Hello

[davidturnedge]

I had fallen in love with the 156 and now the 159 but have never owned an Alfa. drove a 147 once but didn't like the tight interior or the nervous behaviour on the road.

I am thinking of picking up a 156 manual as it would suit my family needs perfectly and they do seem to be rather good value for money - although I love the idea of Selespeed I've driver a VW DSG a few times and think the Selespeed would be a disappointment after that. Besides, in an older car I feel simpler would be better.

I drive a BMW 3-Series automatic and a MX-5 manual at the moment.

What's the best colour 156 to look out for?

[John Hanslow]

The early models had the black line on the bumpers that was removed post 2004 on the Giugiaro update.  So if you got a white one, the look is totally different from earlier to later models - that's my thought.

Some colours do not age with a car or shape.  Nothing like the classic alfa (italian racing red) red with the tan leather interior.  That is a difficult combination to get.  Earlier model had a lighter tan interior.  Some later 2006 models had an almost light faun interior.  The black leather is most common.

So outside again, silver looks good as well as black.

Cheers

[jayarr]

Hi,

I'd find a manual, great driving experience. Easier servicing for DIY (if thats your inclination). After having three red alfa's, would still go back for another red one. Really is a personal choice though, I'd be far more concerned about condition over colour for a used car.

Leather - black (or dark grey) is much easier to live with if you have kids. I'm finding that the tan leather needs a good clean frequently to keep the new look. Maybe I should get neater kids.

Bear in mind the incremental updates over the life of the 156 when making your decision, such as traction control (2002?), JTS engine, and facelift in 2003.

Cheers, John

[wankski]

if your going manual, get as low km early 156 as you can get. that is by far the smartest option.

IMHO the TS is more reliable and less troublesome than the JTS, and there are far more parts and spare TS engines.

There is no advantage to the manual update really and they cost a lot more...

u could graba  perfectly good early 156 in manual for around $7-9k which is excellent buying for the money.

Don't worry about interior - u can grab a complete interior including door trims and seats for like $5-600.

JMO.

The absolute best combination is the arese (ZOMG A REAL ALFA ENGINE!!!) v6 w/ manual gearbox. They are rarer of course, but quite a few early 156s pop up in this combo. vastly superior to the fiat 4 pots imho. Ultra rare in the update (i have one of them in red!!).