What car, Shed estate. 156 Sportwagon?

I have recently sold my "shed" Saab 9-5 Estate 2.3T SE, the car was fully loaded and a lovely car although its sheer thirst and clumbersome Automatic box made me think I had to move it on. I got £430 for the car on a 99p start ebay auction, by the time I paid the fees I received somewhere around £390, I was truly gutted and one lucky ebayer walked away with a nice car (nice bloke actually).

Anyway, one month later I am missing my "shed estate" and I have resorted to scanning ebay religiously for a bargain car to replace the Saab, I have been watching manual diesel cars closely although there seems to be little available for under £900, most are either dogs, moon mileage or in very poor condition. I then thought I can live with any fuel car (Diesel, Petrol or LPG) as long as the fuel costs are low. I have looked at all the alternatives and it seems bargains (especially diesel) are difficult to find, I have even slipped into the thinking that "if its the same to run as the Saab (20mpg around town) I don't mind as long as it is quick", I am thinking a manual HOT Aero Turbo / T5 V70 etc.

Anyway, my search hasn't turned up much. I have made a few genuine offers but it seems ebayers turn down offers, leave the auction run and then receive the same as my early offer plus 10% on top which they have to pay ebay anyway. My ideal car is an E46 estate with any engine, the ones that sell for under £1k are usually rough and have rust/engine issues and have high mileage (160k+).

So last night I stumble across an Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon, I love the look of these and most meet my desired spec (leather, manual, modern looking, lowish miles) however I am worried about the reliability of them. The most widely available car for my budget appears to be the 2.0 Twin Spark (TS), does anyone have any information on the reliability of these cars? The one I have my eye on has 109k on the clock, recent cam belt replacement, lots of history etc. It genuinly seems like a bargain however its 300 miles away and my theory is if it seems to good to be true, it usually is.

Being a former (new) Alfa owner I don't mean to jump on the Alfa "unreliable" bandwagon, however, these 156's have me worried. Can anyone tell me about the engine and other issues to be found in the 156SW? The looks and the interior obliterate everything else at this price level, its the oily/electrical bits I have no faith in

Any comments on other engines found in SOTW money SW's would also be appreciated

Feel free to make other suggestions, live links always help

Requirements:

• Powerful or Economic
• Reasonably modern looking (no 850's etc)
• Manual
• Leather
• Estate
• None moon mileage
• Good/detailed history
• Tax & Test preferably
• Budget around £900, £1k absolute maximum

Fairly reliable - the TS ain't bad, the later JTS more problematic. Cambelts not being done and low oil (do weekly checks!) are the obvious hazards. Selespeeds are problematic, partly inherently and partly due to poor maintenance, so avoid them.

Suspension bits need replacing often. Tyre wear can be bad but alignment obviously helps. Electricals are generally sound but depend on age to an extent - early ones are Magneti Marelli, newer ones are all Bosch. I think this happened around the interior facelift so let us know what age you're looking at. Expect the usual problems like MAF etc, but nothing spectacular. The 156 is pre-CANBUS so reduces potential headaches.

Rust protection is good, except the floor which may not have been properly undersealed, and the roof which isn't galvanised but typically doesn't rust.

Alfa specialists are generally very good - where are you based? So is the owner community (Alfaowner), especially for technical questions.

If you need an estate for the space then the Alfa will disappoint. The boot space is only marginally more than a normal hatchback.

They have a horrificly smalllarge turning circle
The diesels take an age to warm the interior (10miles plus).
The engine sits so low it scrapes over normal speed bumps
The electrics are tempremental - something will work one minute, not the next
Suspension components are made from cheese
There are no cupholders! - this trivial point is suprisingly annoying

Look nice though.

I would defy anyone to buy a £1k Alfa 156 and not have it go wrong very regularly.

I had a facelifted 156 2.4JTDm manual for a bit - hated it.

Thanks guys. If I could get a good reliable Alfa Romeo 156SW with any engine, I could cope with 28pg.

The trouble with the Saab was it was a boring drive and was very hard to "push on" unless you was on a motorway, booting the car and trying to get the gearbox into the right gear was like asking a homeless person living in Central London how much council tax was South Wales i.e. after some time, it would stutter a bit, make some noise and then give you an answer that you think is right, although your not even sure yourself.

As far as the boot goes, its only to take a dog cage really, I can put the seats down to carry the small amounts of stock that I carry

Arn't e36 (as apose to e46) tourings plentiful under this budget? Seem a little unloved to me.

I could live with an E36, trouble is I am a fussy beggar and the car has to catch my eye. One ticked all the boxes and was literally just down the road, unfortunatley it was dark green with tan leather. This is my "shed" car so I want it as neutral as anything so ideally silver with black leather and some nice (biggish) alloys. Nice & presentable to look at but not nice enough to draw any form of attention.

The Dogs involved are a French Bulldog and a Pug, so not too big

156's are as reliable as anything else out there IF they have been looked after properly. Sadly looking after cars properly (as oppose to just getting a stamp in the book evey time its due) seems to be a dying trend!

Echo above with suspension being made of cheese though! Suspension components need to be treated as a consumable just as brake pads etc.

If you get one the 2.0 is the best bet for budget motoring, but bear in mind its not a car you can service once a year and forget about the rest of the time. They need to be loved!!

I bought a 156 V6 for £600 last year and it had been looked after properly by an enthusiast. I never had any trouble with it. But i was very lucky!

My shout for a cheap car with lots of space and kit would be a Saab 9000, that hatch is cavernous and easily as commodious as a medium to large estate car (fitted my two dogs in very comfortably). They are seriously comfortable, well kitted out and nice to drive. Also unlike the 9-5 they are actually verty easy to work on as you can access most of the engine bits very easily. Although they are getting on a bit now they don't feel particulalrly dated and IMO don't look it either, though they do seem to be getting more difficult to come by now. Manual turbo models are all either quick or very cheaply and easily tuned (quick ECU map circa £80) and economical (24ish mpg town and 33ish on a run)

I was looking for another just recently with a budget of £650ish but after a month couldn't find any near enough or any good, ended up with a 9-5 aero estate in manual flavour for £750. Currently doing 23mpg on a stop start commute of 4 miles each way. not too bad.

I've got an E34 BMW touring... It's a fair bit older than some of the other suggestions but the mecahnicals are pretty bullet proof. You have to watch for rust and at this age you can expect to have to do some suspension work and preventative maintenance, but I've got myself into a trustworthy usable one for much less than £1k.
The Mondeo is under-appreciated, massive and great value for money.

I guess? Lots of old blokes drive them around here. That carbon bonnet would surely be worth 200-350 sold separately so there's some money back.. I just looked on eBay for 5mins to come up with those. There's a few buy it now ones ~1500 so I'd say not too far off.. Subaru reliability for the win.. I know of many over 150k. Mate just bought a 2006 one with 125k and it drives like brand new.