alfa 156 twin spark bottom end probs whats its worth anyone interestes in it

[lil67]

Hello all, this is my first post so apologies if this is in the wrong area etc

My daughter bought an Alfa Romeo 156 twin spark which ran like a dream during the test drive but after a week she had to replace the clutch and slave cylinder for $1500 (ouch).

After a couple of more weeks the motor went, my mechanic says its the bottom end possibly cylinder skirts ?
Motor runs but is seriously noisy (clunk clunk clunk)

The car owes her over $5000 which I know she will never recover selling it with the motor problems but she cannot afford to fix it.

The exterior and interior are pretty much immaculate.

My question is this 1) what would be a reasonable asking price for the vehicle as is and 2) would anyone on this forum be interested in it ? With the motor repaired or replaced it would be a lovely car or could be a good source of spare parts.

I have tried to attached some pictures of the car but the size is to large

I am located north of Adelaide and my email address is leandrew@adam.com.au. Please feel free to email me directly with any questions or for some pictures etc


Many thanks
Andrew

[colcol]

You could try not fixing the motor and getting a good low kilo second hand motor from a wrecker, look on ebay and there is always someone wrecking one of these, $1500, should get a good motor and then install it in the car, because these old Alfa Romeo's are not worth anything, they get wrecked rather than fixed up and therefor there is a lot of them being wrecked, so anything sold off them cannot be sold for a lot of money, if you are buying a second hand twin spark, just remember there are 3 different versions, make sure you get the right one, Colin.

[Craig_m67]

The vehicle is worth absolutely nothing without a good known working engine, sorry.

You say the clutch went in one week and now the engine a couple of weeks later.. So a month max ??

1. Who sold her the car, can it be returned or will they compensate for its inherent problems?
2. Who replaced the clutch.. Is their work sound, warranted ?

I'd have a reputable/recommended independent mechanic in Adelaide who knows Alfas check the clunking.. It could be absolutely anything (cheap or expensive).  Somebody in here should be able to recommend a good, trusted Alfa mechanic for Adelaide.  There's certainly a good wrecker down their from memory to source/fit a replacement engine if it came to that.

My preference would be to have the engine fixed by an independent mechanic who works on Alfas as you then know its good (like the new clutch). Otherwise have a good, correct 2nd hand motor fitted.

These cars are great when maintained and one with a manual gearbox is more highly valued than the Selespeed.

[cranberry]

If the car was purchased in good faith and advertised and presented as being in good working order and you can prove that the problems were there before the car was purchased (but covered up) then you may have some recourse. This is not legal advice and I'm not a lawyer so please seek your own advice on this.

[lil67]

Hi guys thanks for the replies. The clutch and slave cylinder were fitted by ultratune and they seem to have done a good job there is no further problems with the clutch although it wasn't on the road for long after the repair due to engine problem occurring. The car was purchased privately so I don't think I have any recourse (buyer beware) 

I deliver oil to eurosport at Kent town. I will have a chat to them next time i'm there.

We have been offered $1400 for the car as is but I didn't take it at this stage.

We have decided to lend the daughter the money to buy a new small hatch.

so the Alfa continues to sit in my shed for now.

Andrew

[Neil Choi]

Dear Andrew,

Please don't despair.  Just a lesson (expensive it may be) learnt.  As you say buyer beware and always have the Alfa checked out by an Alfa mechanic, well worth the inspection money.  Even if it is a Toyota or whatever, you would have it checked out regardless.

But please don't let this episode taint your's or your daughter's opinion of Alfa.  It could have been any other car brand.  Alfa's are great cars and like all things need maintenance.

Good luck and hope to hear that something positive comes out of it.  Putting another motor in could be an option.

Neil

[Neil Choi]

Eurosport is Peter Axford, life member of AROCA SA, he will certainly look after you.  You will be in good hands.

[colcol]

If it was me, then i would recondition the motor myself, because it would give me a chance to get covered in oil and learn new things.
However, when these motors fail due to cam belt failure or running them out of oil and water, then a second hand motor from a wrecker is a good option, just get some sort of warranty with it. Some wreckers will fit the motor or you could arrange it to be fitted by an ALFA ROMEO Service provider.
Don't take Alfa Romeo's to Franchised Service Providers, they can't know every car, and most likely have never worked on an Alfa before, so they are learning on your car.
Alfa Romeo Service Providers work on these cars all the time and have done this job many times before.
Alfa Romeo's and other specialist motor cars get bad reputations for unreliability due to the unqualified working on cars they know nothing about.
A few weeks ago on the Forum we had a similar story, where the person working on a 156 knew nothing about it and said all Alfa Romeo's are 5hit.
If you are not prepared to get them serviced properly don't buy one.
If you decide not to repair the car, unless you have a large property, don't be tempted to wreck it yourself, as it will turn into a nightmare, just ring up a few wreckers and get a price for it for them to take it away, Colin.