[tishobg]

Hello. New here.
I want to buy said model, year 2002 or 2003.
I need your help with my purchase, since I know engine-wise and suspension the car is perfect, if there are things hidden to my untrained eye,which you can notice on the pics:
Click for imgur link
My few worries:
1. A/C doesn't work as of right now, he's supposedly going to fix it.
2. !!!!! White dashboard, can it be genuine? I haven't seen a 2003 alfa with a white dash. !!!!!
3. Airbag light ON, but i've read about how to fix that issue.
4. Coolant tube,why is it so damn dirty?
5. In the front, the cap ,from which you can pop the towing hook has some sort of glue on it,as if it has been opened before,which would mean it has been towed.
Thanks ! Any input will be deeply appreciated, it's my first car :xmas:

 

[mirlock]

Hi & Welcome

Rust on the sill's is something you need to check for , wel really check for rust / rot all round .

My few worries:
1. A/C doesn't work as of right now, he's supposedly going to fix it.

2. !!!!! White dashboard, can it be genuine? I haven't seen a 2003 alfa with a white dash. !!!!! . Yes they came with white but its silver really

3. Airbag light ON, but i've read about how to fix that issue. ..Yes fairly easy fix in most cases

4. Coolant tube,why is it so damn dirty? ..This just happens it doesnt look like its boiled over its just dirty

5. In the front, the cap ,from which you can pop the towing hook has some sort of glue on it,as if it has been opened before,which would mean it has been towed. ... The caps do fall off so get glued in, but you cant tell if towed or not so cant help much there.. but the threads tend to rust so you can look at the thread and see if its clean that may give a good idea if its been towed

Service history if its been poorly looked after walk away unless silly cheap and your able to repair things.

Best rule to stick by is .. If in doubt walk away there is plenty of cars out there

 

[tishobg]

Hi & Welcome

Rust on the sill's is something you need to check for , wel really check for rust / rot all round .

My few worries:
1. A/C doesn't work as of right now, he's supposedly going to fix it.

2. !!!!! White dashboard, can it be genuine? I haven't seen a 2003 alfa with a white dash. !!!!! . Yes they came with white but its silver really

3. Airbag light ON, but i've read about how to fix that issue. ..Yes fairly easy fix in most cases

4. Coolant tube,why is it so damn dirty? ..This just happens it doesnt look like its boiled over its just dirty

5. In the front, the cap ,from which you can pop the towing hook has some sort of glue on it,as if it has been opened before,which would mean it has been towed. ... The caps do fall off so get glued in, but you cant tell if towed or not so cant help much there.. but the threads tend to rust so you can look at the thread and see if its clean that may give a good idea if its been towed

Service history if its been poorly looked after walk away unless silly cheap and your able to repair things.

Best rule to stick by is .. If in doubt walk away there is plenty of cars out there

Will check for rust on the floorpan for sure. Read that it's most vulnerable there and on the mounts for the front bumper,both will be thoughroughly checked.
The silver dashboard had me worried it had been in an accident, you definitely eliminated that doubt. Will still check for the usual places,which might indicate a crash at some point of the vehicle's life.
From my understanding, it's alright for the tube to be dirty? A person I know said it means it's been poorly taken care off, or something simular. Never would I go to a car with a perfect engine bay, definitely hiding something.
Will check the thread, if it's rusted, my guess it hasn't been towed.
Car is priced 1600 EUR with replaced suspension a few months ago. Service history is non-existant in my country, the owner kept all his receipts, but those before him, what they have done to the car I have no clue.
Forgot the add, 186 000 km. Will service it with Selenia TurboDiesel 10W40 and quality filters, hope it's not necessary to change the timing right away, steep prices .

 

[Gruna86]

How much money is he asking for it?
Alfa 147 is galvanized at the factory so any kind of rust means car was in some kind of accident.
AC not working,coolant tubes issues,airbag light always on. All looks like an accident repair. But if it is cheap and fixed properly there is no reason for not buying it.
Check for Dual Mass Flywheel problems. Clutch must operate smoothly,no juddering at takeoff. Turbo must not whine or scream at high revs. Check for uneven tyre wear

 

[tishobg]

How much money is he asking for it?
Alfa 147 is galvanized at the factory so any kind of rust means car was in some kind of accident.
AC not working,coolant tubes issues,airbag light always on. All looks like an accident repair. But if it is cheap and fixed properly there is no reason for not buying it.
Check for Dual Mass Flywheel problems. Clutch must operate smoothly,no juddering at takeoff. Turbo must not whine or scream at high revs. Check for uneven tyre wear

1500-1600 EUR. AC is a newly developed issue, not an old one. I called him 2 weeks ago and it was fine, not it has troubles blowing cold when it's really warm outside. I've still read some 147's have problems with rust underneath, even if they have never been in an accident. If I see rust, I'll run away though.

 

[mikroel]

147 JTDm 16V

I have the same model 2004 year , but with digital A/C.
differences:
My Alfa has black dashboard.
On the back door should be sign 147JTDm16V which i don't see on your picture .It can be because owner worked something with backdoor
If you see corrosion, this means that they were done some modifications to the plate (perhaps the crash was), because the tin is protected by zinc and can not be corrosion.

 

[tishobg]

I have the same model 2004 year , but with digital A/C.
differences:
My Alfa has black dashboard.
On the back door should be sign 147JTDm16V which i don't see on your picture .It can be because owner worked something with backdoor
If you see corrosion, this means that they were done some modifications to the plate (perhaps the crash was), because the tin is protected by zinc and can not be corrosion.

Fome some weird reason A LOT of Alfa's in my country don't have the badges. Probably have been stolen or somthing, not a very rich country I'm living in. Most cars are imported from other countries, so who knows what happened there. There is literally no way to get a car with known history, without actually buying from the dealership.

 

[33_Stradale]

I owned one about 3 months ago, 1,9jtd 16v, 2002. Since you said that coolant tube is dirty and car is imported check coolant. Is it clear or dirty too. Its common in our eastern countries to import every kind of car.
For Airbag go to diagnostics to see which one will report. Probably connector is reason for Airbag light.
AC let him fix it or go to good service (DO NOT listen what they say "just re-gas and it will work fine" - for example)

 

[tishobg]

I owned one about 3 months ago, 1,9jtd 16v, 2002. Since you said that coolant tube is dirty and car is imported check coolant. Is it clear or dirty too. Its common in our eastern countries to import every kind of car.
For Airbag go to diagnostics to see which one will report. Probably connector is reason for Airbag light.
AC let him fix it or go to good service (DO NOT listen what they say "just re-gas and it will work fine" - for example)

I was told it's very hard to pin point where the problem is with the A/C : the compressor, radiator, just some hoses or what not. The service said they'll blow air (something slightly more complicated, that's what I understood) and check for leaks from each part. Car was imported a few years ago, this guy has been driving it for the past years and maintaining it very well. Should I just open the coolant tube and check the color of the coolant itself?

 

[Gruna86]

I was told it's very hard to pin point where the problem is with the A/C : the compressor, radiator, just some hoses or what not. The service said they'll blow air (something slightly more complicated, that's what I understood) and check for leaks from each part. Car was imported a few years ago, this guy has been driving it for the past years and maintaining it very well. Should I just open the coolant tube and check the color of the coolant itself?

Actually it quite easy to pin point faulty AC. When re-gasing mechanic puts fluorescent color with the gas and easily finds out if there is any leak in the system. AC won'e engage if there is very little or no gas in the system. If you hear CLICK sound when turning on the AC that means there is at least enough gas in the system and AC clutch is working properly.
Why opening tubes for checking the coolant,simply check the coolant reservoir. It should be pink or blue color and clear.

1500 EURO for that car is very cheap. And as I can see it is fully loaded with equipment,leather seats,steering wheel controls etc. Looking good.
In my country they go around for about 2500 EURO for pre-facelift model and around 3500-4000 EURO for facelift model like mine.

 

[tishobg]

Actually it quite easy to pin point faulty AC. When re-gasing mechanic puts fluorescent color with the gas and easily finds out if there is any leak in the system. AC won'e engage if there is very little or no gas in the system. If you hear CLICK sound when turning on the AC that means there is at least enough gas in the system and AC clutch is working properly.
Why opening tubes for checking the coolant,simply check the coolant reservoir. It should be pink or blue color and clear.

1500 EURO for that car is very cheap. And as I can see it is fully loaded with equipment,leather seats,steering wheel controls etc. Looking good.
In my country they go around for about 2500 EURO for pre-facelift model and around 3500-4000 EURO for facelift model like mine.

Unfortunately said mechanic doesn't have the an UV light and a fluorescent color in order to check. He can only put some gas in it and check for leaks, but only major ones will pop up.
Coolant reservoir it yellow-ish , as you can see from the photos. What does that color indicate?
Indeed nearly fully loaded, missing only the 8-zone AC and Navigation screen, everything else is in.

 

[Gruna86]

Unfortunately said mechanic doesn't have the an UV light and a fluorescent color in order to check. He can only put some gas in it and check for leaks, but only major ones will pop up.
Coolant reservoir it yellow-ish , as you can see from the photos. What does that color indicate?
Indeed nearly fully loaded, missing only the 8-zone AC and Navigation screen, everything else is in.

Go to different mechanic who has UV light because there is no better/other way to check for AC leaks. It is normal for a car to lose gas over time,say 5-6 years. But there is no point in re-gasing if there is leak in the system. If everything else is OK on the car I think that is a bargain and you should go ahead and buy it. You won't find a better car for that kind of money. JTD engines are simply great and very reliable. Most expensive things on that car is DMF(dual mass flywheel). You will recognize it if car is making rattling noise at idle and big vibration at takeoff. Turbocharger and gearbox operation are next in line. If those are ok the rest is not that expensive.

 

[tishobg]

Go to different mechanic who has UV light because there is no better/other way to check for AC leaks. It is normal for a car to lose gas over time,say 5-6 years. But there is no point in re-gasing if there is leak in the system. If everything else is OK on the car I think that is a bargain and you should go ahead and buy it. You won't find a better car for that kind of money. JTD engines are simply great and very reliable. Most expensive things on that car is DMF(dual mass flywheel). You will recognize it if car is making rattling noise at idle and big vibration at takeoff. Turbocharger and gearbox operation are next in line. If those are ok the rest is not that expensive.

Found myself a mechanic that will do the UV light diagnostic for only 5 EUR. Found a couple more actually, same price. Definitely will take it ,since new AC will cost me too much to replace. A bit weird to go to two different shops ,but it's nearly all my savings I'm paying for this car, so I'd prefer to be sure. It's not the best of joys to be a 18yrs old and to have to buy your own car, money is a real issue. Still prefer it to what all my friend end up with - their parents buy them an underpowered car which more often than not they don't even like, but since it's free - they drive. I'll be buying exactly what I want , despite my parents not really agreeing with the 140BHP the 147 is packing :thumbup:

 

[Gruna86]

Actually it is 150 bhp Car with that much power can be seductive so please be careful and drive responsibly. Hope everything works out ok and you become one of us. Cheers mate.

 

[gazza82]

Alfa 147 is galvanized at the factory so any kind of rust means car was in some kind of accident.

A lot of UK cars are suffering with rust in the rear of the floor pan .. Alfa forgot (or decided to save money) and didn't cover the whole underside in sealant .. so the rear part suffers.

Not all the metal was galvanised ..

 

[tishobg]

Actually it is 150 bhp Car with that much power can be seductive so please be careful and drive responsibly. Hope everything works out ok and you become one of us. Cheers mate.

140BHP for the pre-facelift model. I have my own worries too, if I have to be entirely honest. I've driven a Yaris 1.0 (65HP), Golf 5 (75HP) ,Astra H (100HP) and with all of them i've had my fair share of struggles staying under the speed limit, especially the Opel. Now put that into prespective ,140HP on the Alfa. 90km/h on an open road is an offence to motorists. Maybe for when cars needed 300ft to stop, but not now.

The torque is addictive and the Opel has only 220Nm of it. I'll try my utmost best to keep it in check and well... If I decide to indeed go for it, would prefer to do it on as abondoned as possible road. You've all been in my shoes. I'm 19, had to work to afford my driving license and now after working my .... off I finally am capable of buying myself a car. The fact that i've been waiting for this moment since I was 15 really makes me want to push a car, not to it's limits, but to mine's.

A lot of UK cars are suffering with rust in the rear of the floor pan .. Alfa forgot (or decided to save money) and didn't cover the whole underside in sealant .. so the rear part suffers.

Not all the metal was galvanised ..

Thankfully my country doesn't have much of the traditional british weather, it's actually rather rare to rain.

 

[gijst]

How much money is he asking for it?

Check for Dual Mass Flywheel problems. Clutch must operate smoothly,no juddering at takeoff. Turbo must not whine or scream at high revs. Check for uneven tyre wear

Hijacking this, if OP doesn't mind. Mine is a JTD 2002 147, and there's quite a bit of juddering at takeoff if I don't give it too much gas. Like, if I want to give it just a little bit of gas, just enough to get it going, it shakes a lot. And the turbo whines a lot at times, and at other times is very quiet. Does this mean I should expect the clutch and turbo repairs? I really like the turbo whine when it happens. It's not necessarily in high RPMs, but around 2500-3000 it whines a lot and can be heard when I have my window down very nicely.

 

[Gruna86]

Hijacking this, if OP doesn't mind. Mine is a JTD 2002 147, and there's quite a bit of juddering at takeoff if I don't give it too much gas. Like, if I want to give it just a little bit of gas, just enough to get it going, it shakes a lot. And the turbo whines a lot at times, and at other times is very quiet. Does this mean I should expect the clutch and turbo repairs? I really like the turbo whine when it happens. It's not necessarily in high RPMs, but around 2500-3000 it whines a lot and can be heard when I have my window down very nicely.

No wonder price is 1500 EURO,seems another 1000 is needed. If there is a lot of judder at takeoff it means DMF is gone. Depending of how much time the previous owner has been driving it like that I bet engine mounts are gone too. Turbo whine is normal at cold start and maybe at low revs. At 2500 rpm if you can hear it it means it needs to be repaired soon. I would walk away from that car. But to be fair to the seller,he isn't asking much money. When you change DMF,whole set goes with it and it is around 500-600 EURO all together. Turbo can be repaired and it is around 200-300 EURO. With labour you are looking at 1000 EURO + of repairs.