Are they a pile of kack, had a look at a 00 156 last week. been hearing that its hard to get parts for them and they can be unreliable. I like em though.
any opinions??
I don't like em but heres some info for you
What's Good
Fabulous styling. Brilliant engines. 1.8 and 2.0 litre Twin-Sparks are great. 190 bhp 24v 2.5 V6 is a real hooligan. All have 'Quick-Rack' steering. Pure, unadulterated handling well up to the job with Sports packs; less good without. 3-year warranty. 2.0 litre Selaspeed with thumb operated gearchange buttons on steering wheel works very well on country roads, but less satisfactory in town. 'Q' system V6 is a full automatic. Gruff but grunty 136 bhp 2.4JTD arrived in Summer 1999, offering 224 lb. ft. torque. Sport 1 spec adds carbon fibre console, bodykit, 16in alloys with 205/55 tyres, sports suspension and 'Blitz' cloth trim. Sport 2 spec adds Recaro front seats. Sport 3 spec adds Momo leather. £13,495 120 bhp 1.6TS in UK from Spring 2000. All prices cut from same date with 1.8TS down to £15,405. No missing 'Red Key' problems as it has a different immobiliser system. In June 2002 Alfa Romeo announced 156s with its new 165bhp 2.0 litre JTS direct injection petrol engine. The 2.4 litre 156 JTD direct injection diesel got a power hike to 150bhp. And first imports of the blisteringly fast 250bhp 3.2 litre GTA started to arrive. JTS stands for Jet Thrust Stoichiometric. Alfa has abandoned twin spark plugs in favour of directly injecting the fuel air mixture to the combustion chamber, running at lean burn to 1,500rpm and a stoichiometric 14.7:1 air:fuel mixture thereafter. Compression ration is raised to 11.3:1, power is up 15bhp and torque up 18 lb ft. 156 JTSs start at £17,720 for the saloon and £18,820 for the Sportwagon. Revised mapping pulled the 5-cylinder JTD up from 140bhp to 150bhp at 4,000rpm and torque to 225lb ft at 1,800rpm. Fuel economy is slightly improved at 42.8 mpg on the combined cycle v/s 42.1 mpg from the 140bhp JTD. 156 JTDs start at £17,835 for the saloon and £18,930 for the Sportwagon. The awe inspiring 3,179cc GTA V6 pumps out a class leading 250bhp at 6,200rpm and 221 lb ft torque at 4,800rpm. GTA prices start at £26,900 for the saloon and £27,900 for the Sportwagon. VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control) is fitted to all post June 2002 156s except the GTA. The new range is distinguished from the older cars by new central console switches for the climate control incorporating LED pictograms. Range prices start with the 1.6 Turismo at £14,610. Thankfully they haven’t messed around with the stunning exterior styling of the car, so the picture shows the new console switches. One reader has reported 100% reliability from his Selaspeed box for 12,000 miles. 115bhp 1.9JTD diesel from mid March 2003 does 0-60 in 10.0 seconds, emits 155g/km CO2 and offers 48.7mpg. Prices of 1.9JTD from £15,590. Sharper facelift on sale in UK September 2003. 192bhp 2.5V6 dropped. 175bhp, 284lb ft torque common rail 2.4JTD added; does 0-60 in 7.5 secs, 140mph and 42.8mpg combined. 5 year or 60,000 mile warranty from January 2004.
More at
www.alfaromeo.co.uk
Usergroup:
www.alfaowner.com
Club link
www.aroc-uk.com
Last updated 13-1-07
What's Bad
Police Alert' spoilers optional on Sport 2 and Sport 3 spec will attract plod. Sub-20 mpg fuel consumption of V6 if you boot it. Trim quality not up to BMW standards. 5-speed gearchange on 1.8 and 2.0 can feel a bit floppy. Turn-in not as sharp as Peugeot 306 GTi-6 or even 406 2.0 litre Coupe. Usual Alfa build-quality problems with electrics. Fuel enrichment device may stick, leading to poor starting. Dealers are a very mixed bag. Resale values fell heavily in early 2000 even before price cuts. V6 and JDT can eat front tyres on the inside edge (need realiging with less toe-out). Paint problems with solid lacquered black. Worrying number of 2.0 litre engine failures due to oil starvation when engines were full of oil points a finger at oil pump failure. Timing belts and tensioners need changing way before scheduled 72k miles. See TSB to change them at 36k. Very useful site for tips and fault finding:
www.alfa156.net Air conditioning condensor vulnerable to stone damage. Bosch 'hot film' Mass Airflow Sensors seem to be failing regularly. FIAT/Alfa joint worst for breakdowns attended by German ADAC during 2001. 9th from Bottom of 100 models for reliability in Auto Express 2002 survey. 18th from Bottom in 144 car 2002 JD Power / What Car? Customer Satisfaction Survey of V and W reg cars. Alfa Romeo had joint highest average cost in warranty claims for cars up to 10 years old in 2002 Warranty Direct index Joint fourth bottom in 2002 Which reliability survey of cars up to 2 years old; 74 cars surveyed. Alfa Romeo 2nd least reliable of 31 makes of car in 2002 'Which?' reliability survey cars 2000 - 2002; 3rd least reliable cars 1997 - 1999. Only 87% breakdown free in 2003 Which survey. Alfa Romeo had fourth highest warranty repair costs in 2003 Warranty Direct Reliability index (index 155.10 v/s lowest 31.93). 98-2000 average for breakdowns and faults and poor for problems; 2001-2003 average for breakdowns and poor for problems and faults in 2003 Which survey. 7th from bottom out of 137 models in 2003 Top Gear survey. 156 8th bottom model and Alfa Romeo bottom marque in 2004 JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey. Alfa Romeo 5th bottom of Reliability Index for 2004 combining average cost of repair of £392.88 with high 39.55 failures per 100 Warranty Direct policies. Link:-
www.reliabilityindex.co.uk Came 16th from bottom in 2005 JD Power/What Car Survey of 23,000 cars reg Sep 2002 to Aug 2003 with satisfaction score of 74.7%
What to Watch Out For
Worn front tyres on V6. Front suspension alignment, in particular toe-out is critical. Accident damage. Kerbed alloys. Make sure aircon works properly. Feel the discs through the wheels for scoring or shouldering. Problems with 156 Selaspeed gearbox actuator and long wait for replacement parts. 'Tappety' sounding engine sign that car has been run with low or dirty oil and variable valve timing has been damaged. Make sure engine has specified oil pressure. Clonks from rear suspension mean that bolts through he aluminium suspension components have not been tightened periodically causing wear and replacement bushes take a long time to arrive. Make sure a/c blows cold as can leak refrigerant. Stoned glass headlight lenses cost £175 each to replace. Take care to grease bonnet catch regularly as vulnerable to road spray and the safety catch can stick open. Bonnet may then fly open and wrap itself around the windscreem. Prone to cracking their alloy sumps on speed humps. Timing belt failures of 4 cylinder twin sparks extremely common. Need new belts and tensoners every 35k - 40k miles or every 4 years whichever comes first.
Recalls
June 1999: Safety recall No 4054: Modify rear hinge mounting on all four side doors to prevent hinges splitting from doors. 2000: 156, built Nov '97-Oct '98: Brake pipe connector may crack and leak. September 2002: TSB issued to change timing belts and tensioners at 36,000 miles rather than 72,000 miles. 2-8-2002: Due to engine movement fuel delivery pipe from pump to inector rail may become strained and leak. Two extra support clips to be fitted. 73 cars affected (JTD's?); 1-10-2002: Metal brake pipe between master cylinder and ABS unit may chafe on a cable bracket. Check pipes and renew if damaged. 256 cars affected. 11-8-2003: Front suspension may loosen. Need to be replaced on 213 cars ZAR932---180021 to 229169 and 1253019 to 1316857. November 2004: TSB issued to dealers to check bonnet catch and bonnet safety catch.
