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Alfa Romeo bargain

Of the 26 cars I have owned an 156 was far from the worst when it came to relability and it was peoperly put together when it came from the factory (*). I can name a high status German brand where I had to take along a list of faults to the first service, worst being a door that wasn't properly mounted!!!

* When the car had just arrived to the dealer I checked it out, on the parcel shelf in the back I spotted what looked like a youghurt container. 'What the f**k, had the lazy Italian comunist workers eaten breakfast in my car and left it there????' The dealer must have spotted my look and pointed out that was the cream for removing the wax put on the car before shipping!
 
As mentioned above, the V6 version with the Arese engine is a treat. Don’t expect to have a conversation while driving it though :)
 
Bought a Spider in Padua in the late 90's when it was much cheaper to buy in Europe rather than in the UK. The firm I bought it from had an early online presence. Spent a few days over there then drove it back. Great little car. No problems.
 
Gentlemen, I may well be wrong.

Could be this model, pretty sure the grille is more prominent like this with hindsight :

alfa-romeo-gt-2008-493l.jpg
 
Ah, the GT. One of my old flames. I had a dark blue version of that with the V6 and 19" wheels (IIRC) which turned it into an absolute boneshaker on UK roads. But I had a lot of fun and, oh, that engine note! I'm sorry, I think I've just come.
 
My first car back in 1976 was a 1066cc Alfasud Paid £1800 brand spanking It even came with some rusty bits !! I loved that car when it was on song it was sweet and that flat four up front with the low profile nose Who would go for a Citroen GS The Golf was about £600 more

Sadly it was not so reliable. On a damp evening I remember having to take the top off the Solex carb and pack the gap with gaskets on more than one occasion. The damn thing sucked air in all the wrong places.

The inboard front disks on which if I remember correctly the handbrake also operated were a great source of concern for my wife. When driving to work on a winters morning and the engine was cold one had to develop a knack of keeping the revs up at road junctions with the right foot and braking with the handbrake with interesting mid front vibrations.

I kept it for 10 odd years during which time it evaporated before my very eyes.

The final straw was a trip to the family in West Wales on a wet evening with daughter no 1 then a baby in the carry cot tied down in the back seat ( yes that's how we did things back in 76 ) Arriving in Wales the cot was soaked from rain ingress around the tailgate window. Wife said enough is enough !!

I've owned BMW's ever since - from 85 till now only 3 E30 E34 and noe E39 Current one is in its 19th year

eddie
 
Nero said:
Ah, the GT. One of my old flames. I had a dark blue version of that with the V6 and 19" wheels (IIRC) which turned it into an absolute boneshaker on UK roads. But I had a lot of fun and, oh, that engine note! I'm sorry, I think I've just come.
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This one is dark blue, not the blue of the photo car above.
 
eddie pugh said:
My first car back in 1976 was a 1066cc Alfasud Paid £1800 brand spanking It even came with some rusty bits !! I loved that car when it was on song it was sweet and that flat four up front with the low profile nose Who would go for a Citroen GS The Golf was about £600 more
Sadly it was not so reliable. On a damp evening I remember having to take the top off the Solex carb and pack the gap with gaskets on more than one occasion. The damn thing sucked air in all the wrong places.
The inboard front disks on which if I remember correctly the handbrake also operated were a great source of concern for my wife. When driving to work on a winters morning and the engine was cold one had to develop a knack of keeping the revs up at road junctions with the right foot and braking with the handbrake with interesting mid front vibrations.
I kept it for 10 odd years during which time it evaporated before my very eyes.
The final straw was a trip to the family in West Wales on a wet evening with daughter no 1 then a baby in the carry cot tied down in the back seat ( yes that's how we did things back in 76 ) Arriving in Wales the cot was soaked from rain ingress around the tailgate window. Wife said enough is enough !!
I've owned BMW's ever since - from 85 till now only 3 E30 E34 and noe E39 Current one is in its 19th year
eddie
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My first car too in 1975 or 76 but the Ti version. Loved it and it was reliable but then it wasn't kept 10 years.
 
eddie pugh said:
My first car back in 1976 was a 1066cc Alfasud...
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I had four Alfas in a row in the late 70s/80s, two Alfasuds then two Guiliettas. It took me that long to get it into my thick head that they all turned into brown Alfa particles. Fun while it lasted though.

Pedant alert - without looking it up (where’s the fun in doing that?) I seem to remember the Alfasud was 1086cc.
 
wacko said:
Pretty sure my Ti was a 1.2 or a 1.3.
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I think the Ti was 1186cc. Why does all this nonsense lurk in the recesses of my memory when I can’t remember whether I have to turn left or right out of the drive to get to Morrisons?

Or was it 1186 basic and 1286 Ti? That sounds better, thinking about it.
 
Marchbanks said:
I think the Ti was 1186cc. Why does all this nonsense lurk in the recesses of my memory when I can’t remember whether I have to turn left or right out of the drive to get to Morrisons?
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I’m lucky. Three Waitroses within 30 minutes. I can hardly go wrong, unless the Orwell Bridge is closed due to a broken down Alfa!
 
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