The Giulietta wont be as nice a feeling car to drive as your RWD MX5 being a FWD car.

Make sure the timing belt had been done and documented also from a reputable dealer or mechanic. Gs also have some strange quirks like the fuel flap not opening and closing properly. Defintely get that checked. Also some other people would probably be best at discussing the other minor issues with the car ...

 

Thanks for replies,

The Giulietta wont be as nice a feeling car to drive as your RWD MX5 being a FWD car.

Yeah, I don't expect it to be quite as nice to drive as my MX5, especially on the twisty roads. But should be better in wintery conditions. Had to leave the car at home for three days earlier in the year & find another way to work.

It is recommended to get the timing belt done every 4 years or 48,000 miles along with the waterpump.

The 2.0 JTDM is a good engine that doesn't suffer too many problems. The main one is the EGR cooler cover which can crack and make the coolant escape. Chances are it has already been replaced.

There are also two versions of the engine which were available on a 60 plate. There is a 140bhp version and a 170bhp.

There is little fuel economy difference in the real world, but the 170 has more power at the top end but it does sacrifice a small amount of torque at the bottom for this as it has a larger turbo. The road tax and insurance are slightly more on the 170.

Check the suspension over, chances are it will need shocks all round and suspension arms at the front if it hasn't had them done already. The ones on ours were changed at 70k as they were past their best.

You might be better off spending a bit more money and getting a less leggy version, as it could work out cheaper in the long term. Especially if you factor in residual values.

The car I am looking at is the 170bhp version. Spending a bit more to get one with less mileage isn't really an option.

A week ago I had no intention of changing cars for at least a year or two, so this has been dropped on me a bit. I was looking at cars around £2.5k, until I saw this.

If the price is low because none of the important things have been done, I'll probably have to leave it and go back to looking at the 159 I was looking at before I saw this one. Not too concerned about residuals, if I get the car, I expect I will keep it for a while.

The other thing that will stop me going for this is the DPF. Still unsure how often I will have to take it for a 40-50 min run down the motorway. I do regularly drive at motorway speed, but only for about a 10 minute trip, one junction up the motorway.


Things to Check so far:

Timing Belt, when was last replacement?
EGR Cooler Cover, has this been replaced?
Have Shocks & front suspension been changed.
Check Fuel Flap.

 

It is recommended to get the timing belt done every 4 years or 48,000 miles along with the waterpump.

The 2.0 JTDM is a good engine that doesn't suffer too many problems. The main one is the EGR cooler cover which can crack and make the coolant escape. Chances are it has already been replaced.

There are also two versions of the engine which were available on a 60 plate. There is a 140bhp version and a 170bhp.

There is little fuel economy difference in the real world, but the 170 has more power at the top end but it does sacrifice a small amount of torque at the bottom for this as it has a larger turbo. The road tax and insurance are slightly more on the 170.

Check the suspension over, chances are it will need shocks all round and suspension arms at the front if it hasn't had them done already. The ones on ours were changed at 70k as they were past their best.

You might be better off spending a bit more money and getting a less leggy version, as it could work out cheaper in the long term. Especially if you factor in residual values.

 

Just bought a '12 170hp diesel with 60K - coming from a 8G Civic, spent the last few weeks scanning the secondhand adverts.

For me, you dont really need the 170hp 2.0 - in fact you probably dont need the 140hp version also I wouldnt discount the 1.6 diesel engine as these will be cheaper or with less mileage. Just price in £299 for a remap and go looking for the lowest mileage/fully serviced car you can. If mainly short trips you may be better off with a petrol.

No different to looking at any other car, check everything closely, servicing, suspension, long road test, test all the buttons etc.

Timing belts need to be changed at 84,000 miles on diesels (less for petrols) or 5 years which ever is sooner - which is what the servicing book lets you, but if its not had one after 8 years then get it done as soon as you buy it.

 

If any of the rear lights don't work it could be the tailgate wiring, which is a pricey fix. When I bought mine (60 plate on 39k) in January it had a squeaky rear brake, I suspected a sticky calliper but it turned out to be corrosion on the inner disk face due to lack of use. The filler flap was temperamental but that was a sticky release plunger. The usual failure seems to be that the plastic hinge pin breaks so the door no longer aligns, you can get a kit to fix that for not too much, though. Overall it was a welcome change from the much longer list of common faults with 156s, which is what I had before.

I do a 40 mile round trip to work four days a week and no DPF problems (so far).

 

DPF issues are not that common, the car can regenerate well enough in normal driving, you don't need to go for a long fast drive.

The trick is to wait until the regen cycle has finished before turning off the engine. it is easy to spot, the engine is more responsive, the car will smell hot and the cooling fans fun flat out.

Compared to the 1.9 and 2.4 159's the car is much better in this regard. Also the gearbox is more robust than on the 1.9 159, and the EGR gives virtually no trouble either.

 

Thanks, sounds fairly positive as far as the DPF is concerned then.

Just have to check the common problems and maybe go take it for a test drive.

 

Unfortunately I won't be getting this car, it's been sold already. Any other Giulietta I have seen is outside my budget.

I still want to get an Alfa though. Looking at a Mito now. Quite a bit smaller obviously, but still looks like a nice car.

There is also a couple of 147's that I might consider.

 

I had a 147 JTD and with only 115 bhp it was a good car to drive, I now have a JTDM2 guilietta 170 bhp and it does feel more nimble when you really push on. Both cars have excellent suspension that can provide massive feedback through the steering. The 147 had hydraulic power steering and the G has electric steering and I can't fault either system, others have commented that the electric steering doesn't provide the same feedback to the driver? Both cars drive so well you won't go wrong if you buy the lowest mileage car you can afford. Look out for a Ducati 147 in particular. The diesel engined cars seem to go through more suspension components because of the heavier engines, the 147 needed a new anti-rollbar on the front end at around 90k miles. Daunting job for a home mechanic, drop the front subframe etc.

 

It had 62k on it when we bought it, now it has 84k

It is a 60 plate.