Alfa GT

Update Dec 2013

Well that's it then, after (nearly) two years and 19,000 miles Alfie has gone. What a great car. Objectively he had a lots niggles and felt quite old to drive. At 70k the the engine felt as good as ever - but all the surrounding bits were feeling their age and I sort of felt like. bad things were just around the corner. Nothing fundamental new owner, just bits of trim coming loose, rattles, crashes, that sort of thing. The wheels needed a refurb, the bonnet had a few stone chips. Oh and the little matter of an impending £650 cam-belt service! 

So, it was either commit to keeping it and spend a few bob - probably a lot of bob actually - or move on. Subjectively? Well,I never tired of looking at it, or driving it. It always felt like an occasion and its done very well to be a daily driver in all conditions. Economy was always a bit of an issue - 24mpg average - but I'm still glad I got a petrol one. The D just wouldn't have been the same. It never failed to proceed, never broke down or conked out, swallowed people and an IKEA chair and 'on the gas' through Cardiff Bay tunnels sounded, well, just like an Alfa should.

So - what next. Well elsewhere on this site you'll find a rather nice 159 wagon. The GT has gone back to Alpha and Yapps in Cardiff (where he came from) and been replaced by something entirely more practical, economical and most importantly, the correct shade of red!

Incidentally that means I've now bought 5 cars from Alpha and Yapps over the years and can highly recommend them for customer service.

• Fiat Coupe
• Alfa 156
• Fiat Panda 100hp
• Alfa GT
• Alfa 159 Wagon

December 2010

We’ve just bought an Alfa GT. We didn’t mean to, we set out to buy something sensible and test drove a couple of worthy but dull saloons. At the last moment we decided to go and have a look in our local Fiat Alfa independent dealer and there it was, a 2007 Blackline. I’m a salesman’s dream, we both knew I was going to buy it straightaway and the deal was duly done after a test drive and a bit of a haggle, well actually not much of a haggle really. It’s a 2.0 petrol, which I know is probably the wrong choice, but it was £1000 cheaper than a diesel, so that’s the money I’ll use for petrol. There’s logic in there somewhere.

Having done the deal I went home. Read all the reviews and had a massive panic. Forum talk of exploding this, that and the other and almost guaranteed financial ruin put me in a bit of a dither, but reassured by the promise of a new cambelt and water pump etc before it was handed over we went ahead.

I have to admit here to some ALFA previous. I owned a 156 for three weeks in 2009. It broke down three times and I think we only did about 100 miles in it and most of those were in limp home mode. It was a disaster and so we gave it back. And yes the GT did come from the same dealer.( And then there was the Y reg Sud owned 20 or so years ago, but that’s another story)

Here we are 6 weeks and 2000 miles in (it’s now done 49K) and it hasn’t missed a beat. The build quality isn’t quite up there, it’s not particularly quick and those lovely wheels, fitted only to the Blackline make it bumpy, thumpy and noisy.  All of which is irrelevant. It’s one of those cars that you look back at when you get out, don’t mind cleaning and just love getting into each time. I’ve had a couple of adults in the back, its looks spectacular from pretty much any angle and if it was a girl would probably be called Kylie.

Over time I’m sure it’s going to be a bit of a headache and it certainly likes a drink, but it’s one of the only cars I’ve ever owned that people seem to love having a chat about. Heart ruling head, definitely, but for the time being that’s fine with me.

PS. Just in case you're wondering about Italian build quality, in the background of the picture above you can see £25,000's worth of BMW convertible with its roof firmly jammed half way up! So there.

May 2012 update

6 months in, all good/typical Alfa stuff going on:

• Parking sensors have packed up
• Interior light fitting keeps falling off
• Engine undertray broken
• Radio wont self tune
• Rust on one sill
• Hatch rattles like its going to fall off

5000 miles, no real reliability issues, running good.......

November 2012

What a brilliant car! All good: Parking sensors have sorted themselves out, Interior light sorted, undertray fixed with cable ties! Hatch sorted. Nearly 10k miles in and it hasn't missed a beat. MPG not brilliant - typically 25 around town and 30/35 on the motorway.

Coming up for a service in Jan 13 at which point it will need two rear tyres (to go with the two fronts it had in the summer).

(mid section) Exhaust replaced in the summer. Squeaking rear suspension - bushes, so they will need sorting too.

Running great and coming up to 57k

Jan 2013

60k Service, MoT and a pair of rear tyres. £800 yikes!

June 2013

64k and believe it or not nothing untoward to report. Running great. Just had two front tyres (10k out or the last pair), new front discs and pads and new auxiliary belt. Love it.

September 2013

66,000 miles. Over the summer.... New front wishbones to cure the squeekingore. Still running great