Protect Your Used Second Hand Alfa Romeo 159 With an Extended Mechanical Electrical Car Warranty

Everyone knows you can’t be a petrolhead until you’ve owned an Alfa as quoted by legendary wire-haired superstar Jeremy Clarkson. It’s so true that Alfa Romeo may not be the first car on everybody’s lips when searching for a second hand used car, especially when there is so much choice from German competition. But on the used market the Alfa is king largely due to heavy depreciation and people’s perception of unreliability.

In the real world though, the Alfa Romeo 159 is such a used bargain, you’d be mad not to consider one, in the opinion of Oliver our blog and news writer. The 159 was designed by Giorgetto Guigiaro and launched in 2005 to replace the ageing but competent 156. With its V-shaped grille, bonnet and quad headlights it was more aggressive looking than the 156, but this was no bad thing – in fact it made it stand out from the crowd of some-say boring Mondeos, Vectras and every other Euro box that was on sale in 2005.

The Alfa Romeo 159 was launched with 1.8 (140 bhp), 1.9jts (160bhp), 2.2 (185bhp), 1.75 Turbo (200bhp) and a fire breathing (not literally, obviously!) 3.2 v6 Q4 (260bhp) petrol engines. Diesel Engines were a 1.9 8V (120bhp) upto a 2.4 (210bhp).

In 2006 the stunning Sportwagon was launched which gave a very good looking estate to the world. Safety was also improved over the 156, with 7 airbags as standard, with knee bags as options. Added to a very well equipped car, already including a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty, it was a very convincing package. Euro NCAP ratings were also improved with a 5* safety rating for drivers and a 4* for child occupants.

In 2011 Alfa Romeo decided to kill off all the petrol engines from the 159 and concentrated on selling them solely with their fantastic diesel engines instead. So petrol models may even appreciate in value on the second hand used car market, who knows.

As for reliability, Alfa owners have been quite high to praise the 159 with no major faults and the odd electrical gremlin, and it’s probably fair to say that to date it’s their best built car. But what does that equate to on the used market in the real world? Well we at Warrantywise checked out the internet and found 2005 examples for less than £3,000 and checking through our database of recently-paid warranty claims, we have found some typical Alfa Romeo 159 failures to report – namely a turbocharger for £291.50, a power steering rack for £856.59 and an E.C.U at £447.18.

So not only is the Alfa Romeo 159 a fantastic looking car which breaks away from the norm with its classy Italian style – it’s also a fantastic used buy. But like any second hand car, you’ll need an extended mechanical and electrical service and maintenance plan or warranty from the likes of us, to safeguard you when things inevitably go wrong from time to time. Make sure you include Warranty Wise in your online car warranty comparison!