Alfa 156 Selespeed

[MisterBeetle]

Hi All, I have come full swing around from Hatchbacks to look at the Alfa Romeo 156 Selespeed.

The prices seem very good value when compared to Honda/Toyota/Mazda, with many top features such as 10-12 Airbags/ABS/Multitronic Gear change etc and a nice raspy 2 Litre 4 cylinder engine.

I once owned a Alfa Sud back in Australia, and while it did rust into literally pieces on my driveway, it did perform well and had a great sporty feel to it.

Wondering if anyone here has owned one or know of anyone who has??

The 156 was made by GM in Rayong as far as I can tell , so I would assume parts should be easily obtained?

I know the resale value is very low (good for second hand purchase), I have seen 2009-2010 models advertised for under 1 million.

[WarpSpeed]

Google's your friend...... Oh lookie what I found??

And there's a host of other links as well..

Alfa 156 Issues

[stingray]

Google's your friend...... Oh lookie what I found??

And there's a host of other links as well..

Alfa 156 Issues

Not only Alfa, all new cars are expeisive to fix if any electronic or automatic troubles. Many Honda City transmissions are gone after 100'k warranty. No second hand available or very rare. New one cost over 100'000 baht. So beware of ALL newer cars, because all of them are fully loaded with electronic things and sensors. Somchais Coconut Garage can't fix them anymore.

[katabeachbum]

Google's your friend...... Oh lookie what I found??

And there's a host of other links as well..

Alfa 156 Issues

Not only Alfa, all new cars are expeisive to fix if any electronic or automatic troubles. Many Honda City transmissions are gone after 100'k warranty. No second hand available or very rare. New one cost over 100'000 baht. So beware of ALL newer cars, because all of them are fully loaded with electronic things and sensors. Somchais Coconut Garage can't fix them anymore.

Honda has dropped the CVT auto for City and Jazz, and replaced them with 5 speed hydraulic late 2008. Lifetime was main reason.

[jcon]

I briefly considered buying a 156 also. I like "different" cars, and while the Alfa certainly fit the bill, the main concern seemed to be the maintenance issue (the main garage is at Rachada/Pahonyothin - said to be very very slow).

Board member richardsmith had one. Maybe if he is still around he can chime in with his experience.

The 156 drives nice and tight, though. Nice steering, though the transmission leaves something to be desired.

[stingray]

I briefly considered buying a 156 also. I like "different" cars, and while the Alfa certainly fit the bill, the main concern seemed to be the maintenance issue (the main garage is at Rachada/Pahonyothin - said to be very very slow).

Board member richardsmith had one. Maybe if he is still around he can chime in with his experience.

The 156 drives nice and tight, though. Nice steering, though the transmission leaves something to be desired.

I never had a Alfo 156. But i had several Fiat Puntos and using the Fiat Alfa Dealer at Pahonyotin Rd. The service is european standart. Never had any troubles with them. Speedy service as well, no problem.

[MisterBeetle]

I briefly considered buying a 156 also. I like "different" cars, and while the Alfa certainly fit the bill, the main concern seemed to be the maintenance issue (the main garage is at Rachada/Pahonyothin - said to be very very slow).

Board member richardsmith had one. Maybe if he is still around he can chime in with his experience.

The 156 drives nice and tight, though. Nice steering, though the transmission leaves something to be desired.

I never had a Alfo 156. But i had several Fiat Puntos and using the Fiat Alfa Dealer at Pahonyotin Rd. The service is european standart. Never had any troubles with them. Speedy service as well, no problem.

Thanks all,

After coming up blank with a reliable service plan and the fact we will be living 2 1/2 hrs from Bangkok, that 156 is looking not so sporty!!

Mazda 3 or even a Toyota Altis looking better and better! (never thought I would be buying a Jap car!). But servicing and parts have to be easily obtained.

Off to a Mazda dealer to test drive and pull them to bits tomorrow.

Benefits seem obvious ...100,000 kms- 3 year warranty, 1st year free Insurance, New car feel etc etc.

[jcon]

Quantum of Solace (007) just started on Star Movies (UBC) and the opening scene has Bond in his Aston DBS and the chase car is an Alfa 159.... VERY nice looking car IMO - leaps and bounds over the 156....

OP, how about a used Honda Accord 3.0 V6 (with the sunroof, etc. - the top spec of that time)? IIRC they are running around the price of a new Mazda3 or the *gasp* Altis. Much more car for your money.... I'm assuming you're options are in the 800K budget? Accord, IMO.

[culicine]

Quantum of Solace (007) just started on Star Movies (UBC) and the opening scene has Bond in his Aston DBS and the chase car is an Alfa 159.... VERY nice looking car IMO - leaps and bounds over the 156....

OP, how about a used Honda Accord 3.0 V6 (with the sunroof, etc. - the top spec of that time)? IIRC they are running around the price of a new Mazda3 or the *gasp* Altis. Much more car for your money.... I'm assuming you're options are in the 800K budget? Accord, IMO.

The 3.0 accord will chew the juice though, especially with a heavy foot! If I wanted a 2-door I'd look at the older 2 door honda civics. Pretty cheap, parts readily available, and easily can slot in a b16A or B18C into it to make it shift. In terms of smaller jap cars I would say the new honda city is the best available (or a jazz for a hatch). The new ford fiesta wil be worth a close look as well.

[WarpSpeed]

I briefly considered buying a 156 also. I like "different" cars, and while the Alfa certainly fit the bill, the main concern seemed to be the maintenance issue (the main garage is at Rachada/Pahonyothin - said to be very very slow).

Board member richardsmith had one. Maybe if he is still around he can chime in with his experience.

The 156 drives nice and tight, though. Nice steering, though the transmission leaves something to be desired.

I never had a Alfo 156. But i had several Fiat Puntos and using the Fiat Alfa Dealer at Pahonyotin Rd. The service is european standart. Never had any troubles with them. Speedy service as well, no problem.

Thanks all,

After coming up blank with a reliable service plan and the fact we will be living 2 1/2 hrs from Bangkok, that 156 is looking not so sporty!!

Mazda 3 or even a Toyota Altis looking better and better! (never thought I would be buying a Jap car!). But servicing and parts have to be easily obtained.

Off to a Mazda dealer to test drive and pull them to bits tomorrow.

Benefits seem obvious ...100,000 kms- 3 year warranty, 1st year free Insurance, New car feel etc etc.

You know? This 100,000Km as a warranty sounds pretty good but in the states they have had 100,000mile warranties on most cars for some time and that is far longer then these warranties, I wonder if that is relative to being produced in Thailand?

[yabaaaa]

I briefly considered buying a 156 also. I like "different" cars, and while the Alfa certainly fit the bill, the main concern seemed to be the maintenance issue (the main garage is at Rachada/Pahonyothin - said to be very very slow).

Board member richardsmith had one. Maybe if he is still around he can chime in with his experience.

The 156 drives nice and tight, though. Nice steering, though the transmission leaves something to be desired.

I never had a Alfo 156. But i had several Fiat Puntos and using the Fiat Alfa Dealer at Pahonyotin Rd. The service is european standart. Never had any troubles with them. Speedy service as well, no problem.

Thanks all,

After coming up blank with a reliable service plan and the fact we will be living 2 1/2 hrs from Bangkok, that 156 is looking not so sporty!!

Mazda 3 or even a Toyota Altis looking better and better! (never thought I would be buying a Jap car!). But servicing and parts have to be easily obtained.

Off to a Mazda dealer to test drive and pull them to bits tomorrow.

Benefits seem obvious ...100,000 kms- 3 year warranty, 1st year free Insurance, New car feel etc etc.

You know? This 100,000Km as a warranty sounds pretty good but in the states they have had 100,000mile warranties on most cars for some time and that is far longer then these warranties, I wonder if that is relative to being produced in Thailand?

I dont thinks so re shoreter warranties, my Dad had a Yaris in the UK it was made in Thailand and had the standard for the time 3 year warranty.

[WarpSpeed]

I dont thinks so re shoreter warranties, my Dad had a Yaris in the UK it was made in Thailand and had the standard for the time 3 year warranty.

But what was the mileage? In an open country like the States where you can easily put more mileage on a car but it is highway mileage considered less traumatic in terms of wear and tear the mileage on the warranty's are much higher generally speaking..

[neverdie]

Google's your friend...... Oh lookie what I found??

And there's a host of other links as well..

Alfa 156 Issues

Not only Alfa, all new cars are expeisive to fix if any electronic or automatic troubles. Many Honda City transmissions are gone after 100'k warranty. No second hand available or very rare. New one cost over 100'000 baht. So beware of ALL newer cars, because all of them are fully loaded with electronic things and sensors. Somchais Coconut Garage can't fix them anymore.

stingray, you missed your chance, this is where you should of dropped the ad for the good old toyota corolla.

[ignis]

Often seen a Red Alfa Romeo 156 Selespeed Estate, Looked very nice, never seen another here in the 7 years I have been here.

[nellyp]

I have one of these. It is wicked. it's different to buy makes you feel good and fun to drive. This is an Alfa and you have to put up with certain things with them but they are worth it in the long run

[NBD]

A Thai built Alfa Romeo almost sounds like a byword for unreliability!

They are lovely cars, I drove a 155 V6 for a while and had an Alfa Sud many years ago, but if I was to consider one here the main thing I would be looking at is spare parts - how much and how expensive?

Alfas are always a bit of a labour of love, but if the parts are available at a reasonable price and you can tolerate odd things dropping off they're a great fun car.

[NewtoBKK]

Hi MisterBeetle,

Sorry if this comes a little late...

I owned a Thai-made Alfa 156 2.0 Selespeed (cloverleaf edition) some time ago (bought new in 2002 and sold it off after about 5 years)... I believe they were produced here for a couple of years before production was shut down.

Anyway, I had some minor quality issues with the Alfa, but nothing really major... the common problem was the quality of the hard plastics used in the interior, which starts to melt after a couple of years... so this would need to be changed every few years.

But the negatives aside, it was a great car to look at and drive (surprisingly spacious for the driver and gave me an average of about 1 litre to 12 km in mixed driving conditions) and electronically advanced.

[yabaaaa]

Ive got some experince of Alfas I had a 147 selespeed form new in the UK sold it after 18 months massive depreciation BUT what a looker that grill caught most peoples eye, reliabiltiy and durabiltiy are not so good, packed full of electronis things to go expensively wrong, try not to be tempted, if only Honda borrowed Alafas stylists the world would be perfect.

In the time I had it nothing went wrong but I wouldnt want to keep one long term. always buy a red one!!!! what else!!

[nullx8]

f only Honda borrowed Alafas stylists the world would be perfect.

In the time I had it nothing went wrong but I wouldnt want to keep one long term. always buy a red one!!!! what else!!

HAHA ... the driving experience is like from another world, comparing ALfa Romeo and Honda ...

i had a brand new Honda Accord for 2 weeks . while my 156 was in the garage for new engine, feel like drive a Sofa .. but like one you can buy on the streets in Thailand .. (not one from Index) ;P