starting to search for a 166

[niallmoran]

saying the satnav just needs a CD is wrong BTW - you need the reader and associated wiring.....

[Alfa155 TS]

[QUOTE=jay w;3111968]Next year we have the run down to Milan, and currently my drive does not have an Alfa on it.
QUOTE]

Is it a personal trip down or an AO trip? I'm looking to drive the 155 down this summer to the Alfa museum and around the Alps and riviera.

Originally Posted by K9d

Just checked Autotrader, what has happened to 166 prices , only one 2.5 V6 on there at £2.5k for a 1999 model, low milage but still .
Does this mean my 166 has gone UP in value

You can thank Jeremy Clarkson for that, he did a review a few seasons back onTop Gear on the new 166 and he gave it a superb thumbs up. He reckons pound for pound she swamps everything in its class and is a secondhand bargain so maybe that has everybody out hunting them down

[Alfa155 TS]

Originally Posted by jay w

Cheers Purple

At the risk of sounding blasee what it is about the V6 that makes doing a cam belt so difficult?

I have done Vauxhall's V6 a few times' it was a job that required precision and re-adjustment as it had a number of tensioners, the water pump needed changing as well but that's about it.

now i have no doubt that someone will read this an go there is a lot of difference between the engine, that's as maybe, but the principle of fitting a cam belt is the same the world over, accuracy, tension and correct torque settings.

If i can stretch to a 3.0 then i may do, but i would rather get a nice twinnie that ticks 80% of the boxes than a 2.5 or 3.0 that needs lots of money spent on it

I have been reliably informed about one possible reason for this and its that the engine is mounted very close to the back of the bay and is therefore quite difficult to access ares required for a tbelt change

[0of0]

Originally Posted by alfa156156

dont buy a 166 they nothing but problems,buy a e class merc,thats what im gettin as soon as i get rid of the 166

Begone timewaster!

[jay w]

Originally Posted by alfa156156

250!! id rather burn it lol

he didn't say no then....

Granted that wasn't exactly a yes either

I would recommend an alfa to friends and family without any issue, but i would also go and look over the car with the buyer.

[jay w]

[QUOTE=Alfa155 TS;3123299]

Originally Posted by jay w

Next year we have the run down to Milan, and currently my drive does not have an Alfa on it.
QUOTE]

Is it a personal trip down or an AO trip? I'm looking to drive the 155 down this summer to the Alfa museum and around the Alps and riviera.

Ours will be an AO trip down to Milan in June, but i also want something 'for the weekend' that is comfortable, quick, and out of the ordinary

[K9d]

Originally Posted by niallmoran

ummm...all of us probably! There is far more enjoyment and involvement to be had from having an alfa rather than a boring german box and i suspect they wouldn't be any cheaper to run!

+1

Alfa156156 you have had a bad experience, all cars go wrong, and ignored every bit of advice people have given you but please give it a rest with the knocking Alfas you are getting very boring

[Pomeo]

Originally Posted by K9d

Is Pomeo siting on a gold mine then

Oh ma darlin oh ma darlin oh ma darlin clementine.

BOOM BOOM


Explosion or Basil Brush...boom boom




Pomeo

[evo_number_one]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

This was previously discussed on page 1 of this thread. Seems to have rad probs now and listed as spares or repair - but with MOT.

In previous adverts the seller has said he has had the car in storage for 3 years, but in this one advises that he never re-registered the car and he still has the V5 in the previous owners name.

[jay w]

Originally Posted by evo_number_one

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

This was previously discussed on page 1 of this thread. Seems to have rad probs now and listed as spares or repair - but with MOT.

In previous adverts the seller has said he has had the car in storage for 3 years, but in this one advises that he never re-registered the car and he still has the V5 in the previous owners name.

I have been watching this one, and whilst it is a nice car with low mileage it does look like it has been badly treated at some point.
In addition it has been stored, this means that there will be issues with component failure in the near future, i would bet the rad was blocked before the cold weather set in.....

i have made him one of my 'generous' offers, surprisingly i was turned down

The problem is i spent many years in the trade, some people see a low mileage car as a money maker, i see a car with 'spares or repair' against it as a zero value car....and the guy wants £800 as a by it now...he's having a giggle

[Icheb]

Go back in a week and see what he say's when its still unsold

[jay w]

Originally Posted by evo_number_one

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

This was previously discussed on page 1 of this thread. Seems to have rad probs now and listed as spares or repair - but with MOT.

In previous adverts the seller has said he has had the car in storage for 3 years, but in this one advises that he never re-registered the car and he still has the V5 in the previous owners name.

Originally Posted by jay w

I have been watching this one, and whilst it is a nice car with low mileage it does look like it has been badly treated at some point.
In addition it has been stored, this means that there will be issues with component failure in the near future, i would bet the rad was blocked before the cold weather set in.....

i have made him one of my 'generous' offers, surprisingly i was turned down

The problem is i spent many years in the trade, some people see a low mileage car as a money maker, i see a car with 'spares or repair' against it as a zero value car....and the guy wants £800 as a by it now...he's having a giggle

i have been chatting to the seller, aside from the V5C and the handbooks he had no record of any service history, nor does he have any of the old MOT's

this is getting dodgier by the second...

and the seller tells me you cane get about 10/15 miles before it has emptied the contents of the radiator, but he reckons i could make to back to Plymouth in it

Originally Posted by Icheb

Go back in a week and see what he say's when its still unsold

I might do that, however the longer the car sits there the less i am likely to offer....

I would guess he has bought this with the hope of making a buck or two on it, however he has been bitten by the rad going bang before he could move it on.

If i offer next week, i will be starting and finishing at a very low figure

[a17esh]

An eclass merc over an Alfa 166............................eclass merc are rubbish in everyway, they look cheap, they feel cheap,there boring to be in (i drove for 2hrs in one, ride was ok, not anything magical, i just wanted to get from a to b asap), the alfa I just wanna drive and drive and drive! Alfa are not cheap, and trust me, when you have a working 166, there great, dont blame the car, coz its a great car, and deep down you know it, its not the cars fault that you cant afford to look after it. TBH, your best off with a fiesta ztec s, great car, lot cost, fun to drive, plus its more fun then an avg eclass or bmw, and you wont have huge costs. Alfa are great if your into cars!!

[jay w]

on a slight tangent.....

All 166's come with a built in double din Stereo (ish) are they all referred to as ICS?

Do they all come with Sat nav and the large sim card slot?

Does anyone know if the phone is a GSM900mhz, 1800mhz or both

thanks

[purple145]

all 166's come with a built in double din stereo (ish) are they all referred to as ics?

yes, whether with phone or not, ics is the generic term

do they all come with sat nav and the large sim card slot?

no, satnav is pretty rare, the ICS is satnav enabled, but that means you also need the wire and reader. Unfortunatly the ICS says satnav whether it is fitted or not, hence the confusion, you can only tell by looking in the boot. The large sim slot is only if there is a phone fitted, most do not have a phone dispite there being a phone button on the ICS

does anyone know if the phone is a gsm900mhz, 1800mhz or both

iirc the phone is gsm900, so o2 and vodaphone, not orange or t-mobile

hth

[jay w]

Originally Posted by purple145

all 166's come with a built in double din stereo (ish) are they all referred to as ics?

yes, whether with phone or not, ics is the generic term

do they all come with sat nav and the large sim card slot?

no, satnav is pretty rare, the ICS is satnav enabled, but that means you also need the wire and reader. Unfortunatly the ICS says satnav whether it is fitted or not, hence the confusion, you can only tell by looking in the boot. The large sim slot is only if there is a phone fitted, most do not have a phone dispite there being a phone button on the ICS

does anyone know if the phone is a gsm900mhz, 1800mhz or both

iirc the phone is gsm900, so o2 and vodaphone, not orange or t-mobile

hth

Cheers Purple

just to add a spin on this, is there anyway of running my ipod/iphone but using some kind of plug in interface?

[klapanciusz]

have a look at loudlink.eu, I'm a happy customer for a year now

[jay w]

Right i am toying with two cars.....

Both 3.0s one manual, one auto, both late 90's cars.
Mileage one is 80K the other 105k, mileage os not an issue as this car is a weekend car, i will be using my Taxi most of the time to i doubt this will do more than about 8K a year
One is Black with a Light leather (grey/cream) and the other is White (pearlesent) with Black interior

Neither have the sat nav or phones, both have lots of history.......

So White of Black, Manual or Auto

[niallmoran]

i'd go for the super (the manual), although i guess it's horses for courses! Best to go drive both and see whatcha reckon

[jay w]

Nail that's part of the issue....both of them are about 200 miles from my place, both of them look really good and on speaking to the owners they both appear to be genuine cars that have been looked after...

I'm in a position where i can afford to look at one, but not both if you get my drift

One is an Ex Alfa car and has a few little extras.

Both colours seem to be a little scarce, the white being the 'rarer' i am still in the process of 'negotiating' a price on either as well so that could have a bearing on my choice as well

[K9d]

On colour alone I would go for black, on the manual/auto side not so sure if they were 2.5s deffo manual but the 3.0 mmmmmm.
If you get the black looking like your 156 was it will look stunning, I think it's too big a car for white but thats just my opinion.

[jay w]

Originally Posted by K9d

On colour alone I would go for black, on the manual/auto side not so sure if they were 2.5s deffo manual but the 3.0 mmmmmm.
If you get the black looking like your 156 was it will look stunning, I think it's too big a car for white but thats just my opinion.

Thanks for your comment K9.

If/when i get one it will get my usual 4 hours to polish a bonnet treatment and Black has a certain moodyness about it, i am tempted to lightly tint the rear windows as well, and then get a few more bits of Chrome........and so on and so on

But the White looks great in the pearl finish, i know that touching it up will be almost impossible and on dull days it will always look a little 'off white' i am really unsure about this now

[ScottT1974]

Yep, if it was me I'd go for the manual in black everytime. More involving to drive than the auto and better for fuel, especially for your road trip!

[K9d]

Originally Posted by ScottT1974

Yep, if it was me I'd go for the manual in black everytime. More involving to drive than the auto and better for fuel, especially for your road trip!

Took mine out today she has been sat for 3 weeks avoiding the snow
After jumping her off the 146, little twinny saves the day , did have a postie giving it funny looks with jump leads running into the boot
Then doing a throttle reset, I had no throttle at all , put some go-go juice in, bloody wife left her empty, and went for a drive in a variety of styles.
Such a great car and when it comes to spirited driving the manual is fantastic

[evo_number_one]

If you have narrowed it down to looking at these 2, then regardless of colour versus man/auto, with approx 25k between them, guessing condition, history, major jobs done may need to play a bigger part in your decision

Could be the higher mileage one has been better cared for... often the way.