Alfa 166 V6

[GLPoomobile 958]

I know you all hate these "what car next?" threads, but f*** you all anyways!

 

So some of you may know that I recently had a very (VERY) brief daliance with a Saab 9-3 as my new daily driver. I'm 99% convinced that it's replacement is going to be 9-5 HOT Aero estate, but, I'm being tempted ever so slightly by leftfield thoughts of an Alfa 166 V6

 

Not a lot to compare the two, and you are probably wondering how I ended up considering the Alfa. My reasons are not important.

 

The positives are:

Quite an attractive car, in a slightly eccentric way. Maybe you need to squint slightly (a bit like the Alfa's headlights) to see the attraction

Lovely interior

Big and comfy cruiser with all the toys

Cheap for what it is

Alfa V6

Alfa V6

Alfa V6

 

The negatives are:

Fuel economy, or lack thereof

Servicing costs

Not many for sale nationally

Stupid dash integrated stereo with one of those weird cassette thingies from yesteryear

 

 

Considering I'll have to travel some distance even to blag a test drive in one, I wonder if this is one of those 5 second fantasies that I should knock on the head right now, or if it's worth serious consideration. I've never had an Alfa, and I know the V6 is a legendary engine. It won't match the Saab performance wise, but the engine note will more than make up for it. But then there's the running costs. Ooooooh, the running costs So I'm just not sure.

 

Any thoughts?

(P.S. The 156 doesn't really float my boat and I don't fancy any old Alfas as a daily car. Last thing I need is another "project").

[hcmini1989 16]

The only thing i will say is get an auto one .It took a day to get ONE bellhousing bolt out on a manual one and then i couldnt get the bolt out i had to relieve the gearbox as i was undoing the bolt .

 

But if your not fixing it id say go ahead there lovely cars for the price they are a hell of a car and the quality of them is only rival`d by alot more expensive cars i,e jag,merc`s etc

 

They all have there little niggles but id live with them for the car your getting

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

Yes the engine is great, but the rest will fall to bits, plus as with all big cars with big engines, in a few years it will be worth nothing. I wouldn't bother personally.

[jackherer 543]

A friend of mine has a 2.5 v6 166. I checked it out before he bought it and I have done a bit of work on it since then. It has been pretty reliable really, only two issues in about 30k/three years. The water pump has a plastic impeller which cracked, now replaced with a metal 3.0 pump. The other problem was the springs were rusted and failed the mot at only 55k or something. I fitted a set of Eibachs all round for about £180 which lowered it about 30mm too.

 

Economy is pretty good for a 2.5, noticeably better than a 406 3.0 v6 for example. Handling is very good for a big car, and the sound of the V6 is very nice. The only thing I don't like is the electronic throttle, it does everything fine apart from heel and toe, if you press the throttle at the same time as the brake the computer assumes you have made a mistake and ignores the throttle. The running costs are generally OK especially when you consider how cheap they are to buy in the first place. My friends one was only about £1500 for a '99 W on 53k and that was in about 2007.

[AJA_GTi 0]

Tell me what the f*ck your avatar represents and i'l give you my opinion

Edited November 9, 2010 by AJA_GTi

[jackherer 543]

plus as with all big cars with big engines, in a few years it will be worth nothing.

 

The trick is to get them when they are worth nothing, my current daily driver is a 2000 Volvo S80 T6 that cost me literally nothing! It might develop a very expensive fault but I don't care, I got it through an MOT for less than £200 so I can weigh it in for most of what it owes me.

[GLPoomobile 958]

Yeah, well my budget is up to £2k, so even if I spent that much, I can't see the value falling much in 6 months to a year.

 

Lets put this in to perspective - how much money do we all "waste" on modifications that we'll never see a return on come sell-up time? I've just lost something like £600 in a week thanks to my 9-3 accident, and I pissed away £800 earlier in the year trying to sort out the problem with my Mi. We lose money on cars all the time, so I don't mind taking a gamble on any car at this end of the market. I'm just cautious of ending up with a money pit in terms of running costs, but JH's comments are encouraging (and I may curse him for that one day ).

 

AJA - go and watch Robocop. Ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne.

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

I have a 155 2.0 TS for 7 years and loved it. Build quality was fine for me and no rust as it was a galvanised shell. I would get one now whilst they are still allowed as it is a box you need to tick. However look at an E39 BMW as you can get RWD as well, though they still hold quite a bit of value. Large engines seems to be pretty robust, assuming they have been maintained and can cost you very little to run. MPG of my E39 535 V8 was 34mpg on a run.

[Tesstuff 222]

Owned a 156 and ran a 166 v6 for 9 months, epic cars. Cost me nothing.

 

It is no different to any car, it could be cheap to run and it could be a money pit.

 

To most people Peugeots are seen as no better than Alfa Romeo for reliability and being money pits.

 

We are just biased.

 

You are spot on with your comment about what we spend on a 205 that is worth a fraction of that amount.

 

Just make sure the cambelts have just been done.

 

It is a brave but rewarding purchase GLP, and it is true what they say , you have to own an Alfa once

[SurGie 54]

That just depends whether or not its too relaxing a car too drive after the Volvo.

[large 33]

I am going to say go on get one! If for no other reason I can read the rants about it on here.

[andyjstone 6]

Definitely go for it - I've had two Alfas, a 156 GTA and a 147JTDM and I still miss the sound of the V6 firing up every morning in the GTA, I had a big grin on my face for about an hour.

 

Yes, I had a love/hate relationship with both of them as they both always had some sort of problem, but neither ever let me down. I made a massive mistake and bought the GTA new and it depreciated faster than I bear to think about, but if you buy them after they've lost all the money they are a good buy.

[RHULPUG 0]

my current daily driver is a 2000 Volvo S80 T6

 

How on earth have I ever missed one of these! They cost peanuts considering the performance:-

 

Engine Size 2922 cc

Cylinders 6

0-60 mph 7.0 s

Power Output 272 bhp

Valves 24

Torque 380 Nm 280 lb-ft

Top Speed 155 mph

 

 

Is there a manual version? Surprised this engine wasn't in the T5 Volvo range.

[mainline 2 1 Cars]

My Alfa was a disaster to be honest, but it did look nice. It was a 147 JTD and had a constant array of electrical problems, the clutch went, the exhaust dislogded itself, the crank sensor gave up in the outside lane of the M6, the climate control stuck on high and full blower in summer, my electric window then stuck shut on the drivers side, the AML light was on constantly, the intercooler hose split, the replacement popped off and the drivers door hinge snapped. That was in about ten months.

 

Never again.

[GLPoomobile 958]

I'm surprised by the positive comments!

 

But I'm still in two minds about it. Fuel costs are a major consideration, and although the Saab won't be massively more economical, I know I'll be able to drive the Saab sensibly to maximise that, whereas with the Alfa I know I'd be forever caining it to hear that lovely engine

 

It's really going to come down to what's available. If a decent 9-5 HOT Aero turns up locally before I find a 166, then that's that.

 

But there's also a Volvo S80 for sale in Fife for a bag of sand. You buggers!

[MrG 3]

the 166 can be a fine car, just ask when the cambelt was done on the V6's and make sure you have about 20k left before you need to change it. Alfa say every 70k but thats just rubbish, more like 40k or no more than 50 per change.

 

Alfa's you buy with your heart, others cars your head makes the decision. The interior, swoopy styling, that V6 is all there to impress. Servicing if you find a decent place should be no more than any other car, running costs, well I had a3.2V6 147GTA and the consumption was horrendous however I forgave the car everything as its was so seductive.

 

The Saab is the sensible choice I expect!

 

Volvo's are underated.

[jackherer 543]

How on earth have I ever missed one of these! They cost peanuts considering the performance:-

 

Engine Size 2922 cc

Cylinders 6

0-60 mph 7.0 s

Power Output 272 bhp

Valves 24

Torque 380 Nm 280 lb-ft

Top Speed 155 mph

 

 

Is there a manual version? Surprised this engine wasn't in the T5 Volvo range.

 

Sadly they're all semi-auto AFAIK. They have an extremely small gearbox, it has to fit next to an inline six that is mounted transversely so I don't think there is even a manual swap possible. It does have an LSD though.

 

That spec list is not quite right, the T6 is 2.8, the 2.9s are NA. The power and torque is correct but I've seen lower for the 0-60 (6.7-6.8). To put it in perspective it is about as fast off the line as a 205 Mi16 but its a nearly 2 ton automatic saloon!

[Justin 9]

We've run Alfa's of all sorts, from Sprint's back in the day to a 75 V6 and 156 which we now race, and three 166's; two 2.0 TS's and a V6.

 

Our last daily driver Alfa was a 166 3.2V6 TI which was a lovely car; beautiful looking, good enough to drive with that stunning engine and plenty of poke. We bought it with 15,000 miles on the clock and sold it earlier this year with 70,000 miles.

 

The major weakness was the 6 speed manual gearbox, or rather the diff which imploded 3 times and resulted in three replacement gearboxes. Two were done under warranty, the last cost us £1750 at the dealer with a goodwill contribution from Alfa.

 

A few bits of trim fell off, but that's the norm. With all our Alfa's we've felt that once you get past 60,000 miles they get pretty ratty. Having said that, the engines are generally bullet proof.

[Super Josh 4]

Bit of a dilemma there Steve.

 

I looked at a V6 Alfa as a daily driver. As you say cracking engine sound and fun to drive but I was put off after reading the Alfa forums, they make our 205s look reliable!!!

 

I also looked at a 93 Viggen as a daily driver. Again cracking engine, with plenty of torque, but just terminally dull to drive (not sure how the 95 HOT compares to it?).

 

Coming from a Pug I would take the Alfa if I were you

 

 

Josh

PS

 

Reading between the lines, are you living back up in Scotland now ?

[RHULPUG 0]

That spec list is not quite right, the T6 is 2.8, the 2.9s are NA.

 

Got the info from Parkers website link

[jackherer 543]

My one is 2783cc but maybe they changed it for later models.

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

I'd get the Alfa just to have ticked the box & had use of the Alfa V6 for more than a day / week, I keep considering a brand swap for my daily drive to something like a 147JTD but as yet I've made no move towards it other than in my head.

 

The only thing I don't like is the electronic throttle, it does everything fine apart from heel and toe, if you press the throttle at the same time as the brake the computer assumes you have made a mistake and ignores the throttle.

 

Quite a lot (all? ) of the new engine management systems do this, we have a Passat TDI at work which does the same &thats over 10 years old.

 

Even the 307 we have does it but not quite as severly as the Passat so you can still heel & toe with a bit extra practice & deft footwork.

 

Graham.

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

I'm not so bothered about heel and toeing a diesel estate, but it also means you cannot left foot brake, which is annoying!

[Alan_M 66 1 Cars]

I'd get the Alfa just to have ticked the box & had use of the Alfa V6 for more than a day / week, I keep considering a brand swap for my daily drive to something like a 147JTD but as yet I've made no move towards it other than in my head.

 

 

 

Quite a lot (all? ) of the new engine management systems do this, we have a Passat TDI at work which does the same &thats over 10 years old.

 

Even the 307 we have does it but not quite as severly as the Passat so you can still heel & toe with a bit extra practice & deft footwork.

 

Graham.

 

I'm sure my 120d didn't......

 

Those Alfa's are interesting for the money, but the fact it's FWD puts me off. What was that boxy one from the 80's that Clarkson had in Top Gear, V6, a proper diff and RWD, would love one of those

 

RWD is another box that needs to be ticked.

[Baz 421]

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