Alfa Romeo need help

I owned an Alfa about 15 years ago. I bought a jacket with the Alfa emblem to wear when the top was down and it was chilly. I kept the jacket, because it was the only thing that didn't leak oil and break down. The car was the 2nd worst I've owned, only slightly better than the Lotus which was broken down 22 out of 24 months I owned it.

 

piece of advice: stay away from Italian cars, if you like italian, then love pasta, pizza etc, but not cars.

French and Italian cars are engineered with some weird fashion and the composite materials used are I suppose of lower quality than materials used in other cars, not to mention technology behind.

If you need use european car then I suppose Mercedes would be ok, possibly some vehicle of a VW group (VW, Skoda (yes Czech Republic), or Seat).

If you are in Europe then parts shouldn't be a problem for european car, if you are in US or Asia, then don't even think this will be good decision.

I'm in europe and would not buy a Buick as every tiny part would be a nightmare to match and deliver (2-3weeks from US).

Bad sides:

- timing belt slips without any reason
- overheating of the engine block
- various electrical malfunctions including electronics and ecu
- poor quality of rubber parts in the elements of suspension
- poor exhaust system ( corrosion ) - metals used are not acid proof
- bolts, belts, plastics all these tiny pieces that once you try to open anything or repair it just breakes in your hands as the materials are poor.

The parts are not generally numbered, there is no intuitive way into how these parts are classified. There is however Italian system which is designed to drive dealer's operations. Ask any mechanic in Europe.
I mean real mechanic, don't just blindly look for the smooth lines and designer interior or reviews in Car Magazines. These are not the factors to purchase the car.
Remember you are not driving on the paint or fancy seats, you drive on wheels which needs to be correctly assembled to the suspension, brakes, engine etc. Aprat from Italy there is not so much EU countries that use Alfa's.

Alfa's are famous because of movie industry - that 's it.

 

It's an Alpha,....what more needs to be said!
That's Italian for trouble!

 

+1...almost as bad as a FIAT (Fix It Again Tony)

and why are we discussing alfas in a prius forum?

 

Do you think he might be an Alfa fan who is looking at getting a Prius?

 

Alfa and Lancia are owned by Fiat so there is a lot of commonality. AFAIK you could get Alfa service from a Fiat dealer, in Europe at least. You don't say where you're from.

 

Did you guys miss the 5 year gap in posts?

 

5, 6 yrs, it's still a Alpha! It needs a comment or two.

 

LOL i didn't notice until i hit your post!

 

As a former Alfa Romeo driver I have to jump in here too (even if the thread is 5 years old ).

I exchanged my Alfa Romeo GT - see picture below, lovely car - after 4 years of (almost) trouble free ownership for a Prius, simply because with 2 kids a 2-door car was not practical anymore. Otherwise I would have loved to keep her.

I know that Alfa Romeo is still suffering from the old bad reputation when the quality was really bad, but in the last 10 years or so (since starting to produce the 156 / 147 series) things have changed a lot. No more rust (in contrary to Mercedes Benz or VW...) and all working fine. Not up to Japanese precision, no question, but lovely drivers cars and way above French 'quality' (is that an oxymoron when speaking about French cars?)
The only thing to note is that they need to be well cared, i.e. regularly serviced to the right standard (which is not cheap), but then they run very well.

 

Sacrilege to put such a beautiful car in such a crappy garage

 

OOPS! It was a drive-by post anyway. I'm in a hospital for a few days (appendix) so brain is not at 100%.

 

Garage looks worse in the pictures than in reality

(but the garage is a good example of Belgian craftmanship: would you believe that the building (and the garage) was not even 10 years old when I took that picture? - regularly when it rained too much (which it does a lot here) water was filtering in... fortunately not much where our cars are standing, just the walls look filthy)

 

i live in greece alfas suck electrically

 

But aren't Alfas like a beautiful woman - they look great and you'll look good with one, but you just know they'll be high maintenance and a nightmare to live with.

:mod:

 

That sums it up quite nicely

I just get a bit irritated when people still go on about electrical problems etc. in Alfa's. Yes, they had huge troubles in the 80s and 90s, but they have come a long way. Some as VW and Audi which were great cars during that period but which have gone the opposite way in recent years -my last experiences with the German brands have been a lot less brilliant and I loved my VW Golfs that I owned which were from the eighties.
But (at least in Europe) they still have this untouchable reputation of strong German engineering. Ask anybody who had the bad idea of buying a Mercedes built around 1998 - 2002 if they are happy
Speaking of electrical troubles... (not to mention the rust-eaten doors etc.)

 

When I first moved to Los Angeles I fell head head over heels for a lovely Hispanic cutie. Then she bought a Alpha..........
So I agree whole heartedly. YES, AND YES!

 

no thanks no sale haqhahahaaaa i had one of those remember the 407 hahaha