[Johnpants]

Hi, I have recently become the owner of an S reg 2.5 V6 156, in a pearlescent blue/whiteish kind of colour that has been sat for 9 or 10 years. Having never owned an Alfa (Always been a jap/german car owner) I don't know much about values, availability, desire, parts etc. at all so as with previous cars, the first place to come is the experts on the owners club.

So overall the exterior looks in fairly good condition, a good polish will bring it up nice, has the distinctive Alfa "circle" alloys that I see quite a lot.
It's done 60k, and after a quick check of belts, top up of oil and some petrol, stuck a new battery in it, I turned it over a few times to circulate the oil then started it up and it came to life and surprisingly sounds pretty smooth. (There is a clear hole in the exhaust as it is blowing quite bad from underneath)
Interior is blue leather and in almost mint condition, needs a wipe down and clean but looks brand new inside..

Now my question is what would you guys suggest I do with it? I've looked at prices and it seems to me that people just pluck random numbers out of the air when selling these cars.. lol. The ranges are huge, for what seem like exactly the same condition/spec.. They range from £600-nearly 3k for what comparatively look almost identical. I suspect this is my lack of knowledge of these cars...

At the minute my thoughts are:
1 - Chuck it in for an MOT and see what comes back with a look to fix or break.
2 - Sell as is to someone that's looking to restore/break it.
3 - Break it myself. (Are these cars worth more in parts than they are whole?)

Cars are sort of my hobby so i'm leaning towards chucking it in for MOT and then fixing it, but I don't really want to spend a lot of money on it if it's not going to be worth much at the end?

Any comments or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

John

 

[Keithy]

It will never be worth what you spend on it. As an example if it has sat more than 5 years you need the cam belt doing, the rad has probably gone and you should get a new (metal) water pump. That's a grand at least. Chuck in a Q2 and you are at £1,600. Only start work if you really want the car. Get an MoT on it and list it on here. An enthusiast will pay you more for it.

What is the underside like?

 

[Johnpants]

It will never be worth what you spend on it. As an example if it has sat more than 5 years you need the cam belt doing, the rad has probably gone and you should get a new (metal) water pump. That's a grand at least. Chuck in a Q2 and you are at £1,600. Only start work if you really want the car. Get an MoT on it and list it on here. An enthusiast will pay you more for it.

What is the underside like?

Hi, thanks for the reply.

That was what I suspected, that it would end up costing me more to fix than what it's worth. I was expecting to have to change all the belts, possibly brake disks, full service, replace the exhaust. That was just from my initial observations.

I haven't got it up to check underneath properly yet, it's been on a concrete drive so luckily no plants growing up inside it..

Coming from the Mitsubishi GTO scene, whenever one of them cars had a problem it was always more financially beneficial to sell the parts to the enthusiasts on the owners club than it was to fix which was such a shame.

Is the 2.5 v6 manual model quite common, or is it a rare engine?

Thankks again,

John.

 

[lizard]

Well, as J. Clarkson once put it - it is one of the best engines ever made (although he was refering to the 3.0 12V version).

They (2.5) are rare, but 3.2 versions of the GTA model are more sought after, as they are more special and becoming a modern classic. But nontheless, main reasons why these engines are so special are the engine sound, responsivness and smooth creamy reving nature. It is definetly one of the most glorious sounding six-cylinder engines out there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_V6_engine

 

[115686]

Standing for 9 years - inside or outside?

A 156V6 with no MOT is worth £200 - £500 tops. I bought my project S-reg car for £200. Higher mileage than yours (137K) but if you're doing a full overhaul then you don't worry about mileage.

It needs new belts. £200 in parts if you do it yourself, £400- 500 if you get a garage to do it. If the belt lets go, the car is scrap.

Floorpans are what will kill it - hence the "inside or outside" question. Rust gets in here, and is expensive to fix. Look down the side of the sills and where the back seat passenger's heels rest.

If it has the belts done and an MOT (i.e. the floor pans are good) then as a low mileage car, £1000 - 1500. For mechanical perfection, £2000. As you can see, it is not worth throwing money at these to sell them.

Parts are worth naff all unfortunately. There are shed loads around being broken - the local specialist is giving me a 2.5 engine because his shelves are full. OK, technically it is a swap for a fuel pump I gave him a few months ago, but you get the idea.

 

[chrishendrix]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

That was what I suspected, that it would end up costing me more to fix than what it's worth. I was expecting to have to change all the belts, possibly brake disks, full service, replace the exhaust. That was just from my initial observations.

I haven't got it up to check underneath properly yet, it's been on a concrete drive so luckily no plants growing up inside it..

Coming from the Mitsubishi GTO scene, whenever one of them cars had a problem it was always more financially beneficial to sell the parts to the enthusiasts on the owners club than it was to fix which was such a shame.

Is the 2.5 v6 manual model quite common, or is it a rare engine?

Thankks again,

John.

Many 156 V6s have been scrapped in the last few years due to rust problems in the floorpan combined with belt-replacement costs outstripping resale values, consequently they have become rarer and prices for a good example are now beginning to rise (I think).
Although you wouldn't get you're money back in the short term, if it's in good nick you never know in a year or three's time?...... Definitely a shame to scrap/break for parts - if you don't want to fix it sell it to someone who will :thumbs: if you do decide to fix and keep, you won't regret it - they're great cars with that fantastic engine

 

[Johnpants]

Thanks again for the replies.

First thing to do is get it up to check underneath then I guess. Then see what comes back on an MOT and go from there. For the couple of minutes I had it idling it did sound very nice actually. I'm pretty confident with a spanner and enjoy working on cars so fixing it doesn't seem to daunting to me. Dunno if the boss would be too pleased at me keeping another "hobby" car as i've only recently got rid of my 3.0l twin turbo GTO after months of her complaining that I spent more time working on it than I did actually riving it.. haha. When she couldn't get to the freezer in the garage as there were 2 bumpers stacked in front of it was where she drew the line. :biglaugh:

Oh and it was stood outside.

 

[115686]

Ok - check sills first.

If they're OK, then proceed! It would be a good hobby car to have, with the right pipework, there is not much out there that makes a better noise.

 

[Johnpants]

Hi again.

So I eventually got it up (no pun intended) and had a look underneath and it seems ok. Gave it a bit of a clean and couldn't see any immediate rust issues. There's a little bit of damage where someone has used a jack wrong and bent a bit of the sil I think. Exhaust will definitely need replacing as the back box has some rust and it is blowing from underneath.

Gave it a quick clean up inside and out and it has come up pretty good considering.

http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=689225&thumb=1
http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=689233&thumb=1
http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=689241&thumb=1
http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=689249&thumb=1
http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=689257&thumb=1

Unfortunately I won't be restoring it to keep though. The look I got off the missus when I mentioned it dropped the temperature in the room by 10 degrees!! haha

I'm going to be putting it up for £350, do you think that's a fair price considering it will need at the very least:

Full service, brakes possibly new discs, exhaust, wiper blades, couple of tyres, paint needs a good detail and touch up as there's a few scratches and a stereo as the face of the existing one was lost..

As a car enthusiast I would always prefer these kind of cars go to people that have a passion for them and will appreciate them so if anyone wants to come have a look before I stick it p on gumtree you're more than welcome.

Thanks again for your advice, it is greatly appreciated.

John.

 

[Ber Tony GT]

It sure reminds you what a beautiful interior the 156 has

Somebody must want this surely ?

 

[Ralf S.]

What a nice car.... Just too many projects on the go for me and nowhere to put them all despite borrowing every square foot of driveway and garage I can get my hands on.... (thanks mum! ) otherwise it's worth a punt if you can tinker..


Ralf S.

 

[115686]

I would buy that in an instant but .....

- I have an S reg V6 in a million pieces already, slowly going back together
- I have a 51 plate V6
- I have a GT 3.2
- I have a GTA Shed-wagon that is slowly being rebuilt.

And various other cars.....

Anyone looking for a V6 project should get this.

 

[Johnpants]

I know the feeling Ralf. I have a drive to fit 3 cars which used to have the wife's car, both my cars, plus family and friends' cars that I do basic servicing on etc. Trying to get cars on and off and maneuvre was a nightmare.

Where do you find the time rxe? haha. I struggle with 1 at a time!

I'll be putting it up on other sites probably tomorrow. Hopefully it will make a great project for someone!

One thing I noticed is that the seats are Momo with the Alfa logo sewn in to them. Was that standard or an optional extra?

John.

 

[Ralf S.]

The Momo seats were the default "leather seats option" for a while. I can't remember any 156 had leather seats as standard.

Later on, the optional leather seats lost the Momo logo but again (other than the Selespeed?) I think leather was always an option.


Ralf S.

 

[Ralf S.]

I'll be putting it up on other sites probably tomorrow. Hopefully it will make a great project for someone!

Trouble is.. somebody will break it. Sell the missus, keep the '56..!


Ralf S.

 

[Johnpants]

Trouble is.. somebody will break it. Sell the missus, keep the '56..!


Ralf S.

Haha, it has been considered once or twice in the past! I don't think you can sell livestock on Ebay though can you? :depressed: