Drew towards an alfa

[FarmerPug]

Who could help it, it was a red 159, but really could anyone buy one of these and consider it a realistic mode of transport, could i get in and be guarenteed to get to my destination. Im not afraid of a car with a reputation for niggles, this 406 has niggles but a car with none is a soulless appliance and something i get bored of. I wouldnt mind a nice 2.4 159 in a few years.

[steve_earwig]

I quite liked the look of the 156 SW, they hold their values here better than Pugs but not quite the silly prices of any make German-owned. Then I found a buyers guide No thanks!

Hopefully the 159 is a better car but, looking in the carbycar on Honest John, I doubt it.

It kind of reminds me of that American saying - no matter how beautiful she is there's always some poor guy putting up with her sh!t.

[swiss]

Clarkson reckons you're not a proper motorist until you've owned an Alfa

Though of course in the spirit of one-upmanship I must insist on us all buying Lancias ^_^

[steve_earwig]

Yeah, but he's a rich bustard that can buy a new car every week and doesn't have to work on it himself

Have you seen the latest Lancias?

[FarmerPug]

Lancia when it pulled out of the uk as sad as it was, it was just as well because then they started making crap. I still like the look of that hpe from a while back. But i dont really think honest johns much good because from what it says on the 406 well none should really be going. Clarkson says you must own an alfa to be a petrol head, does it still work when you buy a diesel one?

[steve_earwig]

That's true about HJ on the 406 but if you look at it, every fault mentioned we know about, it's just you don't find every fault on every car. On the other hand, I got the information on the 156 from an owner's club and, just the same as the 406 I doubt you get every fault on every car, they were just such bad faults, stuff like regular replacement of large and expensive suspension assemblies, cars filling up with water, bonnets coming open at speed, bodywork rusting around weather seals, it just made me think that if I got just one such fault I'd be regretting owning it.

[Welly]

According to Honest John most 406's burnt to death in 2003

My neighbours friends Aunty (once removed) turned up next door a while ago in a new and pretty Alfa and I remember admiring the style and looks UNTIL they hopped in and started it.....Yep a bloody diesel

If you ever hear the awful racket a Jag X-Type 2.0d makes then you can't help feeling annoyed that they'd 'ruin' a perfectly nice car with a crappy engine

[FarmerPug]

reliability doesnt really bother me, part of the joy of owning a car is sorting its niggles out. I was in a facelifted 156 and wow it really is one of the most fragile cars ive been in, the air vent when i touched it broke and fell down the whole, and the climate control was not happy with its life and had instead become the timer for someones microwave, and the radio was not even bothering to operate. The 159 on the other hand feels much much better made.

[steve_earwig]

So long as you're not sorting the "niggles" out on the side of the road, like I saw some bloke with a 156 doing on Saturday (bonnet open, scratching head, wife looking most pleased)

[FarmerPug]

i suppose thats the difference in peuegot and alfa, my peugeots niggles are the airbag light, the dodgy cill seals, the radio being a bit loud, a few bits of scratched paint, dirty seat belts, lacquer needing applied round the boot, cruise control which works every other day. Thats at the moment i also had but fixed; an electric mirror which forgot its position, a blown headlight bulb, squeaky wipers, smelly pollen filter, and generally things some people would just ignore, nothing thats going to stop you getting from a to b its just me going mad on the change i got from not buying a year old c4.

wheras i could imagine the list of niggles in a 156:
air vents down the hole
glovebox broke out
lost trim
wheel bearings smashed
bent piston rod
ecu playing pacman instead of making the engine go
gearbox cog teeth sheared apart
burnt out clutch
suspension collapsed.

but i still want a 159

[swiss]

Well obviously I don't mean a new Fiat with a Lancia badge...

[FarmerPug]

i think lancia are going to rebadge some cars as chryslers and sell them over in the US, probably will sell ok they are probably better than some of the stuff chrysler is making.
But the biggest laugh i got is £30k for a toyota IQ, aston is actually going ahead with their plans for the cygnet if anyone actually does buy one they are mad, its like slapping a merc badge onto my 406 and trying to ask £20k for it.