GT or BRERA?

[MAF260]

My son is considering his forst foray into the pain and cost of Italian car ownership. He's looking for something interesting to replace his current car, A DS3 owned from almost new. The Alfa GT and Brera are high on his list of potential purchases. He doesn't want to spend more than c.£5k as it'll be a fun car for maybe 12 months. I owned a GT Blackline years back and thought it was a great car; didn't really go wrong and was easily fixed for the few faults it had. I also owned a 159 Ti 2.4; again a great car, stunning to look at etc. but very costly to maintain as it was heavy on suspension, brakes, tyres etc. Both cars were at most a couple of years old when I owned them and I had them for maybe 18 months each - not really a barometer for my son to judge potential faults, running costs etc.

Tell me your experience and views on which is the better car please...

 

[conaero]

Like you MAF I had a GT and had little issues other than the constant need to replace front suspension components. All parts are cheap and can be done at home, great cars. My fear is that they are very old now and thus will be heavier on repairs.

Had a Brera that I bought off AndyK and it was a heap of shite. It was a known problem car and was made fully aware of the issues when ai bought it. The 2.4D is awful when it goes wrong so avoid and pre 08 Brera’s handles terribly, later ones are better. 2.2 JTS is sufficient and reliable. Front subframes if not maintained are terrible and costly to replace.

I am about to buy a descent low mileage Brera Spider shortly. 2.2JTS. It’s all checked out and I am doing this as they drive so well and little or no scuttle shake. They start at £5k

08 on 159 will be the same.

 

[Wattie]

I can vouch for the GT.
Ran a “Blackline” edition for three years in Cyprus and the only thing that went wrong was the door handle snapped.....a common fault I was informed.
Great car, Mrs and I loved it and the looks too!



The only Brera that ever tempted me was the ”Prodrive edition”, in gunmetal grey. Teledials.


Wibble.

Whatever you buy make sure you get a good one!

 

[spkennyuk]

Owned the same 159 2.4 ti twice.

On the whole fantastic car. Running costs first time round were not bad at all. 7.5 years owned the only runnings costs were front discs at 35k from memory and rear discs at 50k both with pads Tyres front 8 to 14k miles depending on brand / compound. Rears you get 30k plus easily. Cam belt service at 5 years with water pump is around £550. It also needed upper wish bones. I did around 75k miles in that ownership. Changed the glow plugs as well before i sold it to a forum member.

Sub frames are an issue on these cars now. Partly due to the under trays covering any rust that would be picked up on an mot if it was exposed and as a result not caught early enough to treat.

Window regulators can break on a regular basis. Not mega expensive but a tad annoying to fit.

2nd time round i owned it for 3 years and it needed a caliper, discs on the rear, steering pump, steering hoses, lower wish bones , tyres and 3 window regulators.

Car is still going strong now with a new owner. It had started to get to the point with me where i was loosing faith in its reliability. It always started but niggly repairs needed and after over 10 years of ownership it was time for a change.

You can get a good one or a bad one and its not always obvious from service history which your looking at.

Nose heavy if your going for a big diesel and it shows on the suspension and tyre wear. Swirl pots can also be an issue and sticky egr valves on the diesels.

Would still buy another though.

 

[conaero]

Yeah the under trays had foam strips to stop them banging on the subframe. They hold water like a sponge and you can guess the rest

 

[allandwf]

I have a Brera 3.2 used as a daily hack, had it for years, and now on 152k . Tatty as, but I love it ,lives outside looks horrible underneath but still solid not had the undertray on for years. 2008 plate it's needed wheel bearings all round at just over 100k , an ecu at around 120k , other than consumables that's been it. Lovely interior which wears well, and light years ahead of the busso GTVs and Spiders I have had.

 

[Andyk]

The Brera brings me out in a cold sweat…Heap of ****….Or mine was…They look amazing but that is where it stops for me. They got the dynamics all wrong as well as the engines just made the front end too heavy which could be felt in the corners. The Pro-drive improved this. I would go GT if you have to have one of them.

 

[CatmanV2]

I had a GT 3.2. I was very very strongly advised not to get a Brera.

C

 

[2b1ask1]

Only had the 156 in that era of Alfa and it was not a great example. Stunning looking and a fantastic car to drive.

 

[zagatoes30]

Both are good cars but one is an Alfa and the other is not, the GT is basically the last in the 156 line up fundamentally the same underneath and it can be had with the Busso V6 in 3.2 form. They are fast comfortable and surprisingly spacious. The Diesel versions are pretty good to but the jury is out on the JTS petrol engines.

The Brera comes from the time GM had more impact, bean counters cut costs across all the Alfa ranges and both Brera and 159 can suffer from poor quality although strangely somme seem immune to it other than front subframes. They don't drive like an Alfa either, the V6 GM unit doesn't like to rev and it certainly doesn't sound like a potent engine. The diesel and JTS versions are the same as in the GT but they always feel further forward which creates a nose heavy feel, even the 4WD V6 understeers.

For me it would be the GT every time but like all 156s suspension components need replacing frequently

 

[Motorsport3]

I had a GT as a daily for a short while and nothing major went wrong. Main drawback was the sticky parts in the cabin. They are fairly old now though. Compared to Brera the chassis underpinnings should be very different with Brera coming from a GM platform while the GT being developed by Alfa.
I haven't driven a Brera but love the looks, probably even more so than the GT. I would go for a late brera aiming for a prodrive or the last 1.7TB .

 

[Wattie]

Private sale,low mileage.

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Worth a look…in budget before biting his arm off at sub 4K..:.

 

[allandwf]

Abandoned in Aberdeen while away with work. Also sounds more like it after replacing the original exhaust with custom, which seemed to be the only option. All Breras are very quiet as standard.

 

[Ewan]

I know a chap with an immaculate low mileage Prodrive Brera in storage that he’s looking to sell. More for the collector market though, and priced in the region of £17k (from memory). Just mentioning it on this thread in case anyone is looking for a best example.

 

[Gazcw]

My son is considering his forst foray into the pain and cost of Italian car ownership. He's looking for something interesting to replace his current car, A DS3 owned from almost new. The Alfa GT and Brera are high on his list of potential purchases. He doesn't want to spend more than c.£5k as it'll be a fun car for maybe 12 months. I owned a GT Blackline years back and thought it was a great car; didn't really go wrong and was easily fixed for the few faults it had. I also owned a 159 Ti 2.4; again a great car, stunning to look at etc. but very costly to maintain as it was heavy on suspension, brakes, tyres etc. Both cars were at most a couple of years old when I owned them and I had them for maybe 18 months each - not really a barometer for my son to judge potential faults, running costs etc.

Tell me your experience and views on which is the better car please...

Go Giulietta everyday. Much more fun to drive.

 

[CatmanV2]

Go Giulietta everyday. Much more fun to drive.

Than a GT? Hardly IMHO

C

 

[zagatoes30]

Than a GT? Hardly IMHO

C

Nor mine

 

[GeoffCapes]

I had a similar dilemma a few years ago, actually quite a few years ago now and went for a GT.

Being a yoof, the GT is the only option as you can't really get your mates in the back of a Brera. Well, for no longer than 10 minutes.
A JTDm that I had was excellent, a quick remap and de-cat also means it will have 200BHP a shed load of torque and do nearly 50mpg on a run.

If you get one with Recaro's in the front they are some of the best seats I've ever sat in.

Wishbones and drop links are made of chocolate but are easily replaceable and not that expensive, you also have A for Alfa just up the road from you as well.

GT all day for me.

 

[Oneball]

I much prefer the 156/147/GT cars to the later 159/Brera. I had a 147, only car I’ve ever bought brand new, based on the picture in the Sunday Times magazine. Wasn’t a mistake, lovely little cars and a proper Alfa. The later ones lost something.

 

[Wattie]

Go Giulietta everyday. Much more fun to drive.

Not really in my experience.