Rewe

Welcome back, bud!

Ah thanks. What I meant to say was how hard is it to get the cluster apart? Carefully remove the two allen head bolts and set to with a big pry bar? Just to be clear, when the light is on the alternator is likely to be charging but it just looks like it isn't?

Similar question to Tooey: I'm looking out of my window and the GTV appears to have dropped by an inch or so on the OSR. I didn't notice any odd handling but I'm guessing that I'll find the spring has broken a coil when I look later. If so, I want to replace it with standard, but suppliers only seem to stock lowered springs. Are V6 and TS rear springs identical? Where can I get standard springs from? I ought to replace the (broken) bump stops while I have it all apart but is there anything else I ought to do at the same time (spring pans & doglegs are pretty recent)?

A free repair I can do myself! I've never taken the cluster off, let alone opened it up. Will it be obvious, or is there anything I need to look out for?

Crikey Tooey - you must have either excellent night vision or better bulbs than me. I'd describe the lights in my GTV as just about adequate!

I quite like the look but surely that has to block/refract some of the light?

Can anyone shed some light on an interesting issue I've had with my daily driver V6 GTV over the last four years? Most mornings the battery light goes straight out, but sometimes it will take two or three minutes to extinguish. When it goes out the odometer gets noticeably brighter so I think that it genuinely does take a while for the alternator to wake up (unless the problem only exists in the instrument cluster). Clues: It only does it in the mornings, never after work in the evening. It is more likely to do it when it is cold, but it occurs randomly If I have covered a decent mileage the day before (>100 miles)it is more likely to do it the next day, regardless of the weather. The battery is excellent - it spins the engine like a good'un which fires almost instantly. It did not do it any more or any less with the older, tired battery. It has not become any worse nor any better over the last four years Putting all the electrics on or all off seems to make no difference to how quickly it goes out. Nor does increasing the revs. I've had a couple of half-hearted attempts to check the battery voltage on start up, but have never been quick enough to catch it with the light on (and now I've broken my multimeter ) I've learnt to just live with it and not worry but I'd love to know what the root cause is. P.S. Smaky, just in case this is heading where I think it is, what are the chances of a alternator replacement guide.

It looks like a really good site, thanks Munksta. You are not kidding are you?!? Some good people but a couple of tools seem to be really missing you.

You could well be right however, a second dealer couldn't diagnose the fault either but their instincts were to start the search by taking the gearbox out - although they did not think they would find anything. Apparently Honda are aware of the noise but have had no failures yet as a result and can't say for sure what the problem is,if there even is a fault or if it is just an occasional characteristic. I'll never know now because, thanks to some stunning customer service (by Westgate Honda, Grimsby),I've now exchanged it for another one despite being several weeks and several thousand miles over the official window for exchanges. A combination of discounting the new car to cost price, base rate finance and cash back to cover the finance admin fees and I'm now back to the same position I was before, possibly better. Are there any Alfa dealers who can come anywhere near Honda for customer service? My experiences suggest not. Thanks for trying to help though.

Don't sweat it. As Freddie Trueman said, if you've got a big nail, you need a big hammer.

Mk 1 have the purest looks and are great fun to drive. I love them, but I am not confident enough to own one of my own and Mrs R doesn't want one. I feel girly enough in my GTV so would need to do a lot more growing up before I could have a MX5!

Thanks to both of you, plenty of food for thought. Remember, I'm looking at the cheap end of the Brera market. I think that rules the TBi and the 2.4 out. 3.2 seems tougher than the 2.2 then? Could I find a gem out there or do I really need to spend 5 digits? Would it be better to wait till they are older still and get one that someone else has spent a fortune on? <------ my face if that ever happened to me!

What issues do Breras develop as they get older? Thinking between about 2008ish and about 50-80K. Which are generic and which are engine related? Which is the most robust engine to get? Are 2.2s still cheaper to buy than 3.2s? Do 2.4s command a premium that I won't ever get back. By way of context, I currently do about 5000 miles per year in my GTV and the slight extra fuel costs over a TS has been more than offset by almost complete reliability and and the absence of bills. Insurance costs are insignificant. I don't really use all of the V6 performance (a TS would have been fine for me in that respect) it's just I really wanted a V6 and, given how I use a car at the moment, it was the financially sensible choice. Even given a recent drop in GTV values, if I sold it now it would represent very cheap motoring for the last 4 years. Question is, can I repeat the same trick with a Brera? If so which engine/model etc. Has anyone put together a buyers guide for older Breras yet? Thanks in advance. Edit - bollocks, have I put this in the wrong place?

Looking at all the rubber dust, I'd have thought it was on that has been rubbing on the cam cover.

Update time: I still don't know what the problem is but the car is now in the warm and comforting embrace of a Honda main dealer. I knew it would be difficult to reproduce on the hills on this side of the country so I made a video before I left Switzerland. Unfortunately, although you can hear something, it is not enough to identify the noise. I took the foreman out and he could just hear the noise but not identify it. From the description, Honda technical support could not tell him where to start looking but he thinks it is a resonating noise, unconnected with the clutch or gearbox. Possibly EGR valve. The previous model had a handful of EGR issues, but mine has the new part and map. He will run it on the road with the diagnostics plugged in and if he can find a big enough hill to reproduce it he should have the culprit. He said that one of their receptionists once complained of a similar noise, but they were unable to reproduce it. I was told not to worry about anything, they would somehow find what it was and sort it out for me (under warranty). So now I have a lime green Honda Jazz ladychange Hybrid courtesy car - I told Mrs R that it is fully specced with the latest Forumala 1 style KERS and paddle gear change technology!

Good choice! What is your budget? Given that they have all reached 'a certain age' I'd suggest that you get one with all the major jobs done already. Engines and gearboxes are pretty tough but almost everything else seems to need replacing at similar times: exhaust, suspension (front and rear), clutch + DMF, radiator (don't ignore - changing head gaskets will be about £1200), oil cooler pipes etc. Even a youngish, low mileage example will need this work soon, so you may well be better off getting something with higher mileage, say 70 - 80k but with all the major expense met by the previous owner.

Apologies for this being a non alfa query but...... We are in the Swiss Alps and Mrs R's Honda CR-V has started making a grinding noise form the gearbox area. Symptons: It only happens changing from 2nd to 3rd or 3rd to 4th. 1st-2nd, 4th-5th, 5th-6th are fine. It only happens when I dip the clutch, it is silent again when the clutch is released. It only happens when the gearbox is under maximum load - e.g. going uphilll around hairpins. Driving on the flat or downhill is all fine. It is most noticable when I actually change gear as well, although I can faintly hear it if I dip the cluthch under the conditions described above. I can't detect any vibrations. We have Honda European breakdown cover if anything goes pop and a Honda Approved Used Car Guarrantee. Car has 48000 miles. Questions: Is it the release bearing? Surely this would be noisy all the time if it was? Hoping not, because I don'y know if this would be covered by the guarrantee. Is it more likely to be gearbox - hope so because this would be covered. I've considered a loose heat shield, but how would this be connected to the transmission? Thanks in advance.

It's the only car I know that makes me want to strip off, throw myself on the bonnet and have sex ... just sayin' Someone edited my post! What I originally said was: 8C - Not a lot of cash to pay for a truly great car . The only contender. P.S. Morgan won't be round in 20 minutes - its got a manual gearbox and he can't drive it. P.P.S. Mrs A - what would an honest but ever so slightly tatty GTV do for you?

Good to have you on board MAR!

Hmm, recent Alfa contenders: 916 - I like it a lot (obviously) but it is not perfect from either the front or the back. MiTo - face like a startled frog! 8C - A lot of cash to pay for a car with a MiToesque nose. Not a contender. Giulietta = new Astra! Nuff said 159 - Pretty good, but what 4 door saloon is really "beautiful" GT - Not perfect, but pretty good. Extremely tempted by the reasonable economy of a derv-engined one. Brera - stunning in every way, especially the Beyonce bum! Red with black leather or black with tobacco leather. 946 Spider - it is gorgeous. In fact, it is just a little too pretty for my taste so I'm more likely to have a Brera when and if I finally get rid of the GTV. A Busso powered GTV was a car I just had to own once and sadly for my finances, a Brera is in exactly the same category.

Welcome aboard moon blue!

Love Ducatis! Welcome on board.

Spider Monkey has fired my enthusiasm for this.... The Mrs has a CRV. Ugly, slow and chock full of toys that nobody needs.

Welcome aboard!

Thats very fair of you. You had a look before you made up your mind. I don't know AROC, but AO is a good place. Best of luck to you as well.