Alfa Romeo 159
Registered from 2006 to 2012.
About this model
The Alfa Romeo 159 is a car built by Italian marque Alfa Romeo between 2004 and 2011. It is a large family car in the compact-executive market segment with four-door saloon and five-door estate variants. Introduced at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show as a replacement for the 156, the 159 used the GM/Fiat Premium platform, shared with the Alfa Romeo Brera and Spider as well as the Kamal and Visconti concept cars.
From the Wikipedia article Alfa Romeo 159, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
What fails its inspection
Great Britain's MOT record for the 2009 1.9 diesel. 262 of 828 tests failed, 32%.
Better than 6% of 2009 cars. The typical one fails 25%, across 961 models with enough tests behind them to say.
| Where | Share of failures | Failed tests |
|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 53% | 140 |
| Brakes | 44% | 114 |
| Lights and electrics | 29% | 77 |
| Tyres and wheels | 26% | 68 |
| Exhaust and emissions | 21% | 56 |
| Body and structure | 18% | 48 |
The defects inspectors cite
- A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
- Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
- Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
- Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen
- The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired
Before you buy one
Built from what this car fails on, not from general knowledge of the model.
- Suspension — 53% of its failures
- A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
- A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
- The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired
- Brakes — 44% of its failures
- Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement
- Tyres and wheels — 26% of its failures
- Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
- Exhaust and emissions — 21% of its failures
- Lights and electrics — 29% of its failures
- A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
- Body and structure — 18% of its failures
- The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired
When it starts failing
At 180–200k miles this one fails 38% of its inspections, against the 28% an ordinary car of the same age fails.
| Odometer | Failure rate | Rate | Its age | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60–80k miles | 23% | 23% | 44 | |
| 80–100k miles | 30% | 26% | 142 | |
| 100–120k miles | 32% | 28% | 198 | |
| 120–140k miles | 33% | 29% | 163 | |
| 140–160k miles | 32% | 29% | 134 | |
| 160–180k miles | 31% | 29% | 64 | |
| 180–200k miles | 38% | 28% | 32 |
777 British inspections, grouped by the odometer reading recorded at the test.
Half of these have more than 120k miles on them. That is how far people drive this car, not how long it lasts.
Specification
| Year | Measured |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 1.9 diesel · 129 hp · 1569 kg · 2698 mm wheelbase · 5.7 L/100km (NEDC) |
| 2010 | 1.9 diesel · 1581 kg · 2671 mm wheelbase · 5.8 L/100km (NEDC) |