Faults:

Bushes on trailing arms (rear) very worn but it has done 110,000 miles! Annoying rattle coming from rear shock which I have traced to bush (soon to be repaired). Broke the nearside door mirror off, price to repair £150. Severe tyre wear on front tyres due to poor tracking setup.

General Comments:

I am a bit of an Alfa nut to be honest. I have found that main dealer being fairly new (Fiat dealer) to be very very poor indeed as far as knowledge of the cars is concerned. Parts fairly reasonable but labour charges hurt. Major engine service cost £320. Tracking on front wheels should be done by main dealer only as I found out to my cost.

Faults:

Replaced the following, gearbox, clutch, rear wheel brg, rear suspension arms, ECU + the usual service items.

General Comments:

This is my 9th Alfa, previous model was a 75 which was absolutely superb, 148,500 miles when sold, ps. I found the brakes excellent.

The 164 is a big car and consequently is less chuckable than others I have owned, but has proved to be an excellent purchase given that it has now recorded 175,000 miles and cost £4,000. The gearbox rebuild was due to seal failure that robbed it of oil. It has failed me once in 3 years due to the ECU problem and I've done 80,000 of the miles to date and intend to keep it for a further 12 months and approx 45,000 miles.

Perhaps I'm the wrong person to give an unbiased opinion on the vehicle as I have a serious Alfa/Italian car problem, but I'd recommend any of the older large cars and the Alfasud to anyone who's main criteria for purchase is "I want one" and "I love driving".

By the way the economy of the 75 was consistently 33mpg and the 164 on a round trip to work of 70 miles + motorway + townwork (a little) is an amazing 31 week in week out. So if in 12 months you fancy an Alfa 164 3.0 Lusso with approx 215,000 miles and 2 owners, give me a shout.

Wave if you see me reg no. H997MHN

Faults:

Heater step motor controller failed, very expensive to have repaired although the parts are cheap.

Started to have engine management problems at 110 k miles.

General Comments:

Great car, loads of space but drives like a small GTi and was reasonably economical.