1995 Alfa Romeo 146 review from UK and Ireland

Rear baffler disintegrated at 70k miles.

Electric sun-roof faulty (intermittent)

Electric rear windows faulty (intermittent)

Dry joint in flasher relay (re-solded myself - saved £140)

Hazard light relay blew (£150 to fix)

Heater temp set cable snapped (fixed myself - approx £400 saved)

Radiator rusted, courtesy of previous owner not using coolant (£600 with 60k service)

Speaker cover stays have all snapped off.

Thermostat/temp sensor seems to have gone as car won't choke.

Apart from above, the car has been good. No mechanical faults resulting in a breakdown. The faults mentioned above have all been of the annoying rather than critical variety.

That brings me to my next point. Dealer costs are outrageous. My local AR garage wants £90 plus VAT per hour of service. So any electrical glitches end up costing a bomb. An example is the heater cable, AR quoted me 3 hours labour costs (you do the math) just to get the dash off. So the bill would probably have been in the region of £400 - £375 labour, £25 parts).

Anyway, enough gripes. The car is a joy to drive. The engine is the sweetest sounding I've heard (although a bit gutless below 2500 rpm). Comfort is good, although the driving position would suit an ape better than me (short legs and long arms).

I doubt I'd buy another AR unless I was totally convinced the electric gremlins had been sorted.