1991 Alfa Romeo 75 Reviews

Changed radiator at 58,000 miles.

2nd gear sincromesh went on the gear-box at about 59,000 miles.

Changed front and rear gear-box mountings.

Head gasket blew at 62,000 miles.

Slight wear on drivers seat causing the crumbled sponge effect.

All in all a great car.

This is one of if not the best V6 engine in the world, talk about sound, this car has an orchestra under the bonnet. Having fitted some stainless steel racing manifolds and getting rid of the Cat and fitting a 3.5 inch stainless steel Tig Welded exhaust this baby really sings over 3000rpm. And the throttle response is phenomenal compared to standard, well worth the £1000 price tag.

To date there has not been any other car that puts that sort of huge smile on your face when you give it some.

The torque on this car in any gear is fantastic.

The cars best acceleration kick in at about 70 mph then it really starts hammer right up-to 140 mph. (had the car on a track)

The car has not left me stranded since I bought it 2 years ago.

There are some niggling problems. The most annoying is that the interior lights do not come on when the doors are opened (only when boot or bonnet are opened) and the headlamp warning pinger is not coming on - part of the same problem. I think I will need to replace the electronic brain to fix this.

The ventilation does not work very well, I can never get enough cold air into the car unless I open a window, and this is too noisy on the motorway. This should only be an issue on cars without air conditioning.

There is one minor squeak from the dash sometimes, and the central air vents do not stay properly in the dash; one side sticks out slightly.

The headlights are not very good. I need to replace one of the H4 connectors (slightly melted - previous owner must have used bulbs too strong).

The brakes are appalling on 75s. I hope to fit braided hoses and up-rated front discs/pads.

One of the rear petrol lines rusted through about a year ago. It was repaired cheaply by my mechanic.

The doors need to be slammed hard or the car thinks they have not been closed properly.

Previous owner had not wired the Momo steering wheel horn buttons properly. This took me 2 minutes to fix.

One door lock solenoid failed. Again, it cost about £5 to replace, and took no more than 30 minutes to do myself.

I had replaced the driver's mirror because it was seized. This cost very little, and took about 1 hour to do.

The plastic clips, which hold the outer end of the rubber gaiters on the steering rack, both broke. They are very easily replaced. I used zip ties.

Some of the bushes in the rear suspension have been replaced, and some of the front ones will need replacing.

Replaced exhaust from the cat back to the tail; the old one was holed. The exhausts on 75 3.0 cars sit very low and take a lot of bangs. Apparently stainless steel ones don't last, because the are too inflexible. I don't know if this is true.

The radiator has lost about 10 percent of the metal leaves, but still works. This is going to need changing soon.

The hydraulic cam belt tensioner on these cars always goes wrong and leaks oil down the front of the car. Apparently, there are some better, newer replacements available, but I just had my mechanic fit a new hydraulic one.

The interior is very lightly-made, and though the fabric seems to wear well, some of the seams on mine have split and the foam is crumbling. This makes a mess under the seat.

This is my second 75 QV (see: http://www.carsurvey.org/review_4310.html)

I drive this one much more smoothly (though not more sensibly) than my first one, and the brakes, clutch and gearbox are much happier as a result.

The biggest complaint is that you really need cruise control on these cars for long trips on the motorway. The extreme angle of your ankle at part throttle means that long trips on the motorway cause some pain in the ankle and leg. This is annoying as the car rides very well on the motorway and is a pretty good motorway car, even though it is quite noisy (well, compared to my friends' luxury MB and BMWs).

The chassis on these cars is awesome. Anybody who can't drift the tail under power shouldn't have a driving licence.

The brakes really need to be better, and I need to fit cruise control. The rear parcel shelf and door cards are too flimsy for good stereo speakers, but then you only have to turn the radio off and listen to the noise from the engine.

The petrol tank is too small and intrudes into the boot, so the boot is pitifully small and the distance you can travel on a tank is very poor. That's OK, though, because you will want a break to rest your foot/leg.

If you have decent shock absorbers, springs and tyres, you can drive around the outside of Imprezas unless they are well driven.

I love this car and never want to sell it. I would like, however, to build a much more tasty 75. Modify a 24v engine and fit it into a fully-restored shell with up-rated brakes etc.

You must change the cam-belt every 60k miles to avoid very expensive problems. Also, don't use modern very thin synthetic oils, get a good Millers or similar, which is better for the engine.

Avoid the typical electrical gremlins by regularly cleaning and treating (copper grease or similar) every electrical connection you can find.

I drove a very recent BMW 330, and expected to come away wishing I had one. In fact, the Alfa is much better to drive except for the brakes.

Replaced one camshaft at 70000km.

Replaced front and rear brake pads.

Drivers seat foam decomposed!

Electrically operated side mirror (R) failed.

Replaced front and rear shocks.

Replaced flex-joints in the prop shaft at 155000km. The prop shaft couldn't be disassembled so it had to be broken, and was replaced by a used part. (EURO 50!!!)

Oil change every 5000km.

Cloth attached to the sun roof has loosened.

After 10 years, I still enjoy driving this car every day.

Two years ago I became aware of "engine" vibrations and thought that the end was near. I thought I could just drive carefully so as to preserve the engine. When I changed garage the mechanic discovered that the flex-joints in the prop shaft needed replacing. Now it feels like the car is brand new again.

I want to get a 156 but am afraid I won't like the front wheel drive. Then again, I enjoy this car (75) so much I don't want to ditch it!

The car sounds great too. Not like Japanese cars.

Only minor niggles like a faulty door lock, and a dodgy headlight.

An amazingly good value high performance saloon car. What else can be bought for a couple of thousand pounds and beats many supposed sports cars. Good fuel consumption 28-42mpg, excellent handling, and very smooth power delivery.

Nothing.

I run 30,254 miles with this car and it satisfied me a lot; its driving style is very exciting. I drive this car every time on oversteering, the engine horse power is like the power of a big tiger. My car is a Limited Edition with Recaro seats and special wheel design.