Thinking of getting out of Alfa ownership? Read this first!

[ugame]

Warning, this story contains scenes of instant buyers regret and may disturb some readers.

Champagne tastes on a beer budget. That's me to a tea. Well I'd argue I have a mid range vodka and rum budget, but let's not split hairs with the analogy.

So as you can imagine, having two twin spark Alfas to look after was becoming a juggling act to begin with. It's not that I couldn't afford to give them the attention they demanded. It's more a case of that fact that I didn't want to keep on doing it, and I really didn't want the awkward conversations with the wife.

"You said it was just a service! Why did it cost over $1000?"

"Well you know...they found this and that and the other. It's not the labour, it's the parts." etc etc.

If you didn't know, we owned a 2002 Alfa Romeo 916 GTV 2.0 TS. The second such car I've owned. And the family run about, and car the twins were learning to drive in was a 2005 Alfa Romeo 147 2.0 TS.

Both manual of course.  Both purchased very cheaply despite being in great condition.

So spending money on either really didn't phase me to begin with. When you play at the bottom end of the market, you sleep at night knowing that you weren't the one to take a $30K, $40K, $50K+ depreciation hit over time.  I could fix every last little problem and not come close to the original purchase price on either car.

And the car I want to talk about today is the 147. Pursched around 3 years ago for just over $5000, the paint work was great save a few honkey nut dents in the bonnet, and car park dings in the doors.

The last owner was an Alfa enthusiast, moved to Perth from Ireland, and very picky. The usually sticky switches had all been replaced with brand new ones, and the leather looked and felt like new.

And let's talk about the leather. $5000 would not buy you a lounge suit as nice as the interior of a well kept 147.

Having almost immediately ensured she went in for a new timing belt, rear brakes, and a few other items, I saw this car as something that would last us "at least" until the timing belt was due again, and I wasn't wrong. It took on the roles of family car, daily commuter, shopping cart, market day wagon, learner driver car, track day weapon, fun weekender, and competent highway cruiser, all with it's little 4 cylinder heart beating perfectly and never really complaining.

Well, not often.

It most certainly had it's quirks and fixing all the known ones, and performing the up-coming timing belt service was looking like a set of bills I really didn't want to have to justify. Easily equalling the cars probable value, not that you can always work the maths that way.

Add the fact that my weekend toy is now the Porsche Cayman S, which I know will demand substantial futher investment at some point in it's life, and the "sensible" thing to do was to get out of Alfa ownership, or at least, our of owning two of them, and into something dull but reliable.

The problem is, try and sell a used car WITH the quirks, and even at a bargain price, no one wants to know. Everyone expects a 13 year old car to be factory perfect.

However, pay to fix everything, and still no one wants to pay you what the car is worth, because they see others on the market for less. Little do they know the problems they are also going to have to invest in.

That leaves you with two choices.

1) A dishonest sell (not my style)
2) Trade it in.

I chose the latter.

Now my brother in law springs to mind here. He works in the middle east but "home" is in the UK. When returning to the mother land he used to hire cars all the time and to paraphrase his words he "got sick of all the plastic jap crap", and ended up buying a nice BMW 3 series to use when home.

"European cars are so much better made" he says.

And when you are talking about comfort and style, he's correct. Sadly as we all know, living in Australia, anything european comes with an associated tax when it comes to parts and labour. An un-official tax that has no justification.  So while I'd have prefered to be looking at an Audi A4 or BMW, I chose to concentrate my shopping on the "jap crap".

I've owned Nissans before with no issues about interior design or quality at the time. But all things are relative. I'd not realised how, over time, I have now become spoiled by my latest toys.

So, I sat in Corrolla's, even ones with leather trim, and the felt horrid. The leather felt like sitting on a warm damp public toilet.

I considered a 2013 Nissan pulsar that wa a very reasonable price, but despite it's young age, I couldn't help but consider Nissans reputation against the likes of Toyota and Honda. The perception being that they are not as reliable, and perception is reality.

So I sat in a car I've never sat in before. A 2007 manual, low K Honda Civic.

The condition looked great save a few minor car park marks.

The interior is cloth, or is it valour? Whatever it is, it's not repulsive at least. It is comfortable enough.

97,000 on the clock with a full stamped service history, the test drive was as comfortable as it was uneventful.

What I LOVED was the driver side dash. You are presented with a single rev counter behind the wheel, and then a vast digital display beneath the windscreen for speed, temp, and fuel. Very sci-fi.

I'd done my research. Not much goes wrong on these cars and the things that do, don't cost much to fix. There is a timing chain in place of a belt. If it was a belt, the intervals are reasonable, and those with a chain like this one, are not known to stretch or snap. The very suggestion doesn't even come up.

So that was that.  It was a car that is "ok" to drive and "not repulsive" to be in, and so I signed away the 147 on a trade that would make anyone else cry, but I did it with zero emotion.

Take my 147. Give me the reliable, quirk free commuter capsule and send me on my way.

I picked up the civic yesterday and it wasn't until the dealer manager said as I was leaving "oh is that your little Alfa over there", that I glanced back at the loyal little puppy being left at the pound, and felt the first pang of regret. It looked great. It's rear stance hinting that the little hatch was indeed hotter than many would first assume. The glance was less than fleeting but the emotion was there. I'd never brought the 147 for it's looks. I didn't like them at first. But I'd come to love them.

Driving home I consoled myself with the fact that I had made the right financial decision. I'd got into a slightly newer car, with far less K's on the clock, and a reputation for nothing braking.

With that happy thought, I cruised along in pace with the traffic and no feeling of urgency or race, and went to adjust the side mirrors for a better view.

The mirror controls didn't work.

Everything else works flawlessly, but "up" on the controls doesn't work.

It only takes one thing to highlight the obvious. Every car fails.

Once home I presented my prize to the wife. She loves the idea of saving money. She clearly didn't "love" the Civic. She didn't mind it. BUt there was zero excitement. More a simple attempt to take in the change and understand it's logic once again. She was more over Alfa ownership than myself, but in about five minutes it was now clear to me that she too now understood that the Alfa had been something "special", and the Honda was indeed....well....not.

As I washed the dishes later that evening I suddenly felt sad that I'd not said "goodbye" to the 147. I'd just kind of left it there without explaining what was happening or why. It's a car. I know. But it felt like I'd left behind a child, that would forever now be questioning what it did wrong, and why I'd be so very upset with it.

As I drove in to work this morning, one of my boys was in the passenger seat pointing out the vast expanse that is the dashboard on the passenger side, while I was getting to grips with a car that holds zero excitement in the driving.

What I have today then, is not a new (used) car excitement. It is instant, and somewhat irrational buyers remorse.

We still have the GTV. And now, perhaps, if my son buys it, we always will.

The sun is coming out on the weekend. I really REALLY must drive the Porsche.

[poohbah]

Great story mate, and great that even the missus now recognises what you have given up for "rationality".

That GTV isn't going anywhere I'll bet...

[ugame]

Thanks mate.

To rationalise things further, a great saying is "To receive a great gift, you must first empty your hands" (or something like that).

Short term pain.  And it's not really "pain" given the toy in the shed.

I'll "put up with" normal cars until the Porsche account is paid off (3 years ish), and then I'll re-evaluate. And that's my normal "itch" duration.

Buet yes, a great outcome would be my son buying the GTV.

[Pseudonym]

And this is why I could never sell the old 33 - and it's a bit crazy because the 156 has been a better car to drive day to day, but the 33 has been such a stalwart companion that it deserves a better send off than being left in a paddock. I think if I had to empty the stable I'd actually choose the GTV6 and the 33 over the coronas, they really do breed their own nostalgia from day one. Something I learned while trying to define the Japanese wabi sabi philosophy, is that some Japanese have traditionally believed that after an object reaches 100 years old it acquires a soul and deserves a certain reverence if you will. Alfa sort of skip ahead a bit by mimicking a living soul through imperfection, because who can say they've ever seen life without turmoil or failure? I've a very soft spot for Porsche, mainly the old 911, but I don't think you'll feel the same saying goodbye to it eventually.

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[poohbah]

Was in at Cilebertis yesterday (emergency visit - 156 rad hose split on way to work), and parked next to the 4WD 33 wagon they have. Glorious little thing, despite a little rough and untidy - looks like they might be using it as a gopher.

If I had unlimited space at home, I fear I would have a fleet of entirely impractical, occasionally working Alfas just like it...

[Citroënbender]

 

Nom-de-plume, you beat me to the existentialist pop psychology; I was more thinking Nietzsche but reckon there's a lot of tangential contact with the Japanese ideal.  Both inferentially reflect a yearning to "know the soul" - a quest I argue to be harder than ever in an age where we're so buffeted by manufactured sentiment that our desire for conformity in the moment has outshone the joys of knowledge.



"All the furniture... Is in the garage."

[ugame]

Oh trust me. I dont think Porsche ownership will be a problem.

All I need to do with that beast is stop being scared of breaking it, and let it loose more often.

And that is coming slowly and surely.

And the excitement of that car will be magnified in contrast to commuting in the civic that's for sure.

And to be fair, the Civic is "nice". But that's all it is.

[carlo rossi]

Its an age old issue that even the japanese recognise
their belief that there is a little  bit of god or spirtit in man made machines
that obviously the asian cars wont have the germans have lost
but due to the italian ways of life they still use alot of manual labour to produce their cars
consequently they incur reliability issues due mainly to design or human error
BUT it is these, it is these little issues that keeps you constantly thinking about the issues and the car
You end up in love with it because  of this unfathomable intangible spirit that is in these cars
ASk a Porsche owner, great car and you like it because everyone looks and thinks its a great car ,
it does every thing right and it does everything on time and it does what its told ... everytime
everyday.......like a stepford wife, BORING. Or would you prefer the unknown, spontaneous sometimes unreliable wild ride thats real
thats the alfa shes everything an affair should be
probably not the most politically correct blog ever written but i have owned both and thats just my feelings
ps the most unreliable car was the commodore (new)

[ugame]

Na people who have never owned a Porsche think they are perfect, reliable and boring.

Anyone who's actually owned (or researched) them knows otherwise.

My Cayman, on collection, had a completely dead entertainment unit. The dealer actually pointed it out and ordered and fitted the replacement (free).

And do not mention "IMS Bearing" or "bore scoring" or you'll send me and every other M96/M97 engine owning Porsche driver into a fetal position, reciting the sacred words "it may never happen to me. it may never happen to me" while rocking back and forth.

Every time I drive it I am listening for new sounds and wondering.

It's fine of course.

But I suspect that if I ever sell it, it will not be because it failed me, but because the anxiety was too much.

[Citroënbender]

I have to say, CR, coming from a Citroën/Peugeot into a 147, it's been my version of "boring reliability". 

No sudden hydraulic leaks under the radiator, no PAS return hose ruptures, no suspension oil saturating the underlay, no heater core failures soaking the rug, no brittle coolant connectors or earth points located in damp spots. One failed crank sensor, every other tow of the 147 has been from someone running into it and crippling it.

[carlo rossi]

the possible difference is maybe as alfa owners we wear our problems like a badge of honour
as opposed to porsche that tend pretend that it doesnt happen
I know my friend had a 911 996 he is on his 3rd engine in 2 years
ims bearing ,d cracks etc etc
well done on the 147 but they do suffer from weak little ends sell before 100k
so im told

[Citroënbender]

I just treat it as incidental and feel no need to spin it one way or the other.   

(That said, when the Falcon ute broke down on the Hume in the middle of nowhere at 9PM Saturday, with thousands of dollars in tools and a just freezing night sky for company, it took a couple of hours to find some cheer in it all...)

[ugame]

I don't know about JTS but my 147 TS was 168,000 and nothing wrong with the engine. And I'm sure busso fitted GTAs are fine also.

Twin spark GTV is also over 100,000 with no signs of failing. Hell that thing doesn't even drink oil. Same engine as the 147.

Sounds like IMS style exaggeration to me

I thought the thing that kills 147s was neglect, especially with reguards to oil levels and timing belt intervals?

Back on the wider topic, the ride HOME in the Civic, I began to settle into what I intended it for. A comfortable commuter.

I think it will serve its purpose well, but yes, already, the 147 is missed.

[V AR 164]

I glanced back at the loyal little puppy being left at the pound, and felt the first pang of regret.

As I washed the dishes later that evening I suddenly felt sad that I'd not said "goodbye" to the 147. I'd just kind of left it there without explaining what was happening or why. It's a car. I know. But it felt like I'd left behind a child, that would forever now be questioning what it did wrong, and why I'd be so very upset with it.

He is most likely sitting outside cold and lonely along with the other cars in an unfamiliar territory with no car friends. All the others are not like him and he feels left out now.

HOPE YOU FEEL REGRET, YOU MONSTER!!!!



...but I do get where you're coming from, you have to be very committed to keep a fleet of Alfa's maintained. And now the Porsche will most likely devour all of your time and money.

Andrew.

[Pseudonym]

Dad had a Renault Marseille once - and it actually drove reasonably well but it was a north south motor in fwd and all the wiring connectors must have expanded out of contact over the decades [emoji23]

I do understand what you mean about contrast between the vehicles for different purposes, at least once a week I have to talk myself out of doing some modification to the 156 because it just defeats the purpose of having something for fun and something for function. That green four-wheel drive 33 is actually dad's, he bought it off cileberti and painted it.... that.. colour... and he's very proud of it, every now and again someone stops in and wants to know about the car because they just don't see them anymore. I think one thing to take heart from is I've actually had the same sort of conversations about 147s as the 33, people buy them based on aesthetics and are pleasantly surprised at how much fun they are to drive, and they're relatively reliable and cheap to run. I can imagine a lot of people jump straight into the higher spec Alfas and turn tail and run at the sight of the first timing belt bill.
So I dare say it's just starting a new life as another enthusiasts introduction to Alfa, and you've done the brand a favour by passing on the torch so to speak.

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