ARE ALFA ROMEOS RELIABLE? LETS FIND OUT!

[@robertadamski]

My 156 (which is my first car) is now at 195k miles, still going strong, I've been with it around Europe, did quite a bit of laps on the Nurburgring and to be honest I didn't have many issues with it, but as Neil said I'm doing the proper maintenance so the car can last. Cheers!

[@christophchristoph9909]

I’ve spend a fortune on my 156 and it kept breaking down. Even stuff like the radiator not emitting heat anymore… still loved it to pieces. What a sound.

[@robertadamski]

@@christophchristoph9909 Yep, sometimes these cars can give a headache, but as you've said its difficult not to love them and enjoy them.

[@watershedmetal2]

Beast of a first car!

[@robertadamski]

@@watershedmetal2 Hahah yeah, everyone was telling me not to buy Alfa, but I went with it and I'm happy, its just a diesel, but for me as a first car - it was a rocket!

[@ronnievanmierlo755]

Have an 18 year old Brera 2.2 she never goes to a garage, do everything myself. Absolutely lovely car to own, drive and look at! In 5 years of ownership 2 injectors go, 2 coolant leaks(bleeder screws) a power steering hose, and I bought fancy new suspension recently. They are easily as good if not better than German rivals if looked after! Thanks Neill

[@CathalCoolkirky]

17 year old 159 2.2 JTS here.... 4th timing chain.. 6k mile oil changes. Everything still works. So far so good.. :) lets go to 30 year old for classic insurance :)

[@SlakerGuy576]

My 2009 Alfa 159 jtdm has 275k miles from new 23 stamps in the service book and for its last mot in February 2024 just needed 2 front tyres... Awesome car this is my 4th Alfa having previously had 2x 156 2.5 busso models and a 166 3 ltr busso... Best driving cars for enthusiasts ❤

[@nekite1]

I had a 2010 2.0 diesel ti sportwagon for 5 years. The only time it let me down was because of a flat battery. Sold it a year ago and still miss it.

[@darrenwaters5179]

My 17 year old 159 Ti (168,000 miles)still going well, needs some attention to wheel arch rust. Owned for 14yrs.

[@ItaliaAutos]

That's good going.

[@MrPrajitura]

I have a 2010 TBI Sportwagon closing in on 180k miles (~289.000 km) and it drives superbly. Had 2 big trips in the last 4 months, one about 1400km, the other one 2600km and it didn’t skip a beat. I spent about 1000 euro in the first 2 months after buying it on replacing the thermostat, coolant reservoir, oil pump pickup seal and oil service and the engine doesn’t use a drop of oil or coolant, after 289.000 km. It’s got a rusty hole in the left sill but unfortunately it’s one of the common issues of the platform. The biggest problem with these cars is that they ended up so cheap on the used market that most of them weren’t taken care of, and then people are like “oh, Alfas are bad” when they put 10€ worth of gas in the tank. I am more than confident in saying a 159 is more reliable than a contemporary E9x BMW. I love my Sportwagon and it’s a pleasure to drive every time, even with the outrageous fuel mileage.

[@g.t.539]

I have exactly the same Alfa with same engine. The oil leak underneath comes from the rubber gasket of the oil dipstick where it goes into the oil pan. It becomes stiff due to the heat and no longer seals.

[@Echoes1910]

My Alfas. Brera 145k miles Giulia 119k miles Both running perfectly!

[@TheWynne71]

Great video. Makes me miss my two 159s, well, one of them at least. My 2008 147 8v derv has just turned 99k, genuinely surprised (and pleased ) that is has been all but fault free for 8k miles in 7 months. Serviced it in Dec and was impressed at the lack of rust underneath, even the rad brackets etc are still solid. Look after them, service regularly and they will last as any other car will.

[@ItaliaAutos]

Awesome thanks for sharing 👍

[@exgtt2061]

The 8v derv is easily on par with any PD from VW. Bullet proof

[@nigelfisher3756]

Yes, compared with German cars.

[@richardwoollaston3650]

Looking forward to this. My 166 (2005) twin spark is at 159k. Had some rust repair behind the o/s wheel arch and jacking points last year but otherwise she is good and has been Lanoguard protected.

[@nsz2302]

I've got a 1998 2.5v6. Absolutely lovely car!

[@roverchap]

Gorgeous car, the 166. I'm so jealous!

[@simonhodgetts6530]

Yes, I’m on my second 130,000+ mile Alfa - and following a long weekend jaunt to Pembrokeshire (from Worcestershire), she has been flawless. I will definitely have another.

[@Orvieta]

I had a 159 JTDM and sold it at 281k km's, the only thing I had was wear and tear, but she never let me down. Of course after almost 300k she was pretty tired, but I had a very good time with her and the only fitting replacement for the 159 was obviously a Giulia.

[@jonathanperry4189]

Great video again, cheers. As Subframe the weakest area ( I understand on159 ) it's in good nick! On my second Alfa, Giulietta sportiva with 170hp multiair engine. Now on 116,000 and never let me down, but it's always well maintained. Really liked it and so it's been slowly and thoughtfully modified to my perfect hot hatch with quaife diff, eibach and bilstein suspension, tuned to 205hp. (Awaiting fitment of a hybrid turbo,. camshaft, sports cat and a remap ). Second Alfa as I said and won't be the last, something I enjoy with them and can't quite describe

[@timhancock6626]

Look after an Alfa Romeo and it will look after you just fine. I dont have one now as i dont have a specialist close enough, but I have owned five Alfas and enjoyed them all.

[@psychogobetween]

Mine's 2.0 JTDM 170hp, 250 thousand KILOMETERS. Developed a small oil leak this. Fixed it at a local alfa specialist for 90 euro

[@Seolfor007]

Every time I need to replace something on my Alfas it's always the German bits like Bosch!

[@mrcaps1971]

Another great and informative video as always. I would really love to see more Veloce or QV content for the Giulietta as I own one here in Australia. It's a fantastic little hot hatch that's been mechanically reliable with regular servicing.

[@GirlsYouTube1991]

My Giulietta fiat engine 1.6 jtdm2 diesel was the best car I’ve ever had. Unfortunately I wrote it off but three years a pleasure.

[@astmagrooved]

I had a 146 with a boxer engine for 10 years and put 200.000 km on it ... well maintained, no issues.

[@karenmurray3098]

these 159 wagons are a fantastic shape i would love one with the petrol engine and the manual gearbox

[@daniellee9015]

Absolutely brilliant video Neil ❤👍 she's an absolute beauty lovely old car brilliant

[@davidsherrick898]

My 1988 Alfa Milano.. 75 has 200,057 miles busso 2.5V6. Runs good for an automatic! Just needs some major brake work. Need help getting a cv axle. Nobody has them! Im in the states! Great video.

[@philzvids3577]

Looks good to me. I've had a couple of Alfas and the floor pans have gone at around 180K miles. I don't think that is too bad to be honest. It's a high mileage and I don't expect miracles. I'm hoping you will get some Fiat 124 spiders in soon for evaluation!

[@ItaliaAutos]

Next one I get in I'll see what I can do

[@nigelha3699]

2011 2.4JTDm SW, 150,000 KMs - Oz car so no rusty frames. Just done belts, water pump, HP Power steering hose and recent front lower wishbones. Fitted Hankook ION EV tyres, so much quieter and 5,8lt/100 on the freeway . Faults; Clear coat gone - will repaint it .Stereo is crap, so will replace that. Corroded fog lights, 1 bonnet gas strut. LH mirror doesn't adjust. Drives pretty well now and good for another 100,000km!

[@tupcho33]

My alfa 147 has been very reliable for the 3000km driven it broke 7 times, once it was the turbo, the passenger window doesn't work and cannot be fixed (haunted according to my mechanic) 4000euro for 3000km

[@WickedLeo82]

Brera 2.0 jtdm 185k miles on original clutch, flywheel..never had any more reliable. Last 45k miles only oil and filters were done.

[@ItaliaAutos]

Awesome stuff.

[@psircos]

I think the major question is, who's owns this car? Bet its an 'Alfa' person, who's looked after it, as it should be. Who in their right mind would bend over backwards to care for a crappy mondeo diesel!? The 159 however, is when AR hit the sweet spot in styling. Ven better that its a wagon.It's worth looking after, and someone has. Btw, wee birdie told me you have to remove seats and carpets to change a handbrake cable! Just as well then that the engine bay has easy access for servicing 😂

[@josephmifsud8261]

That is one really well looking 159. There is nothing there that needs to be fixed here. Love the 159 look. It's really aged well. I would like to have one as well as a Guilia at some point. Another retirement option.

[@geraldlavery3962]

Hi Neil I’ve got a 2007 159 1.9 Jtdm lusso auto that has play on the inner driveshaft joint on the driver side, I hear a crack when I go from drive to reverse, my question is are the manual and autos drive shafts the same? I’m a long term subscriber who loves the channel and it’s helped me a lot over the years with my gtv, fiat coupe 16vt, gt and the 159, keep up the great work! Best wishes

[@ItaliaAutos]

Pretty sure there not the same

[@stefanomastropietro9040]

My 159 2.0JTDM got an intermittent fault and kept cutting out. No garage could diagnose it properly and I payed many times to fix it and ended up getting towed on four separate occasions. The 4th motorway breakdown man diagnosed it. It was the camshaft speed sensor. By this point my car wife had lost faith and forced me to sell the car. I bought a BMW. That car is far worse (already spent over 4K on repairs 😢).

[@foehammer2003]

Got a 159 saloon, exactly same engine 2010, 152k on the clock and its never let me down (touch wood lol) mechanically. Changed the turbo a couple years ago as an abundance of caution. Replaced quite a bit, prevention is better than cure but it's a solid car still! Will probably buy a new car this year but for 6 years it's been amazing, and still turns heads!

[@foehammer2003]

To emphasise, I'll probably still keep the 159 as a second car.

[@939driver]

939 models are so timeless 😍🙌🍀 I have a 159 TBi Ti and a Brera 2.2 JTS. They are great cars!!!

[@NenadTrajkovic]

So-called “Opel/Vauxhall 159”because of the GM engine block and M32 gearbox

[@g.t.539]

Engine is Fiat Multijet. Not GM. The same engine is used in 2008-2014 Insignia cdti.

[@roverchap]

Holding up well, indeed! The biggest enemy of Alfa Romeos is depreciation, and the typical owner reaction to it. I have a 2001 156 2.0TS which I paid £1000 for. I have stumped up several large bills in the past three years to replace suspension, exhaust, floors welded, and gearbox overhaul. Many people would not do this for a car which is still worth only £1000, at best. With that approach to ownership we'll soon lose all of them. New Alfas have no appeal whatsoever, gone the same way as others -too big, too heavy, too powerful and ugly. I'm keeping my 156, which is beautiful, light, and a joy to drive. I don't really get the diesel thing, or the estates, they don't fit with Alfa DNA in my eyes. That's for Ford and VW.

[@LuXoR1590]

Nice, ty i tought it wont last long

[@seppoeerola882]

Rust has been kind with this one, especially on the sills.

[@ItaliaAutos]

yeah i was pleasantly surprised by this one.

[@jvmclovin73]

It was made in the land of engineering genius!

[@kieranmccreedy271]

939 absolutely not… 147/156/GT 1.9 JTDm, excellent in my experience

[@paulandjana]

Got a 2008 GT Blackline with 145k on the clock. It’s well maintained and still going strong. Been mapped to 190bhp and pulls like a train. I love her, lol

[@ItaliaAutos]

Good stuff. Mist have sills full of rust now

[@miff227]

@@ItaliaAutos my 2008 Cloverleaf had sills done in 2021, I did a subframe drop to do anti-roll bar bushes in Nov 2022.....almost got it back on the road! Maybe next month.....

[@bikeman123]

5:36 Glad to see Alfa are still putting in rust traps 😂

[@kim007250]

Brera Spider one of the few cars I look back at after a drive out

[@MS940]

It has been well kept, great example. Many deteriorate when owner doesn't fix issues and doesn't care to put any money in it. You can tell from interior condition what kind of life it had.

[@ItaliaAutos]

It was a very pleasant surprise seeing such a nice example

[@Nakke144]

Worst thing about the 159's are the crappy GM petrol engines and M32 gearboxes. You mentioned the Mondeo at the end, and have to say the mk4 Mondeos are super sturdy and strong cars.

[@Answersonapostcard]

The M32 gearboxes are fine as long as you gently guide it in to gear and not wrestle it or rest your hand on it whilst driving.

[@seany8787]

Neil do you reckon the Guiliettas will have a similar lifespan, mine is about 10 years old now and has been good apart from needing a clutch (on JTDM not cheap are they!?)

[@andrewhaines3259]

The 159 is my favourite car. Lovely design, but do I buy one? You hear so many bad experiences about reliability etc.

[@projector7141]

Step 1: ditch the plastic engine cover and save yourself some camshafts, and coil packs and plugs.

[@srdjanmiljkovic206]

Can you make a video how to replace a small air conditioner cooler, for Alfa Romeo gtv 916 please ? 😊

[@johnandrew8610]

Nice video .Can anyone help find someone that can rebuild a 159 Q4 Auto box . Water corrupted the oil, and it lost all traction. I've tried many transmission specialists, but they are not interested at any price . The car has sentimental attachment and is too nice to break . Thanks

[@a11csc]

looks really well Neil

[@moofmoof2012]

My 08 GT blackline now on 165k, just cleaned EGR after loosing all power, sounded like it was game over but after cleaning pulls like a train again. No idea if its been de-flapped, being that EGR wasnt blanked id assume not

[@christophchristoph9909]

Mine had the timing chain issue, rusted through subframe at the front and back and all kind of stupid failures. The broken valve timing things made the acceleration super bumpy. Really one of the most annoying cars I’ve owned.

[@ItaliaAutos]

That's the 3.2 whole different can of worms. Good luck with it.

[@christophchristoph9909]

Mine was the 1.9 JTS … but it’s probably an issue across the whole petrol lineup. Looked the part. Nice leather, nice seating position. Traded it in for a fiat 500. no troubles thus far.

[@ItaliaAutos]

Didn't get the 1.9 jts in the UK. Fiat 500s are awesome

[@anakinskywalker4113]

I will say that most car are reasonably reliable the biggest issues I have are when owners skip scheduled services. Big No No in my book this is the fastest way to shorten the life of a car when you skip services. if you do regular maintenance the is no reason for a car not last 200,000 plus miles. It all comes back to how you maintain your car.

[@MrBenzcdi]

remember the Alfa ARNA? designed by Nissan, engineered by Alfa 🙂

[@jonathanperry4189]

Aye they got it the wrong way around!

[@simongl1985]

One of the most beautiful Alfas inside and out. If this was rear wheel drive and had Alfa petrol engines ze germans would have lost some sales

[@CumminsVoortman]

Yeah Alfa Romeo are reliable. Over the years they have been very good build quality. I had a 146 with 350,000 Km’s and 156 with 400,000 kms. My wife is on 270,000 km’s on her Giulietta and I am on 300,000 km’s on my Giulietta QV.

[@wer147159]

Yes they are I have 5 Alfa Romeo on a row, 147,Mito,159 sw,Stelvio and know a Giulia,I bought 5hem all new, never a mechanical problem,no issues,perfect drivers cars,not that useless h8gh tech but who even used that all in a car....?

[@glennlindamood]

Just lamenting the fact we never got these in the US!😢

[@leesmith6750]

Has the car been garaged throughout its life?

[@skyll4141]

bought a 156 at three years old with 90k on it. front under tray fell off, water leaked into the rear passenger compartment. strut tops groaned and the cam belt tensioners failed. Also rust to most components underneath. central locking worked when it felt like it and the air mass sensor failed due to water being ingested into the air filter as it was down low at the right front and a large puddle killed it. looks like Alfa are getting better though these days.

[@steveong4738]

Great video. Alfa Romeo lost to BMW and Mercedes in the last 50 years due to reliability and quality reputation. With the current dynamics (all gens of BMW and Mercedes looking same), Alfa should dominate in the next decade and beyond.

[@midlifemechanic834]

Cool video love all the varied content

[@studiocalder818]

👍🏻👍🏻 gorgeous

[@robertwalker1742]

Some lanoguard on the rust and it would last another ten years.

[@jorrenvandergrift1790]

Hey men, iam going to buy my first car probably a Alfa Romeo 159. what should I look for when buying an alfa Romeo 159. for example, engine technical or mileage or other things. and what would the max mileage be if you buy one?

[@ItaliaAutos]

I've done a buyers guide in my channel. Good luck 🤞

[@mrjim145]

Those dam oil leaks.20 years all my Alfas had oil leaks.Totally unacceptable

[@Answersonapostcard]

after 20 years?

[@stefancervenak1593]

Hello i have a Alfa 159 2.0 jTtm with stage 1 (dpf, egr off) , on hard accelerations it smokes a bit, if i put a sport air filter it will help?

[@JonBonDonegan]

Just leaving a comment for the Alfa algorithm, leave a comment here 🤷🏻‍♂️ #alfa #italy

[@ItaliaAutos]

Thanks 😊

[@immo-jani739]

a little bit of rust 😂

[@gunnarlandin3258]

Do the 2.0 have swirl flaps that come off like the 1.9?

[@backstagent89]

Yes they have, but do not come off.

[@nikolajolevski3232]

Very good condition 👍🇲🇰

[@bastogne315]

Alcantara mmmmm❤

[@bastogne315]

That top doesn't look new 😡😡🤔

[@ItaliaAutos]

Brand new just gets dirty in a busy workshop

[@paulybthealfaguy]

is that miles or km???

[@bernymonty22]

miles

[@paulybthealfaguy]

@@bernymonty22 I thought vehicles in Europe were km?

[@tecdesigns8183]

Always liked the 159 estate but put off by reliability.

[@RBMGT4]

What? Too much of it? 😊

[@tecdesigns8183]

@@RBMGT4 I just heard they were unreliable but guess I was wrong.

[@Answersonapostcard]

@@tecdesigns8183 everyone "hears" they are unreliable because they copy what the last person said.