I had an Alfa Sud as my first ever car and am now looking at getting a second hand Giulietta, around a 2012 model budget wise.
Can anyone give me some advise as to common issues to be on the lookout for?
I understand they need a fairly costly timing belt change at 80K / 4 years but what other things do I need to be wary of?
Cheers,
Stu
They all (Alfa and other) need cam belts at that age, price is pretty much the same across the brands if you use an independent and source the bits cleverly (OS, OEM)
Re the Giulietta, you want the QV.
At that age and price point they're the bargain.
No standout issues that I know off, if you service it (like anything)
** oh, and I have one. Black 2011 QV with all the fruit (sans heated seats), personally I wouldn't get one without the pana roof it's fantastic on a good day (everyday, QLD).
Any European car out of warranty period; purchase price is simply the admission fee - although it's subjective as to whether one is joining a select group of connoisseurs, or simply entering the nut-house...
Considering the price of petrol, filling the tank several times is equal the cost of a major service. Belonging to a car club will usually lower your insurance premium with Shannons, not sure about others.
Quote from: Citroënbender on October 09, 2017, 10:33:09 PM
Considering the price of petrol, filling the tank several times is equal the cost of a major service.
I presently have a V8 100 series as my daily drive so a budget for 98 driving an Alfa will mean a considerable savings:)
Quote from: Craig_m67 on October 09, 2017, 10:18:16 PM
They all (Alfa and other) need cam belts at that age, price is pretty much the same across the brands if you use an independent and source the bits cleverly (OS, OEM)
Craig,
Do you know where the best places are to purchase OEM parts at reduced prices? I'm pretty handy at fixing mechanical items so normally will import parts and undertake the repair myself.
My LC I can buy parts ex Japan at great prices, my old BMW I was able to source parts ex UK and US so Im always happy to shop around.
Additionally are there parts diagrams and the like available online?
Cheers,
Stuart
Lots of good resources. If you whistle in the wilds of eBay UK, a little birdie will often appear with torrents of the factory workshop manuals (eLearn) for less than ten Euro per model. Ditto on the parts database ePer V.84 (last one that didn't require a dongle and authenticated internet dialogue between user and head office).
I'm not saying you should go out and chase torrent downloads of questionable pedigree, but I do want to see people informed, happy and their cars safely fixed at the right price - as HRH Queen Victoria once said "So long as it doesn't frighten the horses"...
Quote from: wopalx on October 10, 2017, 05:53:56 PM
Quote from: Craig_m67 on October 09, 2017, 10:18:16 PM
They all (Alfa and other) need cam belts at that age, price is pretty much the same across the brands if you use an independent and source the bits cleverly (OS, OEM)
Craig,
Do you know where the best places are to purchase OEM parts at reduced prices? I'm pretty handy at fixing mechanical items so normally will import parts and undertake the repair myself.
My LC I can buy parts ex Japan at great prices, my old BMW I was able to source parts ex UK and US so Im always happy to shop around.
Additionally are there parts diagrams and the like available online?
Cheers,
Stuart
For my Guilietta and 156JTD I pretty much buy everything from Shop4parts in the UK. They supply original Alfa parts, OEM and others. If the part you need isn't in stock or on their website they will get it direct from Alfa. I just ordered and had the cambelt (w'pump, idlers, aux, idlers etc) done by a local indie (Bazz) here at home.. Technically straight forward as he had the right locking tools. There's also a 10% discount code that for the UK Alfa forum, ask and you shall receive :)
I have complete rotors/pads etc coming next week (Alfa, Brembo) and a new front undertray and coolant tank. Which I'll do myself next week (I'm just lazy these days). I think I bought a new grill and door handle also as mine have some chips.
All in all, much cheaper landed ( inside a week) than trying to buy other brands locally, ie. DBA (rotors) TRW(pads), Gates or the other mainstream(cam/aux kits) from Bursons or SuperCheap.. Who can be surprisingly useful for OEM Alfa bits if you need them urgently.
PS. My first Alfa was a Sud, and my second.. The third was Sud Sprint and then I had an '88 SprintQV.. The Guilietta QV is the only Alfa (and I've had others) which reminds me of my SprintQV.. It's that good when. Actually it's probably the best (don't tell the Duetto or GT Junior)
Thanks for the information.
I enquired about one today, 2012 with sub 30k on the ODO. Chose not to see it as it's only had 2 services over the 5 years and no timing belt change:(
Luckily I'm in no rush so can take my time looking for the right one.
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Stuart, if the sub 30k one otherwise looks good, you could tell the seller you need at least another $1500 off the price to cover the cost of changing the belt and take it straight to a workshop to get it done. Or if its at a dealer, you could offer to buy if they change the belt first (and do a full service) at no extra cost. When I bought my current V6 156, it was due for a belt change, but the car was otherwise what I was after, so I haggled the cost of the job off the price.
Quote from: poohbah on October 14, 2017, 10:29:38 AM
Stuart, if the sub 30k one otherwise looks good, you could tell the seller you need at least another $1500 off the price to cover the cost of changing the belt and take it straight to a workshop to get it done. Or if its at a dealer, you could offer to buy if they change the belt first (and do a full service) at no extra cost. When I bought my current V6 156, it was due for a belt change, but the car was otherwise what I was after, so I haggled the cost of the job off the price.
Yes that is certainly an option.
I'm early in my search and not in any rush, as such a vehicle with more klms and a better history is higher on my desirable list.
Took one for a test drive today, it's the first one I've viewed in the flesh and driven and I'm certain I'll be happy with one of these machines in the garage.
Just gotta find the one that calls me:)
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I wouldn't be afraid of the Ks, engines/drive lines theses days are tough. Get the spec/colour combo you want. Factor in the cost of a complete service (cam/engine/brakes) and drive the snot out of it. I've put 8K's on mine in the last three months (all flat out) and I live 2km from work.... Seriously brilliant car for the cost of admission
(3 kids<13, bikes, mountain passes and lotsa beach sand.. Just drive it)
So I've sold my old vehicle and now serious about finding new wheels.
Have seen a 2011 with less than 50K in good condition for a reasonable price through a dealer, full service history inc TB service.
They are offering me an extended warranty through AWN insurance which is comforting in some respects but looks useless in the real world. I'm in two thoughts, the 'warranty' costs $300, however I do have a statutory warranty the dealer cannot take away....
Also what is the standard for keys with Alfa's? How many do you get and are they all the same or different?
You should get two full function remote keys, if not they're probably cloneable at that age if you ask someone like the auto key bloke in Narrabeen. Diagnostics will tell you how many prior keys have been lost and blocked!
Re the warranty, I can't recall if AWN but some years back I did a bunch of diagnostics and repairs on a Citroën whose owner held a policy with one of the "extended warranty" crowd. The resultant claim for $700-ish (parts and labour) was denied because they had not pre-approved the repairs. That's despite keeping the replaced parts in case of queries, and having screenshots of the fault logs before and after. It just consolidated my impression that these schemes are rubbish.
Quote from: Citroënbender on October 31, 2017, 07:53:56 PM
You should get two full function remote keys, if not they're probably cloneable at that age if you ask someone like the auto key bloke in Narrabeen. Diagnostics will tell you how many prior keys have been lost and blocked!
I only got one full remote key and another normal (red)key with the QV ... mind you the 156 has three full remote keys, no idea what was original from new.
Warranty isn't as important as belts/brakes and tyres.. Do the math, Alfas are super reliable when serviced (correctly) on time, in my experience
According to ePer, the standard replacement kit 71765804 (succeeded from 71754379) is two remote keys, so one would assume that is how they intended delivery to occur. Nearly a thou even ex-Europe; well over 500 Euro...
Collect the new ride Monday in Brisvagus, driving back to Sydney for work Tuesday so should be a good shakedown drive.
First mod likely to be an exhaust, need to see my old mate Lambros @ Hytech in Sydney, not afraid of being loud, but hate drone.
X-Mas present will be a tune, not sure what to go for so happy to get peoples thoughts.
Got back to Sydney and very happy with the new toy.
Prior owner had already done the exhaust, its not too loud and does not drone like some.
Question to other QV owners - how much waste gate noise do you get on gear changes? Mine seems to have quite a swoosh so am wondering if given the exhaust there might be some additional mods done that I cannot easily see.
The vehicle goes like a cut snake and I did not fully push other when test driving them so not sure if mine is just normal or not.
Will give her a detail on the weekend and post some pics.
I noticed a lot of swoosh when i first got mine.. I think it's just the nature of the car. My QV is stock
Apart from having to put it in "D" all the time.... The most annoying thing I have is a noisy high pressure fuel pump (very top, LH engine), this (quickly) ticks away at idle like a diesel - ruins an otherwise amazing car for me. I'm told (and google agrees) it's a "feature" of the 1750TBI thing. Shits me, and I will replace it at some stage to check.
Sorry to hijack, but does anybody know if we (Brisbane) can get remaps for the QV.
I really don't want to ship my ECU to the UK to up it to +290BHP if somebody local can do it.
CraigO
Quote from: Craig_m67 on November 16, 2017, 11:21:04 AM
I noticed a lot of swoosh when i first got mine.. I think it's just the nature of the car. My QV is stock
CraigO
Thanks Craig.
I got in touch with the prior owners and they confirmed a custom 2&1/2" catback exhaust and BMC filter were the only mods done so all good.
Tuning wise there is a local (to me) company that can do a Quantum remap for about $1295. Quoting improvements from 241hp to 280hp (+16%) and Torque increase from 340nm to 416nm (+22%) . I might get a little more given the exhaust if I go down that route but I need to do more investigation as remapping without Dyno time is not always the best means to making more power.
What I think I will do is upgrade the FMIC first (as heatsoak makes a big difference to HP), then sort out the exhaust (it does not give any burble on downshifts). Once I have done those things I'll look at a tune.
But before that I need some new tyres .....
Cheers,
Stu
Don't know where you're located but suggest you talk to Andrew down at Superior Auto at Mona Vale they've done a couple of ours - 2.4jtd and 3.2 GT with good results and they have a great dyno setup. Cheers
Quote from: Rigi on November 26, 2017, 07:30:26 AM
Don't know where you're located but suggest you talk to Andrew down at Superior Auto at Mona Vale they've done a couple of ours - 2.4jtd and 3.2 GT with good results and they have a great dyno setup. Cheers
Thanks I will give them a call when Im closer to doing it.