of the timing belt tensioners.

The front suspension is the weak spot of the car, nothing serious though - bushings can be considered as a consummable part, they need to be replaced often and are not too expensive. A giveaway sign of worn bushings is a "clak clack" sound coming from the front wheel arches while driving on uneven surfaces.

As for the reliability, most if not all of it depends on how the car has been treated during the years; Irish motorists are terrible at that - the motto is "turn the key and go", unfortunately, and then blame it on the car as being "unreliable".

BGozIE

Thanks for the opinions guys. I recently bought a car, it was a 2005 HB Toyota corolla 1.4, so I wasn't really in the market - just wanted opinions. But it is as boring as dish water, funnily enough a chinese guy I work with really wants to buy it off me for his wife (I never advertised it, but it is a really clean car and he mentioned it to me on a few occasions)

I'll prob have a spin in my friends 147 at some stage this week. Who knows if I really like it maybe I will sell my car (looking very possible at the mo)

Thanks for opinions, keep em coming if you have any other positive or negative experiences/insight

GavMan

BGozIE wrote: »

Thanks for the opinions guys. I recently bought a car, it was a 2005 HB Toyota corolla 1.4, so I wasn't really in the market - just wanted opinions. But it is as boring as dish water, funnily enough a chinese guy I work with really wants to buy it off me for his wife (I never advertised it, but it is a really clean car and he mentioned it to me on a few occasions)

I'll prob have a spin in my friends 147 at some stage this week. Who knows if I really like it maybe I will sell my car (looking very possible at the mo)

Thanks for opinions, keep em coming if you have any other positive or negative experiences/insight

Flog the Carolla at a premium and get an Alfa. Keep the change for running costs.

Have one from new since 2008. Thought about changing it last year but ended up keeping it because at the end of the day, I didn't think I could replace it with better on the budget I had.

I only wish mine had leather and an arm rest...

BGozIE

GavMan wrote: »

Flog the Carolla at a premium and get an Alfa. Keep the change for running costs.

Have one from new since 2008. Thought about changing it last year but ended up keeping it because at the end of the day, I didn't think I could replace it with better on the budget I had.

I only wish mine had leather and an arm rest...

I like your thinking alright!

Ye an arm rest is something that I would have at a priority (not sure why :rolleyes:) and leather would be great but for me its not the be all and end all (although really great)

kooga

my 02 147 had all the trimmings bose, leather sunroof armrest what a beauty i still her around cork still looking smart!

skyhighflyer

Hi OP

Another 147 owner here, I've owned mine for about 7 months now. I'm pleased to report that the car hasn't (so far) cost me a penny in running costs other than 1.5 litres of oil, two front tyres and petrol.

I looked long and hard to find a decent one though, mine came up for sale at an independent specialist and had just had the belts done, suspension top arms and full service with plugs. Prior to that it had a full service history with Tractamotors.

I think they're an outstanding car for the money. I'd hold out for a model with nice spec. Mine's a Lusso with 16" alloys, dual zone climate, armrest, 4 elec windows, trip, cruise control (which I added myself for €40). I'd have loved one with leather but I'm on the lookout for a red leather interior to retro-fit.

Weak points: T-belt needs doing every 36k. I'm not a complete Alfa apologist and I freely admit that it's due to poor design on Alfa's part that the changes need to be so frequent, but it's something to budget for.

Front suspension is a complex set up and needs regular attention. Bushings are a consumable item.Pretty much all of them will have needed some suspension work by now, if it hasn't been done then you'll need to budget, you'll know from the test drive anyway.

All the T-sparks will use oil to a greater or lesser extent and some genius from Alfa decided not to put a low oil level in the car. The car will beep at you for low oil pressure but you're risking damage to get to this point. You should get used to popping the bonnet every week until you get used to your particular car's consumption, and at least monthly thereafter -and use 10W40, there's mixed reports from running on thinner stuff. Keeping the oil topped up and changed regularly also means that the variator will be kept in good shape.

They're lovely to drive when maintained well, sound good, look good (IMO) and are very comfy. One thing to note is that they're low geared, at 120kph mine pulls almost 4k revs, which means economy and noise suppression's not great on the motorway.

All in all it's the best car I've owned, can't think of anything I'd replace it with. I'd weight up the petrol vs diesel argument carefully, the T-sparks are hardy once looked after (lots of high milers around as long as the belts been done) and according to the trip mine's given 35.4mpg over 2000 miles of mixed driving. Given the lower road tax, cheaper purchase cost and relative simplicity of the petrols, I'd be opting for a petrol if my mileage allowed.

Also the independent Alfa guy I use only charges €40 an hour for labour so it's not too dear to keep her in good shape.

BGozIE

Thanks for the detail skyhighflyer. Very informative, much appreciated. Do you happen to use ti autos in dublin?

I seen a really nice ti one with low miles and main dealer service history. So depending on that I may go ahead with selling my own car. Might possible arrange a viewing of that this week.

Cheers guys.

skyhighflyer

BGozIE wrote: »

Thanks for the detail skyhighflyer. Very informative, much appreciated. Do you happen to use ti autos in dublin?

I seen a really nice ti one with low miles and main dealer service history. So depending on that I may go ahead with selling my own car. Might possible arrange a viewing of that this week.

Cheers guys.

I use Don Baker in Enfield, if you need details PM me. I know ti autos are massively well regarded too, haven't used them personally though.

Ti spec 147 is lovely, if you're a bit bored with the Corolla the Alfa could be the car you need I think

Big Nasty

My woman has one.

Too small for my liking but then I'm in to bigger cars. For what it is it's very nippy (1.6 T-Spark), handles great and a nice place to sit compared to similar class vehicles. If you find a good one it'll be pretty good value as the premium on used Alfa's tend to be quite poor as the general Irish opinion is that they're sh1te. Truth be known they won't stand up to being run long term without regular servicing and you have to pay attention to the regular TB change, but once you do they're a fantastic little car. Obviously service history is the height of importance with these.

Redsoxfan

skyhighflyer wrote: »

I use Don Baker in Enfield, if you need details PM me. I know ti autos are massively well regarded too, haven't used them personally though.

I'm a customer of both Don Baker and Ti Autos. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend either of them.

kooga

push the boat out and get the 3.2 gta !!

Tea 1000

kooga wrote: »

push the boat out and get the 3.2 gta !!

While he's that far out with the boat he may as well get one with the Q4 diff too...