I have now met a third Kappa owner with horror stories about reliability.
He drives a 3 years old one-owner Kappa 2.0 turbo, with 50'000 km. He is very satisfied with the performance: a wolf in sheep clothing, but absolutely furious at serious defects which should not happen in a car like this: 2 engine management breakdowns, brake system warning lights coming on. He had his non-functionning car towed on 3 occasions, twice from motorways, with all the ensuing hassle.
He is still a Lancia addict, and thanks to his garage has accepted a very decent offer to exchange his Kappa for another one, with low kilometers.
So the problem is not with servicing or with the dealers network (in France), but with overall quality of the car. My questions, which I would like someone at Lancia to answer:
1. Is the Kappa generally a worse car on reliability than the Thema?
(I had a Thema V6 once, which drove very nicely, and was very reliable until I sold it with 140'000 km)
2. Are there similar horror stories on Alfa 166, which is a sister car to the Kappa?
3. What is Lancia doing to stop this reliability problem happening on the Thesis?
(The Lybra seems however to be better than the Kappa, I have not heared anything about reliability problems up to now)
For myself, I will continue driving my pre FIAT-Lancias, as collector cars, but for every day, I shall continue enjoying my Peugeot 306 (130'000 km and going strong).
Reliability: it is a shame!
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Erwin
Re: Reliability: it is a shame!
Me and my '95 Kappa 2.0 do about 60.000 km a year. The car has done over 380.000 km and i have no complaints about the reliability. It never let me down. In a German used-car test the Alfa 156 scored very well on reliability (equal to Audi A4 and BMW 3 series).
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Hans
Re: Reliability: it is a shame!
I have very good experience with Kappa 2.0 LS 1995, 320.000 km. No special problems.
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Peter M
Re: Reliability: it is a shame!
He must have had realy a bad luck. You didn't specificated his problems other than those with engine management. The computer it selve comes from a reputed german manufacturer as well as the whole injection/ignition system.
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Toni
Re: Reliability: it is a shame!
Hello!
Well Lancia is a special kind of a car.It requires a lot of maintenance, charishing and love.Something like a second wife.But in return it gives a driving pleasure that is hard to match by any other car brand.I myself find it hard to understand pepole who say "this model is a real Lancia" or "this model isn`t a real Lancia".They`re all Lancias and deserve every respect no matter how faulty they might be.
If you are not prepared to love your car and so to say "breath" with it then perhaps you should think about buying a VW or some other german brand that doesn`t require any feelings from its owner.
I am a proud owner of a Lancia Kappa 2,4 tds... My only worry is will I have enough money for it`s maintenance.So far I had no major investments but I won`t regret spending every last dime to keep it in perfect condition because the car has knocked me off my feet with its superb qualities.Handling, comfort, equipment, looks, beautiful sound of its five cilynder engine (a diesel that sounds like a sports car!)...
I love my Kappa!
Well Lancia is a special kind of a car.It requires a lot of maintenance, charishing and love.Something like a second wife.But in return it gives a driving pleasure that is hard to match by any other car brand.I myself find it hard to understand pepole who say "this model is a real Lancia" or "this model isn`t a real Lancia".They`re all Lancias and deserve every respect no matter how faulty they might be.
If you are not prepared to love your car and so to say "breath" with it then perhaps you should think about buying a VW or some other german brand that doesn`t require any feelings from its owner.
I am a proud owner of a Lancia Kappa 2,4 tds... My only worry is will I have enough money for it`s maintenance.So far I had no major investments but I won`t regret spending every last dime to keep it in perfect condition because the car has knocked me off my feet with its superb qualities.Handling, comfort, equipment, looks, beautiful sound of its five cilynder engine (a diesel that sounds like a sports car!)...
I love my Kappa!