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635CSi 
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Joined: 01-March-2007 Status: Offline Points: 683 |
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 Posted: 24-March-2007 at 16:13 |
Avoid both of them at all costs! That 147 looks in terrible condition and the 156 is poverty spec and the colour is horrible therefore harder to resell. IMO both of them are very overpriced I would only pay 14,950 for a Sportivo not a Lusso and the 156 is quite an old car now and in 2 years time it will be worth virtually nothing. The 147 you were originally buying looked like a sound deal, my advice would be to try and hunt down another one with similar spec and a similar price, it won't be too hard. By looking at most of Michael Barrable's cars they look quite overpriced. My advice is keep looking, well looked after Alfa's always pop up every so often for reasonable money. How about this?:http://www.usedcars.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=c ar&carID=582253 It looks in good condition and it has low mileage and it's a year newer than what your were looking at and I reckon you could get him down to around 11k because it says 'quick sale' but the downside is private sale therefore no warranty. Edited by 635CSi |
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ivanovoitch
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Where did all the white water come from? Joined: 18-January-2006 Location: dublin Status: Offline Points: 559 |
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Posted: 24-March-2007 at 13:19 |
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First of all. The car that started this thread has been sold...but not to us!
 I'm not really getting Alfa pricing. Went down to see this this morning, and came across this. Either car can be had for €13800 cash. The 147 is in really poor condition yet the 156 is immaculate. There is 10K in mileage difference in favour of the 156, it's a year younger and the overall finish is much better than the 147. The dealers explaination for the same price is that the 147 is the Sportivo and the 156 is the Lusso. But surely condition has to be factored in. Have to say, I'd be far more interested in the 156. Any thoughts? Edited by ivanovoitch |
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Mick525i
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Joined: 29-November-2005 Location: Dublin Ireland. Status: Offline Points: 1823 |
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Posted: 23-March-2007 at 22:30 |
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I asked for that... |
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Cheers
Mick 
BMW E21 318 1980 BMW E39 525i 2002 MTech VW Golf Gti 2003 |
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635CSi
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Posted: 23-March-2007 at 22:05 |
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[/QUOTE] nailed it on the head 635csi I bet my 156 would have been a crock many years ago if I hadn't kept on top of the servicing, but she still looks like new and is running better than ever 7yrs old. Treat the well and you get your rewards [/QUOTE]Yes, Alfa Romeo's are sort of like women!  |
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Toxic
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Posted: 23-March-2007 at 21:53 |
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nailed it on the head 635csi I bet my 156 would have been a crock many years ago if I hadn't kept on top of the servicing, but she still looks like new and is running better than ever 7yrs old. Treat the well and you get your rewards |
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Tom
E39 1997 523i Oxford Green (Sold) ___________________________ |
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fozzymandeus
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Posted: 22-March-2007 at 09:03 |
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padantic is spelled pedantic, to be pedantic.
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Mick525i
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Posted: 22-March-2007 at 08:54 |
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he said "petrol Head" to be padantic... |
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Cheers
Mick
BMW E21 318 1980 BMW E39 525i 2002 MTech VW Golf Gti 2003 |
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635CSi
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Posted: 21-March-2007 at 21:27 |
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As Jeremey Clarkson said:"You can't call yourself a true car enthusiast until you've owned an Alfa."
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Mick525i
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Posted: 20-March-2007 at 22:51 |
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Even after my dreadfull experiance with the 156 id have another Alfa in the morning. But I am enjoying the BM and even the gti is proving reliable....... feck.... touch wood.
Mick |
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Cheers
Mick
BMW E21 318 1980 BMW E39 525i 2002 MTech VW Golf Gti 2003 |
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thepits
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Posted: 20-March-2007 at 22:12 |
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Yep, if you like it buy it. No-one in their right mind would run a E30 M3 on a daily basis - but some of us do for the same reason! |
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Cats know your every thought.
But don't care. |
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635CSi
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Posted: 20-March-2007 at 21:47 |
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I reckon if you keep it serviced on schedule, polish it every so often you'll keep it looking and going well, buying an Alfa or a FIAT may be a gamble, but if the car seems well looked after and you like it it might very well be worth it
Edited by 635CSi |
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ivanovoitch
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Where did all the white water come from? Joined: 18-January-2006 Location: dublin Status: Offline Points: 559 |
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Posted: 20-March-2007 at 17:58 |
Tis an issue alright. The reason I bought the Compact was because it seemed cheap by comparison to the asking price of others the same spec/age (even Alan in AC cars reckoned it had twelve months depreciation free in it at the price I paid for it) but the reality was demand was poor when I went to sell so I took a big hit just to shift it. My reckoning is that the Alfa is cheap to start with and is probably a more desirable car than the Compact was/is. She'll keep it three years and do twenty thousand miles in it and it will loose half it's value again. That's still only twice what the Compact lost in less than a year. |
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T.J.
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Posted: 20-March-2007 at 11:54 |
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I concur - our 2001 156 Sportwagon is worth peanuts. I got an offer of €2,500 from a Volvo dealership on trade against a new style V50!
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Mazda 6 MPS
S1 Elise 135 Sport Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon 
Formerly E39 TDS, E36 M3, E36 328i, E34 525i, E34 518i |
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Dergside
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Posted: 20-March-2007 at 10:28 |
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Ivanovitch There's a bit of a gamble as far as reliability and cost is concerned with these but most people buying them go in to it with their eyes open on that score. For me the greater risk would be on a subsequent resale. Alfa's will always depreciate to banger money quicker than anything comparable. You've already had the experience of disposing of a car that the Irish market (rightly or wrongly) considers a bit of an orphan (the Compact). The real market selling price of that was a good deal less than you probably first thought and compared to a similar 3 saloon. For me it would be a question of whether you want to go down that road again? |
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Now: BMW 523i SE '00, 318i SE - e91 '07, 325i Coupe '93.
Prev: e46 328i SE Touring, 330Ci, 318Ci. e39 523i SE. e36 325i Coupe *2, 323i SE, 316iSE. e30 325iSE 2dr, 320i Conv, 320i 2dr, 316i. |
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Toxic
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Posted: 20-March-2007 at 10:20 |
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I think its slightly cheaper on a 1.6 engine as it doesn't need one of the parts replaced. Not sure if this applies to 147, but check for erratic idling (common problems with AFM) and the temp gauge reads about 80deg (it might be a little lower in this weather) but if its below 70 after heating up, the stat has failed (Alfa stats fail open, well on the 156 anyway) - very common also |
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Tom
E39 1997 523i Oxford Green (Sold) ___________________________ |
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dryle
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Posted: 20-March-2007 at 09:37 |
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an ex collegue of mine had a 99 156, he always wanted a 3 series coupe and when his car was destroyed by flood water in dunboyne he bought a 3 series coupe, hated it and wanted to change back to alfa. like most cars you can be lucky/unlucky in the model. |
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Dave Ryle
 "The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." -- George Bernard Shaw |
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T.J.
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Posted: 20-March-2007 at 09:21 |
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If I recall, I got a quote fo €450 for doing the variator, but that was a yr ago now.
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Mazda 6 MPS
S1 Elise 135 Sport Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon
Formerly E39 TDS, E36 M3, E36 328i, E34 525i, E34 518i |
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Toxic
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Posted: 19-March-2007 at 13:55 |
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I've ran a 156 1.8 for 7yrs and it has 82k miles on it. I've just had the timing belt, variator, water pump done last week so every 40k miles is good for these. (or every 3yrs regardless of mileage). I would guess TI Autos would charge about €500 for the full timing belt service and that includes all the bits & labour. As others have said, check the oil every 2 months and keep it topped up. It should use about 2-2.5l every 12k mile service. Others to check for are suspension, but if this car has had its belt changed twice in 50k miles, I would go as far to say that it has been well maintained. Check the service history and hopefully it was done by Gerry in TI Autos in Dublin. He's the best in the business when it comes to Alfas. Your wife will not be disappointed by it. |
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Tom
E39 1997 523i Oxford Green (Sold) ___________________________ |
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635CSi
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Posted: 18-March-2007 at 22:40 |
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An Alfa is a car you buy with your heart, not your head! I think you should go with your heart judging by how lovely the example your looking at sounds. If it's 2003 that was when the 147 was 2 years into production so it won't have any of those early build niggles. It seems priced very well, just get a good mechanic to check it out and if it's legitimate you'll be laughing all the way to the bank!
Edited by 635CSi |
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nn_dd
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Posted: 18-March-2007 at 21:51 |
Exactly, you have to be an enthusiast, the other half will drive, but you will have to be constantly looking after it. Very rewarding though. But, not all Alfa's use oil. Neither my one for 5 yrs, or any of my mates 4 previous alfa's (156's and GT's) have had an oil useage problem. Some cars will be maggots to run, others are a dream (as you normally expect issues and then don't get any). Make sure that your garage "gets them" as a lot of guys have a very bad attitude to them, probably because they know feck all about them....could tell you stories there. |
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E39 530d Touring
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Anybody lived with an Alfa 147?
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ivanovoitch wrote:
