Fantastic!
Car is too low to ground as I have the sport suspension so I hit every speed bump and have trouble down country lanes, anti-roll links went at 33,000 miles.
Fantastic sport saloon, would recommend it to anyone, fantastic looks, and performance, however boot space and rear leg-room is limited!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 4th August, 2005
Good Engine, Expensive to own
Front Anti Roll Bar Bushes, Whole Bar Replaced at 15000.
Cam Belt Tensioner, Started sounding like a diesel at start up at 15000.
Cam Belt renewal at 15000.
Siezed Rear Breaks at 5000.
Looks Good, Not as quick as it looks. Good road handling and drive position is excellent, Suspect build quality, Expensive service if you go to dealership garages. 4th year service cost £1600 with 15k on the clock. I've owned car for 4 years, depriciation is steep.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 24th June, 2005
Absolutly great, superb car, superb diesel
Nothing, just routine servicing, although I have been advised I need x2 new rear link arms for next M.O.T.
Say what you like about these cars, but, due to my work commitments I needed a diesel; I was spending over £50 per week in fuel in my BMW, and needed to reduce my fuel bills.
After test driving all the usual VWs, Fords, Skodas and so on, I decided I needed something that I enjoyed driving, and the Alfa fit the bill totally.
It`s fast, economical, beautiful looking and with the Momo leather, lovely and comfortable too, like no other leather, italian is the best!
Build quality is spot on, with no creaks or rattles, and feels as solid as a BMW, although some of the interior plastics are a bit low budget. Attention to detail is great, superb design!.
This car is everything I wanted, absolutely lovely in every way. If you want an economical, stylish, individual, and fast car, ignore the skeptical anti Alfa idiots, and go test drive one yourself, you will not be disappointed!!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 19th May, 2005
Flawed design classic
Rear Shock Absorbers replaced at 36,000 miles.
Cam belt replaced at 36,000 miles.
Air conditioning recharged at 36,000 miles.
Consumes 1 litre of oil every 1,000 miles.
Averages 30mpg.
Recently returned to car after 3 week absence to find totally flat battery.
Still beautiful to look at after 4 years - but I have started to lose confidence in its overall reliability and am fed up with the running costs combined with depreciation.
To be fair, it has not left me at the side of the road, but the 36,000 mile service was an eye-watering £1,200 to remedy a list of issues! I am informed that the spark plugs alone will cost £100 for the next service.
Great "driveability", marred slightly by restricted rear vision when reversing, and limited storage space in the cabin and rear compartment.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 2nd March, 2005
Alfa's are and will always be more expensive to service and to own than, say, a Mondeo. Probably more fragile too: Treating it as a Corolla (or expecting it to serve you like one) is out of the question. You have to spend time and (a little...) money to anticipate things going wrong before they actually do. Then you will have years of trouble free motoring and that magical experience everytime you are in the mood on empty B-roads.
It's just a matter of accepting the price to pay for the special driving experience- and that is applicable to any early or late Alfa (with the late being notably more "mainstream" than the earlier ones).
However if out of warranty, try to avoid main dealers and find yourself a good independent specialist. That'll keep costs down.
Happy motoring, from a 147 owner.
8th Mar 2005, 16:44
I recently took my car for its 48,000 mile service, and told its £150 to replace the rear pads!. The pads were £56. A trip to my local motor factors and I purchased the "exact" pads made by Ferodo for £16!. My car is never going back to a Alfa for a service.