Alfa 156 Sportswagon mini-review

Sep 27, 2009 11 Replies

Picked up my latest ebay folly today with some help from JackH. It's a bought five minutes before the facelift kicked in 156 Sportswagon (2l TS). Light blue, no less, which the missus won't like much but hey, it was cheap-ish.



Rides reasonably well, quick steering, not much in the way of untoward noises. It potentially needs a rear wheel bearing (passenger side, I think), the aircon needs checking and regassing and some interior bulbs needs replacing. The electrics seem to work, no "new upper arms" noise from the front suspension and no death rattle from the variator.



Tracking was sorted by upping the tyre pressure on one front tyre from



1bar to 2bars. It definitely needs a thermostat, the one in the car is AWOL (presumed having a good time) so it doesn't warm up fully and takes a long time to warm up. Compared to changing the thermostat on an Elise, it looks like a piece of piss to do.

You don't adjust tracking like that.

If you don't understand something basic like tracking, get a garage to help you.

You're a bit dense really, aren't you.

I have a new name for you which you might like to consider adopting when you next morph: 'Thrush'

Can you guess why that name would very fitting for someone such as your good self?

-- JackH

This is exactly what I didn't want to hear. My own 156 Sportwagon dilemma is currently about two weeks until I get asked the "do you want it or not" question.

'51 plate 1.8TS Veloce with Leather, 16" alloys blah, blah. £1,100 I am being asked, minding that it needs £150 of parking induced damage type rectification. The suspension is as tight as a drum with no rattles at all and the engine is sweet with no dieselly noises.

How does that tie in cost wise ? Ball park or miles out ?

You don't get humour you donkey c*ck sucking midget. There was nothing wrong the tracking, the seller obviously thought there was, but the tyres were just flat.

Humm, how do you work out that 'There was nothing wrong the tracking, the seller obviously thought there was', from what the OP wrote, then?

-- JackH

I'm guessing, just guessing mind, that it drove like the tracking was=20 way out, some money got knocked off when mentioned/haggled, but a check=20 of the pressures showed that they were at about 50% of what they should=20 have been which might have given a similar symptom.

--=20 Carl Robson Get cashback on your purchases Topcashback

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om

...wrongly. :-P

-- JackH

.com

Fair enough, but Roger is still a donkey c*ck sucking midget. I wasn't far wrong there.

--=20 Carl Robson Get cashback on your purchases Topcashback

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How do *you* know?

Out of curiosity, do you find that light seems to bend around you recently?

If that's a Sportswagon I'd say it's on the cheap side. 1100 sounds about right for a decent regular 156 and Sportswagons seem to hold their money better.

But you may want to ask Roger as he seems to be the egg spurt around here.

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