I have always loved Alfas, and decided to take the plunge and get myself one just over 18 months ago. I paid 3k for a y reg 5 door 147 2.0 lusso with full service history.
The plus points are that this car is a really nice drive, everything feels of good quality, and is within easy reach. This car is packed full of gadgets, such as cruise control, heated leather seats, speed limiter, dash light dimmer, alloys, electric mirrors, dual airbags, dual climate control and i could go on!
The negatives are that they have a lot of common faults. I wasnt worried so much about the well known electrical problems, but when things start going wrong with these cars, the list just keeps going! First a well known issue of the motor control failure warning light (sounds serious hey?) and was quoted varying prices to have this repaired, from £50 for a new exhaust sensor, through to over 500 for a new ecu! Im a member of the Alfa Romeo owners club, and quicly found out that even main dealers have major problems in correctly diagnosing what the cause of the fault is, as it could be down to several things.
Next the driver airbag warning light came on, i had this tested, the airbag is fine, but theres a problem with the sensor (yet another electrical fault i hear you cry!) £30 to have this reset, came back on within a matter of weeks!
Next, a rather unexpected pothole finds itself under my wheels, the car bottoms out, and the undertray of the car breaks. I had to pull this off on the side of the road, as it was dragging on the floor, which then revealed a damaged sump (yet another common problem with this car) Now the 147's are known for being heavy oil guzzlers, approx 1ml per mile! The cracked sump didnt help this situation, another 100 quid gone on my pride and joy!
The latest issue is I now have no 4th gear, again another common fault. Apparently the swarf builds up in the gearbox easily, and every now and then you have to take apart the whole wheel arch, to access the gearbox, remove the housing and clean it out.
This has been the last straw, and my dream car is now sitting in the drive waiting for me to decide the most economical way of disposing of her!