I'm considering buying an Afla Romeo GTV 3.0 V6...02/03 reg with about 50k on the clock...?

Question

...but have heard of a few horror stories from current and ex Alfa owners. Can any Alfa owners let me know about their cars. Thanks.

Answer 1

Hi, I have a 2ltr GTV, and had it for approx 15 months, it only had 2 previous owners, ull service history & i have have had no problems with it at all. I have had alfas for 24 years and always serviced them with genuine alfa parts at slightly less than the manufactures reccomended intervals, and i believe this is why i havn't had any trouble with them. People seem to shy away from the big services because of the expense this is where i firmly believe the problem lies and not the fault of the car. Alfa have now decided that timing belts, variator etc should be done every 36k instread of 72k, I would strongly reccomend you buy one with full service history and 6 speed model and make sure you have got the brown master key. The 3ltr V6 is exceptional value for money so GO FOR IT!
I hope this helps. If you feel you want to know anything else contact me i am happy to pass on what i know about them. When i said i have had no problems with my 2ltr i lied the problem is i want a 3ltr ha ha! good Luck

Answer 2

Okay first off I am absolutely envious that you all have the choice of the new Alfa Models. Here in the U. S of backwards of A the nice make and models of cars are not available. I do have a 1984 Spider that I drive all the time. It had one previous owner; a Biology Professor that let it sit nine years while he was in the jungle or something. I dropped the tank to the scrapper, flushed the new lines and new tank, put new filters, gas, and oil then drove it away. Except for the annoyance of horrid understeer and the radio going off when I push the brake it has driven well and ( touch wood ) never let me down. So enjoy the Alfa if you want an Alfa but don't buy it if your heart isn't in it. The parts are costly and sorting some issues are a fiddly mess. Regular service and regular use keep mine healthy. It isn't a Drive and forget machine get a jappo cracker box for that.

Answer 3

I have owned from new (December 2002) an Alfa 156GTA which has the 3.2 litre version of your car. I've enjoyed every single minute of driving this car so much so that even now, as it approaches 5 years old I cannot part with it. Never a problem mechanically. Paintwork could be better and certainly depreciation is a joke but the thrill of powering along the highways is something else. Flat out in Germany, there's little to touch it even now. When the 159GTA appears, I'll more than likely go for that (and still keep the GTA as a future collector's item for my sons) but your GTV should be okay if it's been well-driven.

Answer 4

Hi, I`ve owned my present 156 for 4 months, It`s a 03 model with every gizmo you could ever want on it. In short you have to buy the best car you can afford with full Alfa service history, no compromise.
I simply love my car, I never get out of it without looking back at it as I walk away. It never fails to make me smile when I drive it and it has performance & handling to make most other cars pail.
I`ve found it to be perfectly reliable and suprisingly good on juice. Don`t worry about it going wrong before it does as all cars are prone to fail, just remember you are buying a great value sports / exec car that when bought second hand represents amazing value for money But as with all cars of this type the service & repair costs are going to be more than an equvilant Ford etc. The main failing of Alfa Romeo cars is the dealership service, it`s absolutely cr*p. Find an independant Garage and enjoy your car.
Just remember the 156 was twice car of the year and you see an awful lot of them on the road, but never a rusty one...

Answer 5

A colleague of mine used to be a mechanic and he used to work on Alfa's. According to him the body work is the worst of any car on the market and they are seriously prone to early rust. Also the electrics are a joke ... apparently they break down quite often with a mixture of problems and nothing seems to have improved even on the new models!!!

They do look good though!!

Answer 6

The pros for buying an Alpha are It is a great car to drive . It looks brilliant and the performance for the money is second to none.

The cons its value will drop like a stone and it will break down on you at least once while you own it and that is if you are lucky .

If the pros out weigh the cons in your opinion buy the car and happy motoring . If you can't put up with the cons buy yourself a nice Japanese or German car.

Answer 7

No one can call themselves a real petrol head until theyve owned an alfa, this car company is great for the looks, comfort etc, but reliability is terrible! everything goes wrong atleast once, "in an alfa one is never bored, sometimes your in love and others you want to stab the bloody lead engineer, but your NEVER bored"-james may

Answer 8

I had an 86 GTV6..LOVE TOO DRIVE IT.. glad its gone...Think long and hard on this one..I would buy another one If I could find one but would not be my primary car..Parts not quick to find no dealers left in the states..An AUTODELTA dealer might be able to get them but I would check first they are few and far between...Had alot of problems with mine mostly due to this wonderful northeast weather just glad I worked on them for awhile at an alfa dealer..They have little to no weatherproofing on anything electrical..

Answer 9

Check. I think it is the V6 that needs a new cam belt around 70000 miles, which is an engine out job. £1300 at the dealers.

Answer 10

my son owns a GTV great whilst its running but Alpha parts seem to impossible to get in the U.k. i.e 8 weeks for a wing mirror to arrive from Italy.