i would say 4970 is at the higher end of the price bracket...has it had a cambelt and tensioner change at 36k, if not, it is definently due one now...a main dealer is going to charge circa 500 pounds to carry out the work

mike

 

no more or less reliable than any other car imo...BUT....and thats a big BUT.....they live and more importantly die by their servicing and owner/driver checks. A lot of cars will survive pretty well being driven from one service to another with little or no intervention by the driver however I would say the Alfa is a more fickle beast. To make sure it stays tip top you at least need to check oil levels on a regular basis between services topping up when needed.

 

Thanks for the relpies, will check for the cam belt change although whilst it has a stamped book I could`nt see any reciepts, suppose I could ring the dealer, remember it was someone in Sheffield, regards oil checking, am fully used to that I have a 166 remember will try a price haggle too but the salesman said it was £700 less than I would pay at an Alfa dealer ! and the only reason they got it was due to it being just over the 50k milage otherwise it would have been sold by the franchise dealer, could be bull shine I suppose !

 

A secondhand car salesman telling porkies - unheard of!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You should have a look at a few more cars to see if the price is OK.

Good Luck.

 

As said in the above! Okenora's advice, and the rest, good info IMHO:

 

The computer on mine shows that I get an average of between 30 - 35 mpg. If I sit on an open road and use the cruise control set at 58 mph (Yes! Just a "Gnats" under 60) then the computer shows an "Actual" comsumtion of lower 50's!!! Which is, I think, bloody marvelous. (Although I don't tend to use the cruise very often ).

I use mine for Commuting, as for that it's no different to most other small(ish) cars really.

Reliability hasn't been a problem so far. Mine's an '04 plate 1.6 TS.

Hope this answers a couple of your questions.

 

[ ]

 

147 in a local independent dealership, it`s a 52 plate 1.6 T Spark, 51k with a full main dealer service history, appears to be really well looked after, even under the bonnet is nice and clean, no scuffs on the alloys and unmarked bodywork, seems very well equipped too - £4970"

Agree with the other comment about the price being at the higher end of the scale, but whether its a good price depends on what work has or hasn't been done to it.

If the cambelt/tensioners/variator hasn't been done, its going to cost you about £400-£500 at an Alfa independant garage, and about £200 more at a dealer.

At 51k various suspension components will probably have worn out due to wear and tear, so if they haven't been replaced you could do with budgeting for anything between £200 and £500 to replace various bits and bobs.

Worn tyres can easily cost £80 per corner, so that's potentially £320.

If all that stuff has been done, and it has full dealer or Alfa indie service history with all the scheduled oil changes (this is crucial), it will be good price.

Just by way of example, I paid £3.5k for a 1 owner, 2001 1.6 Lusso with 70k mileage. Car seemed to be in great condition except after buying the car and taking it into the garage, I ended up spending:-

£200 road tax
£500 cambelt + spark plug service
£250 for new suspension components
£100 to fix some minor faults (radio, creaking clutch, door rattle etc).

Power steering pipe is also cracked and needs replacing as does the heat shield on the cat (probably caused by the previous owner driving over a speed hump too quickly) and will also need a new back box soon. Brakes will also need replacing in 5000 miles, which will another £300 or so.

So in effect my £3.5k car is going to cost me about £5k. This is me speculating, but I just wonder whether owners from new tend to get rid of their cars after the warranty expires and major services or costs arise eg. cambelt / plug service, suspension wear etc.

Fuel economy isn't that great on mine - about 29/30mpg in mixed conditions, 33mpg motorway and 21mpg doing 3 mile commutes work on a cold engine! (it doesn't have time to warm up properly). Incidentally, how can you be worried about mpg on your wife's car when you drive a 166 that probably does about 10mpg?

I really like the 147 though - good to drive in all conditions, be it commuting, town, motorway etc, it looks great, has character and all the gadgets.

 

Hi
Totally agree with your last paragraph and yes I sold mine on for a 159 to a large degree for the reasons you've brought up about new owners,Although it had also gathered alot of parking dings,which to put the car back to A1 would have cost quite a few bob.Great car though Cheers Steve

 

Thank you all for taking the time and effort to share your knowledge, I checked with the dealer and whilst it was serviced by them, the belt, pully`s etc have not been changed, I could get no reduction on the price so have given it a miss, she test drove a Fiat Punto today and really liked it so it looks like she may have that, Fix It Again Tomorrow :lol: ps, I very rarely see as much as 10mpg, well, maybe on a run