International Lancia Forums

I have the chance to "upgrade" from my Dedra to a Kappa 2.0 Turbo LS here in Portugal for about 5500 euros. Saw and test-drove the car today. The car is like new! Mark my words! Even the Alcantara seats dont have any sign of use! It is a 1996 model with 110000km. But there are some things i want to ask...

I drove the car in tarmac and bad roads and noticed a slight "knock" coming from the front, under the engine when passing some bumps...
Starting to drive the car in first it feels the cluth is "slipping" a little (a new clutch pump was installed recently)...
Noticed a click click sound driving the car at low speed coming from the left front wheel...
Saw a little dripped water or oil near the thermostat (the owner said it may be gearbox oil dripped when fitting the clutch pump)...
Are these faults big enough to stay away from buying it? The owner told me he bought the car from a credit company (the car has been parked for the last 3 years).

Anyway, the car is a devil in wheels (never drove an 2.0 turbo lancia and i bacame completely insane hearing the sound of the engine and turbo at full power and the sound of the turbo dump valve... no words to describe).

Is this a good deal? I also have the chance to go for a Volvo 850 GLT Turbo with 210000km for the same price...

Vai para o Volvo ... tenho um ... e um Thema também já exprimentei o Kappa ... e o Volvo é um 20V com turbo de baixa pressão ... e que faz km que nunca mais acabam ...

Take the Lancia !

The Volvo is a true family car, whereas the Kappa is that,too, but can outdrag almost any BMW !

Click-click is probably a CV joint in your driveshaft - not very expensive to replace.
Drips of oil/water are not usually very serious as long as it is corrected before the flood. A thermostat seal kit is easy enough.

Remember I'm talking from the point of view of an English Kappa user, who has no Lancia dealerships to visit, and I'm not scared of running my 200,000km 2ltr 20vTurbo SW, here.
It's a real Lancia, and will rarely let you down.
Regds,
Justin

Hi Ruben,

This feedback is probably rather late but the market moves v. slowly on these cars so maybe you are still looking at it.

The cars are generally pretty trouble free - I have a K coupé which has not given me any serious problems. The engines are pretty bullet proof but do need to be serviced at the proper intervals and it is always advatageous to use a good synthetic oil. A documented service history is a good start.

Any car left standing will cause problems - brakes, air con etc can seize. Many parts are shared with other models, so supply is not generally a problem, but Lancia parts are not cheap compared to the other brands. I had to pay 270 euros for the centre section of the exhaust recently.

The price seems fair.

It depends how much you value style and individuality...b