2000 Alfa Romeo 156 Selespeed 2.0 petrol

Summary:

Good looking, fun to drive, but unreliable

Faults:

Air conditioning failed at 4,000 miles.

Brake pads needed replacing at 9,000 miles, again at 23,000 miles and finally at 38,000 miles.

Brake cable snapped at 15,000 miles.

CD player malfunctioned and had to be replaced at 19,000 miles.

Two cylinder heads needed replacing at 21,000 miles.

Gearbox became increasingly stubborn and had to be completely replaced at 29,000 miles.

Driver's side window motor failed at 37,000 miles.

Engine blew head gasket and was replaced under warranty at 41,000 miles.

General Comments:

Was great looking and fun to drive...

But otherwise an unreliable and badly built car which disappointed me more than any other vehicle I have ever owned.

I will never buy an Alfa Romeo again.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 16th April, 2006

2000 Alfa Romeo 156 Selespeed 2.0 petrol

Summary:

Great to drive, but no other redeeming features

Faults:

CD player stopped ejecting at 37,000 miles and had to be replaced.

Clutch plate broke at 40,000 miles.

Gear lever selector cable broke at 42,000 miles.

Air conditioning failed at 54,000 miles.

Gearbox became jammed in third gear at 57,000 miles.

Car broke down 10 times in the space of 2 years.

General Comments:

The 156 cost me £11,000 when I bought it.

Two years later I sold it for £7,000 and felt ripped off. Yes, it was a stylish car with great handling. But it was also badly built, unreliable and backed up by a bunch of dismal dealers.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 26th December, 2005

2000 Alfa Romeo 156 Veloce 2.0

Summary:

Rubbish on wheels

Faults:

Air bag waning light constantly on, dealer unable to fix after 2 yrs.

Fuel gauge intermitem, level went from half full to completly empty in minutes.

Interior extremely poor, springs came through the seats after 2.5 years, dealer said it was unusual, but still wanted to charge me £1,000 to replace them.

General Comments:

Best handling car I've ever owned, but very poor quality and worse dealer I've known in 30yrs of motoring.

The service manager advised me to "buy a BMW if you want quality" so I did.

Don't be tempted to buy on looks. These cars and the dealers are not in the same class as BMW or even Ford.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 29th April, 2005

29th Aug 2013, 19:25

I don't know what the reference to BMW as a quality vehicle is about in these posts. Yes they are very well built, but having had friends who own the German machine, I've heard similar reports of niggling failures, and in some cases ongoing faults which have become absolutely crippling. These extend to new cars as well.

VWs are similar too, and I'm told have atrocious reliability. As such, I'll stick to the charisma of my 156, and hope that it will treat me as nicely as I treat it. On a footnote, I wonder perhaps whether the Selespeed problems are caused by ham-fisted drivers who just don't 'get them'.

A 159 might be a logical successor - better build and the like, but a bigger girl, and that generic GM-sourced motor may lack some sparkle methinks.

In spite of my ramblings I wouldn't say no if someone were to drop a 3 series coupe in my driveway one day...

2000 Alfa Romeo 156

Summary:

Unreliable

Faults:

Things that should have lasted a lot longer:

Bottom wishbones, front left and right (to replace brushes, apparently common problem).

Upper wishbone, one side.

Cam belt went 20K after change, snapping/bending all the valves.

Exhaust system – front pipe went at flexible joint, catalytic converter collapsed.

Condensing coil (£120), a couple of HT leads (£20 each) and spark plugs (8 x £20!!).

Battery.

More obvious things:

Brake pads and disks.

Tyres.

Wheel bearings.

And the very expensive things:

Replacement key.

General Comments:

The Alfa 156 is a great looking car, both inside and out. It’s also excellent to drive, but is not worth the problems and cost of keeping it going. I own 1.8 with the Sports pack, and the problems I have had with this car are unbelievable. Before buying it, I read all the reviews, and knew that it had lower than average reliability, but that did not prepare me for the bills I got over the next couple of years.

So if you want a good looking car, that drives nicely and won’t annoy you by spending all the time in the garage, buy something else.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 15th September, 2004

15th Sep 2004, 15:51

Oh boy, I did it!

Never regret when I moved from your now position to a Beauty.

Its called: Pug 406 1.8 executive

Oh boy, shes fantastic and costs pennies, to keep her running!!!

Try for yourshelf...

16th Sep 2004, 02:13

An Alfa 156 or a Peugeot 406 (see previous comment)? Hmmm, tough choice! Sorry to hear you had problems with your 156. Mine has been sublime for 3.5 years and 70,000 miles with nothing more than routine servicing. Peugeots certainly AREN'T known for their reliability, and they're certainly not in Alfa's league when it comes to looks. It seems you either get a good Alfa or a "Friday" Alfa plagued with problems. Sounds like you unfortunately got the latter... I certainly won't try to persuade you to buy another Alfa (if I'd had your experiences, I wouldn't buy another myself), but how about the Mazda6? Good looking, stylish, well priced, and Mazda reliability is second-to-none.