2000 Alfa Romeo 156 Twin Spark review from Australia and New Zealand
"If only they built it well"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Passenger side A pillar trim came off 3 times.
Glove box lid warped.
Internal rubber door seals warped.
Damaged engine. Apparently one of the bearings disintegrated requiring my car to be towed to the service after only 10500 Km. The call-out service person could not believe it.
General comments?
Exhilarating performance once you get the engine over 3000 RPM, but the build quality is absolutely shocking.
The engine problem is simply unbelievable. I had many cars before and I NEVER experienced an engine failure. Closest I ever got was a cracked harmonic balancer on a VR Commodore (for the Australian audience).
Additionally, the Alfa sales and service is absolutely appalling! Amazingly the Alfa dealership is owned by the same group that runs the SAAB dealership where I bought a used SAAB 9000 CD to replace my Alfa 156, and their service is simply amazing! I never experienced such a good service with anything before.
Perplexing.
Recommended reviews
| 2000 - 156 TS Veloce Sport Pack 2 1.8 Buying an Alfa is a lucky dip, fortunately I got lucky |
|
| Starting a love affair with one of these will leave you heartbroken! |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Year of manufacture | 2000 |
| First year of ownership | 2001 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2001 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.0 Manual |
| Performance marks | 8 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 3 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 7 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 2 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 5 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 3300 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 10500 kilometres |
| Previous car | Holden Commodore |
| Date of Entry | 17th July, 2001 |