23rd Nov 2004, 05:11

It's a fair comment on list prices (the Alfa lists just over £20k), but "real world" prices make the Alfa a direct competitor price-wise. The following comparison relates to the mk5 Golf 2.0 GT TDI 5dr which was what was available at the time (and which I was considering).

My only stipulations were leather trim which was (a costly option on both cars), and having been bitten before buying imports, it had to be a UK car from a main dealer.

VW dealer.

Golf 2.0 GT TDI 140: £ 18,530

Leather: £1,645

Total: £20,175

Best dealer price: £20,000 on the nose, free metallic paint, and free mats. "More than his job is worth" to drop any more. Got similar results from two other local dealers, and one said "list price or leave it, we can sell them as quick as we can get them"

Alfa dealer:

156 2.4 JTD 20v M-Jet Veloce: £20,240

Leather: £1,280

Total: £21,520

Best dealer price: £19,995 and free metallic.

I will admit the Golf will be worth a lot more at say three years old, but this will be under warranty for 5 years, so I'll keep it until well outside the warranty period. I reckon it will be 7-8 years old and have about 150k on the clock when I change it, so whatever I chose would be worth virtually nothing come resale time.

26th Jul 2005, 05:18

The Alfa has now done 27,000 miles without a single fault to its name. Reliability and build quality on my example are both superb (although they do vary). My only gripe is that servicing makes VW look like good value.

My friend's 156 2.5 V6 Lusso Sportwagon has just clicked past 100k and is also very reliable.

I still think I made the right choice. Alfas are a lot better than they're made out to be, and you get something only an Italian car is capable of providing - soul!

2nd Mar 2006, 06:42

VW only do common rail on the 'prestige cars' such as the Touerag where refinement is key. But the PD unit injector less refined, but it does offer around 30,000 psi - twice the pressure of common rail. VW's PD technology trades refinement for performance.

30th Jan 2008, 02:57

You buy a Golf as a safe purchase, but the Alfa is not even on the list as a replacement for most Golf drivers. That's the bottom line. The Alfa reputation is so bad most people wouldn't consider it. Comments about initial purchase price are put against the much higher depreciation of the Alfa.

30th Jan 2008, 07:56

Just as it's taking VW years to lose a reputation for quality that it no longer wholly deserves, so it's taking Alfa years to lose a reputation for unreliability that it no longer wholly deserves either. Yes, a lot of Alfas are unreliable, but a lot aren't. A lot of VW's are pretty shoddy on the reliability and build quality front if this site and the owner surveys are to be believed too, but the difference is you are paying through the nose for a VW because of a reputation. If it doesn't deliver, it's doubly disappointing, and my last two VW's were appalling compared to the older (80's and 90's) models I'd owned.

The fact is, most cars you can buy today are inherently reliable, well rustproofed and well supported by the manufacturers. The choice then comes down to what you pay, what you get and whether the qualities of a model match your priorities. The fact is the Japanese brands are the only ones which still deliver consistent reliability and quality. The Germans have sat back, sold cars on image, and let everyone else catch up.