Dutch guy moved to Melbourne, got a 156

[Thijsvr]

Update: in Melbourne now and got a 156

Old: Title says it all. Currently live in Amsterdam, but visiting Melbourne at the moment and planning on moving in the near future.
In the Netherlands I own a BMW E46 325i Touring with all the bells and whistles and the full sports package with lowered suspension and interior. I'm quite fond of it, but ever since I went test driving a 159 with a friend I've been wanting to trade it in. They're quite common in the Netherlands and a bright coloured SW with the Ti package is just utterly stunning. The BMW is nice, but the 159 is something else.

I've been wanting one for years. However with the big move so close I thought I'd just hold on to the BMW, but it's officially up for sale now which means I can finally go and chase down a 159.

My wishlist is very specific (unfortunately). I'm not even sure everything is even possible here. I want a manual 2.4 JTDm SW Q4 Ti. Preferably in white or vesuvio grey. I doubt there is actually a car like that in Australia. I believe the Q4 was never an option on the 2.4 here. Don't really like the 3.2's fuel consumption and I like low end torque far better than power up high.


Anyways, that's my story. Happy to be here and hope to be able to add to the forum!

[jorritkooistra]

Hier nog een nederlander, maar dan wonend in brisbane.

Good choice, not many 159's around in that spec tho... Iff you drive a 325 now, i'dd strongly advise you to buy a GTA. I owned a 156 GTA wagon in Holland, and it was absolutely briliant. Sadly no GTA wagons in Australia, so a 147 GTA or 156 GTA will have to do. Or iff you really want a 159, buy the 159, driven a few. The torque is briliant even in 6th gear low rpm.

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[Brad M]

:
My wishlist is very specific (unfortunately). I'm not even sure everything is even possible here. I want a manual 2.4 JTDm SW Q4 Ti. Preferably in white or vesuvio grey.
:

Welcome!

Straight up, what you want was never sold here. The closest you could get here is Australia was only sold in 1 year, 2008, when 159 SW Ti was sold with a manual (but no Q4).


Below link to Redbook shows AR/Wagon/Manual/Ti:
http://www.redbook.com.au/cars/research/used?sort=Published&s=0&l=15&q=%28%28%28%28%28%28RecordType%3D%5BCar%5D%26CountryCode%3D%5BAU%5D%29%26Service%3D%5BRedbook%5D%29%26%28Make%3D%5BAlfa+Romeo%5D%26Model%3D%5B159%5D%29%29%26BodyType%3D%5BWagon%5D%29%26Transmission%3D%5BManual%5D%29%26SpecAll%3Dkeyword%5BTi%5D%29

[phri]

Welkom thijs,

I am a dutch alfa nutcase too. I own a 159 close to melbourne. As you probably know already 159 are not common especially manuals. btw imo the 6-speed automatic is a good match with the diesels too. Very few white 159 and I have never seen a white wagon on the road here. Just realize that the comfort of a ti is a compromise on the poor aussi roads (I also own a gtv thus experienced this full on).

[Thijsvr]

Thanks for all the warm welcome guys. Cool to see so many Dutch people here!
I figured indeed my prefered spec was unavailable here. Must say the petrol prices are quite reasonable here (half of what they are in the Netherlands), so I guess the 3.2 is also an option. I'd rather settle for a bigger engine than an automatic ;-)
Might also look into what it takes to change out a transmission for a manual. Have the workshop manual on order, could be a fun project.

For the 156 GTA. I've driven it in the Netherlands (on Zandvoort circuit), was great fun to drive and it felt nimbler than the 159, but it's a little bit too small for my liking. The E46 Touring I have now is already on the small side. Also, the 159 is just such a beautiful design.

I actually think the roads in and around Melbourne are pretty good. All asphalt, few speedbumps. Better than the stone roadsurfaces everywhere, the breaking up SOAB and the speedbump investation in the Netherlands. So I think a Ti will be fine. Might change it too 18 inch if it gets too rough.

[Thijsvr]

Been a while since I replied. Thought I'd share an update.
So my girlfriend and I have landed in Melbourne. Been here for a couple of months now and used Flexicar to get around, but we really wanted to get a car of our own.
A beautiful manual silver 2003 156 2.0 JTS sedan with red leather interior showed up for sale just around the corner from us, so we checked it out today. The owner is also a member of the club and had some other great cars. Really nice guy, definitely knew his cars and the price was good so we got it. The car is in great shape for it's age, apart from a suspension upgrade it's completely original and it runs beautifully.

It's not the 159 I originally planned on going for, but a manual V6 Q4 TI sportswagen is impossible to find. There's a black automatic for sale here in Melbourne which has been for sale for ages. At least 6 months. It looks great, but it's an automatic and the price is a bit too high for my taste.
In addition to that I'm lucky enough to have a girlfriend that quite likes cars as well and has also taken a liking to the Alfa Romeo styling, so we got this as our joint car and if in the future I get something else this'll become her car.

For now I don't have any big plans for it. It has Eibach suspension and the right wheels already. Sits a bit lower which I think suits the car. It's generally in good shape so I'll probably just check it over to get an idea for things that might come up in the near future that I missed while viewing the car now, and really just give it a good clean. Buff up the headlights, that sort of thing.
It has the wooden steering wheel and gear knob which I'll probably swap out. I'll keep the wood though, it's like new and I like the option of going back to original.

The seller will get the RWC done hopefully this week, I'll post some pictures when I have it. And obviously I'll be at Spetacolo Sportivo next year

[aggie57]

Congratulations on both the move and the car!  You'll love Melbourne, it's a great city and the locals are friendly:).

When you join AROCA make sure you go on a few EMR's to meet some folks. That'll help fit in and feel part of the crowd.

[kaleuclint]

Well done!  I am looking at moving in the opposite direction (Luxembourg).  Given that the Ti is somewhat more expensive in Europe and lower spec (and they have many more km than mine), I'm thinking about keeping my Alfa in storage here and buying ... a Mercedes A170 

[Thijsvr]

Nice, what are you going to do in Luxembourg? If you decide on getting a car in Europe, I'd try to get one from Germany. They have very strict yearly checks, like RCW on steroids, so cars are in much better shape generally than in countries like Belgium or the Netherlands. Also dealers have to give you a couple of months of warranty on every second hand car they sell in Germany, but if you tell them you'll take it abroad they will usually offer a significant discount and offer to help with a lot of the paperwork/hassle of getting it to the country you're in. Cars are also a lot better specced in Germany than in the Netherlands for example.

Alternatively you can get cars with bigger engines for cheap in the Netherlands. Due to the way road tax is calculated there and the high petrol prices the depreciation is big on those cars. My old full option 325i was cheaper than a normale Executive 318i, simply because people don't want big engines. Diesel cars are even worse. So something like a Brera with the 3.2 or 2.4 is pretty cheap in the Netherlands for example. There's plenty of low mileage ones for well under €10k.

Check every car you're interested in for rust though. They use salt on the roads during winter in all these countries, so especially older cars will have significant wear on them.

www.mobile.de is a good site for cars in Germany.
www.marktplaats.nl is a good site for cars in the Netherlands.
If you need some help with translating an ad or something just let me know.

[kaleuclint]

I think the rule for buying anything in LU is to get it more cheaply in France (food), Germany (beer) and Belgium (factory outlets).  Petrol is the cheapest in Europe though!

Found my last bike through mobile.de.  Figured why not keep it Germany to use during my work travels and save GST / import charges / shipping?  Then I stopped travelling to Europe for work so I shipped it out.  Now I might have to find another bike...    There's one in Germany I want on mobile.de too (as is the A170 I want).  Interestingly with TUV I can't fit this German-made bike with German-made exhausts bought from a shop in Germany.  But then I remembered I won't be living in Germany and don't have to conform to HU/AU compliance!  I suspect they'd be legal in LU.

Only been to the Netherlands once; a couple of hours in Maastricht and back to Aachen that afternoon.  Nice place, though not typically Dutch I gather?  That beats my visits to Luxembourg though; I've driven across the Grand Duchy several times but never actually got out of the car.

[Thijsvr]

TUV is hell if you live in Germany, not allowed to do anything. It's worse than Victoria, haha. Great if you want to buy a vehicle though.

Maastricht is very different from the rest of the Netherlands. My brother has a house there, but doesn't live there anymore. We would always go there on weekends off, like a cheap holiday.

[Thijsvr]

Just wanted to give a small update about the 156. It took a while before I could take delivery on it as the RWC was a bit of a hassle (and I just think the previous owner was not in any hurry to get rid of it) so I got it at the end of January.

It's my first Alfa Romeo. A long time ago I thought Alfas were rubbish and looked silly. Then I sort of started to see the appeal. Then I fell in love with the 159's looks, but only test drove them a couple of times and that was really all the experience I had with the brand.
For now I got a 156 and once I get a 159 this'll become my girlfriend her car. I didn't really know much about 156s. Based on what I read they were lighter, smaller en less well built than the 159. So I figured it just wasn't that good. That's sort of also the reputation Alfa has. But really I'm blown away by it. Yeah it has it's little quirks and some materials don't feel as top notch as they could, but overall I'm really blown away by it. It's nimble, but planted and the 2.0 JTS suits the car well. I was expecting a whole lot worse in both equipment and overall feel of the car. It's a really nice ride and I couldn't be happier with it.

Consider me converted!