After a 156 manual

[poohbah]

Others may have a different view, but I would be wary of a selespeed. Keep looking, I'm sure that a proper manual will turn up eventually! BTW, have you thought of joining and contacting the WA chapter of the alfaclub? They are a good bunch, and may even know of a 156 that meets your spec.

[poohbah]

Bingo - we may have a winner. This is in Mt Pleasant, seems to meet all your criteria.

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Alfa-Romeo-156-2006/SSE-AD-2546662/?Cr=2&sdmvc=1

[SimonB]

I know and I got all excited about it. Phoned the guy last week and he swapped a while back for a 1958 vespa....wtf!! When I spoke to him he said it had been over the pits because it was sitting in a friends property for three years. A service had been done and rear bearings sorted, but this is the kicker......he never got the timing belt done and never knew it needed to be done!!! Now I have found a manual 156 old style at a dealer.....170k on the clock but it has had a complete overhaul, belt, pump, wheel bearings, rings so nothing to spend. Really clean inside and out...8.5k seems a bit much though....I have offered him less, waiting to hear back.....thoughts?

[poohbah]

Excellent - Definitely sounds worth a punt. With regard to the belt and pump, make absolutely sure you know exactly when they were changed. The belt has to be replaced every 50-60,000km (or three years) so if its not on it's fourth already, it may be due again soon.

And don't forget to try all the buttons (windows and aircon especially). Electrics and climate control can be a bugger to fix - so if anything isn't working properly, you could at least haggle further.

Apart from that, it sounds like it should be a good 'un. And if its a dealer and you wave cash in front of him, I reckon you'll get it for way less than $8.5k . He won't want an Alfa in his yard for too long - its a pretty small pool of buyers - so I reckon he will leap at a cash offer. You can bet he paid under $5k for it.

Last of all - and this is just my biased opinion as a Series 1 owner - I think the pre-facelift 156 is still the best looking. The Series 2 is very pretty, but I reckon it lost some of its unique style and attitude when it got all gussied up to make it look more like the 147 and 159!

[SimonB]

Yes, the belt and pump were changed when they recently did the overhaul, actually didn't check all the buttons, should I turn it down if one window doesn't work?....probably not....... still haven't heard, so maybe it's not happening....told him my max. if he wants more, I ain't got it!

[poohbah]

If you are convincing that you are prepared to walk, but have the cash to buy on your terms, I'm sure he will buckle! Good luck.

[Craig_m67]

Thanks poohbah, yes I saw that a while a ago, 220k put me off. Which begs an interesting question.....how many kilometres will a 4 cylinder alfa engine do before it dies, assuming it is well looked after? I'm thinking the v6 will last way longer......?

Our 4cyl 1.9JTD ('03 156 Sportwagon, manual, Nero metallico, leather, GTA speed lines, Bilstien B6s)** has done a very busy 185,000 K's flat out without any major issue. I consider her just run in

Maintenance is the key, they will last for ages (+300k seen in the UK) with the correct oil and sensible approach to preventative maintenance.


Re the car your looking at, when where the front upper and lower wishbones, drop links and ARB bushes LAST replaced??... These are chocolate consumables, I'm on my second set (OEM). Don't forget the trailing arms in the rears and shocks ALL round. These are all consumables, especially on a high mileage car.  It might be cheaper to buy the lower k's facelift and just have it serviced correctly. Do the math.

And don't forget the auctions ... http://www.pickles.com.au/cars/item/-/details/CP-04-04--Built-10-03--Alfa-Romeo--156--JTS--Wagon--5-Seats--4-Doors/103279976

**proud brag

[SimonB]

Found this and looks good but begs some questions....

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/warnbro/cars-vans-utes/alfa-romeo/1037598646

2002 seems wrong, I thought the facelift was late 2003, 75k on the clock looks good, I'll have to ask but thinking the timing belt hasn't been done, what's the cost for this and pump $1200?

[poohbah]

I think you are right about facelift date - from 2002 Alfa did release a cosmetic update (colour coded wing mirrors, different dash etc) but the full redesigned front was later (I thought 2004).

So maybe they don't know much, or care much, about the details? (Which can be good and bad). I guess you can only ask about the history, that will tell you how much they really looked after it.

Dollar wise $1200 should be reasonably close for belt and pump.  I note that it looks like quite a ding in the rear door, but no idea what that might cost.  But definitely looks worth a look.

Is the 2003 black 156 in Middle Swan still available?   (http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/middle-swan/cars-vans-utes/2003-alfa-romeo-156-sedan/1036628834)

Higher kms (120k) but serviced at Cileberti's, so history should be okay, and Leo should be able to give you an honest opinion about it.

[SimonB]

Phoned him last Friday night he said it hadn't gone, then texted me Sat morning to say it had.......

[poohbah]

Phoned him last Friday night he said it hadn't gone, then texted me Sat morning to say it had.......

Bugger!

Oh well, you should check out the red one in Warnbro. If mileage is true, it might be that the owner simply doesn't want to spend the moolah on the belt/pump (and dent).

If it hasn't had the belt changed, and you do buy it, folks on here will recommend you get it transported straight to the workshop for replacement rather than risk driving it home and wrecking the motor, which will cost several grand to replace. And regardless of mileage - if it is still on the original belt, it has gone way past its use by date age-wise and would need to be changed.

[Craig_m67]

Don't fixate completely on the belts, there are other "consumables" which will need replacing and are not on a service schedule; clutch, shocks, wishbones & bushes, rotors, pads, gearbox linkages, engine mounts, etc.

[poohbah]

Very true Craig. Though if the stated mileage is authentic, most of those (pads &rotors aside) should be fine, shouldn't they? (But obviosly still need checking, for sure.

[SimonB]

Ok guys...here she is...thanks for all your help with this

[poohbah]

Ok guys...here she is...thanks for all your help with this

Bewdiful, congratulations Simon. Enjoy.