Anyone here ever drive an Alfa? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

benhogan · #1 06-10-2011, 02:10 PM

Alfa 164 specifically.

One is for sale locally, decent shape, non-molested, etc.

The front is unique with the Alfa shield. The back looks like a Camry though.

Do they drive more like a BMW or a Benz?

I think Alfa is under FIAT. Maybe they'll start selling them here soon.

tbomachines · #2 06-10-2011, 02:34 PM

Alfa parts are notoriously expensive here in the states...The only place I know of around here that deals with them is a Ferrari/Maserati dealer which needless to say is not going to be cheap. It will be very interesting to see if Fiat supports them in the states. IIRC the only models they're bringing into the states are the 8C and 4C (initially) so who knows about the older models. I always wanted one of these

The Swede · #3 06-10-2011, 03:53 PM

When I was a kid a worked at an Alfa dealer. Drove a ton of 164s. Silky smooth 6'ers. I don't recall how they compare to a BMW or Merc, but iirc they were a lot of fun.

Cheap to buy now, but they have quirks. Read up on one of the Alfa boards.

Chas H · #4 06-10-2011, 06:48 PM

I bought an Alfa Spider back in 1965, sold it about 6 years ago. It was my daily driver for many years and never left me stranded. I doubt one could say the same of newer models.

PaulC · #5 06-10-2011, 07:22 PM

I had almost forgotten about the 164, although I recall admiring them when they were new. To me, they seemed well-suited to make Alfa a more mainstream name in the U.S. Unfortunately, Alfa's dealer network was always a bad joke, and they hung on to the Duetto/Spider Veloce about 15 years longer than desirable, making the MGB seem like a vehicle killed in its prime.

mpolli · #6 06-11-2011, 02:04 PM

I remember back in '91 I went down to the local Alfa dealer and saw the first one roll off the delivery truck. I remember the ads described the intake manifold as a "nest of vipers". Why can everyone make the front of a car look good but almost never the back? I had a couple of Fiats and always found the parts very cheap. I remember buying 7.00 brake rotors... Used to get them from a place called Bayless. They are still around but I don't know if they do Alfa also.

tbomachines · #7 06-11-2011, 10:41 PM

Went by my local Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa dealer yesterday and this is what I saw in the showroom:

And it was right next to one of these:

And one of these

MY GOD THOSE ITALIANS MAKE NICE LOOKING CARS!!! Too bad I can't afford any of them

Txjake · #8 06-12-2011, 01:35 AM

one heavenly week back in the 70s, I got to drive a friend's GTV while he was TDY...

Joseph_Conrad · #9 06-12-2011, 01:43 AM

Gran turismos are okay, they're all around over here, and the 8c is fine, but I'd rather have the old heavily lampooned milano...

LaRondo · #10 06-12-2011, 02:09 AM

A couple of things for the record:

It's not the Alfa that looks like a Camry, it's the Camry that looks like an Alfa. Period.

The 164 is a Saloon type sedan which should ride very smooth compared to their Sports Coupes.
It's a front wheel drive, for that matter, it doesn't compared and neither does it drive like a BMW or MB.

The 4 cylinder Giulietta, Giulia and Alfetta I drove had a lot of fire under the hood. Fantastic classics!

The Alfetta worked ok, required a lot of upkeep, the Alfasud was a total POS.

Jeremy5848 · #11 06-12-2011, 01:04 PM

Many years ago I had a '63 and then a '64 Guilia Spider. Wonderful cars.

alabbasi · #12 06-12-2011, 06:19 PM

Those 164's were pretty unique when they came out in the 80's and they got great reviews. Being Alfa's I have no idea how you will be able to maintain them today. I tried to restore a Rover P6 which is another mark that pulled out of the US. I had to buy everything for overseas. It was an expensive lesson.

I do remember that the platform was shared with the Lancia Thema, Fiat Croma and Saab 9000.

alamostation · #13 06-12-2011, 06:44 PM

In 1975, one of my college friends had his parents' new Berlina for the week. He let me drive it out in the boonies south of East Lansing. Before we started, he told me that the speedometer was metric. Since I grew up with a '58 VW, I knew that 100 meant about 60 MPH with a KPH speedo.

After about 20 miles of driving with the speedo at 95 to 125, I was not that impressed. It rode a little smoother than I would have thought considering the size. It seem to take a long time to the get the speedo up to 125 and it had to be near floored.

We got back to the campus parking lot and Tom told me he was he was messing with me, the speedometer was in MPH and taking a close look at it, he was right. I was used to my Sunbeam Alpine that made 55 MPH seem like 100, so I didn't think anything was amiss.

Thinking back, I have to wonder about the hard 90 degree turn I took slowing down to 50 (thought it was 30) with the tires squealing and the look on the face of the deputy sheriff coming the other way on a narrow two lane that I waved at doing 90 (I thought it was 54).