New Alfa + New Member :)

[AlfaGino]

Hi Guys i just bought my first Alfa, a 156 JTS Selespeed

Great step up from my VYII Berlina.

looking forward to meeting some Melbournians who love there Alfa's as much as i do.

Car is immaculate, bought it at a great price of a rich guy who wanted to get a new 159 for him and a new BMW 1 series for his missus, 84,000km everything original, even still have original floormats, Serviced every 10,000km and just had the cambelt changed, no gutter rash on the original 17's and 4 new Pirelli's so iam rapt

I'll post some photos, just hope they work
Matt.

[John Hanslow]

Welcome and glad to hear of your exciting purchase.

Photos would be great.

It might be a good idea to have the car serviced or perhaps just checked over so you do not get any surprises.  The Club has a few sponsors - dealers or Alfa specialists who really know their stuff and can give you excellent service or the correct guidance.  

Using the correct oil with the JTS and selespeed resetting are most important.

Cheers

[AlfaGino]

I will take some more photos tonight after work.

I had a full Racv inspection on the car, they wet over everything n cost me close to $500, everythin got the green light, I can't remember what the oil was called but it was from an Alfa specialist that he gets the car serviced at, can't remember which oil but he said it is expensive.

But I'm gonna take it in within the couple of weeks for a sevice, just for peace of mind, can never be to careful with a car u love

[colcol]

Hello AlfaGino, I also have a JTS series 2, thats the one with the Walter De Silva styled body, with the updated interior, yours is the series 3 Guigaro facelift model, the oil to use in these is 10-60 viscosity, fully synthetic racing oil, the brand being what your favourite is, everyone has an opinion on their favourite brand of oil, the twin sparks use 10-40, and when the JTS came out, they changed the viscosity to 10-60 to reduce oil useage, check your oil level once a week, the minute it gets below the MIN mark and your oil light comes on, your engine is a paperweight, Repco have 10-60 Castrol Edge Titaniam for about $70 for 5 litres, also the cam belts have to be changed every 3 years or 50,000klms, or which ever comes first, the Alfa club are having a run on Sunday, you may wish to join in, Colin.

[AlfaGino]

sweet as i'll go grab a bottle tomorrow and keep it on hand, don't worry no chance of low oil, i'll be checking everything once a week

ahhh would've loved to come, but i have a bucks night the night before, don't want to lose my license getting done for DUI lol.

But next time 100% for sure

[AlfaGino]

Stupid question but i need to ask.

With my service, what exactly will the mechanic do, besides the obvious oil filter & oil etc
Will they check/top up selespeed oil, brake fluid, gear oil etc.

Do they run the ECU diagnostics if i ever get the MSCF message or is that extra?

BTW i will be most likely heading to Maranello for my servicing,
What would a normal service cover?

The reason i ask is, my cuzz is a mechanic and he services my holden, and just does everything and checks over the car for me, so its been years since i've gone to a mechanic/dealer and got a normal service.

Thanks in advance
Matt.

[Joe Garra]

As a Maranello customer, I can say they are very good. They will check over your car, their recommendations are very reasonable, as are their prices. For example, I have a very slight leak from the rear main seal. I've been told to wait till the clutch needs doing as it's a big job to change that one seal. And by doing two jobs at once, I'll save money.

[AlfaGino]

I've got my cambelt booked in for next month with them, good price, and they responded to my email within n hour or 2 so I was happy.
Thats good then, because I was reading online at some uk forums, they must have dodgy as dealers over there, as everytime someone gets the MCSF they end up having to spend hundreds, even thousands, on new sensors, coil packs and injectors only to get 10km down the road and have the MCSF pop up again, 9 times out of 10 if was battery related, or a loose connection in the engine, or even because they used 91 petrol by accident, so after spending all that money and stress, a simple battery terminal clean fixed things, seen it with about 15 different people.

So yeah I'm happy Maranello are like you say they are, I'm not a tightass, but I'd hate to spend extra money when I don't have to because of a mechanic not telling me something, or guessing its some expensive part, before looking at the cheaper simpler things, such as the battery or a loose connection etc.

Thanks Joe,
Matt

[colcol]

You take your car to an Alfa specialist like Marranello Pursang Motors, as they work on these cars all the time, i certainly learnt a thing or 2 at the 147-156 workshop night we had last year, and sorted out some of the bulltwang from fact you get on some forums, as with most cars, keep the fluid levels up, and change the oil on time and use fully synthetic 10-60 racing oil in it and change the cambelt on time, and these cars will pay you back in spades, Colin.

[John Hanslow]

So yeah I'm happy Maranello are like you say they are, I'm not a tightass, but I'd hate to spend extra money when I don't have to because of a mechanic not telling me something, or guessing its some expensive part, before looking at the cheaper simpler things, such as the battery or a loose connection etc.

End of the day, yiou want to pay for good service and the correct advice.  Not a perfect world but from my experience our service providers do their best for customers and club members.