Alfa Romeo 156 / Bmw 316

[DarylVTR]

Been seriously considering buying 1! Does anyone have any experience with either car? What are running costs like are they really that expensive?

I can efford to buy one and Insure it ive just heard they can be expensive to repair / maintain? - My plan would be to save £50 a month for repairs etc if i did get 1 and to leave it standard


Any feedback is welcome :bored:

And Merry xmas you lot :drink: :y: :panic:

[argylefan1985]

beemers dont go wrong much but if you think shitroen are expencive my god with a beemer i hope you have deep pockets, my mates got an alfa and he was consto fixing it, cracking drive he recons but very unreliable.

[DarylVTR]

Parkers recons average realiability for the Alfa i do really like them though ... my dad has the 1.6 Twin Spark 156 touring wagon , its had a few problems yeah but lovelly car! Beautiful ride, lovelly interior and stylish big but small car

[furiomike]

i think the alfa's are a bit heavy on fuel, and i had a little look at the insurance for a 1.8 and it was about 15% more than a vts would be (for me).

that said, they are damn nice cars to looks at :y:

[DarylVTR]

1.6 Twin Spark for me comes in at £980 fully comp on confused.com ... The saxo is same price!

Dad says his does about average on petrol for a 1.6 engine

[TU-Tuning]

No direct knowledge of the cars mate, but as a general rule an alfa will not be a cheap car to maintain, theres a fair few errors in the electrics for one thing including the airbag light comes on everytime the battery gets disconnected. Not cheap to turn off. Theyre italian so not very well made mechanicallyt its all about the style really.

BMWs are reliable is theyve been treated and serviced properly. Try and buy from a garage with a 12 month warranty and you should be fine for big problems obviously. My dad had one before and the electrics died on the motorway. Needed a new circuit board and it was about 1k fitted so he sold it on. With BMWs, in my opinion and experience they are generally reliable but if something goes bang its going to sting the wallet.

Hope that helps a bit

[argylefan1985]

No direct knowledge of the cars mate, but as a general rule an alfa will not be a cheap car to maintain, theres a fair few errors in the electrics for one thing including the airbag light comes on everytime the battery gets disconnected. Not cheap to turn off. Theyre italian so not very well made mechanicallyt its all about the style really.

BMWs are reliable is theyve been treated and serviced properly. Try and buy from a garage with a 12 month warranty and you should be fine for big problems obviously. My dad had one before and the electrics died on the motorway. Needed a new circuit board and it was about 1k fitted so he sold it on. With BMWs, in my opinion and experience they are generally reliable but if something goes bang its going to sting the wallet.

Hope that helps a bit

the man talks sence mainly coz its pritty much what i said but nonetheless he talks sence.

[Barry123]

Mate, i've driven the 156 was the 150bhp diesel model.

Loved it. the interior was comfy, the performance was mint, ride was sweet. and the sound system was bo.

[DarylVTR]

cool :) the 1.6 is 120BHP same as VTS but cheaper on insurance and much better build quality

[Barry123]

but slower too

[DarylVTR]

but slower too

0 - 60 is yer but doesnt really bother me as i dont race little boys ;)

[Danr]

Weight, the killer of all bhp everywhere! Im sure they are nice cars but reliability wise they aren't anything special.

How much have you got to spend lad?

[Barry123]

fair play man.

personally I hate the bog standard Beemers. also they do break - just not very many people are willing to admit it.

[DarylVTR]

got about £3000 to spend on car , can easily get a 156 for around that with FSH and 50,000 miles on clock and BMW 316's are much older than the alfa go for around £2500 mark but higher mileage 70,000 odd.

If i do go down the 156 route i can put £70 a month away for repairs ... bored of saxo now i want something more upmarket, bigger and comfy but realistic

[Danr]

i have to say mte, and you know your my mate and that but it really does sound champagne taste for beer money. These cars cost a packet new, like a lot of money, and if they are at this price the question you have to ask is why!

I really liked your idea of a leon, not massivley expensive when they came out and really good cars.

Please dont take that the wrong way mate :)

[kevin_172]

never liked BMW myself but i think the alfa is nice.

[DarylVTR]

i have to say mte, and you know your my mate and that but it really does sound champagne taste for beer money. These cars cost a packet new, like a lot of money, and if they are at this price the question you have to ask is why!


Alfa Romeos are all around the £3000 mark for a 1.6 156 .... they just lost alot of value second hand buddy im not talking a selective few that are £3000 if you look on Parkers guide the good private sale for a 1.6 156 is only £2800

[Danr]

Fair enough, was just saying. If i saw someone pulling up in a say n reg beemer and then someone else turned up in a 02 or 03 plate leon i know who i'd think was more business man like :) But its your money, and you'll get a good car anyway lol :)

[DarylVTR]

lol yer Alfa would be 2000 - 2002 so much newer also ....

Just wanna ask how much parts etc are , if services etc etc are really expensive and ask if any1 has had any problems with them in the past

My dad has the 156 touringwagon and its pure bliss to drive and the interior is just in a different class to the sax. They are sooooo sweet...


Leons hold their value too well hense why they generally sell for no less than £4000 as a rule and those are 1998 - 2000 with 70,000 + on the clock and i think the Alfa is 100 times better looking

[Yates]

what i want to know is what mac donalds you park at and where are all the dirty slags

[DarylVTR]

what i want to know is what mac donalds you park at and where are all the dirty slags

You what?

[Yates]

you were goin on about your car attracts slags and the wrong type of people, you said you sit in macdonalds car park as well, id like to know where the macdonalds is and where these slags are...

[DarylVTR]

i didnt say that lol definatly dont sit in mcdonalds...... slags i dunno where they are - EVERYWHERE IN PORTSMOUTH

[Yates]

you said that you sit in car parks all night!

i need to find me and my mates some of these slags

[Corsa_john]

My dads work college had an 2002 bmw and it cost 2k to put it through the MOT! Unless you can fix stuff yourself and get parts yourself cheap i would stay clear.

[furiomike]

get a silver or black alfa with the red leather. fook me thats nice :panic: with the alfa romea logo stitched in too :D

[Delboy75]

Looked into buying a beemer in the 4k range, after looking at a few and joining a forum to get advice etc i was put off mainly by the HUGE service bills.
They are reliable BUT if something does go wrong then the cost or repair are unbelievably high.
And the major services are very expensive.

Like the 156, they are gorgeous cars, however they are very very unreliable.
Unless you have deep pockets i'd stay clear.

I'm torn between a 1.8 zetec focus and the mk 4 astra sxi. i want something reliable but nice looking.
I do like the leon cupra but im after a family car as we've got a baby on the way. But if the Mrs wasn't expecting a cupra would get some serious consideration.

[ne_jam]

ive just got a a mark 4 astra sxi 2003 for 4k and 20k on it, very nice to drive changed grill and back box and they were both piss to do, bmw's will go on foreva , lad i kno has old J plate 323i with about 120k on it an just went stright threw its mot

[saxx]

one of my mates has spent serious £s on keepin his tspark on road

[Barry123]

bollocks man.... go the other way buy a mk3 fiesta. the repair bills will be cheap as chips (get shed loads of stuff from the scrappy) and the running costs next to nothing.

I f**king hate the cost associated with cars. Even when I've finished my degree and loaded I'll stick with the saxo, cant be arsed coughing up £30k for a brand new car and the being peroidically raped when it needs a service.

Modern cars are too technical now and the average Enthusiast is less able to repair/maintain their vehicles themselves.

[Luke]

Agree with Ad there, costs of running a car are seriously shit.

I'm even considering getting rid of the Saxo because of the insurance costs, I think people just love raping you on it. Looking at something around same size, but a diesel.

[Barry123]

I've never been that fussy about cars... Although I get a bit moist when i see the engineering achievements of some of the latest cars. some people see them as a status symbol, WTF?! why? I see people rolling in jags and they have piddly houses and bugger all. then I see the opposite, shitty old defenders but are minted.

luke, tbh if you do loads of miles then it makes sense to go tractor style
but if you do little miles then petrol is probs better because of the fuel price difference :)

As I say I've coughed my cash for the saxo and I've had it a year and a bit, now its worth a shockingly load less. so stuff it, I'll keep it until it goes Kaboom - then buy another shitter :)

EDIT: just remembered you do shed loads of miles lol

[Luke]

I didn't buy mine as a status symbol that's for sure (I'm not saying you are saying I did) but I bought mine because the Westcoast had 65k miles on it and sounded like things were going wrong - I wanted a new Saxo and this VTR was there.

I have done 8,300 miles since 1st July this year, so might be benefical if I went to Diesel but I don't want to get rid of the Saxo to be honest, might just go TPFT for one year even though it's a BIG risk, I just don't fancy paying the same price as this year for insurance.

[Barry123]

I didn't buy mine as a status symbol that's for sure (I'm not saying you are saying I did) but I bought mine because the Westcoast had 65k miles on it and sounded like things were going wrong - I wanted a new Saxo and this VTR was there.

I have done 8,300 miles since 1st July this year, so might be benefical if I went to Diesel but I don't want to get rid of the Saxo to be honest, might just go TPFT for one year even though it's a BIG risk, I just don't fancy paying the same price as this year for insurance.

LMBO!

and lets face it the derv saxo is a bag of crap.
next insurance quote should be good for ya man... 2 year NCB.

cant wait for mine.

[Luke]

To be honest mate, it ain't too good at the moment but I might be wrong. I tried a few quotes by altering DOB etc but still was showing £1900(ish).

I'd love a 'Decent' low mileage, Peugeot 306 2.0HDi - looks identical to a GTi-6 but with Insurance Group 5.

Sorry for hi-jacking, Daryl!

[Rich84]

i work for BMW an i wouldn't touch a 316 if u paid me too.

shit slow, ugly as fuck, interior is tacky,not very economical and then service costs on top! you wouid have to sell a kidney just to pay for them to look at it!

[TheMadSaxo]

i work for BMW an i wouldn't touch a 316 if u paid me too.

shit slow, ugly as fuck, interior is tacky,not very economical and then service costs on top! you wouid have to sell a kidney just to pay for them to look at it!

I agree with this.

BMW 316 ?? Booooring. Old man's car. You'll look like you only bought it for the badge.

Get summat else if i were you.

[saxx]

luke if u didnt but it for status why go out looking specifically for a VTR/S - Which btw is what u did....



Daryl you moan about running he saxo - both cars mentioned will cost you ALOT more

[Yates]

daryl moans about every fucking thing possible

im 2 years no claims in june cant wait for a nice quote

[Barry123]

luke if u didnt but it for status why go out looking specifically for a VTR/S - Which btw is what u did....

saxx his westcoast was pretty shagged to be honest (sorry luke lol). It made a bit more sense to get a fresher car that would in theory avoid nasty repair costs for a few years.
I actually started looking at VTS's a few weeks back as when i did some calculations realised I could afford the insurance, tax, fuel yada yada. But then realised I'll still drive it like a granny so no point.


glad someone agree's with me that the 316 is SSSSShite - nice rich84.

[sax51]

alfa whats it means

allways late for appontments

go for the bmw