Alfa 2.2 JT Spider / Brera - should I?
Discussion
I'm toying with the idea of getting another car and was considering Z4s. Today somebody suggested Alfa Brera and a quick look through the classifieds showed they were lovely looking cars. And by coincidence there was a spider at a dealer a few miles from home, so I took a look after work to see what they look like in the flesh.
I loved it. Nice looking car, generally in excellent condition. I would need a proper look around it and a test drive, but having gone to see it just so I could see one in the flesh, I'm now tempted to turn up with the cash!
What should I be aware of with these cars? I realise that Italian engineering is not going to be as reliable as your average Japanese car but I don't want it breaking every week.
It will become one of 4 cars, and it's use will be semi-daily - maybe 3 times a week, and on average is unlikely to do more than a couple of hundred miles a month.
It will be kept outside, so I'm hoping the roof is fairly watertight.
Any known issues? How easy are they to live with?
I loved it. Nice looking car, generally in excellent condition. I would need a proper look around it and a test drive, but having gone to see it just so I could see one in the flesh, I'm now tempted to turn up with the cash!
What should I be aware of with these cars? I realise that Italian engineering is not going to be as reliable as your average Japanese car but I don't want it breaking every week.
It will become one of 4 cars, and it's use will be semi-daily - maybe 3 times a week, and on average is unlikely to do more than a couple of hundred miles a month.
It will be kept outside, so I'm hoping the roof is fairly watertight.
Any known issues? How easy are they to live with?
Edited by davek_964 on Tuesday 28th February 17:41
Thanks, that's useful.
The car I saw today was a one owner car, so I may be able to get hold of the owner for a chat about its history. At the worst, I suppose I need to budget that it might need a new chain in the near future.
I want reasonable speed but I have other sports cars, so I don't need it - or want it - to be too fast / sporty. What I'm really looking for is a car that's a bit interesting for the days that I am bored of using my Cayenne. I think one of these may do that job....
The car I saw today was a one owner car, so I may be able to get hold of the owner for a chat about its history. At the worst, I suppose I need to budget that it might need a new chain in the near future.
I want reasonable speed but I have other sports cars, so I don't need it - or want it - to be too fast / sporty. What I'm really looking for is a car that's a bit interesting for the days that I am bored of using my Cayenne. I think one of these may do that job....
I joined alphaowner.com, but didn't get any answer so I'll try here :
Just how practical is the Spider for year round use, and being stored outside? Is the roof going to leak?
So far, I've seen two Spiders. The first one looked pretty good, had 75k miles on it and was at a dealer for £7k.
The second one had 48k miles on it, and was at a dealer for £8k. It was excellent condition, and if I decided on a Spider this would be my choice I think. It did have a couple of issues though :
Roof didn't work properly - it went up, but didn't quite get fully in position. He's booked it somewhere to be fixed on Monday.
Has a good service history, but last service was 10k miles ago - but that was 2013.
I didn't try it (not driven one yet) but I suspect the air con didn't work - in the service in 2013, they regassed and added dye - there was nothing in the file saying that was ever fixed!
I want to see a Brera too - hoping to over the weekend, but the owner hasn't got back to me. And they are much cheaper (34k miles, £5k). But I do like the Spiders, if I thought it was really a practical choice - and my common sense streak is saying it's NOT!
Just how practical is the Spider for year round use, and being stored outside? Is the roof going to leak?
So far, I've seen two Spiders. The first one looked pretty good, had 75k miles on it and was at a dealer for £7k.
The second one had 48k miles on it, and was at a dealer for £8k. It was excellent condition, and if I decided on a Spider this would be my choice I think. It did have a couple of issues though :
Roof didn't work properly - it went up, but didn't quite get fully in position. He's booked it somewhere to be fixed on Monday.
Has a good service history, but last service was 10k miles ago - but that was 2013.
I didn't try it (not driven one yet) but I suspect the air con didn't work - in the service in 2013, they regassed and added dye - there was nothing in the file saying that was ever fixed!
I want to see a Brera too - hoping to over the weekend, but the owner hasn't got back to me. And they are much cheaper (34k miles, £5k). But I do like the Spiders, if I thought it was really a practical choice - and my common sense streak is saying it's NOT!
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