GT wrote:
> "Zathras" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On Sat, 5 Sep 2009 18:00:17 +0100, (SteveH)
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Who says Alfas are unreliable?
>> Well..in over 8 years of driving my Alfa, it let me down for one fault
>> - a dying crank rpm sensor. There were a couple of other incidents but
>> they weren't the Alfa's fault - like the time number one bairn decided
>> to put the rear courtesy light on before I parked the thing up for 10
>> days!! Up until the Alfa was 7, AA membership had been a complete
>> waste of money. :-) Not too shabby.
>>
>> One thing that bugged me with the Alfa has been it's monotonous
>> ability to require large amounts of work *every* time it went in for
>> an annual service even though the mileage was very low. Last time it
>> was rear pads and disks, handbrake cable and rear brake pipes.
>> However, I don't think Alfas (or even my Alfa) is remotely unique in
>> this matter.
>>
>> Having said that, I've never felt overwhelmingly reassured of the
>> quality of parts or build of my 156 (front door handles, exhaust,
>> alloys, deep pile carpets and leather excepted). The knocking and
>> creaking from the front suspension over the last 6 years that no
>> garage can (will?) fix plus the numerous rattles, clonks, creaks and
>> squeaks from the cabin depending on the day of the week! Yes, I got
>> used to them. But when in somebody else's car, the silence made me
>> feel like I owned a kit car some idiot had built in a hurry.
>
> I'll have to take front door handles out of the reliable list - my passenger
> side knob keeps getting stuck in when pressed. I've tried 3-in-1 oil,
> grease, vaseline, wd40, more oil, but it still gets stuck in 1-in-10 times.
>

Never had that problem on either.

> I'll second you on the squeeks. The one coming from the airbag area is the
> most annoying at the moment.

Suspension for sure irritates me.

> Need to add the connections to the front speakers to the list of "friday
> afternoon"/"assembled by a child" items. The sound just goes off on one side
> until you blast the volume for a moment to get it back on again!

ITYF that's the connector in the door jam.
>
> Also, availability of exhausts at a good price is annoying me at the moment.
>

That's just you, though


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