If you remember that the United States had a 25-year ban on importing cars, you’ll know that the 2009 Alfa Romeo 159 diesel we found for sale in October was definitely a problem. Because there are exceptions to every rule, the word “probably” is written with a capital letter. This is one of them, since the US military used a sneaky way to get it into the country officially. The 159 came out in 2005, before Alfa Romeo left the United States for 13 years and came back in 2008. It was a small car with gas and diesel engines, all-wheel drive, and a manual gear with six speeds. Think of it as a different and more interesting option to the VW Jetta TDI. This car was first offered on Facebook Marketplace in the fall of last year. It had 89,000 miles on the odometer and what looked like a real American title. We didn’t think it was a good idea to buy it because cars like this are often taken to a junkyard. Even so, Alex Bodnarchuk, one of our readers, chose to take a chance. He won the lottery as well. The car’s former owner, a North Carolina military recruiter, told Bodnarchuk about the car’s history, which he then told me. The car’s former owner, an Italian who was in the country on a diplomatic or military mission, sold it to her at Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty) in 2013. Foreigners and even service members often bring cars they bought abroad into the U.S., but this was an unusual case. In spite of what most people think, military members who want to bring a car into the U.S. must follow standard processes. A representative from US Customs and Border Protection said that the cars still have to follow the rules of the 25-year rule. The only special perks that service members can get are free shipping for one car and not having to pay duties when they bring something in. When cars like this Alfa Romeo don’t pass through customs, they are usually crushed or sent back to where they came from. There’s where things start to get interesting. Bodnarchuk says that the original owner was away on important business, so the federal government registered the car without getting in touch with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Even though it has never been made a federal law, it has a real U.S. title. Unfortunately, Americans can’t use a loophole to bring something like a Mitsubishi Delica Mini into the country. This is because the CBP couldn’t tell us more about the rules that allow such a luxury. Owning a one-of-a-kind Alfa Romeo is also not for the faint of heart, as Bodnarchuk found out when he worked hard to fix up the car so that it could be driven again. One reason the car was put up for sale was because the previous owner’s child had been so rough with it that it was almost impossible to drive. It “couldn’t even keep up with a bicycle” in terms of speed because it wouldn’t boost and the check engine light was on. Alfa Romeo sellers said no, so our boy had to settle for the 159. Even figuring out what was wrong with the car would take him almost a year because he had to ask for help from web groups where people didn’t speak English. As it turned out, the intake and pollution controls were broken, which caused coolant and vacuum leaks. Then he had to find suppliers who would ship parts and specialized tools to the US. In one case, he had to make a special order to do this. As a prize for his hard work, he got an Alfa Romeo diesel, which is probably the only one of its kind on the continent. He gave it a new intake manifold, which is even better, and now it runs better than it ever has. It is also respected as an Italian car that is one of a kind. “Everywhere I go, people either look at it with wide eyes or ask me what it is,” Bodnarchuk said. Alfisti may already be thinking about manual 3.2-liter V6 Q4 all-wheel-drive cars, so his Alfa 159 probably won’t be the only one brought in. This won’t be possible until at least 2030, and until then, this Alfa will be a surprise at several Italian car shows.
