whitestu
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| posted on 22/10/09 at 03:08 PM |
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I had a Leon FR170 on test when I was getting my last car, and though it wasn't very good - In fact I disliked it that much I went for a prius
instead!
I know what would have been paked on the drive if Alfas had been on the company list though.
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 22/10/09 at 03:34 PM |
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I'd go for the Alfa any day of the week over the boring VAG option. VAG reliability isn't even that great.
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TPG
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| posted on 22/10/09 at 06:35 PM |
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.....I had a dally with a rather fit one a few months back.....Hoooooh!
Image deleted by owner
..Which was nice..
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Ninehigh
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| posted on 22/10/09 at 07:34 PM |
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Apparently the newer ones are more reliable, made by the Germans.
You got to remember Alfa is the Fiat's "Special" range, kinda like Audi is to VW and Lexus is to Toyota
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locogeoff
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| posted on 22/10/09 at 08:29 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by jimgiblett
I was converted to Alfaholism 3 years ago (bought a 67 Guilia Sprint) and just cant imagine not having mine. Pics of mine are in my photo archive
under Alfa.
[Edited on 22/10/09 by jimgiblett]
I'm insanely jealous, I've had a hankering for a GT Junior for years, looks like the prices are going through the roof even for the Junior
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martyn_16v
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| posted on 22/10/09 at 09:20 PM |
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The Mrs had a 147 that I had the misfortune of having to look after, horrible horrible thing. Looked pretty when it was parked up, which is fortunate
as that's what it spent the vast majority of it's time doing.
I don't know what the diesel engines are like but they can't be any worse than the petrol ones. Drink oil at about the same rate as they
use petrol (dealers and the muppets on the owners club forum think 1L per 500 miles is acceptable  ), and if you even think about letting it get as
low as halfway between the high and low marks on the dipstick it will chew up it's chocolate big ends/mains. The low oil 'warning'
on the dash isn't a warning at all, warnings are supposed to happen before it becomes fatal. By the time it complains the engine is already a
very large paperweight.
The electrics fit the stereotype perfectly. The digital dash would spend most of it's time warning you of all the things it thought had failed
but actually hadn't (for now at least), usually phantom bulb failures. ABS/traction control system worked only when it felt like it. ECU died a
slow and horrible death, would stick itself into limp-home mode in protest at having to make any kind of foray out onto such scary things as
'the road'.
Suspension bushes were knackered after 50k miles, and are integral to the wishbones meaning most of the front suspension needs replacing to stop it
clonking.
Scuttle drain channels are cunningly designed to fill with leaf litter and block, flooding the interior at the first sign of drizzle.
Still, you've got to have one at some point...
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mistergrumpy
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| posted on 22/10/09 at 10:52 PM |
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I'm kinda with Paul the 6th in that you're only going to get biased views and having owned an Alfa Spider, with BT in that the electrics
are troublesome, but not deadly.
I remember my Alfa days with fondness. The parts cost a bomb and the customer service was worse than 5hite but I honestly saw people pulled over for
looking at my car and not the road and it's so flattering. The noise it makes is fantastic but the money I lost out on it! It was like starting
on the car ladder all over again. Luckily I got a family loan but it was a great time. I wired a PC into mine with touch screen and had all my music
and videos on it.
I would never even look at a Seat. Just doesn't do it for me. Too much like a kids drawing and, not through personal experience only friends and
strangers, they tended to lack that VW reliability that's so boasted about.
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