Alfa Romeo Giulia 2016

  • Thread starter CodeRedR51
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There are reputable tuners out there that can do wonders with motors that have forced induction. AMS, COBB etc come to mind.. or AutoDelta if European market tuner is a must.
 
There are reputable tuners out there that can do wonders with motors that have forced induction. AMS, COBB etc come to mind.. or AutoDelta if European market tuner is a must.

I think that Novitec Rosso would be the most suitable. They've done Alfas before.
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VXR
The 156 is still such an arresting design.
I'm constantly tempted by a diesel one as a daily. Wouldn't normally go for diesel, but in Alfa's case it's a more reliable engine than the petrols, and the economy gulf is enough to justify it on running costs over the petrol too. Pre-facelift saloon or post-facelift Sportwagon (as pictured above) would be my bodystyles of choice. Lovely things. So cheap at the mo.

I know people have mixed opinions on the 156 but it's one of those cars that shows Alfa has made good stuff since the glory days of the 1960s. At launch pretty much every mag rated it as highly as (or above) the German stuff.
 
I'm constantly tempted by a diesel one as a daily. Wouldn't normally go for diesel, but in Alfa's case it's a more reliable engine than the petrols, and the economy gulf is enough to justify it on running costs over the petrol too. Pre-facelift saloon or post-facelift Sportwagon (as pictured above) would be my bodystyles of choice. Lovely things. So cheap at the mo.

I know people have mixed opinions on the 156 but it's one of those cars that shows Alfa has made good stuff since the glory days of the 1960s. At launch pretty much every mag rated it as highly as (or above) the German stuff.

Or just screw the diesel part and buy this. Look at the mileage!

Seriously, I can't believe that they'll stay cheap forever, and looking through what's available now just really tempts me...
 
The Alfa 156 is probably at the top of my shortlist of 2nd/3rd cars. It's a stunning value proposition at the moment.
 
Given that £200 is very much stretching it for even the rattiest 156, am I detecting an element of facetiousness there?

Very much so :D

My Dad's was enough trouble when it was brand new, the pinnacle of which was a small claims court battle. Perhaps just a sample of one, but I can understand why Alfa don't have the best reputation for reliability.
 
You need a Busso under the hood not a JTDM ;), forget MPG as the smile on your face is worth more when you drive it.
 
Very much so :D

My Dad's was enough trouble when it was brand new, the pinnacle of which was a small claims court battle. Perhaps just a sample of one, but I can understand why Alfa don't have the best reputation for reliability.

Meh, at least my 156 started every morning, which is more than could be said for the E90 320si I had, which failed to fire up on numerous occasions. There also wasn't a spec of rust on it, unlike my similarly-aged E36 328, which looked more like a slice of Emmental cheese and whose suspension components were pretty shabby in comparison to the Alfa's. The fatal engine failure my 156 unfortunately succumbed to was due to improper maintenance (not of my own doing, I should add...)

The point I'm trying to make is that I wouldn't recommend taking much notice of reliability reputations, because more often than not you'll just have end up buying something boring, only for it to go wrong anyway.
 
The point I'm trying to make is that I wouldn't recommend taking much notice of reliability reputations, because more often than not you'll just have end up buying something boring, only for it to go wrong anyway.

Trust me, I pay no mind to them when it comes to my own choices, and to be fair to any car, once it gets to a certain age it's more about maintenance. And most stories are pretty much anecdotal, until it becomes a recall issue.

So here's my anecdotal story :) The problem with dad's car was how quickly things started going wrong. By the time it would have had its first MOT the engine had been replaced - Alfa had already bought the service interval for the cam-belt forward (I guess from lots of failures), and still it failed within its time and distance interval. To be fair it was the very helpful dealer that was urging Dad to take it legal, and in the end Alfa did cover all the costs. It was a cherished and well looked after car, my Dad's the kind of guy who'd take it to a main dealer for a screen-wash top up and tyre pressure check, so to me it was just a lemon from the moment it left the factory. Recurring ECU issues and interior trim falling apart also were a feature of the early years. After that, it aged about as well as any other car.

Out of interest my E36 328i Sport had virtually no rust - even less than the E46 I had after it, but the E36 died when the water pump disintegrated and left me with a cracked head. I'm sad to hear the Si gave you problems, if the engine had been carried over to the LCI model, it's a car I would be trying to buy right now.
 
Out of interest my E36 328i Sport had virtually no rust - even less than the E46 I had after it, but the E36 died when the water pump disintegrated and left me with a cracked head. I'm sad to hear the Si gave you problems, if the engine had been carried over to the LCI model, it's a car I would be trying to buy right now.
I've not yet known someone (in person at least) whose BMW hasn't been a bit of a rustbucket. My colleagues own a variety and all are pretty grotty. My best mate has had two E46s, both of which developed rust in really odd places, and then there's @GTP_Ingram's which I tried to help fix :lol:

As for the 320si - and to further illustrate that I'm not really concerned by the problems others have had - it's still a car I'd like to own at some point. I'd not own a car with a confirmed poor reliability record (I actually can't think of any reasonably modern vehicles to illustrate - most cars, as a rule, are pretty solid these days, and have been for a few decades now), but life's too short to avoid owning stuff you like just because one or two people on the internet have had issues.
 
I've not yet known someone (in person at least) whose BMW hasn't been a bit of a rustbucket. My colleagues own a variety and all are pretty grotty. My best mate has had two E46s, both of which developed rust in really odd places

They do rust, I wouldn't have said they were particularly bad for it across the board though. Like I said, my E36 was pretty good, just a bit under the lips of the front arches, the E46 after that seemed to be picking up random spots all over the place. To this day though, after 9 BMWs, the only one that's actually had to have any welding was my 635, that was a barn find, and the issues with 6ers digesting their own body's is well known.
 
That's an easier thing to say when you aren't paying the bills.
Ohh but I do pay the bill's I would have had a another Alfa (the Brera 3.2 v6) on the drive except the wife wants a fair bit of work doing on the house first :grumpy:.
I spent 10 years of driving cars that the kids could fit comfortably in and the mpg was good, now the kids are older its my time to enjoy the car ;).

but life's too short to avoid owning stuff you like just because one or two people on the internet have had issues.

👍👍👍👍👍👍
 
Ohh but I do pay the bill's I would have had a another Alfa (the Brera 3.2 v6) on the drive except the wife wants a fair bit of work doing on the house first :grumpy:.
I spent 10 years of driving cars that the kids could fit comfortably in and the mpg was good, now the kids are older its my time to enjoy the car ;).
I meant paying my bills ;)

Even so, I've got the MX-5 to have fun with. If I did get a 156 - and I still have a Honda to offload first - it would serve the role of economical commuter, mile-muncher and general classy conveyance.
 
Another potential 320si owner here. Might be a bit long in the tooth to get past SWMBO, but I'd certainly test drive one.
 
Eh, RWD works too. I just need something in the $20-25k USD range, doesn't matter which wheels propel it forward.

I believe the local Ram/Jeep/Chrysler/Dodge/Fiat/Alfa/Maserati dealer would be happy to try and sell you a gussied-up Chrysler 200S, or whatever that Dart SRT-4 ends up being, if that's the price you're looking for. Pretty sure they'd tell you they've got an Alfa Romeo chassis, too. SYNERGY.
 
I believe the local Ram/Jeep/Chrysler/Dodge/Fiat/Alfa/Maserati dealer would be happy to try and sell you a gussied-up Chrysler 200S, or whatever that Dart SRT-4 ends up being, if that's the price you're looking for. Pretty sure they'd tell you they've got an Alfa Romeo chassis, too. SYNERGY.
I'll bet that new SRT-4 ends up being closer to $30k, whenever it comes out.

But, it's not an Alfa. ;) I'm in it for the looks and the name, and I'm sure it can't be any less reliable than my VW.
 

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