Alfa Brera - Thoughts?

[apmallett]

Has anyone got one? Looking at getting one second hand for my next car, the 2.2 petrol more specifically. Any opinons?

[Andy3536]

All Alfas come under the same bracket really.

Stupid money to insure, service and repair.

But it will look stunning and will no doubt be comfortable and lovely to drive.

I have a 147, it's cost alot of money to keep insured and running. It's never actually broken down mind you and reliability is ok now with Alfas. Just the normal servicing is very expensive.

You just have to be prepared to pay in the long haul if you want an Alfa. Just need to think is it worth it for you?

[young_one]

As said above, Alfas look Amazing on the roads and drive like a dream but are stupidly expensive to run.

I looked into a Brera about 6 months ago when I had to option to switch from the company car to car allowance, they are stuningly good looking, solidly built (even more so than I was expecting) and super cheap to get second hand but sadly the ongoing costs just ruled it our for me even with car allowance and a fuel card.

[Zak33]

apmallet.... were it any other car that was of italian pedigree (ie slightly dubious build quality) I'd mildly warn you off, diluted by a few good reviews on 2.4 diesels....


but the Brera is the prettiest car for soooo long... i'm not sure you should resist... just get it

[scaryjim]

My closest encounter with a Brera was when I went to pick up the hire Fiesta I'd booked and the bloke offered me an upgrade to the Brera for ~ £10 a day. Sadly I need to get the wife, kids and luggage in, so I couldn't take it... and I never got the opportunity again. Truley gutting.

[Behemoth]

A work colleague of my Dad has one (not a Brera) but when he had to have it serviced he took it in a rich man and came out a poor man !

They are absolutley stunning cars, I look at them and think yes please, I'd love a 166 with a 2.2 petrol engine in it, I go weak at the knees when I see an Alfa, but I'd go even weaker if I had to shell out big money to repair the thing.

That said this can happen with any car Alfa or any other brand you care to mention.

[mikemikemi]

The V6 is quite nice.

But as everyone has said Alfa's can be expensive.

My mate's got one and he was lucky and unlucky. Bought second hand from a garage and quickly developed quite a few problems, some serious some not so serious. Nearly had to fork out quite a bit to get it sorted, but his dad put enough pressure on the garage and they took care of it for free.

Just need to be careful when you go looking.

[Barakka]

My closest encounter with a Brera was when I went to pick up the hire Fiesta I'd booked and the bloke offered me an upgrade to the Brera for ~ £10 a day. Sadly I need to get the wife, kids and luggage in, so I couldn't take it... and I never got the opportunity again. Truley gutting.

I know someone who's just got one, the 2.4 JTDm too with 200BHP and 50mpg, he was looking for a Mondeo a couple of years old, and the Brera was cheaper!! AND he can get two kids seats in the back and a pram in the boot !!

Servicing is extortionate at any dealer these days, my old boss took his 18 month old Mini Cooper S-Works in for a service the other week, bearing in mind it's covered under the TLC scheme (so free), and came out with a bill for nearly £600 ! - and a note to say they couldn't fix the air-con !

As for Alfa servicing i've not had an Alfa, but i've had a few Fiats so know the pain and was looking at Alfas not long ago, the best bet from what i've read is to find an independant Alfa specialist and make friends with them. I don't know where you're located but there's certainly one in St.Helens, best to look on the Alfa forums.

Not aware of any big problems with the Brera, like the lack of water-tightness and rusting brake lines on the GT. From what i've read the 2.4 JTDm and V6 versions are the ones to have, the diesel because it's fast and frugal, and the V6 as it's 4WD with the Q4 diff - the diesel would also benefit from having the Q2 diff installed - but a decent Alfa specialist could sort that for you. Bear in mind as pretty as it is the Brera is quite a big heavy car and the 2.2 is not going to make it move like it's looks would have you believe, I think Jeremy Clarkson said even the V6 felt a big underwhelming in the power department.

BUT

The guy I know with the Brera pointed out the trim around one of the door handles (inside) is loose and said it needs fixing, I said walk ten paces from the car and turn round, you won't care in the slighest, he said what door handle ?

[DanceswithUnix]

I'm sure you'll get lots of opinions

First up, the 2.2 General Motors based engine is considered a dog, by far the worst of the range. You see someone who says they tried a modern Alfa and didn't like it, chances are they tried a 2.2

An Alfa is an expensive luxury car, and from new they depreciate like the clappers putting them rapidly into the sights of mortals like me. However, the parts are still expensive as they are still a luxury car. This goes for BMWs, Audis etc as well and I know people who have had monumental bills from most of the expensive brands. I think the sting here is that if you spend 8K on a BMW and land a 2K service bill you wince, but if you spend 3K on a similar spec/age Alfa and get the same 2K service bill it can seem quite devastating.

My 166 was something like 30K new, now worth about £2K. First owner took a real beating on depreciation, but depreciation has cost me 2K over 5 years (assuming I would get 2K for it). That is a bargain, and offsets my fuel and maintenance.

My last service was £900. The thing is, I would resent every penny if it was a £400 service bill on a Mondeo, but just to look at the 166 it seems worth it and the sound of the engine on first turn of the key and £900 is forgiven

Usual Alfa advice is: check the servicing history, specially make sure the cam belts are up to date. Find your local Independent Alfa specialist to get better servicing than the main dealers at a lower price, and enjoy the car

[nfields51]

I can say that these cars are really expensive but they look good for displays.

[apmallett]

I'm sure you'll get lots of opinions

Certainly do, but none have ever been bad . Its interesting that its a general motors engine as I swore I wouln't go back to anything they touched. I found the engine quite pleasing to drive but I am stepping up from a little 1.2.

Said 1.2 is a Corsa (the reason agaisnt general motors). Had it since new and broke down so much culminating in the well known for the year made cam shaft failure. I was a poor man after that so ready for the ownership cost. The 3.2 though is just that little out of budget for general running although is what everyone wants when they think of the Brera.

All said, I still want one. Sums it up really if you can look at it and forget about everything else. Thanks for the opinions.