update facelift 166

As previously posted on here bought a facelift TI last week.
Thought I would post my experiences on my three previous 166s'.
my first 166 a basic t/s 5spd. was the most reliable car I have ever
owned, three and and a half years of trouble free motoring,however
I never liked the cream cloth interior,and of course inevitably the red
paint statrted to fade,quite noisy and not that economical (25.9mpg).
Earlier this year picked up a bargain 02 plate silver 2.5 v6 tourismo
90k. mls,silver with black leather,spent a lot of money getting this
right,however with a new clutch looming and an o/s wheel bearing
noisy I decided to part company,this was shod with 16" wheels,I have
to say this was a lovely car to drive with a very nice ride and plenty
of power from the smooth v6(amazing economy on a run 34mpg!,
about 25 mpg. overall.
Eventually I found a low miles prefacelift Super on a 53 plate (32k.)
I am going to surprise everyone on here by saying on B roads it
is one of the worst cars I have driven ,the suspension was way too
soft,the dive under braking was unacceptable and the torque steer
and tramlining across the poorly surfaced lanes around here was
frightening.Of course all this could have been sorted with decent
shocks and springs,but of course at major expense.
I had other minor issue with the car,air bag warning light,interior
light delay ,engine management light coming on,prematurely
corroded rear discs,centre locking problems,non cancelling left
indicator,all in all not a very good car,and I have to say in general
pretty poor build quality,On investigation found this car was built
late 2000,and registered Dec,2003 ,so had been sitting aroound for two years.
Anyway I wasnt' put off the marque and decided to look for a facelift,
lucky enough to find a nice TI,this one has just come off a 2yr. fiat
auto lease,it drives like a dream,everything is tight well screwed together,it handles well and is quiet and refined to drive,build quality
(especially the interior is light years ahead of the earlier ones),to
anyone thinking of getting a facelift,do it!!
This of course is what the 166 should have been built like originally,
and you can see why values are pretty firnm for these,makes those
two pre reg 3.2s' at £15k. advertised on Autotrader look cheap now!

Originally Posted by vivian 166

..to anyone thinking of getting a facelift,do it!!

I did Going to collect her at the end of the week.

Great!!
I don't think you will be dissapointed.

Viv

How do you feel gimg from the 3.0 to a TS. I once had 164 24V QV and while the power was superb I find the TS really fine. I agree too the build quality on my TS Ti seems ahead of my previous 166TS, to be fair though all your cars and mine seemed to have high miles when we bought them. My new 166 onky 12k on the clock and was under 2 years old. It was like new, but I wonder what it will be like in five yaers with 80K on the clock. The best thing for me though has to be the improved handling and the car no longer diving at speed on the motorway when I touch the brakes. Also the Ti looks mean in a subtle way. For the money nothing comes close. I will ahve to suss how to post pictures.

Nick D

Sorry just re-readf your comments. 32k on the 2.5 not high mileage.

Nick D

Hi Viv, couldn't agree more with your comments on the facelift vs pre-facelift. Quality seems much better and the suspension is a big step on. Pity Alfa spent all that money on the changes and then stopped production a couple of years later.

What's different 'bout the suspension on the facelift then?

I don't understand how the quality of the interior can be better when it's exactly the same (except the steering wheel)

i guess the quality of the plastics could have been improved....the pictures of the facelift interior do look like they have plastics that are a bit "softer" and more upmarket that the mk1's.

im glad you are enjoying your facelift 166 but i just cant get past the mismatched front end or that horrible steering wheel or the cream dash ive seen in some facelifts shame cos id love the 3.2 in a 166.

First of all,the interior is not exactly the same,the materials used
are of a much higher grade,for instance the ics surroundis made of metal,not plastic,the grained material around the gear lever and handbrake is of better quality.soundproofing is much better.
I agree entirely about the light coloured dash,I am fortunate mine
is a TI spec,and the dash and lower panels are in a nice grained
black finish,where it used to be a cream or grey colour and always
seemed to get dirty.
The front styling is contoversial certainly,opinons are divided
but the big benefit is the powerful bi zenon lights.
I ran a 2yr.old 15k.t/spark for another three and a half years,so I am
certainly well qualified to comment about build quality and like it or
not you have to accept the facelift is in another league when it
comes to fit and finish,and all the irritating faults of the earlier model,
have been sorted out.

Selespeed,
What model of facelift are you getting?

Originally Posted by SimonR

Selespeed,
What model of facelift are you getting?

3.2

The silver sportronic on pistonheads?

Originally Posted by Dougie166

The silver sportronic on pistonheads?

No, for two reasons

1) I am not UK based
2) The 3.2 is always with a manual gearbox (facelifted sportronic was still a 3.0)

Aha, caught me out there - I never read your location! I am well aware that the 3.2 was never mated to the auto box but just had an off moment - Doh!

Enjoy your new motor.

Originally Posted by Dougie166

Enjoy your new motor.

Thanks, I am sure I will

I know some one who owned a 55 plate Jag S-Type 2.7 Diesel and changed it for a 55 plate 166 3.2 Lusso in Brunello Red.

The car is absolutely stunning and the fella was quids in as he sold the Jag for more than he paid for the 166.