BMW 318i(m) vs. Alfa 164 3.0 v6 (m)

[Danny]

Dear continental sifus,

I'm in a dilemma on which car to decide as I'll be getting either one within these few days, I've asked both Alfa owners and BMW owners and both has strong points. This is information I've gotten so far :-

BMW 318i 1.8 (m) E36
Pros :-
1. Very good handling
2 Petrol consumption is reasonable
3. Maintenance cost is reasonable (most owners said that bearing any major faults the monthly servicing cost isn't month)
4. Many options for upgrades - eg. bodykits, engine
5. Girls prefer BMW (although this is not so important for me)
6. Newer than the Alfa 164 (Nov 93)
7. Car body and interior in better condition than the alfa (less wear and tear coz it is newer)

Cons :-
1. Costs higher in purchase price
2. A bit underpowered if I upgrade to 17in rims (0-100kmh approx 9+ secs for stock 15 inch)

Alfa 164 3.0 V6 manual
Pros :-
1. Very smooth and powerful, instant response for a large car. Doesn't need any power upgrades as factory rating is already 0-100 in 7-8 secs and top speed approx 240kmh.
2. Still looks good to today, has that mafia look especially if I upgrade the rims to bigger chromes and lower the car
3. Cheap to purchase (costs 30-50% of a BMW), don't have to apply for loan.

Cons :-

1. Petrol consumption is high
2. Maintenance cost is higher, parts more scarce and prone to higher wear and tear for the front tyres as well as front bush (maybe due to weight of the engine eventhough it is an aluminium block)
4. Less options for upgrade
5. High road tax (just over $2k per year)
6. More wear and tear due to the year (1989)

Any comments on your preference and why is much appreciated. The reason I'm posting here is hopefully to get a less bias reply as any alfa or bmw club would support their respective cars.

 

[delimaputih]

depends on how you are going to drive either car la...

and i think the italian has more life to it when you travel alot on the highways...

the v6 engine is a gem

 

[Danny]

I'll be using it for daily driving in the city, most of the time I won't be in traffic jams coz I go to work during off peak hours. Once a month they maybe some outstation driving.

 

[Booost]

BUt do remember that ALfa Romeo has the worst 2nd hand value compare to the Bimmer....

 

[johnsmith]

all conti cars have the worst 2nd hand value. bmw is not excluded.

 

[johnsmith]

my advice, if got cash in hand and like comfort get alfa because 164 is larger and 318 is small. even wira cabin size is bigger than 318.....back seat can seat comfortable for 2 people. 3 people can but sure will suffer.

top speed alfa is greater because 6 cylinder vs 4 cylinder but there are other cars around if you are interested like 406, 405, 155, 5 series and so on.....

 

[Danny]

Actually all 3.0 litre cars or larger have poor resale value. The equivalent 7 series of the only cost around +/- 20k but the e36 costs RM40-70k depending on year.

I've already weighed in the resale value factor, basically for Alfa I won't need to resell it as it's already so cheap worse come to worse I can use it as a halfcut or take out the engine and do a crazy transplant job. The Alfa's attraction is price & performance (surprisingly the factory 0-100 is even faster than Proton GTI depending on which model) while the bmw's attraction is handling, rwd (possible drift car?) as well as aftermarket parts are abundant (bodykits, rims, engines etc).

 

[eddie]

BMW gets u chicks..........

muahahaha

 

[Danny]

yo eddie how's things? so that's why u bought your bm is it? heheh

chicks prefer German to Italian?

 

[daniel'scarface']

but italian design is obviously better than german!!! it is more unique... think of versace, picasso, pininfarina, giugaro.... ferrari, lambourghini, masaratti... alfa romeo is the father of all italian cars

 

[H2Zero]

but italian design is obviously better than german!!! it is more unique... think of versace, picasso, pininfarina, giugaro.... ferrari, lambourghini, masaratti... alfa romeo is the father of all italian cars

he designed VW too....

 

[Bert]

well, the 164 is more to the 5 and 7-series class of car based on size and price.

for comfort the alfa wins
for power the alfa wins
for taking family out the alfa wins
for picking up chicks the BMW wins
for space banging the chick you just picked up, the alfa wins


As for maintenance and spare parts, the alfa is not as bad as the parts are as expensive as the BMW. You will have more wear on tires as you will be speeding much more than you think with the alfa compared to the BMW.

So, unless maonthly payments for petrol and roadtax is an issue, the Alfa is a better all rounded car. A nice alfa 164 will turn more heads than a nice BMW E36 fue to the latter being common these days. Also in terms of handling, FYI, a 164 won a slalom event with other Alfa's including the GT, GTA, 146, 147, 156, 155 etc during the last AROC Grand tour.

 

[Danny]

Thanks for all your advises. In the end I bought the 318i(m) mainly due to it being more practical for a daily driven car (less petrol consumption & road tax). I still do intend to get the Alfa later if it's still available when I've settled my other car loan (still a few months more to go, not easy to maintain 2 car loans at once and a 3rd car with high petrol and roadtax).

 

[subsonique]

danny, join us at www.italiaauto.com and you can aski anything regarding the 164. just to let you know. the V6 series in the Alfa Romeo line is the most reliable engine. all the V6s in Alfa Romeo.

 

[johnsmith]

if only the V6 engine is cheap to buy.......then the nissan A32/33 will have less market share...