I’ve only just seen this video, I bought one of these cars last week, my car isn’t the best but I bought it knowing that, it has all the faults listed but again I will fix it, once finished I am sure it will put a smile on my face because it’s looks already do .
Really good video man, I quite appreciate all your stuff, all your advices. I’m italian, I know “our cars” but to get it explained with the correct british pragmatic approach make all more easy to understand! Thank you vary much again!
Good guide from an experienced specialist....from personal experience 1. Engine - cam timing variator (is it noisy?) 2. Brakes - check abs pressure pump & system fault codes 3. Rear suspension - rear subframe bushes 4. Door window sealing & fit 5. Brake discs....rusty? 6. Check for uneven tyre wear....sign of suspension wear
great video, thanks for posting. One thing you missed and i noticed was the boot dropping a little after you raised it, the boot struts tend to go. i had that happen recently and replaced mine with a pair off ebay
A very comprehensive video. I would think that anyone thinking of buying a GTV would now reconsider and look at other brands. good news about the keys though! Perhaps Italia Autos should do another video highlighting any good points about owning an Alpha.
Hi Neil. Happy new year to you. I have a vela blue V6 like this one (similar VRM actually). Your videos have always been dead useful. The only thing I would like to learn to do is to service it myself. Would you consider making a video showing us the best way to do that please?
i see this car is back up for sale on pistonheads and its there shed of the week. (ive never sold this car i just did the work and filmed the car with the then owners consent).
Great video, thanks!. I had myself a early GTV 916 Coupe in blue in 2004. Loved the driving experience and design however the build and fit and finish of the car isan't as good as i had expected. got to be honest. Saying all that I would buy another one in a heart beat if I had'nt my current Audi TT. Another thing to mention on these is the batteries going flat on these too often even after replacing them.
Good video, sometimes the wipers can play up from my experience, that was a bit of a tatty one, becoming much rarer these days, a once common sight they are no more. I have a 2.0 T-Spark.
Neil, interesting situation I have. Bought another Spider which has been off road for 7 years. The previous long term owners had the head gasket changed and claimed the car wasn’t right after the work was completed. I have the invoice, £800 including a head skim and radiator. They left the car on the drive for 6.5 years after the garage refused to recheck their work. We got the car started today, I had been unstarted for 18 months. Perfect, no variator nose/smoke or tappet noise. Now, it gets funny. Car took a while to reach the 90 degree mark, after which I just kept rising. There was no heat inside, and we could see the coolant tank bubbling; removing the cap resulted in hissing and lots of water so it’s clearly under pressure from combustion gases. However, the radiator top hose is not solid like you’d expect it to be! The fan kicking in did not bring the temps down.... There is no oil in water or water in oil. The head has clearly been off to a machine shop as the caps look mint. What could this garage have done wrong? How can a headgasket be incorrectly fitted, especially on a basic TS engine? Could they have fitted the wrong gasket kit? It’s a 2000 CF2 engine. It’s clear that combustion gas is getting into the coolant circuit, but no coolant is getting into the oil circuit. Ideas? I don’t want to take the head off again for no reason. Oh, and yes, the coolant bleed return to the header tank is flowing.
Great video, shame about many parts becoming scarce or unavailable for the GTV/Spider🇮🇹. Maybe the idea of an MGF/TF 🏴could be interesting, especially where spare parts are concerned 🤔
wish i saw this video like 4years ago when I got my gtv spider haha, got mine from a friend who just wanted to get rid of it as it was given to him by his late grandfather and was taking up garage space for his new Saab, so he gave it to me for an absolute steal (just 750 AUD which is 415£ ~) Little gremlins (really ANNOYING gremlins that have often immobilized the car) showing up here and there but nothing too expensive yet, I do have this phantom clunking noise that I think might be suspension related when going around hard left corners that go up or down hill, might be a worn bush like mentioned in this video? wish i could just teleport my car to your garage to get it checked out you really do know your stuff, unfortunately impossible being on the other side of the globe!
I recently bought a 916 Spider and you wouldn't believe the condition of the spring pans in the back. I've never seen that much rust on a single car part ever. Very difficult to source in my country so I had to get used ones and have them refurbished.
The 916 is a lovely design. It still draws the eye 25 years after its release. It also laid to rest the Alfa's just breakdown myth. We took our Spider on a 2000 mile road trip to Italy and back at the end of August including this climb over the highest paved pass in Europe : ruclips.net/video/xcPjZVtEEfM/видео.html
Did your GTVs had any problems with shifting into 1st or reverse gear.. On mine its really hard to get it into reverse.. And I think that cost of repair would exceed price of used alfa.. And mine does jerk when driving it in 2,3 gear at low speeds.. I think there may be air leaking somewhere... Had any similar experiance?
@@ItaliaAutos Hi, Bearing in mind your video is now 4 years old you mention several parts that are becoming hard to find. Are there any parts that are now unobtainable that could cause a real problem for an owner should they need that part please?
I have a 2001 916 Twin Spark Spider, with 169k kms on the clock (about 105k miles). EVERYTHING works, which is probably more of a testament to the previous owners than Alfa's build quality, but it's a great little car. One thing I definitely recommend is to add a custom exhaust at a local shop; it'll really bring out your Alfa engine's personality at a fraction of OEM cost
Thanks, super informative video. I'm a fresh and happy -97 GTV owner. My car is very solid and well looked after. One of the very few issues is speedometer which doesn't work atm. Is there some common thing with those or any thoughts?
In short, you don't. In order to replace it you'd have to take out the gearbox, the clutch assembly, the flywheel and the seal itself, which it a mother because you want to clean it but you really don't want the grime to go into the cramkcase. This being a FWD car may mean you might have to take the engine out, but Im not sure about that. If you have the skills chrisfix has a video on that, but if you dont trust me, it's not worth it. If you mess it up you'll just make things worse, and trust me when I say a slipping clutch is a terrible experience.
Hi, I am looking for a steering rack for a 04 Alfa Romeo 147 1.6 Twin spark if your have one and what would be the price please? Why I'm looking to change mine is the car continues to pull to the left. I have it tracked in three different garages, four new semperit tyres. No wear on the shoulders. I have changed inner and outer track rods, lower wishbones, upper wishbones, rear trailing arms..Can find no wear anywhere in bushes..The car passes the nct (mot) with flying colours. Seems to be no play in the steering, but you can here a knock in the rack when turning the steering. Maybe some sort of imbalance in the hydraulics inside the rack? What do you think. It's not loosing hydraulic fluid either.
Thanks for the video Neil, very helpful. I've just bought a GTV before I saw this video and all seems to be good however I have one quick question, the clutch bite point on mine is quite high but doesn't slip or anything in gear, are they generally high or is it likely that the clutch will need replacement soon? It's a 2 litre twinspark. Cheers, Ryan
There will be a time ( and I don’t think it’s very far away) when even the village idiot will see these are going to skyrocket in price irrespective of the engine. With the V6 already north of £10,000 in some cases it makes the 2 litre an absolute steal. So much fun, rare , dynamically solid and great handling, the gulf between the two engines will have to close and it won’t be a downward move that’s for sure.👍
I am think to buy a Gtv . Very good videos. I have a choice between a 1.8 Ts from 1999 and a 2.0 JTS from 2003. witch engine is better? Keep up the good work. A Alfa fan from Holland.
Hi. I have a question. I want to buy a spider from 2000 -2006 model. My question is for which engine i have to go for. The 2.0 JTS or 2.0 Twin Spark. Which one is more strong and sounds better. Can you give me some advice . And Some advice about the 3.2 or 3.0 6 cylinder motor. Thanks.
@@ItaliaAutos Thank you very much. So that means if i want to buy a 2.0 liter spider , then i must buy the twin spark engine. Am i right? And why not the JTS engine , i mean can you explain me in short what the main problems are.
I'm looking at buying one of these. Is the reliability better or worse than a BMW E46? I'm driving a R53 Mini Cooper right now and it has been a real mess. Do these GTVs have any engine parts that tend to die after XXX,000km?
With the abysmal weight distribution of 63 % front, 37% rear for the V6 versions, the front-end "washed out" (under-steered) very badly...it handled like crap. Watch the episode of Top Gear when James May tries to race it on the track...
You yeah I stated it a lot over the years the ts is much better handling car. The v6 should of gone the way of the alfetta gtv and made it rear wheel drive with the box in the back.
I once filled the tiny boot with two sacks of compost and some other bits and it improved the handling no end... No Elise of course but yeah the weight distribution wasnt great although the rear suspension setup on these along with tge subframe did have a fair bit of weight and bilstein shocks, eibach springs and arbs and a Q2 diff really does make them alot more pleasant if still somewhat flawed.
@@tomwebb7091 My very first car, a 1970 Mustang, washed the front end too easily...just by happenstance, driving home from a weekend out camping, running hard into corners, I found the car handled much better...mysteriously, it was the 200lbs worth of stuff in the trunk(boot)...tried to keep the "boot" loaded with an appropriate weight from then on...
I don't agree at all. My V6 has a Q2 fitted and polybushed rear which helps the passive rear steer and it does not wash out or suffer massively from understeer, the car handles very well indeed especially so for fwd and 220+bhp. Some people comment on this apparent issue when they have never driven the car or the car they have driven was a total nail and the suspension shot to bits or quote the same BS regurgitated continually from the internet.
I’ve only just seen this video, I bought one of these cars last week, my car isn’t the best but I bought it knowing that, it has all the faults listed but again I will fix it, once finished I am sure it will put a smile on my face because it’s looks already do .
Great guide and cambelt video too. I have a TS Spider and a V6 Ph1 Gtv and love them both. Like you said they are good cars if you look after them.
Really good video man, I quite appreciate all your stuff, all your advices. I’m italian, I know “our cars” but to get it explained with the correct british pragmatic approach make all more easy to understand! Thank you vary much again!
What a cracking video!...Very informative and really helpful for people (like me) that are considering buying one of the cars!!
Thanks for your comment. :-)
I just bought a spider 3.0 V6 today. Your video was very handy to check the car. Thanks.
Glad you found it helpfull.
Thank you so much for this video!
The longer I search for a car, the harder I find it to find any alternative to this one...
glad to be of help.
Good guide from an experienced specialist....from personal experience
1. Engine - cam timing variator (is it noisy?)
2. Brakes - check abs pressure pump & system fault codes
3. Rear suspension - rear subframe bushes
4. Door window sealing & fit
5. Brake discs....rusty?
6. Check for uneven tyre wear....sign of suspension wear
great video, thanks for posting. One thing you missed and i noticed was the boot dropping a little after you raised it, the boot struts tend to go. i had that happen recently and replaced mine with a pair off ebay
A very comprehensive video. I would think that anyone thinking of buying a GTV would now reconsider and look at other brands. good news about the keys though! Perhaps Italia Autos should do another video highlighting any good points about owning an Alpha.
Hi Neil. Happy new year to you.
I have a vela blue V6 like this one (similar VRM actually). Your videos have always been dead useful. The only thing I would like to learn to do is to service it myself. Would you consider making a video showing us the best way to do that please?
Very useful - I wish I'd seen this before buying mine!!
I'm looking for a gtv, so thank you for this brilliant video.
your welcome. good luck with the purchase.
I have one for Sale 4000€ 1996 ,165000km
i see this car is back up for sale on pistonheads and its there shed of the week. (ive never sold this car i just did the work and filmed the car with the then owners consent).
Great video, thanks!. I had myself a early GTV 916 Coupe in blue in 2004. Loved the driving experience and design however the build and fit and finish of the car isan't as good as i had expected. got to be honest. Saying all that I would buy another one in a heart beat if I had'nt my current Audi TT. Another thing to mention on these is the batteries going flat on these too often even after replacing them.
Love this guys videoa knws what hes doing best ive seen wow
Excellent video, thanks for sharing.
Alfa Romeo GTV 916 is really beatiful car.
They sure will be a good classic to own
Good video, sometimes the wipers can play up from my experience, that was a bit of a tatty one, becoming much rarer these days, a once common sight they are no more. I have a 2.0 T-Spark.
Thanks for this nice video. It comes handy as I am looking at a spider now. Any advice what too look for on a 3.0 V6 24v?
Many thanks. Very informative and professional. (Like the walk on part from the mutt !!)
yeah she loves to be in the videos lol
I have bidded on this car!!
Neil, interesting situation I have.
Bought another Spider which has been off road for 7 years. The previous long term owners had the head gasket changed and claimed the car wasn’t right after the work was completed. I have the invoice, £800 including a head skim and radiator.
They left the car on the drive for 6.5 years after the garage refused to recheck their work.
We got the car started today, I had been unstarted for 18 months. Perfect, no variator nose/smoke or tappet noise. Now, it gets funny.
Car took a while to reach the 90 degree mark, after which I just kept rising. There was no heat inside, and we could see the coolant tank bubbling; removing the cap resulted in hissing and lots of water so it’s clearly under pressure from combustion gases. However, the radiator top hose is not solid like you’d expect it to be! The fan kicking in did not bring the temps down....
There is no oil in water or water in oil. The head has clearly been off to a machine shop as the caps look mint.
What could this garage have done wrong? How can a headgasket be incorrectly fitted, especially on a basic TS engine? Could they have fitted the wrong gasket kit?
It’s a 2000 CF2 engine. It’s clear that combustion gas is getting into the coolant circuit, but no coolant is getting into the oil circuit.
Ideas? I don’t want to take the head off again for no reason.
Oh, and yes, the coolant bleed return to the header tank is flowing.
New water pump or thermostat
Italia Autos even if the return to the header tank is flowing? Surely that means the pump works right?
Great review.
This is the shed o the week on Pistonheads cheap and local wish I had this one myself!
Yeah seen it a few weeks ago. 👍👍🚗
Great video, shame about many parts becoming scarce or unavailable for the GTV/Spider🇮🇹. Maybe the idea of an MGF/TF 🏴could be interesting, especially where spare parts are concerned 🤔
Another thought has occurred 💡
How about a Smart/Brabus roadster/coupe 🇩🇪 as another alternative fun convertible 🤔
Grazie per il suo video. From salò
thanks
wish i saw this video like 4years ago when I got my gtv spider haha, got mine from a friend who just wanted to get rid of it as it was given to him by his late grandfather and was taking up garage space for his new Saab, so he gave it to me for an absolute steal (just 750 AUD which is 415£ ~) Little gremlins (really ANNOYING gremlins that have often immobilized the car) showing up here and there but nothing too expensive yet, I do have this phantom clunking noise that I think might be suspension related when going around hard left corners that go up or down hill, might be a worn bush like mentioned in this video?
wish i could just teleport my car to your garage to get it checked out you really do know your stuff, unfortunately impossible being on the other side of the globe!
I recently bought a 916 Spider and you wouldn't believe the condition of the spring pans in the back. I've never seen that much rust on a single car part ever. Very difficult to source in my country so I had to get used ones and have them refurbished.
Yes same problems here
Super nice video '!!! I am currently thinking about buying one...is the 2.0 turbo v6 a reliable engine? Thanks
The 916 is a lovely design. It still draws the eye 25 years after its release. It also laid to rest the Alfa's just breakdown myth. We took our Spider on a 2000 mile road trip to Italy and back at the end of August including this climb over the highest paved pass in Europe : ruclips.net/video/xcPjZVtEEfM/видео.html
Nice. Yes there well and truly a classic now
Is this the last Alfa Romeo to be built in the Arese factory in Milano ?
I always wondered how that hole got there in the doorcard
Did your GTVs had any problems with shifting into 1st or reverse gear.. On mine its really hard to get it into reverse.. And I think that cost of repair would exceed price of used alfa..
And mine does jerk when driving it in 2,3 gear at low speeds.. I think there may be air leaking somewhere... Had any similar experiance?
That one looks good underneath ,a lot less rusty suspension than mine was
yeah it was pretty good.
Very interesting but rather frightening video, particularly regarding spare parts or lack of.
I've not been struggling much these last few years
@@ItaliaAutos Hi, Bearing in mind your video is now 4 years old you mention several parts that are becoming hard to find. Are there any parts that are now unobtainable that could cause a real problem for an owner should they need that part please?
I have a 2001 916 Twin Spark Spider, with 169k kms on the clock (about 105k miles). EVERYTHING works, which is probably more of a testament to the previous owners than Alfa's build quality, but it's a great little car. One thing I definitely recommend is to add a custom exhaust at a local shop; it'll really bring out your Alfa engine's personality at a fraction of OEM cost
One of the best modern classics you can buy.
hello, can you help, i need abs system code for alfa romeo gtv 916 ts ,2,L year 2001
Thanks, super informative video. I'm a fresh and happy -97 GTV owner. My car is very solid and well looked after. One of the very few issues is speedometer which doesn't work atm. Is there some common thing with those or any thoughts?
yep common problem on these. thanks for watching.
Great video.. How would it generally cost to replace the crank oil seal?
In short, you don't. In order to replace it you'd have to take out the gearbox, the clutch assembly, the flywheel and the seal itself, which it a mother because you want to clean it but you really don't want the grime to go into the cramkcase. This being a FWD car may mean you might have to take the engine out, but Im not sure about that. If you have the skills chrisfix has a video on that, but if you dont trust me, it's not worth it. If you mess it up you'll just make things worse, and trust me when I say a slipping clutch is a terrible experience.
Hi, I am looking for a steering rack for a 04 Alfa Romeo 147 1.6 Twin spark if your have one and what would be the price please?
Why I'm looking to change mine is the car continues to pull to the left. I have it tracked in three different garages, four new semperit tyres. No wear on the shoulders. I have changed inner and outer track rods, lower wishbones, upper wishbones, rear trailing arms..Can find no wear anywhere in bushes..The car passes the nct (mot) with flying colours. Seems to be no play in the steering, but you can here a knock in the rack when turning the steering. Maybe some sort of imbalance in the hydraulics inside the rack? What do you think. It's not loosing hydraulic fluid either.
ive got one i think its £50 plus post but your brest emailing me italiaautoparts@sky.com
A shot at every Rust !
Thanks for the video Neil, very helpful. I've just bought a GTV before I saw this video and all seems to be good however I have one quick question, the clutch bite point on mine is quite high but doesn't slip or anything in gear, are they generally high or is it likely that the clutch will need replacement soon? It's a 2 litre twinspark. Cheers, Ryan
Dayno it’s just different wear on clutches. You will get used to it.
@@ItaliaAutos Okay cheers for the reply ;)
Alfisti persempre 🍀👍
nice video, very informative, interested in a GTV with a 2.0 JTS engine, anything in particular should be aware of?
get a TS not a JTS
There will be a time ( and I don’t think it’s very far away) when even the village idiot will see these are going to skyrocket in price irrespective of the engine. With the V6 already north of £10,000 in some cases it makes the 2 litre an absolute steal. So much fun, rare , dynamically solid and great handling, the gulf between the two engines will have to close and it won’t be a downward move that’s for sure.👍
I am think to buy a Gtv . Very good videos. I have a choice between a 1.8 Ts from 1999 and a 2.0 JTS from 2003. witch engine is better? Keep up the good work. A Alfa fan from Holland.
Personally I'd got for 1.8. Much more reliable.
Hello what’s the yellow box called in the side of the motor?
The imobilers box.
Good guide. How reliable are the Busso V6 engines?
Keep them serviced and keep belts in good condition and their bullet proof.
@@ItaliaAutos So are they a better choice than the Twin Sparks?
Great guide. How does the GTV compare to a 986 Boxster in terns of driving, can they be realistically mentioned in the same breath?
Personally i think the gtv is a more solid car.
@@ItaliaAutos Cheers for the reply!
6k miles oil change?? i change it not over 5000 kilometers
Hi. I have a question. I want to buy a spider from 2000 -2006 model. My question is for which engine i have to go for. The 2.0 JTS or 2.0 Twin Spark. Which one is more strong and sounds better. Can you give me some advice . And Some advice about the 3.2 or 3.0 6 cylinder motor. Thanks.
Any v6 is fine avoid any Jts engine.
@@ItaliaAutos Thank you very much. So that means if i want to buy a 2.0 liter spider , then i must buy the twin spark engine. Am i right? And why not the JTS engine , i mean can you explain me in short what the main problems are.
@@ItaliaAutos And which years are the best to buy the spider twin spark
@@sunilkhusial id say stick to the phase 2 cars as parts are easier to come by. 1999 on
@@ItaliaAutos thanks
no mention of senser on cat failure
DAVID ALTON yeah. I did forget a few things. Remember it for the 147 guide 👍
do you want to give me a good price for my GTV
I'm looking at buying one of these. Is the reliability better or worse than a BMW E46? I'm driving a R53 Mini Cooper right now and it has been a real mess. Do these GTVs have any engine parts that tend to die after XXX,000km?
follow the guide and you should be ok. but dont forget these are old cars so you will have faults
so basically everything is breaking or will break soon and half it it not available. Otherwise a great buy!
If I want to buy gtv-how much is a good price for it??
Depends on condition, age, mileage.
Believe me it’s in good condition but here in Macedonia nobody likes them...every body drives German autos...
99-2.0 187.xxx km
If you come here every, write me to eat lunch together and discuss abot Alfas 😅😅
...and drink vine in the shadows summer time-gorgeous weather, cheap country 😁beauties and kultural see site and tourist lake attraction lake Ohrid 😁
With the abysmal weight distribution of 63 % front, 37% rear for the V6 versions, the front-end "washed out" (under-steered) very badly...it handled like crap. Watch the episode of Top Gear when James May tries to race it on the track...
You yeah I stated it a lot over the years the ts is much better handling car. The v6 should of gone the way of the alfetta gtv and made it rear wheel drive with the box in the back.
I once filled the tiny boot with two sacks of compost and some other bits and it improved the handling no end... No Elise of course but yeah the weight distribution wasnt great although the rear suspension setup on these along with tge subframe did have a fair bit of weight and bilstein shocks, eibach springs and arbs and a Q2 diff really does make them alot more pleasant if still somewhat flawed.
@@tomwebb7091 My very first car, a 1970 Mustang, washed the front end too easily...just by happenstance, driving home from a weekend out camping, running hard into corners, I found the car handled much better...mysteriously, it was the 200lbs worth of stuff in the trunk(boot)...tried to keep the "boot" loaded with an appropriate weight from then on...
@@AndieBlack13 its hardly rocket science is it but it does sure make a difference!
I don't agree at all. My V6 has a Q2 fitted and polybushed rear which helps the passive rear steer and it does not wash out or suffer massively from understeer, the car handles very well indeed especially so for fwd and 220+bhp. Some people comment on this apparent issue when they have never driven the car or the car they have driven was a total nail and the suspension shot to bits or quote the same BS regurgitated continually from the internet.
🥰🥰🥰🥰😍🥰😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍😍🥰🥰😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍🥰🥰🥰🥰