Faults:

Clutch at 72000 - silly me not to check.

Wheel bearing at 105000 miles - doddle to fix.

Headlining wearing badly.

Drivers window channel droopy.

Remote central locking useless - but not really a worry.

Odd fuse or warning light.

Heater fan only works on setting 4!

General Comments:

The Boxer a bit under-powered, but still goes well if you boot it (great sound then!)

Handling has that wonderful Alfa feel, but a little understeery on windy roads.

Brilliantly stable on motorways (not always an Alfa trait)

Styling remarkably un-dated.

Thirsty (22mpg in town, 30mpg on a run)

Find a good independent to look after it.

Faults:

ABS light keeps flashing up now & then.

Also the brake wear indicator light flashes up regularly because the wire which connects to the brake pads has been torn.

A hole in the exhaust.

General Comments:

The Car is Fun to drive around country lanes.

Not so fun on long motorway journeys as seats are a little hard.

Gearbox is very good.

The 2.0ltr engine sounds good, with 16v twin-spark, it sounds good not tinny.

The sporty look and elegant metallic shape makes it look more modern than other cars of the same age..

Faults:

Rear baffler disintegrated at 70k miles.

Electric sun-roof faulty (intermittent)

Electric rear windows faulty (intermittent)

Dry joint in flasher relay (re-solded myself - saved £140)

Hazard light relay blew (£150 to fix)

Heater temp set cable snapped (fixed myself - approx £400 saved)

Radiator rusted, courtesy of previous owner not using coolant (£600 with 60k service)

Speaker cover stays have all snapped off.

Thermostat/temp sensor seems to have gone as car won't choke.

General Comments:

Apart from above, the car has been good. No mechanical faults resulting in a breakdown. The faults mentioned above have all been of the annoying rather than critical variety.

That brings me to my next point. Dealer costs are outrageous. My local AR garage wants £90 plus VAT per hour of service. So any electrical glitches end up costing a bomb. An example is the heater cable, AR quoted me 3 hours labour costs (you do the math) just to get the dash off. So the bill would probably have been in the region of £400 - £375 labour, £25 parts).

Anyway, enough gripes. The car is a joy to drive. The engine is the sweetest sounding I've heard (although a bit gutless below 2500 rpm). Comfort is good, although the driving position would suit an ape better than me (short legs and long arms).

I doubt I'd buy another AR unless I was totally convinced the electric gremlins had been sorted.

Faults:

Nothing so far, touch wood.

Though I have a feeling that the left CV joint may need replacing.

General Comments:

I hope to buy this car's replacement, the Alfa 147.