Hi Folks,
wondering if you can help me again - you helped me last month and i decided to buy a Toyota Aygo - which is a great wee car. so thanks.
Anyway, my husband is thinking of buying an Alfa Romeo 147.
We have seen one for sale and it is a 1.6TS 2005 with 4k miles on the clock and the cost is £8288 its for sale through a dealership.
The garage have offered him £1500 for his R reg mada 323 with 74K miles on it, which I think is a good trade in price - would you agree ?
Can anyone advise is the 147 a good car ?
Is this a good price for one ? ( it is the slower one and not the high spec one)
Has anyone had any problems with their 147 ?
It doesnt have a CD player - would we need to get an alfa romeo one fitted so it still looked good ?
thanks, Suzy
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Take a look at what's bad about this car using the car-by-car breakdown on the left. Too many people seem to have problems with these cars and Alfa Romeo service generally seems to leave a lot to be desired.
They do look nice, but I wouldn't buy one....especially as he's currently driving around in a car made by one of the most reliable brands and looking to switch to one of the least reliable brands....
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The 147 is a good car and you shouldn't have any problems with it, despite what most on here will say. One thing to bear in mind though is the cambelts should be changed at 3 years / 36k miles, though with the 1.6 I don't think its too difficult a job.
As far as the stereo is concerned I think you can get surrounds for the headunits so you dont have to buy an Alfa one, though saying that they are Blaupunkt and I find them quite good quality.
Dealers are a bit naff though, unless you get a good one!
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Are you sure it has no cd player as this standard equipment ,if its not there you want one putting in at that price.
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">alfa romeo 147 - help need <"
Yes, help needed ;-)
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Don't do it, you know it makes sence.
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The actual car isn't usually the problem - it's normally the owner who neglects the vehicle that causes the problem. The Twin Spark engine needs to be well maintained and that means regular (read weekly) oil/water checks but the majority of owners fail to do this.
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ANY vehicle which requires weekly oil and water checks - and is under 100k miles - is by the definition of modern motoring design:
1. either a supercar with out of the world performance and engineered for same.
or
2. badly built /or designed and a potential can of worms.
Because with modern machine tolerances/materials and design and proper quality control.. weekly checks should not be needed. IF the design is such that weekly checks are required , the car should have a diagnostics/warning system built in as standard to warn automatically.
All imo..
Now is a Alfa 147 a modern supercar? :-))))
madf
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Now is a Alfa 147 a modern supercar? :-))))
Nope it's an Alfa!
Seriously we sell 2 or 3 recon Alfa lumps a week - and at £1350 plus vat a time they ain't cheap.
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"
Seriously we sell 2 or 3 recon Alfa lumps a week - and at £1350 plus vat a time they ain't cheap."
and I think that proves my point:-))))
madf
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I understand the attraction of an Alfa. Whereas the 147 is a beautiful design, a Golf is a well-screwed-together metal box, IMO. But an Alfa is a car to buy with your heart, not your head.
If you get a good condition one and are prepared - as Blue Haddock points out - to invest time and effort into minding it, go for it. If, however, you buy an Alfa expecting it to run and run and run like a sewing machine with nothing more than filling the tank, buy elsewhere.
That said, this one sounds new enough not to have been neglected. Why has it only 4,000 miles? Was it a demonstrator? Or troublesome, so that its original owner is getting shut? The head mechanic at my local Fiat/Alfa dealership (very helpful people, BTW) suggested that if I was buying one, basic spec is better - in particular, he reckoned the firmer sports suspension was much more prone to wear than the touring setup in the standard 1.6.
Also, Blaupunkt stereos were standard fit in Alfa 147 and 156s, so there should be no difficulting in adding one. Though be aware there was a problem with radios failing prematurely due to an electrical fault in 156s (I know of one car that had three replacement radios - and two airbag sensors - due to this fault in less than two years), so do what you can to ensure that's not the reason why the radio is missing.
Also avoid black cars - like FIATS, the black lacquer chips easily, tends to peel off once damaged, and can difficult to repair.
- Gromit
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I have owned from new an Alfa 145 with the 1.6TS engine. I have had it regularly serviced and had the cambelt changed every 36k miles. The car is now at 135,000 miles. So far the car has passed its MOT first time, every time.
Unless you can find an Alfa knowledgable independent garage, then I would get the alfa dealer to do the services in the warranty period and especially the cambelt change. Not that many mechanics have seen an Alfa. Expensive, maybe, but a wrecked engine is far worse.
Just buy it and look after it.
Any car that is abused and not looked after will bite you in the proverbial.
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I have driven a 147 1.6 and it was good to drive and characterful, on the otherhand I know someone who had one and experienced cam belt failure within the recomended change mileage (not sure of the actual mileage), the engine was not the same once rebuilt.
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Yes at launch Alfa recommended 72k miles or 5 years. This has now been changed to 36k miles and 3 years, although still not everyone knows this, hence the missed few!
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This is one of the choices Mrs V had on her list (Mx5 won) & we had a test drive & was more than pleased with it's ride/style/performance etyc etc.
We did get a bit confused on their trim levels, seems the cheaper velour trim was much nicer to sit in, look at & look after than the leather option, so it sounds like you're looking similar spec.
As for the CD - ask Halfords what they have in their offers this month - surprisingly good brands @ good fitted prices too, sometimes.
& Have you found out the deal WITHOUT part ex, you'd sell the Mazda easy enough, if you've looked after it!?
VB
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