BMW 525i E34 vs Alfa Romeo 164 3.0 V6

[78dude]

In the early 90s for me there are good performance saloons and one is the Beemer and the other is the Alfa, who of them is the best?

[E30BeemerLad]

when it's all working right, I'd take the Alfa, but for the 364 other days, I guess there's more sense in running the beemer.

I had a 164 V6 myself, just the 12V version but it was a very good solid car, but I was too much of a poor man to keep on top of the things like rear brake pipes etc and too lazy back then to do anything about them.

[pacerpete]

The alfa has a nice engine and doesn't go rusty but thats it as far as the positives go. Electrical nightmares, gash ergonomics , fwd and the structural rigidity of a soft poo , i'll pass thanks !

[fuzzy]

alfas are usually nice looking cars but that one is the exception so id have the 5 series.

[oguz327]

The interior in that Alfa if f#cking horrendous

E34 everytime!

[hammoj28]

The interior and exterior is horrendous on the alfa if you ask me. Not good at all.

E34 is a great car, much better.

[Greeny]

A friend of mine had an Alfa 164 V6, beautiful engine, nice interior, and every electronic gadget, but the interior fell to pieces and most of the electronic only worked when they felt like it. I'd go with an E34 every time, great build quality (imo better than the E39), less prone to the dreaded tin worm and far more reliable mechanicly and electronicly.

My old 530 lpg (the best car i've owned).

[78dude]

I used to have a green Alfa 164 on a F plate back in my old days in Glasgow and I must say it was a very special car because there wasnt so much of them in the largerst city of Scotland so you felt a bit like your own when you drove it on the M8 to work....
I bought the car from an old Italian down in Reading so it was a bit mafia soul over it as well, so that was a cool thing about it! I must say that the 164 was a comfy car, sporty and frankly it didnt brake down so ofen in a Italian way... But the E34 is a story of it own, still after nearly 20 years it doesnt look so out of date compeer to a lot of cars from the 80s and the quality is the best you can get from Germany!
I have droven a E34 and I must say its a comfy and sporty as the 164 and it does feel more solid than the Alfa and its better on motor ways because of the RWD. M5 version is still one of my favorites I must say as well

But there is something I miss with the Beemers and that is the soul and passion you get from an Alfa, its like an Armani soute on 4 wheels

[E30BeemerLad]

The thing with the Alfa is that no matter how it lets you down, you always find a place in your heart to forgive it. It's like a spell

[Andyboy]

The E34 is a decent car, but pretty dull. In making 'the ultimate driving machine' BMW ironed out any character it might have had. A 3 litre 164 has always been a bit special and the V6 Alfa engine is a far higher quality item than a BMW engine. Not the shiny induction pipes but the bits you can't see. Most cars are more durable than an E39 so that's not a challenge.
164's are just as well built as an E34, galvanised shell etc and the seats don't go threadbare and fall to bits so fast. That red heap of shit I took to the ring had done 200k yet was still solid and up together. Electrical issues are generally the heater control panel on Lusso cars and instraument clusters - just like BMW. Weak points are head gaskets on the V6, rusty rear subframes on really ancient examples and steering racks and rear radius arm bushes. E34? Cracked heads, autoboxes, SI boards, rotten jacking points, front shocks, climate control panels, wiper linkage, upper and lower front control arms, rear electric windows etc. The last 520i I had - a 1993K reg thing - needed the sills welding to get an MOT, the 164 did not. So much for BMW rustproofing eh?
They are now both worthless bangers but the E34 feels very ordinary in comparison. They're both very good cars but somehow a 164 has never been 'council'.

[pacerpete]

The 164 has never been council because there are none left ! It's no point having a car if it wont start and bring its tommed up occupants to matalan / argos / tk max /lidl / aldi /iceland / the benefits office /McDs / the betting shop / the ace / local magistrates court and other misc council haunts.
Council types are lots of things but they aren't completely stupid !

[Andyboy]

Council types are lots of things but they aren't completely stupid !

White C reg Granada 1.8L in Whirlpool?

I sent off pictures to Practical Classics 'Readers Restorations' but they never printed it. Bastards!

[78dude]

The 164 has never been council because there are none left ! It's no point having a car if it wont start and bring its tommed up occupants to matalan / argos / tk max /lidl / aldi /iceland / the benefits office /McDs / the betting shop / the ace / local magistrates court and other misc council haunts.
Council types are lots of things but they aren't completely stupid !

The 164 was never a populare care when it was new, and that is the reason why you dont see them so much! The price tag of an 164 3.0 new out from the show room was not a bargin and it didnt give any good value for money (the same as you find with Mercedes, Audi and BMW)
The 164 is a very unrated car, ppl think they are junk and the minority of people this days is that Italian cars rust...

But still I remember to see some few of them in London, Farborough and around England when I lived there... Was also some few in Scotland to!

Here in my little town in Sweden there are 3 of them, so they arent 2 bad tbh!

[Andyboy]

I worked for an Alfa dealer in the mid 1990's (1994/5) when the 164 was current. The 12v cars and the 2.0 Twin Sparks were very reliable. There were lots of them around with 150'000 miles on the clock at 5-6 years old on the original engine. Like so many big old cars, depreciation meant that they weren't worth fixing after a major MOT fail. But they sold well in the UK - the managing director of Laura Ashley had a black 3.0 V6 Super Lusso which I used to collect from Central London, drive it back for a service and run it back. A few banking honchos had them as well.