I am fairly new to this group, but I can tell you that all you will get here
is various opinions and I get the impression that we are all dedicated alfa
fans.

They used to have a bad reputation for falling apart and rusting, but I
believe that image has now been shed.

My personal view is that they are great. I have the 2002 156 JTS with the
new interior and I love it. I had teething trouble with a knock sensor,
otherwise, 19k miles of fun so far!

You won't regret it - join the club!

GET THAT CAR!!!

Hi Laurence,

I own a 2000 156 1.8TS Lusso and have had very few problems with it. I did
have some suspension problems early on, but they were fixed under warranty
and since then it's been fine. A friend of mine manages a fleet of cars for
a large company and they have quite a few Alfa's "on the books" and the only
major problem that seems to be a common feature of the 156 is that they wear
the inner edge of the front tyres very quickly. The only other common
complaint with Alfa's these days is the quality of the dealerships - they
frequently come out worst in customer satisfaction surveys! Overall I've
been very happy with my 156, I'd say you should do your homework, have it
inspected and if it all looks OK, go for it :)

Laurence, the 156 beat the mould vs older Alfas.  You'll find geneally
they are no worse than a say a Ford for reliability (but depreciation
to match).  Do the obvious research and background checks on the car
as you would with any other.

Though I would dearly love a JTD for it's economy, I much prefer my
2.0TS.  But herein lies another Alfisti debate about allowing diesels
in Alfas (but the AR unit is very good)

Go for it man and join the club!  You may get a few jibes from friends
but you as an AR owner always know what a good deal you've got.

Neil

Obviously.

Laurence

I have a '02 156 2.4JTD and it is great. A pleasure to drive, extremely
quick (faster than my Dad's B*W 530d Touring), and handles great.

However, and please don't let this put you off because it hasn't me,  I
believe I have an Italian Friday afternoon car!

I have suffered terribly from problems with ABS/VDC sensors, anti-roll bars,
engine mounts, steering rack and general suspension problems. I have also
had a new starter motor fitted after 15k miles, new door handles after
10-12k miles, tracking was way out after factory set-up. Electrical failure
of wipers, indicators, hazard warning lights, etc.

Having said all this, I want to say again that this has not put me off and I
will almost certainly have another. This is a great car let down by many
poor dealerships with no attention to customer service. If you are buying
the car outside of a warranty then great. You can use proper Alfa mechanics
who appreciate the cars they are working on.

Buy the car...you will have a hoot!

Simon C
156 2.4JTD V1 (2002)
To reply: remove nospam. from the address

Yes..it's an Alfa Romeo and they built up a bad reputation for
reliability and customer service. I had these concerns too when I
considered getting mine.

On mine, the suspension bushes wearing out every five minutes has
seriously dented my wallet (two £800 bills before 3 years and 24000
miles) at service time. The indicator relay (which I changed in a shop
car park waiting on the wife and kid) packs in every 18 months. 12UKP
for the part and easy to fix..in fact..*trivial for an Alfa"*. The
fuel filter seal is supremely delicate. It's at the rear of the engine
and, if you or a mechanic pulls it, the seal will never be reliable
again. You have to replace the fuel filter. This also happens all too
often after service replacement too.

Note that main dealer servicing may well start at about 300UKP for any
service.

Having said all that, mine's a 2001 and it's never let me down. AA/RAC
membership, 3 year warranty etc have been a waste of money. If you get
an 01/02, the only stock issue that should be left on it is worn
bushes.

Check all the tyres on the car, they should wear perfectly evenly.
Check, also, the metal panels for dents (the boot lid is particularly
easy to dent just shutting it). Check radio reception (all bands) with
and without the rear demist (where the antennas are). If there's a
difference, you may well have a broken demist element which means new
back window.

One last thing, look under the front and ensure the under tray is in
excellent condition. A new one is 80UKP but it's plastic instead of
fibre so is far more robust (flexible). You can also check on how
badly the car has been scraped along the road (sadly a normal
occurrence).

I think the 2.4JTD is, overall, the best in the 156 range and I'd get
another one if some pillock hadn't screwed up the front of the current
ones!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...

Alfa's and Fiat's are cars that, generally speaking, are simply more
sensitive to poor maintenace. Maintain it properly and it'll be fine.

Get the JTD. It's a brilliant car. Lots of pulling power (as in torque

T.

I am new to Alfa, I have a 156 2 JTS and its great.... but........

my trusty garage gave me a few warnings, watch the oil, for some reason it
goes very quickly (my dealer confirmed this, AFTER i baught the car). I got
some work done at the same trusty garage and he commented on how the body
work no longer rusts but bits that you don't see can be prone to rust, not
sure if this was him having a dig tho.

I always check my oil before a big journey and it often needs a top up.

Steve