[clarkie28]

Hello all, i copy and pasted my story below from the car history thread in the gtv/916 spider section!

I am a total petrol head and for as long as i can remember i had always wanted an Alfa but having my head buried deep in the sand and listening to the supposed horror stories that Alfa cars are associated with i was 'worried' about owning one!

I was looking up Alfa's early last year on the net and i came across AO and did a little home work! In the mean time my stepdad was after getting rid of his Nissan Note for an estate so i suggested a 159sw, which he ended up buying and i had a few drives of it and it was lovely and obviously a beauty to look at.
So i am 'mister play it safe' but i thought, no sod it, i will treat myself to a car that i have always wanted, so i started to look for a 147. I test drove one a 1.6ts and i must admit i was a little disappointed with the performance, so i bought a 2005 156 2.0jts.

Now, i went and picked it up but as soon as i got it home the Motor system control failure light came on, which took the shine away a little and me being me, i started to worry!
I phoned the garage up where i bought it from and they replaced a faulty sensor all within 30mins of me arriving and it was all tickedy boo. I got home and as soon as i pulled up, the MSCF came on again and i got all scared and i thought this could be the beginning of a nightmare, so after 6 days of Alfa ownership i took it back and got my Fezzie back!

Im in a dilemma now. I felt a million dollars driving the 156 and in the first day of me owning the 156 when it was parked at work i had 10 of my customers come in and ask who owned the gorgeous Alfa. Even people who didnt know anything about cars were asking what is it and being told that i must be earning too much when in truth it only cost £5995!
My head always turns when i see an alfa, and im always on AO, and i was really looking forward to going to the local meets etc. So im thinking i should 'man up' and just get another one!

Ive seen a 147 1.9jtd 54 reg for £4995 and a 53 reg 156 2.0jts for £3995 which i really really like the look of both in Gabianno Blue! Shall i go and view them and which should i pick?

Please dont cane me for being a shirtlifting wuss!!

Ps - What ever i do or buy will have to last me a few years. Would either the 1.9 jtd or the 2.0 jts last for many years and miles if serviced regularly?

I really apprieciate your help and comments as always :thumbs:

 

[v6hughes]

go and see em both, test drive them both and see which you prefer, if they've been looked after with a good service history and you keep that up then they will be reliable.

 

[cozzmik]

I know of people spending far more money on so called reliable cars and still having faults at the start of ownership. Bite the bullet and go for it,156 is my call but im biased.Had mine a while now and no faults as yet,just got to find a looked after one.The cheap asking price lets you budget for a little tinkering,mine cost half the price of a similar spec german.But looks a thousand times better.

 

[clarkie28]

Yeah i know cozzmik! Ive always fancied a BMW too, but and its a BIG BUT, when ever i see an Alfa on the road, my head turns to look in envy!!! Says it all really doesnt it!!!! :thumbs:

 

[Alfa-Red]

get one, go on, you know it makes sence.

as long as its been taken care of by the previous owner, serviced on time, belts etc changed on time, it will be fine.

the only issue iv had with mine, was a thermostat replacement, and i recent trip into a curb:rant:

my mums just got another one after writing her previous 156 off. its a W reg 2.0 sp2 (electric recaros) done 100k, for £1200, and its a gem, nothing wrong with it at all:thumbs:

GET ONE!!:lol:

 

[Spider95]

Tread carefully with the JTS though. Certainly the older ones (such as that 53 reg) had fueling problems, this cokes up the head and causes serious performance and running problems.

If you go petrol the best engines are the TS versions, either 1.8 or 2.0. The diesels are fine too, just drive them and make sure all is ok but especially look for FSH as this does suggest careful previous owners - which does actually help with these cars.

 

[MINERVA]

If the car was running ok'sh then the warning light was probably a Mass Air Flow (MAF) meter failed (common). Flat spot about 4000rpm. Had it happen twice in V6's. Change it and feel the real performance come back. Dealer probably cleared the fault code only, which doesn't last. 156 far better in my opinion. JTS is better than TS, which was not brilliant for reliability.

 

[Alfa-Red]

If the car was running ok'sh then the warning light was probably a Mass Air Flow (MAF) meter failed (common). Flat spot about 4000rpm. Had it happen twice in V6's. Change it and feel the real performance come back. Dealer probably cleared the fault code only, which doesn't last. 156 far better in my opinion. JTS is better than TS, which was not brilliant for reliability.

if the maf failed, it wouldnt be running "ok".

oh and the jts in the 156, had more problems than the TS

maf also doesnt create a warning, until its completely died. and if it did that, there would be no power, would stall at every junction etc.

warning light was more than likely caused by the lambda sensor.

if it was running ok, with no difference to performance, then a random voltage drop is more than likely.

either way, diag is recommended:thumbs:

 

[MINERVA]

In two cars, V6 warning light came on and car was fine, except for a flat spot. Even the mechanic didn't notice.
MAF failure can do all sorts of things and will create a MSCF warning light in the later cars. Think lambda is different light. (injector). Diag brings up 1761 I think that doesn't help at all cos its not in the Alfa manual, even in dealers. Change the MAF it'll fly.

 

[Alfa-Red]

if you had a flat spot, it wasnt "fine", it was a dying maf, the light can come on just from a voltage drop.

before you replace the maf, you unplug it first, if the car performs better at the top. get it replaced

and there is no injector warning light on later cars, its still the mcsf light which is why you need the codes read:thumbs:

 

[racingredalfa]

156 TS................take the plunge and let us know what you got