2002 Alfa Romeo 147 Lusso 2.0 Twinspark

Summary:

A delight to own - I just can't help wondering about long-term reliability

Faults:

Rattle from behind driver's side rear three-quarter panel caused by seat belt: replaced under warranty.

Water leak causing moderate accumulation in driver's footwell eventually traced to "A" pillar and repaired under warranty, but took dealer 2 weeks to do this.

General Comments:

It is difficult to imagine a more satisfying car to look at and drive without entering the realm of unaffordable exotics.

Roadholding, performance, level of equipment, and engine note are very pleasing.

Petrol consumption not too bad (40 mpg), but not brilliant either.

Alfa dealers don't match the car's aspirational quality.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th July, 2003

24th Apr 2006, 10:53

The Brera's a gorgeous car. I can only hope Alfa gets back to the States within my lifetime. I've heard about quality issues with Alfas, but when will you ever own something as beautiful?

2002 Alfa Romeo 147 Lusso 1.6

Summary:

Looks and drives great, various problems let it down

Faults:

Engine management system chip (engine shaped warning light) X 2.

Rear Fog light failure warning light comes on when it feels like it, currently in tandem with the rear wash/wipe!

Clutch is getting noisy (squeals from cold).

Drivers seat very noisy when shifting weight (dealer unable to rectify).

Various rattles from dashboard, front passenger door, rear passenger seat and door.

Odd smells from the Climate Control, apparently need to run at max hot/cold periodically to clear any germs.

Flat battery overnight, breakdown man nor the dealer unable to explain why.

Leaking coolant hose.

Delivered with three small dents (dealer rectified)

General Comments:

Negatives.

Paintwork chips/scratches and generally marks very easily, which leads me to question the quality of the paint.

I still don't believe Alfa have solved the build quality problems, finish, fit, rattles etc.

Dealer generally doesn't seem to care.

Servicing costs are not cheap, close to £200 for 11,000/12 month service in south of UK.

Fuel consumption only satisfactory with a light right foot.

Lots of wind noise around the windscreen at motorway speeds, may be due to exposed wipers?

Only room for kids in the back and boot space small.

Positives.

Looks gorgeous, still the best looking car in the Corporate car park.

Interior is good.

Sounds great, drives well.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 22nd March, 2003

25th Mar 2003, 09:31

I wish Alfa would listen to their customers and try to rectify some of the problems which have occurred in their cars Europe and even worldwide.

If I was Alfa I'd make sure my dealers were all of the same quality and offered the same high service.

I find it amazing the cost of your first service, basically double the cost of what it is here in Belgium.

2002 Alfa Romeo 147 lusso 1.6

Summary:

Stunning and fun

Faults:

Leaking gearbox had to be stripped and resealed.

Aerial had to be replaced due to poor reception

Windscreen is leaking

Wiper motor had to be replaced.

General Comments:

The car looks great inside and out. It is packed with standard gadgets and is very comfortable. Its also great fun to drive and very quick for a 1.6 now that it is run in. The engine also makes a fantastic sound. The only problem is that there are too few dealers. I can forgive the problems for a car with such great charisma!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 22nd February, 2003

2002 Alfa Romeo 147 Lusso 2.0 ltr

Summary:

Fantastic looks, niggly problems

Faults:

Annoying knocking coming from under the car - back to dealership 6 times, but still ongoing.

Dash keeps creaking - again been back to dealer, but still creaking.

Rattling in air con unit - apparently a leaf had found it's way in - I have to have a whole new air con management unit fitted.

Heated seats stopped working - waiting for this to be repaired.

CD changer continuously jumping and making the playing of CD's impossible. Took 4 goes to get this sorted.

General Comments:

Although it has had it's problems, I still love the car.

It is extremely comfortable to drive as you can alter the seat up/down, forward/back and tilt. The steering wheel also moves in/out & up/down. Almost impossible not to get a comfortable position.

Interior of car very nice - lots of gadgets such as climate control, rain sensor wipers, cruise control, radio/CD controls on steering wheel etc.

Exterior of the car is just superb. It is beautiful and gets admiring looks almost wherever I go.

It drives well and grips the road nicely.

You feel very safe in it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th February, 2003

8th Feb 2003, 02:33

Wow! You have to take your car back to the dealer 6 times and you rate it 7/10 on reliability! Is this normal for an Alfa owner??

10th Feb 2003, 08:17

In answer to your question, yes it is quite a unique thing with Alfa owners - we seen to be able to see through the faults. As for reliability the car has never actually let me down, as in not starting etc.

All the problems have been annoying rather than show stopping.

28th Feb 2003, 07:25

A list of problems as long as my arm would make me unhappy with the result of my hard earned cash.

10th Apr 2003, 18:04

The most frustrating thing about being an Alfa owner is that most of the problems are easily fixable - it's just that the dealer networks seem to be completely incompetent. Hence 6 trips to fix something that should have been done first time.

13th Apr 2003, 07:44

You mentioned about the dash creaking. I have an Alfa Romeo 147 and it had the same problem, but it does not come from the dash. If you have a 3-door 147, due to the weight of the doors, they tend to make contact with the interior of the lock which leads to that creaking. The solution is that you have to put two steel adapters between the lock on the door and the steel that it attached when locking. That has solved the problem in my car.

17th Nov 2006, 03:51

Hi.

I have a Alfa 147 TS Lusso (2002) and am having the same knocking underneath problem, have you got yours fixed yet?

So far I have taken it to various places and had all sorts of weird and wonderful responses such as cat bracket is loose / needs replacing, rear suspension bushes need replacing, exhaust rubbers need replacing etc etc.

So far I have changed the exhaust rubbers, but still the noise is there any other ideas??