Alfa Romeo Reliability. An Unjust Myth Debunked.

VVTi · April 1, 2011

Ok, call me biased. I have an Alfa 164 and I wanted to think my Alfa is reliable against all odds. Bought it in bits and pieces with almost all major systems failing or falling apart. Spent a good 2 months and this side of Rs. 300,000 putting all the bits and pieces back together. Even then the skeptics laughed and doubted almost all things about her. But then last Thursday all the way to this Tuesday I went about proving to myself above all else that the Alfa is as good as your random Japanese car that people in SL genuflect on a daily basis and sell their souls and their mothers to acquire.

Total distance covered 1650Kms.

Total gas pumped, almost 200Ltrs.

Breakdowns 0

Doubts about performance 0

An Alfa 3.0 V6 engine at full throttle, it vibrates your whole body at a godforsaken frequency that causes your face to crack open with an ear to ear smile.

I had the smile when the cops flagged me over, which ticked them off more...

That my dear friends, is a feeling you will never get in your average Toyota/Honda/Nissan with PushStart and Scoop lights and HID Xenons...

So, what I am saying is that get out of the box, do something different. Don't follow the herd. Live a little.

Buy an Alfa, love it to bits, keep the faith, put it back together like its your own broken heart and she will not let you down.

Edited April 1, 2011 by VVTi

VVTi · April 1, 2011

Drove to Batti, Pasikudah/Kalkudah, back to Colombo, 24 hours later went to Trinco, Kanniya, Kathlae and back.

heavyD · April 1, 2011

Killer stuff man. It's annoying when people put down your car for silly reasons.

Btw, were you alone on your run? Cause I noticed you've managed over 8kmpl... wonder what the fuel-crazies have to say about that!

Edited April 1, 2011 by Big_D

VVTi · April 1, 2011

4 people and their luggage.

Supra_Natural · April 1, 2011

I've said this several times before and I will say it again, R.E.S.P.E.C.T machan!

Ultimate testament to the inherent quality of the machine I'd say.

Oh and nice post lol, almost poetic

charitha19 · April 1, 2011

love this one mate... but doubt our buggers will ever learn.... they want that ukusu doors and pihatu lights...

VVTi · April 1, 2011

Its time to take AL back to its original role, the haven for petrol heads, not fuel consumption threads or Scohttp://op light threads.

Meanwhile, purring along on the Kanniya-Sradhdapura road, if you can ll it that... 7kms of dirt road that only dump trucks use.

Edited April 1, 2011 by VVTi

Supra_Natural · April 1, 2011

Its time to take AL back to its original role, the haven for petrol heads, not fuel consumption threads or Scoop light threads.

Well said!

VVTi · April 1, 2011

At Pasikudah beach.

VVTi · April 1, 2011

Double post

Edited April 1, 2011 by VVTi

VVTi · April 1, 2011

Poetry written in steel and chrome...[

Before, when Pradeep, trusty engine mech at Indika 'got on' the job...

Afterwards,

tharindra · April 1, 2011

So, what I am saying is that get out of the box, do something different. Don't follow the herd. Live a little.

thats what being a true petrol is all about, well said machan!

VVTi · April 1, 2011

thats what being a true petrol is all about, well said machan!

BTW, Tharidra, for proof on that paint-job, check the panels below the centerline on the doors and the buffer areas...

Not a ripple.

harshansenadhir · April 1, 2011

good post and well written on behalf of all petrol heads and Euro fans. Wanna company of a 406 next time to tame these dirty roads?

Euro's are wonderful in doing long trips than running about in Colombo, then only you can get the real feeling of the handling and comfort of an Euro. Went on Anuradhapura once and Kataragama on frequent basis with a return figure in excess of 14kmpl which is more than enough for me.

MasterDon · April 1, 2011

Nice!...Alfamalee's looking sexay!...or was it Francheska?

oooohhh that last pic of the engine is giving me a weird fizzing sensation...one of the best looking power plants of all time..I wanna put it in ma living room and look at it all day long.

VVTi · April 1, 2011

good post and well written on behalf of all petrol heads and Euro fans. Wanna company of a 406 next time to tame these dirty roads?

Tell me when mate, but preferably not tomorrow...

harshansenadhir · April 1, 2011

Tell me when mate, but preferably not tomorrow...

No way not tomorrow coz put it up for sale thinking of an upgrade after 4+ years.. can't handle the amount of calls I'm getting. If no lucky taker turns up, may be next week

The Don · April 1, 2011

No way not tomorrow coz put it up for sale thinking of an upgrade after 4+ years.. can't handle the amount of calls I'm getting. If no lucky taker turns up, may be next week

So it's your D8 that's on Autolanka. Somehow I guessed that. Looks in very good nick machan !

And VVTI very nice article. That is what being a petrol head is all about. To be honest, people might think 300K is a lot and moan about it but I've spent well over 150K on my Mitsubishi which I only drive for a month every year, and I acquired it not in bits and pieces ! So this too expensive to maintain is a bit of a myth.

The 3.0V6 is one of the best engines Alfa ever made. One of my neighbours own not one but two 166s They have become very cheap over here as they are quite rare and not many people know about the model.

Edited April 1, 2011 by The Don

harshansenadhir · April 1, 2011

So it's your D8 that's on Autolanka. Somehow I guessed that. Looks in very good nick machan !

And VVTI very nice article. That is what being a petrol head is all about. To be honest, people might think 300K is a lot and moan about it but I've spent well over 150K on my Mitsubishi which I only drive for a month every year, and I acquired it not in bits and pieces ! So this too expensive to maintain is a bit of a myth.

The 3.0V6 is one of the best engines Alfa ever made. One of my neighbours own not one but two 165s They have become very cheap over here as they are quite rare and not many people know about the model.

let's not get there as it's not ethical to discuss in the forum

At last people started believing maintaining and repairing Euro's aint exorbitantly expensive. A friend of mine done some small repairs of a 110 and ended up paying a bill in excess of 50k and I questioned the mechanic who's a trust worthy guy and he said the parts in delkanda junk yards are becoming scares due to new custom practices in clearing used spare parts.

Sifaan · April 1, 2011

No way not tomorrow coz put it up for sale thinking of an upgrade after 4+ years.. can't handle the amount of calls I'm getting. If no lucky taker turns up, may be next week

I saw the ad and the "new starter motor" caught my attention (since you had mentioned it on some posts) and thought it was yours - and the phone number confirmed it

harshansenadhir · April 1, 2011

I saw the ad and the "new starter motor" caught my attention (since you had mentioned it on some posts) and thought it was yours - and the phone number confirmed it

Hows your Euro doing btw?

heavyD · April 1, 2011

The 3.0V6 is one of the best engines Alfa ever made. One of my neighbours own not one but two 165s They have become very cheap over here as they are quite rare and not many people know about the model.

Alfa 165? Can't find any pics.

VVTi · April 1, 2011

Alfa 165? Can't find any pics.

Maybe he means 156.

The Don · April 1, 2011

Alfa 165? Can't find any pics.

Sorry man I meant 166 ! My bad

Sifaan · April 1, 2011

Hows your Euro doing btw?

Loving it it's been behaving itself pretty nicely for a while now (after all the brain damage getting it fixed up the first time around)... only recent problem was the rear view mirror leaking its fluid out :S

Got down a cruise control stalk cos supposedly it's just a case of plugging it in the steering column and configuring it in Lexia... I know it's possibly the most useless upgrade I could make, but it seemed a fun and cheap thing to try out!