WHAT IS IT?
The Alfa Romeo 164 was supposed to be the car to take Alfa mainstream in the U.S., competing with luxury/sport sedans from Audi, SAAB, BMW and Lexus. It was built on a platform shared with the Fiat Croma, Lancia Thema and SAAB 9000. The basics were there, an excellent chassis that made for one of the better handling FWD cars of the era, plus wedgy, handsome Pininfarina design and a comfortable, stylish cabin meshed well with the brilliant and sonorous Busso V6. Alas, Alfa’s spotty dealer network and indifference to the North American market sunk the car in the U.S. This one isn’t the spec that North Americans got, in place of the creamy Busso V6 is a revvy Twin-Spark four-cylinder and a five speed. Manual climate control and cloth seats add to the basic appeal. We’ve said it multiple times before, in Europe, it’s the pensioner-owned base models that seem to have the best survivorship rate.
WHY THIS CAR HAS BEST ONE ON THE PLANET CHOPS
Alfa 164s of any spec are getting very rare on both sides of the Atlantic. Parts support is getting spottier, and the third/fourth owner syndrome, where resource-poor buyers run once proud luxury cars into the ground, has taken away most of these big Alfa sedans as part of a general megafauna extinction of large Audis, BMWs, and SAABs of the early 90s that rivals the one that took place at the end of the last ice age. This car’s gorgeous grigio paint gleams as new, and the cloth seats, trunk, and engine compartment are beyond reproach. The car shows just 92,000 kilometers (about 57,000 miles), and it looks like it could be half that. It seems like a reasonable proposition for €14,500 at movisti.de
This car’s gorgeous grigio paint gleams as new, and the cloth seats, trunk, and engine compartment are beyond reproach.
I’ve owned 3 164s. My first and favourite was a red 164S with tan leather interior- oh how I loved that car. It clung to corners and howled down straights. I’d never driven anything like it. I was 25 and ‘resource poor’ (as noted in the above introduction) at the time, and it died from a woefully neglected timing belt that in turn failed the pistons and valves. I was in over my head and reluctantly sold it to for $4500.00
My next was an Alfa Red 1993 164L that was so fun to drive but so fraught with faults that I bought a jade green metallic parts car that was better in some respects than the red one. I wasn’t a fan of the green.
That being said, all of them were the NA models 3.0 V6s (the Busso V6 is a dream), not the Twin Spark pictured here.
This example is remarkable. Though it doesn’t come with 30,000 identical buttons on the middle console like I’m used to, the interior is pristine. I’ve never seen a hood liner that clean on this car and the exterior is stunning. Not sure if this is the best one – there must be one out there with less than 92k but it’ll stand until another is presented. If anyone knows of one, please offer it up. I could stare at these beauties all day.
Fadi, I’m just shocked you got $4,500 for a 164 with a grenaded engine. Even it it’s $4,500 Canadian, that’s a ton o dough.
I bought that 164S for $9600- back in 1999. These were rarely seen in Toronto Canada, especially the S. Other than the timing belt and consequent engine disaster, the rest of the car was absolutely pristine (dare I say a TBOOTP candidate), so $4500- wasn’t a crazy price at all. I remember the buyer brought his mechanic and they talked about my baby in front of me as if I wasn’t there. I think 3k was the mechanic’s approximate quote to fix it and I almost said no after. The entire process was gutting to say the least. Definitely the one that got away- but hey, that’s being 24 yrs old for you!
I drove a 164S extensively back around 1990 and absolutely loved that car. The chassis, comfortable ride, and incredible V6 had me hooked. I now drive a Giulia Ti as a result of those memories. For what it’s worth, the 2019 Giulia has proven to be entirely reliable and joyous to own. I have no experience with the twin spark engine in this 164 but Alfa does have a history of making great four cylinder engines. Still, I think the Best One of these would need that V6 but until we find one, this car looks fantastic!
Is that a LaForza in the background?
Or a Rayton Fissore as I think they were called in Europe.