Trade in query

Waylander

Hi folks,

Any input would be appreciated. I currently own a 2000 1.4 Focus with 46K on the clock. Am half looking at buying a 2001 Alpha 156, for focus + 5000. Firstly looking for opinions on the deal itself. Then looking for opinions on Alpha's in general as I have heard they can be troublesome. Teh Alpha has 26000 on the clock.

Cheers

landser

i'm currently driving an alfa 156, Aug. 99 reg. i bought in Dec 2002, with 57K on the clock. apart from a couple of minor matters, i have never had a days bother with it.

things to watch are: timing belt will need to be replaced after about 60K. costs a couple of grand. the plugs (all 8) are replaced about every 40 -50K. don't touch it unless it has a FSH. there's a good bloke who services alfas only off the north circular. pm me and i'll give you the details.

as for the deal, i know nothing about the focus, but the alfa is probably worth 10-15K dep on its history

Waylander

Thanks Landser, the price on the alpha is 14000.

Eoin

Hi,

I would recommend going for a slightly older 156 - the resale value of them drops considerably. I bought my 156 last January for 14,950 and trying to sell it at the moment, and only looking like it is worth about 10,500 or so (don't worry - not trying to flog my one to you!). You should get a decent one for a lot less than 5K on top of your focus. Remember that they have a new model out now, so I would assume that this will lower the 2nd hand value.

What is the spec on the 156 you are looking at? If you go for a 2 litre, the resale price is going to drop through the floor.

People still seem to think that Alfas are not reliable, but I have heard of very few people who have had trouble with the 156 - I have not had any problems with mine at all.

Eoin

ubu

its not a new model, its only facelifted, still the same underneath

Didnt i see someone saying the 1.6 is worth more than the 2.0 on here recently?

Dont know about getting a much older one, as thats when things start to go wrong, the one your looking at should be good for 20k odd trouble free motoring anyway, whereas if you buy one with 50k on the clock, things will start going wrong/dropping off alot sooner

unkel

eoin_s wrote:

I would recommend going for a slightly older 156 - the resale value of them drops considerably.

Recommend same. Bet you'll be able to find a dealer that would love to sell you a good '99 or '00, especially a 1.8 or 2.0 with warranty and service history for a grand or two plus your Focus that is easy for the dealer to sell on

Make sure the timing belt was done and have the car inspected by AA/RAC or your local mechanic

BrianD3

timing belt will need to be replaced after about 60K. costs a couple of grand

I'm shocked at this. Are you sure this is correct. Does the engine have to come out to change the belt? This would be somewhat understandable on a V6 engined 156 but on a 1.6 or 1.8?

The 156 is a nice looking car and the engines are pokey but apart from that it's just a mid sized family car/repmobile. And it has several disadvantages compared to other vehicles in the same class. It is behind the class leaders in terms of handling, ride, space, safety and reliability. There's no way in hell I would ever get one if it was going to cost me a couple of grand to get the damn timing belt changed.

BrianD3

Tommy Vercetti

landser wrote:

things to watch are: timing belt will need to be replaced after about 60K.

I'm pretty sure Alfa originally said 72k then revised this to 36k after a huge amount of em went pop around 60k

rander00

How could it cost a couple grand to change a timing belt.

A couple hundred, you mean???

Tommy Vercetti

rander00 wrote:

How could it cost a couple grand to change a timing belt.

A couple hundred, you mean???

who knows....Alfa dealers are notoriously CRAP

unkel

BrianD3 wrote:

It is behind the class leaders in terms of handling, ride

No it isn't. The 156 drives exceptionally well for a car in its size and price class. There probably still is no other car between it and the much more expensive 3-series

BrianD3

Have to disagree Unkel. The Mondeo and Mazda 6 are better handling cars than a 156 IMO. I've driven all three and the Mondeo and Mazda have better steering and understeer less. For a FWD family car the Mondeo is a very good handler indeed.

The 156 is still a good handler and as I said earlier the engines are pokey so it's still a good drivers car. But in terms of ride comfort I'm afraid it lags WAY behind the French cars, esp. the new 407.

BrianD3

unkel

Still haven't driven the Mondeo, the 6 is good, but still very Japanese (dull) imo. My best mate has a chipped 156 2.4 JTD and it's a bit of a beast, especially for the money. Colour is that strange light blue metallic that seems to change depending on the weather etc. Still best looking car in it's class imho

BrianD3 wrote:

in terms of ride comfort I'm afraid it lags WAY behind the French cars, esp. the new 407

Grant you that one, can't beat the Frenchies for comfort

Haven't driven the 407 either but have read numerous reviews. The Laguna II is very comfortable and the C5 is just something else on potholed country lanes

landser

rander00 wrote:

How could it cost a couple grand to change a timing belt.

A couple hundred, you mean???

nope, i mean a couple of grand. timimgbelt replacement in any car is expensive. i had to have one done to my old 5 series, and that cost over IR£2,000.

as for the 156, to compare it to the tediousness of a mondeo is like comparing a art masterpiece to an athena poster. the 156 is the only car i have ever owned that puts a smile on my face every time i sit in it. it's very comfortable (with leather seats) and has good spec. it's also very cheap second hand..... never buy anything less than 3 years old. i have the 2.0l, it's fairly sporty for a saloon and has good torque

BrianD3

landser, there's nothing tedious about the way the Mondeo (or the Focus for that matter) drive. The 156 looks nice inside and out but underneath it's very little different than any other FWD repmobile and as I said it falls behind the class standard in a number of areas these days.

And as for 2 grand to change a timing belt :eek: That is far from normal for cars of this type/price range. Remember we are talking about a repmobile, not a mid engined V8 Ferrari. The 156 isn't even rare, they're as common as muck in the Dublin area so it's not as if owning one is some sort of "special experience".

To put it into perspective, it cost me 400 quid to get a Renault dealer to change the timing belt on my Laguna and I thought that was dear. And the Alfa costs FIVE times more? Is an Alfa 156 five times better than a Laguna. Not a chance - in fact it's behind it in many areas.

BrianD3

tinofapples

timimgbelt replacement in any car is expensive

Horsesh1t , if the timing belt goes , yeah , it's expensive to fix. But not if it's changed when it should be .

landser

tinofapples wrote:

Horsesh1t , if the timing belt goes , yeah , it's expensive to fix. But not if it's changed when it should be .

fair point. i should have been more precise. if it goes it's expensive to repair, if its replaced, it's less expensive.

Eoin

Didnt i see someone saying the 1.6 is worth more than the 2.0 on here recently?

Yeah, I think I said that when trying to offload mine. There aren't as many 1.6 versions around as there are 1.8 and 2.0 litres, and given the cheaper tax and insurance, it makes it a better prospect for a lot of people so their 2nd hand value rises. Also, the 1.6 did not come out until 2000, while the other engine sizes came out a year or two ealier.

The 156 is not as unreliable as Alfas have tended to be in the past, but the unreliable image is still there, so the depreciation on them is quite high. I know a good few people who got them when they first came out (over 6 years ago I think), and they have had no problems since then.

unkel

eoin_s wrote:

Yeah, I think I said that when trying to offload mine

Ssshhhht! Don't tell anyone else. It's an Irish secret that should not be revealed. Some very expensive cars depreciate to next to nothing over the first 7 years or so and are valued less then their cheapo siblings. Keep shhtttum or I will be cross with you

jimmycrackcorm

BrianD3 wrote:

Have to disagree Unkel. The Mondeo and Mazda 6 are better handling cars than a 156 IMO. I've driven all three and the Mondeo and Mazda have better steering and understeer less. For a FWD family car the Mondeo is a very good handler indeed.
BrianD3

Owned a well specced 156 but drive a new mondeo now. The Mondeo couldn't look at the alfa for driveability and style. Mondeo is so boring.

landser

jimmycrackcorm wrote:

Owned a well specced 156 but drive a new mondeo now. The Mondeo couldn't look at the alfa for driveability and style. Mondeo is so boring.

agree totally. the mondeo/focus are the motoring equivalent of the 3 bedroomed semi... practical and safe, with good resale potential.

x in the city

i wouldnt go near one with a barge pole.

i have heard numerous storys of alfas of variour marque with their engines blowing, head gasket going up in smoke etc........

the parts cost a bomb, as pointed out in the timing belt change.

a guy i know had a 01 156 and doing about 100 a car pulled out in front of him, he slammed the brakes and ran the gears down, but the speedo went around the clock and the engine blew....

the same guy had a 155 and the gasket blew in that after driving it hard with a friend

?

them engines sound too dodgey to me IMH! :rolleyes:

unkel

x in the city wrote:

he slammed the brakes and ran the gears down, but the speedo went around the clock and the engine blew....

Eh? Did he do something like go down from 5th to 1st @ 100 mph causing the revs to shoot up with the rev limiter failing?

sweeper4

landser wrote:

timing belt will need to be replaced after about 60K. costs a couple of grand.

A timing belt change should be done every 36 - 40k for a 156 and costs €600 - €700 at an Aplha dealer. If you do not heed this and the timing belt does go, then you are looking at the 2 grand plus mark landser mentions for replacement of damaged valves etc.

As with the posters to this thread I had also heard the bad stories concerning Alphas. I took a chance anyway and glad I did. I drive a 01 and have had no real problems at all, and nothing dropping off either! NCT later today so hope I haven't spoken too soon!

CrowdedHouse

x in the city wrote:

a guy i know had a 01 156 and doing about 100 a car pulled out in front of him, he slammed the brakes and ran the gears down, but the speedo went around the clock and the engine blew....

:

And hopefully a better learning experience than penalty points could ever be !

Waylander

Thanks for all the advice folks. I had also heard all the horror stories about Alfa's too, but I had never heard an Alfa owner bad mouth them. I am thinking I am gonna go for it but will give myself the festive period to decide for sure. The garage is closed so it won't go anywhere.

Dan_B

Personally I wouldn't touch one either.
If they are selling so cheap there's probably a good reason for it.(apart from the fact that they are common as muck).

read some of the views on the CBG web site, some good, some horror stories!

Here's one exert:

Gearbox probs at 30k miles, starter had to be replaced, bulbs keep blowing , very sqweaky interior.
Not bad for first 20000 miles then problems started 1 thing after another. The bad reliability rumours are true. A nightmare to own then to get rid of. Lost a fortune - never again.

jo.king

Have had a 156 for the last two years, its a 00 and have had no problems except for the bulbs....love the drive...cant wait to get into it next!

jimmycrackcorm

I was aware of the stories of Alfa reliability when I bought mine but from my info search it appeared that it was an historical problem whereas quality has improved imensely since the 156 intor. However a caveat - I did want to get a selespeed but all the info I found no end of teething problems with this - scary stories so I stayed away from that.

incidentally - I have a new ( six months now) mondeo that has just broken down with starter motor problems. Never had an Alfa problem.

Nothing compared to my disaster of a Vectra though.