Alfa Romeo Reliability. An Unjust Myth Debunked.

[The Stig]

Correct, Kanniya Sradhapura or something road, just before Thambalagama. It used to be a LTTE hotspot. Where many countless SLDF trucks were blown up. The Army carved this road up to have easy access to the Trinco-Anuradhapura road.

WOW we went to trinco about 2 months ago, cant believe you made it on an alfa

Wasnt ground clearance an issue ?

Anyway it wasnt so bad in the rexton, just a little shaky

[VVTi]

How much ground clearance do you need to drive on an average road?

[The Stig]

How much ground clearance do you need to drive on an average road?

Wait wasnt this road all dug up ? it was in horrible shape at that time, maybe cause of the rain

[BLu3HaZe]

Ah. you must have been in a Jap car... All the Alfa needed was a wash and a vacuum...

Everything is still intact.

Yes it was the Yaris

On a side note, how much did you go max on that road?

Wait wasnt this road all dug up ? it was in horrible shape at that time, maybe cause of the rain

It was when we went, that's why I wondered how he could make it.

Edited April 5, 2011 by BLu3HaZe

[VVTi]

I am getting a whiff of a 'How did he make it in his beat up old Alfa, when my spanking new Jap Import could not make it?' vibe here...

Ok, the road was not bad, but it was not a perfect flat road and it had its share of rough patches, mud, dried up ditches and its just a matter of slowing down, negotiating the ruts and holes and taking her through carefully with out scraping the bottom.

You may have tried to fly over the pot holes in the Yaris.

[BLu3HaZe]

Dude, no that's not what I meant at all, and that's obviously no beat up old Alfa, cuz it's been taken care of so well We all know that.

And no this isn't a spanking new Jap import, it had quite a bit of parts replaced which means it's quite battered. Just impressed that the opinion people have on Jap reliability isn't very true when seeing these. And it's after all a car without a soul, nothing much to protect like in a Euro, except the mech parts

[VVTi]

Most Euros are made for long journeys, and they can take a beating. The reason many Euros in Sri Lanka are suffering all kinds of issues is becasue most are used for short sporadic journeys that does more harm than good. So when you take even the most reliable Jap car out on a long journey, what happens is, hitherto unknown issue pop up.

If a car is run like a bus then what happens is you end up knowing whats wrong before it comes and bites you and take preventive action. That's why you see cars that are run all the time spend less time in garages than cars that are pampered at home with short dashes.

[MasterDon]

I am getting a whiff of a 'How did he make it in his beat up old Alfa, when my spanking new Jap Import could not make it?' vibe here...

Yup.one is a purpose built Italian sports sedan and another is a bottom of the barrel Jap econobox.But hey its Japanese and new so it MUST do better!..PLUS Jeremy Clarkson said Alfa's are unreliable!

Its no use VVTi machan,I bet most of the people congratulating you here on the Alfa won't ever go near one(or a euro) when its time to buy a car...Fake petrolheads I call'em.

[VVTi]

Ok, fellow petrolheads, I did not take offense nor did I intend any offense with my snide remark about the 'Whiff' and the 'Vibe'. So lets turn on our radiator fans and cool the engines.

That road in question is not tarred. It has dried up pot holes and it has troughs and furrows on the road that if not taken properly will result in a big scrape on the bottom.

In in the end it is not a question of what you are driving but how you negotiate these little rough patches. Believe me, I have seen monkeys in Y60s get in to trouble where a Housewife in a RAV4 might not...

No disrespect for Toyotas and for any other brand.

Bluehaze, the road from Anuradhapura Junction to the hot-wells is tarred but it has broken in so many places that it was a nightmare driving through that 7-10kms.

The bare earth road was inviting becasue.

a) It was relatively better surface

Shorter distance

c) Something new to try

d) Chance to raise a dust cloud of epic proportions

e) Chance to experience the infamous torque steer of the 3.0 V6 in relative safety where no one else will be at risk apart from me and the willing passengers and the car.

d) I did ask my fellow passengers before turning in, and they replied me by closing the windows and the sunroof...

Need to clarify that the damage to the car while being a concern due to the distance from home and any known work shop, was small as the whole exercise was to see how much she can take without snapping something critical.

Why are we stuck on this road??? The Alfa clearly didn't!

[The Stig]

I am getting a whiff of a 'How did he make it in his beat up old Alfa, when my spanking new Jap Import could not make it?' vibe here...

Ok, the road was not bad, but it was not a perfect flat road and it had its share of rough patches, mud, dried up ditches and its just a matter of slowing down, negotiating the ruts and holes and taking her through carefully with out scraping the bottom.

You may have tried to fly over the pot holes in the Yaris.

No disrespect mate, what i meant was in general all cars would have been in trouble cause of the ground clearance not just the alfa

I saw some cars turn away cause the undercarriage and silencers kept scraping against the road.

Anyway

Edited April 5, 2011 by The Stig

[LRDefender]

WOW bro...this is really nice...a job well done...btw a nice paint job wont hurt either

All i can say about this unreliability crap is that Alpha's are far more reliable machines than even BMWs(at least the new ones). As I see the unreliability thing is just a gimmick by the Japsters to market their vehicles.

Personally i would prefer an Alfa over any euro car. Even Jeremy C confessed that the performance of an Alpha is truly superior than any BMW or Merc. (@DON i really dont think that Jeremy will say sumthing like that)

So for me Alfas are the first choice if im ever to buy a car. But considering the status of many roads in Sri Lanka, I would think twice if i am to get one.

Totally off topic....If anybody wants to know, there is an Alfa Romeo club now in Sri Lanka and they will also help to import one if you need(Second hand Alfas are really cheap in UK). The guys name is Oshada if i can remember correctly.

[Ripper]

sigh...you just gotta love some of the comments here

[VVTi]

WOW bro...this is really nice...a job well done...btw a nice paint job wont hurt either

All i can say about this unreliability crap is that Alpha's are far more reliable machines than even BMWs(at least the new ones). As I see the unreliability thing is just a gimmick by the Japsters to market their vehicles.

Personally i would prefer an Alfa over any euro car. Even Jeremy C confessed that the performance of an Alpha is truly superior than any BMW or Merc. (@DON i really dont think that Jeremy will say sumthing like that)

So for me Alfas are the first choice if im ever to buy a car. But considering the status of many roads in Sri Lanka, I would think twice if i am to get one.

Totally off topic....If anybody wants to know, there is an Alfa Romeo club now in Sri Lanka and they will also help to import one if you need(Second hand Alfas are really cheap in UK). The guys name is Oshada if i can remember correctly.

I am really really confused at this point...

Edited April 5, 2011 by VVTi

[Pericles]

I am really really confised a this point...

Because he refers to Alpha and Alfa?

[BLu3HaZe]

All settled

Or so I thought

Edited April 5, 2011 by BLu3HaZe

[VVTi]

Because he refers to Alpha and Alfa?

Among many other things.

[The Don]

WOW bro...this is really nice...a job well done...btw a nice paint job wont hurt either

All i can say about this unreliability crap is that Alpha's are far more reliable machines than even BMWs(at least the new ones). As I see the unreliability thing is just a gimmick by the Japsters to market their vehicles.

Personally i would prefer an Alfa over any euro car. Even Jeremy C confessed that the performance of an Alpha is truly superior than any BMW or Merc. (@DON i really dont think that Jeremy will say sumthing like that)

So for me Alfas are the first choice if im ever to buy a car. But considering the status of many roads in Sri Lanka, I would think twice if i am to get one.

Totally off topic....If anybody wants to know, there is an Alfa Romeo club now in Sri Lanka and they will also help to import one if you need(Second hand Alfas are really cheap in UK). The guys name is Oshada if i can remember correctly.

Mate, you really need to watch more Top gear

Secondly which is superior depends on your perspective. Plus a lot of Alfas are front wheel drive. That is not everybody's cup of tea when it comes to performance. Beyond a certain amount of power this results in very noticeable torque steer.

There is a reason why second hand Alfas are really cheap in the UK. Do you know why ?

[LRDefender]

@The Don...no i dont know...please enlighten me...was hoping to get one down from there when i had enough money saved..and i know top gear loves talking shit about it...but if you just drive one...u'll fall in love with it...hence my bias opinion...i tried searching you tube for the video i was talking above in my earlier post...but couldnt find it sorry.

@pericles/VVTi/Ripper.....guys pls..i was at the office and was in a hurry to post it..hence the typos and the jumbled comment...but to pick on it...lol...u guys need to grow up (no disrespect)

I was just trying to say i love "ALFA ROMEOS" and IMHO they are the best and the most stylish cars ever built...they drive better than beamers and mercs and are really fun to drive...BUT "ALFA ROMEO" is notorious for late deliveries and crappy services...anyway again sorry about the typos

[LRDefender]

And BTW i was saying to think twice coz in some models, the ground clearance is very low...as an example on 156 lusso, the ground clearance is more than the 156 Gran Turismo

[VVTi]

And BTW i was saying to think twice coz in some models, the ground clearance is very low...as an example on 156 lusso, the ground clearance is more than the 156 Gran Turismo

again, you confuse me...

[LRDefender]

again, you confuse me...

ok...well the 156 Lusso is more suitable for SL coz it has more ground clearance whereas the 156 Gran Turismo has less ground clearance..and hence not suitable for SL

[Pericles]

@pericles/VVTi/Ripper.....guys pls..i was at the office and was in a hurry to post it..hence the typos and the jumbled comment...but to pick on it...lol...u guys need to grow up (no disrespect)

I find it pretty disrespectful to your audience if you can't take the time to unjumble your thoughts before making a post. Are the readers supposed to do it for you? Just my opinion of course.

[LRDefender]

I find it pretty disrespectful to your audience if you can't take the time to unjumble your thoughts before making a post. Are the readers supposed to do it for you? Just my opinion of course.

Well I really did not know that such a huge responsibility was on me when I am to make a comment on this forum. I am really sorry for my irresponsible behavior and i beg my audience to forgive me for my jumbled up thoughts. I thank you Preveen for your valuable input and will keep your good advice in mind when posting my comments in future.

[Pericles]

Well I really did not know that such a huge responsibility was on me when I am to make a comment on this forum. I am really sorry for my irresponsible behavior and i beg my audience to forgive me for my jumbled up thoughts. I thank you Preveen for your valuable input and will keep your good advice in mind when posting my comments in future.

That responsibility is on everyone on when on any kind of forum, internet or otherwise. Its not something special for this forum, or to you. You are sharing your views with others. If you don't present properly, no one will understand what you said. Thats when disagreements happen. IMHO, of course

And on this forum, I go by Peri.

[Bugatti]

I have seen monkeys in Y60s get in to trouble where a Housewife in a RAV4 might not...

No disrespect for Toyotas and for any other brand.

Which Monkey ish dish...??! Be mindful my friend.. you wouldn't want a 3 Ton truck up your boot when in traffic. These Monkeys have quite the road rage...