Talk to me about ('90s) Alfa GTVs

Talk to me about ('90s) Alfa GTVs

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Discussion

woody166

251 posts

107 months

Wednesday 8th February 2017
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amancalledrob said:
Brakes are very good and ABS as standard. One-piece calipers if I recall correctly.

The tank is 72 litres and on a purely motorway run I once got 550 miles out of mine.

Rust not much of an issue on the V6 but paint can bubble around the door mirror mounts. Like most cars the bootlid needs an eye kept on it

Can't tell gearbox by looking

Yes silver grille surround = P2

Don't know about airbag

HTH
Brakes are notoriously sh*t on the V6 GTV to the point of being dangerous ! I have never heard of anyone complimenting their braking ability
Most owners will have upgraded the pads or even better gone to 330mm discs and callipers.

robsco

7,822 posts

175 months

Wednesday 8th February 2017
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Agreed on the brakes, they are shocking. All Alfas of this era had wooden, stodgy brakes. It's a shame but not enough to ruin the experience.

sunbeam alpine

6,936 posts

187 months

Wednesday 8th February 2017
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Damn, I've never noticed any performance problem with the brakes (except maybe my AlfaSud Ti).

My GTV6 has Brembos. Maybe I'm not trying hard enough. smile

amancalledrob

1,248 posts

133 months

Thursday 9th February 2017
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I rebuilt the front calipers on mine when I got it, as there was a seized piston - I also replaced the discs as they were warped. I don't know what they're like if they haven't been touched but they were great after that.

ST270

663 posts

181 months

Thursday 9th February 2017
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Chris71 said:
Still wrestling with a dilema on that blue GTV.

After my budgeting oversight I'd be marginal on budget. But a low mileage, blue and tan car with the Q2 diff and what I understand is one of the more discrete sports exhausts sounds like my ideal spec. Wondering if I can justify dipping into my credit card. scratchchin
If you have the means and don't want to miss out then buy it - you won't be disappointed and you are very unlikely to lose any money on it if you need to sell in the future. It is a late model phase two, lovely colour and tidy interior with nice choice upgrades and a good history. Alfaholics exhaust is a gem, throaty & metallic at the same time but quiet when cruising... Heck you might even be able to haggle a bit!

woody166

251 posts

107 months

Thursday 9th February 2017
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There is a few people looking at this one over on the AlfaOwner forum. General consensus is its pretty good value and looks pretty solid. I don't think it will hang around unless inspection brings up a few undisclosed issues.

Lotusgone

1,161 posts

126 months

Sunday 12th February 2017
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Chris71 said:
This is largely window shopping at the moment, but I'm tempted by an Alfa GTV (probably a V6) for my next daily driver.

Most of my driving is motorway trips. So while I would like a car that's capable of hitching its skirt up on the occasional B-road, the main priority is something that can bring some sense of occasion to the M25 on a wet Monday morning. Not an easy task.

I was wondering what the long distance comfort is like? Some people seem to grumble about the seats on previous threads, but I wasn't sure if that was comfort or just lateral support. Likewise, how do you find the running costs?

I'm looking at something like a 350Z or RX-8 as an alternative, so I'd be particuarly interested to hear from anyone who's swapped one of those for a GTV (or indeed vice versa!)
I had a 350Z, a very good example. It was really good, but I didn't love it. I have had a GTV V6 for three years and I do love it. It's rattlier and creakier than the Z, but I never put the radio on to drown it out because the engine note is so good to listen to. It's a 5-speed and I'm quite happy with that, as I am with FWD. It was less than £2k and I've spend a good deal more, but at 101k it still has 220bhp per a recent test, and that's without any tweaks or mods.

Chris71

Original Poster:

21,535 posts

241 months

Monday 13th February 2017
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woody166 said:
There is a few people looking at this one over on the AlfaOwner forum. General consensus is its pretty good value and looks pretty solid. I don't think it will hang around unless inspection brings up a few undisclosed issues.
One of them was me.

What put me off was references to rust on several previous MOTs. Nothing serious but a sill advisory here or a rusty springs advisory there. Latest MOT is clear of such things, but made me wonder what else might be lurking or what repairs might have been carried out in the past.

That's almost certainly unfair. The current owner seemed knowledgable and it appears to have had plenty of money spent over the years. But with a marginal budget and no space for a third car I decided I should probably wait. I was (and am) really looking to buy in a few months time, but that one caught my eye because it was such a nice spec and colour combination.

woody166

251 posts

107 months

Monday 13th February 2017
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Chris71 said:
One of them was me.

What put me off was references to rust on several previous MOTs. Nothing serious but a sill advisory here or a rusty springs advisory there. Latest MOT is clear of such things, but made me wonder what else might be lurking or what repairs might have been carried out in the past.

That's almost certainly unfair. The current owner seemed knowledgable and it appears to have had plenty of money spent over the years. But with a marginal budget and no space for a third car I decided I should probably wait. I was (and am) really looking to buy in a few months time, but that one caught my eye because it was such a nice spec and colour combination.
Yep, rust is always a difficult thing to evaluate on a buying inspection. Generally the GTV's are not too bad though. The 156's seem to be a lot worse due to some underseal application issue. If I was after a mother GTV I would have snapped up that one...... assuming the advert was accurate. I've got a folder of receipts totalling 28k on my 2003 GTV 3.2, none of them associated with rust !

Chris71

Original Poster:

21,535 posts

241 months

Monday 13th February 2017
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woody166 said:
If I was after a mother GTV I would have snapped up that one...... assuming the advert was accurate.
The thing is, I can't quite afford it currently. If I'd known it was definitely 100% perfect - or even if I'd seen a few to make an informed decision when I went to view it - I'd have found the extra cash somehow. As it was, I thought discretion was the better part of valour.

You're right, though. If it was as good as it appeared I'm very jealous of whoever gets it.

It did make me thing I might prefer a red one, though!