1996 Alfa Romeo 164 Super Twin Spark 2.0

Summary:

Class at a reasonable price

Faults:

Window winder mechanism on the right front door.

General Comments:

Luxurious car. Excellent heating and air-conditioning system.

Absolute fun to drive.

Good looks and good performance.

Engine noisy at lower speeds.

Little legroom in the rear when the front seats are in the rearmost position.

Boot is smaller than that of a SAAB 99.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 28th December, 2000

14th May 2001, 17:01

The distances for this car aren't miles, but kilometers.

1st May 2008, 17:03

I still own the car at 175.000 km. The car never disappointed me. The window winder mechanism front right broke down some two years ago. The LCD-display of the clock etc in the mid-console is hardly readable. The rear brakes tend to drag. I had to replace the rear brake-discs. At the age of 12 now, certain smaller plastic parts break easily.

In the last eight years I had to replace the rear silencer twice.

The engine is performing well, oil consumption is very low, using 15W-40 grade.

Four weeks ago the airco stopped working. Since there is no loss of pressure in the system, I suppose the problem lies in the compressor.

Over the years this 164 has lost a little bit of crispness in it's handling.

12th Jan 2009, 16:09

January,12th 2009.

During my holidays in Wales the clutch broke down due to wear. My garage had warned me more than a year earlier, but I had chosen to ignore that. The hills of Wales proved to much for what was left of friction-surface. A clutch replacement in the Gearbox Centre Ltd in Buckley, Flintshire, cost me GBP 447,-. The car was fixed within 48 hours, so that didn't affect our holidays very much.

Since I was facing expensive maintenance and the repair of the faulty air-conditioning, I decided to sell the car.

With some regret I said goodbye to a car, which served me well for more than 8 years and which was always a pleasure to drive.

That was in August 2008 at 179.918 km's. It was replaced by an 2004 Alfa Romeo 166 2.0 TS.

22nd Oct 2010, 12:54

I still own my 164 super twin spark year 1996, which I purchased new.

It still gives me a lot of pleasure to drive it.

No noticeable wear is to be seen or felt for that matter.

No breakages yet, only the normal parts that wear such as tyres, brake pads, etcetera.

If the car is serviced properly and garaged in a heated place, and not abused, then nothing much will happen, very high mileage is possible.

Absolutely no rust, and the Bordeaux red leader interior is as new, and the automatic air-con works perfectly.

I am not even thinking about selling this lovely elegant lady yet.