lifespan of alfa 166

[dtr123]

i am thinking of getting an alfa 166
i know that mercs and bmws can go on for 200k miles but does anyone have any idea of an upper limit for the alfa 166.

Dont want scientific fact, just general ideas.

thanks as always

[Monster-S]

Alfa = Unreliable

[Impret-Sir]

The old tag of Alfas equaling unreliability is no largely no longer deserved, the 147 and 156 have excellent reliability records. Sadly the 166 is an old school Alfa, its old fashioned, not very well built and suffers from a poor, crashy ride, especially in the V6.

[Toureman]

Impossible to answer, it all depends on how previous owners have looked after it.

Even Mercs and BMWs can expire soon if they are not looked after.

[tali122]

Found this info on one of the most elegant cars around- "V6 eats front tyres. Complaints of pitting chrome and failing Xenon hedlights that cost �555 each to replace. FIAT/Alfa joint worst for breakdowns attended by German ADAC during 2001. Alfa Romeo 2nd least reliable of 31 makes of car in 2002 'Which?' reliability survey cars 2000 - 2002; 3rd least reliable cars 1997 - 1999. Alfa Romeo had third highest warranty repair costs in 2003 Warranty Direct Reliability index (index 155.10 v/s lowest 31.93). Alfa Romeo 5th bottom of Reliability Index for 2004 combining average cost of repair of �392.88 with high 39.55 failures per 100 Warranty Direct policies. Link:- www.reliabilityindex.co.uk
What to Watch Out For
Check all tyres for wear regularly. Some 166s have gone through REAR tyres in as little as 5,000 miles indicating that they have been supplied with the tracking badly out of alignment. If you notice severe premature tyre wear, take the cat to a laser tracking specialist such as Micheldever Tyres and have them track it properly. Timing belt failures of 4 cylinder twin sparks extremely common. Need new belts and tensoners every 35k - 40k miles or every 4 years whichever comes first.
Recalls
30-4-2001: Problem of loss of hydraulic power assistance to steering. All RHD 1,900 166s imported to UK by April 2001 recalled to have oil cooler and refill system replaced. September 2002: TSB issued to change timing belts and tensioners at 36,000 miles rather than 72,000 miles. "