This Alfa Romeo 166 is For Sale in Wisconsin

"Michael Woyahn" (michaelwoyahn)
05/21/2018 at 11:17 • Filed to: None

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. This 1999 Azzurro Nuvola machine is currently residing in America’s Dairyland a good 6 years before it has any right to be. In fact, this car has somehow been registered in Wisconsin since 2001 and, yes, you have the chance to own it.

The story behind this car is foggy, to say the very least. Starting with the rather grainy !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , one can see that the gauges read MPH and the temperature on the infotainment screen is in Fahrenheit. This doesn’t make sense for a left hand drive European car, right?

Continuing to the CarFax, the first record of this Alfa in the US was passing Wisconsin emissions in February of 2000. Interestingly, the car’s registration was issued almost a year later. The most logical assumption here would be that there was a bit of a hold up with initially getting it registered, unsurprisingly.

Once registered, the owner proceeded to put on more than 83,000 miles over the span of four years, not insignificant considering the parts availability of an Alfa Romeo in the U.S. During this time, it seems that the only hiccup was failing emissions in 2002 after one year of registration. However, it passed a week later and has continued to pass ever since.

But this is only a glimpse into this Alfa’s story. As seen on the CarFax, this car has been for sale since late August of 2017. Five thousand miles earlier, it had been initially listed for sale in 2014. Plugging the vin into Google leads to an article on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! from the first time it was for sale.

However, even BAT couldn’t answer how this car got here. So deeper into Google I go, leading me to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . This one was a 2002 166 modified by AutoDelta USA to supposedly bring the car into compliance with US regulations as evidenced by the amber reflector on the front bumper.

Unfortunately, this was too good to be true. In 2003, the father and son that ran AutoDelta were !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for illegally importing Alfas after getting about two dozen into the U.S. And this particular 166 currently for sale does not have US spec reflectors.

I finally stumbled upon a forum thread on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! from July of 2009 where a user from Wisconsin was asking how to get US navigation disks for his 166. He also claimed to have a 156. Other users sharing my curiosity asked him how he got it, and his response is very interesting:

How did I get these cars in the US? If I told you I’d have to...........you know the line! Actually there are two of these running around town. I know they were bought new from Italy but with English gauges. The other one is an automatic. I had a chance to buy it but it had 120,000 miles and was an automatic. Mine is a 6 speed and has only 29,000 miles. The automotic one still looked new! I think these cars have good rustproofing because we use a lot of salt in Wisconsin. They were imported by some Italian nationals living here. How they got clean titles is a question I don’t want to ask. Mine is licensed and passes emission testing. Yes, it does draw looks. I love the Nuvola paint job, even if it is not red. My next project with it will be to open up the exhaust some. It is just too quiet!

The 156 is a better story. A Dutch professor had a teaching sabatical in North Dakota! He bought the car new and had it shipped as his personal property to the US. It had to pass a simple DOT and EPA test which it did. He was supposed to take the car back with him but he ended up selling it to my Italian friends.

The professor also had a Harley. We build those in Milwaukee, WI. Those of us with Ducatis call them Hardly Ablesons but smile while saying so. 2003 was the 100 year anniversary for Harley so the professor rode to Milwaukee for the show. While here, he saw the 166 automatic being driven by a lady. He wanted to ask her where she got her car serviced so followed her. She thought a thug on a Harley was after her so they had a bit of a road race through Milwaukee. Finally she got stopped and he waved his hands and said he just wanted to ask her about her car. She told him about our local dealer.

Professor 156 drove 500 miles to get his car serviced here. His tasteless girlfriend fell in love with a black Porsche and he traded in the 156 for it. My friends had the 156 for 1 1/2 years and kept telling me they were saving it for me. One day my wife was at the shop and they told her we should come on Saturday to drive it. She asked for the keys, “I’ll just drive it now.” She bought it! We love the car. It had only 17,000 miles, 2.5, 6 speed. It is fast and handles great, especially after installing a front strut brace across the engine. I removed the center muffler and had a custom rear pipe with just a resonator there. It really growls.

We have had the 156 for 3 1/2 years and no mechanical problems. The windshield wipers motor burned out and the rear door handles broke but that is an Alfa disease that’s incurable.

We sure have a unique pair of cars and we love them. Sure there are no parts in the US but we have three spiders to fall back on, 1981, 1983 and 1961. Oh, we have a 1991 Ford Exploder too and a handful of Ducatis.

This story seems to line up as his post was made on July 25, 2009. Looking back at the CarFax, a new owner of the 166 was reported on September 26, 2008 so it is very possible the user looked at this car around that time. The mileage reported on September 8, 2008 was 123,104 miles, which matches this user saying it had 120k on it when he looked at it. His story also explains the English units for the gauges and temperature. And there was this sticker lurking in the back window.

I tried to look up these words, but, weirdly, not much was returned by Google. I did find a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that, as far as I can tell, lists “Longo S.P.A.” as an Alfa Romeo dealer in Venaria. Now, clearly, I cannot say this for certain, but it looks like that sticker is the original dealer sticker from when the car was bought new in Italy, which also matches the user’s story.

Despite all of this information, it’s still unclear how this Alfa Romeo was registered at just two years old and how it has continued happily living in the US for 17 years. But, it still has a Wisconsin title so you can purchase it this very second from Reina International Auto for !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . In the meantime, I’ll be on the lookout for both the 156 and 166 sneaking around Wisconsin streets.

A 166 between two 164s. Quite a rare sight in Wisconsin.

DISCUSSION (18)

jkm7680 > Michael Woyahn
05/21/2018 at 11:26

Sounds fishy, CBP would like to have fun with that one.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Michael Woyahn
05/21/2018 at 11:26

There is a 166 over here in flyover country in the same color and I have similar questions, the chief among them is: why? I mean, I love Alfas too but if I were to black/grey market one I think I’d choose one that is a little... better looking.

For Sweden > Michael Woyahn
05/21/2018 at 11:28

Elliot Ness ran the Italians out of Chicago, and they went straight to Wisconsin!

Cé hé sin > Michael Woyahn
05/21/2018 at 11:29

Oooh, that’s a rare sight and I live in a place they were sold new!

Michael Woyahn > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
05/21/2018 at 11:30

Oh, that’s really interesting! I wonder if it was the six speed that was supposedly imported by the same family? But I totally agree, especially with the risk of driving an imported car like that. Even a facelifted 166 would be much better!

Michael Woyahn > Cé hé sin
05/21/2018 at 11:35

I still can’t believe that I saw one in Wisconsin of all places, especially knowing they weren’t big sellers!

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Michael Woyahn
05/21/2018 at 11:41

I wonder if they managed to get a “substantially similar” waiver based on the claim that the 166 is an evolution of the 164 platform, which was sold legally in the US...? the 156 though, that’s a neat trick...

Michael Woyahn > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
05/21/2018 at 11:49

Huh, I didn’t think of that, but I think that’d probably be the most logical way for the 166 to get registered here. I have absolutely no idea how it got into the country otherwise!

Svend > Michael Woyahn
05/21/2018 at 12:05

Stop making me look up Alfas for sale.

Michael Woyahn > Svend
05/21/2018 at 12:07

I’m jealous of all the Alfa options you have!

Svend > Michael Woyahn
05/21/2018 at 12:37

Don’t be. You know you can’t have them at all pretty much.

We can which makes it all the harder for not having one.

Just look at this Alfa Romeo Brera 3.2 JTS V6 Q-Tronic Q4 260bhp.

Kinja'd!!!

I can’t justify having it, the expense and storing it.

Michael Woyahn > Svend
05/21/2018 at 14:40

Very true. Man, is that Brera gorgeous. I feel like the US would be a great place to own an Alfa just with the costs of owning cars being as low as they are here. Clearly that’s not actually the case, though, since Guila sales in the US aren’t great.

ranwhenparked > Michael Woyahn
05/21/2018 at 19:37

Brought into Canada legally (over 14 years old) and driven over the border, most likely.

States will register pretty much anything that meets basic safety equipment standards for year of manufacture (so, basically, seatbelts, lights, and brakes) and passes a tailpipe emissions test. Still illegal under federal standards though. You can drive around all you want and not worry about the state and/or local law enforcement going after you, but ICE can still seize and destroy it if they find out you have it.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Michael Woyahn
05/22/2018 at 06:58

nice find.

Michael Woyahn > ranwhenparked
05/22/2018 at 10:37

Oh interesting! I had no idea that you only had to worry about ICE once you got it registered in a state.

ranwhenparked > Michael Woyahn
05/22/2018 at 11:16

Well, you have to worry about them anytime you have a car that shouldn’t legally be here.

Obviously, there’s no problem with driving a car that’s legally registered in Canada or Mexico into the US, and foreign military and diplomatic personnel can bring their cars here for the duration of their postings. But, when an American citizen or permanent resident acquires a nonconforming car and keeps it in the country, he’s breaking federal law.

Its a crapshoot. ICE doesn’t have task forces going around to every city in the country checking parking lots and driveways for contraband cars, but if they find out you have one through whatever means, they will take it. Registering a car and using it out on the road will run a higher risk of them finding it than parking it in a garage and never taking it outside.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Michael Woyahn
09/01/2018 at 13:51

I think if the car starts to get a lot of attention (unlikely) like an R34, the feds will notice.

Michael Woyahn > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
09/01/2018 at 13:53

I totally agree. It’s been for sale for years so it seems like the attention it’s getting is pretty low. Hopefully that continues!