the bmw 1 series

They are not really that bad now. My ex boss had the 164 a few years ago and he kept it for 3 years and 75k miles and AFAIK it broke down just once with a dodgy ignition lead. I know another ALFA driver who's very happy with his 156, which incidentally replaced a Saab 9-3. I think generally people remember the bad things about cars (well actually anything I suppose) rather than the pleasant.

My own experience of a particular ALFA dealer wasn't very good. I suppose that's half the battle.
 
Thats the thing, its not so much that they are bad cars, but if they do go wrong, getting them fixed is the hard part.
 
You lot are all wusses - you want an original master like this:
capri_belfast.jpg


Fluffy dice, "Come an' get it" by Whitesnake, and blue window "Alex and Sharon" stickers optional :)

BTW - that's OUR Capri; the rear wheel fell off on the motorway while my brother was bombing down to Plymouth - he looked out the window to see it roll past! Nice damaged rear wheel arch, and trade in for an Orion (which got written off when someone drove into the passanger side at 60mph - sideways smash on blind turning). Some dude saw the Capri and took it off to Belfast and tarted it up - but kept the minging metallic brown colour...

BTW - the BMW 1 series looks OK for the first 2/3 from front backwards (I like the rear windows/chrome surrounds!), but, as with the new Renault Megane, it's got a bloody awful rear end. Better than a Chrysler PT Crusier's ANYTHING though :)
 
Aparently the 156 is the most reliable Alfa to date. The most important thing to worry about is making sure that you change the cam belt at 36k miles as there has been a spate of 156s chewing them up at around 50-60k with disasterous consequences for the engine, (basically a rebuilt or new engine is the only option). Of course they're still not quite up to the standards as Audi etc for internal fittings quality, but then nor are most other cars on the market.


GTM
 
Did you see Top Gear on Sunday?, Jeremy Clarkson had a fairly big list of failures they experienced with their test SLK (I think it was SLK). I think Audi probably have the best build quality of all "non-specialist" makes.
 
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After seeing the 1 series, I'm convinced BMW are modelling the styling of their cars on a certain tv character....

kryton.jpg


The Z4 and 6 series look very nice IMHO (even though the 6 series from certain angles is a 911 clone with a boot tacked on), the 5 and 7 I'm still a bit undecided on. The new M5 I really like though, but thats down to how good I expect it will be to drive rather than how it looks.

Then again the new Audi RS6 may be an interesting competitor, and IMHO it looks better than the 5 series, if a lot more conservative. Lets hope it won't date as badly as the old A6 did though...
 
sorry but the boot lit of the 6 seiries looks like an afterthought/birth and the 5 / 3 series look like they are sagging in the middle. saw a 6 convertible in bedford the other week and nearly vomited it was that putrescent. the 4 is ok ish in a hairdresser kind of way but i'm sure an m4 would be a monster like the old m coupe which was feckin fast but looked awful.
saw the s4 convertible on tg last sunday - i'd have one of them no worries.
cheers


julian
 
Best looking new car is the new Nissan Skyline Coupe.
skycop03b.jpg

The Krauts have totally lost the plot. Then again, how do you improve on the 1990 3 series, which was the best looking saloon ever made IMHO.
 
Isaac Sibson said:
I've rather liked the bangle designs from the start. Yes, they're challenging, but they're new. Put the NEW Audi A6 next to the 5 series, and it's the A6 that looks dated. Same with the A8 and 7 series, despite both BMWs being on sale longer. Same goes for the Z4 and new SLK, 1 Series and golf/147/etc, and so on.
Click to expand...
I couldn't agree more :)

Michael.
 
Imho,the 1 series is frigging awful,stupid car to buy with your own money,and imo its just an Allegro reborn,see for yourselves

allegro_18.jpg
 
Saab said:
Imho,the 1 series is frigging awful,stupid car to buy with your own money,and imo its just an Allegro reborn,see for yourselves

allegro_18.jpg
Click to expand...

He he - my sister-in-law had one of these in the late 80s (a blue one); considering how puny the engine was at 1300cc, it moved like sh** off a shovel. Very impressive. The Alegro (and most other cars - like <shudder> the Maxi) only looked REALLY bad when the black bumpers came in, and they tried to do the same body shell with black bumpers and trim - looked totally wink!

That Skyline is indeed a nice looking car...

BTW - is the Alegro a cheap rip off of this:
reliant_scimitar86.jpg

???

BTW - what the FUDGE is this Aston Martin DB5 all about - it looks awful - kind of like what you'd imagine a Ferrari minibus to look like:
aston_db5_rear.jpg
 
Sorry.. but what is the big deal about 100bhp per litre?? There are plenty of cars around these days with better power output for their capacity. I won't even go down the road of Motorcycle engines which have had this kind of power output for over 20 years.

I really don't see the point of that much power in a road car to be honest, ( unless it weighs several tonnes), most people can't even handle 200bhp let alone 500+. Manufacturers should be moving towards making their cars lighter not more powerfull. It's the route to fundamentally better overal performance and it's ecologically more sound. Cars are getting heavier and heavier, and so are requiring more and more power.. 0-60 in 4.7 sec?? Pah !! .. 911s have been doing that for over a decade and with only around 300 Bhp on tap.

Sorry, but I'm not overly impressed.

GTM
 

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