To trade in or not!!

[Bluedaz]

Originally Posted by zedhed

as much as alfas are nice cars they do suffer from electrical gremlins I believe.

yes and the build quality is pretty bad my dads got a 3 year old alfa and it squeaks and creaks when he drives it.

[daveb57]

I'll add my 5 pence worth to the op!

Bought my Zed in 2005 on a whim really as I was after a Mondeo ST 155 at the time.

The MG has turned out to be the best car I have ever owned. Sold it in June 2014 to a work colleague, primarily because I had bought a caravan. The Zed and a van do not go well together being a V6, you could watch the fuel gauge go backwards!!

Mondeo Titanium X Sport diesel put that right though, again a good car., comfortable and more than able to pull the van. Good mpg as well.

I did however, buy the Zed back as my work colleague fancied an X type Jag some 8 months later. Now semi retired, it is my hobby / weekend car with not even 80000 miles showing.

Agree with other comments on this and other threads, if you are able to hang onto any MGR, do so. Just unable to explain what it is about theses cars that makes you feel good!!

Regards,

Dave.

[Deskjet990]

Hi Guys,
I do not beleive I ever owned an Alfa but know one or two who did. They certainly looked good but never my cup of tea.
My first love was the Jaguar because of my apprentership in my fathers garage, that is me lounging on the Mk V Jag. 1952
We eventualy built a proper garage with the help of Mobile.
I guess many of us followed our upbinging.

[jamesh7216]

I have the best of both worlds, a Rover 75 2.5V6 and an Alfa 159 Sportwagon, picture attached.

Alfas do have a reputation for unreliability, but i also have an Alfa GTV 3.0V6 that i have owned for 13 years, apart from regular maintenance the only repair it has ever needed was a clutch slave cylinder

[MG_Sam]

I had an Alfa once, 156 JTS with that giant wing spoiler on the rear.

When it worked I always had a smile on my face driving it, the engine sounded great, it pulled really well, the cockpit wraps around you and everything is in a great place.....

BUT....

When it went wrong (which was more often than not) it went REALLY wrong, maybe I had a bad one, who knows. What I do know is that diagnosing the fault on those cars was a nightmare (and usually expensive).

I changed the oil every 6,000 miles, always let the engine warm before driving, kept all filters clean and renewed whenever necessary.

If you want to know an approximate trade in value for your vehicle hit me up in PM (I work in the motor trade).

[Rooney]

If anybody has five grand they don't want to throw at a rover or mg

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...01612230812636

[Phill_190]

I believe on the Alfa 159 a lot of reliability problems was resolved as it was made to compete with a bmw 3 series. I read a lot of positive things about them but its like any car they all go wrong at some point... in a side note i had the 15 year old 115,000 mile original drip links replaced on my zt and the difference in the handling is amazing really for such a cheap part!!

[jamesh7216]

Regarding the link from g.mc.g, the Alfa GTV is a little overpriced. GTV 3.0's are starting to climb in value rapidly, however the one in the advert has a non standard exhaust, non standard wheels and non standard radio all of which will reduce the value, for example the correct teledial wheels are selling for around £600 on their own in good condition, very few Alfas of that age have the original radio.

The GTV i have is a 1999 2 owners from new car with full service history, including cambelt and waterpump changes at the correct intervals, original wheels and original radio, that is valued at around £4,500 in todays market, this time last year it was worth around £3,000 so you can see how rapidly they are increasing in value. Value however is not important as the car will never be sold, it will be handed down to my son when i stop driving in the long distant future

[daverich]

HI I owned a Alfa 156 16v tdi 140 bhp and loved it's a great drivers car had it for 5 years.
Be aware to see that the timing belts have been changed and the water pump ,this should be done on age if you haven't reached the recommended mileage this is well documented now , belts my pump seized, timing belt jumped 2 teeth ,Alfa garage said if it had been the petrol engine it would written off, as it was it snapped 4 valve lifters as these are the weak point,thankfully no other damage.Unfortunately Alfa suffer the from the same image problems as the Rover 75.values from new drop like a stone and no won wants to know when it comes to trade it in. I think the 159 is a little heavier and more rigid chassis than the 156. Their not as comfortable as the 75 but as you have a Zt you won't notice that much difference .The Alfa Is one of the cars i wish i could have kept.

All The Best
David

[MSS]

Originally Posted by Deskjet990

Browsing the club today I came across this post, ‘thoughts of selling one’s Rover 75 for something else’.
I privately purchased my first and only Rover 75 conny tourer in 2005. I purchased my first car a Triumph 10 in 1952 for £45!
I grew up in my Father’s garage and had so many cars over the years I can only recall some of them.
They were the ones I kept for a year or two never to be forgotten.
I was an apprentice but my father allowed me to buy and sell my own cars using the garages facilities. I was allowed to keep any profit I made to buy my next car. So from an early age I learnt to buy and sell my own cars. Whilst sometimes I was reluctant to part with a particular car, the price offered made my mind up.
But now, I own a car that I would not be parted from at any price. Unfortunately I shall be 82yrs next birthday but hopefully even when I am not allowed to drive any more I can still keep my Rover.
My advice would always be, sell private and then buy your next Rover!
Hope you do not mind my reply post, but I know the 75 is something very special indeed and long may they continue to be loved by folk that know what loving cars really means.

There must be something in the Suffolk air.

A really interesting post.