My Alfa GTV

[andy_k]

After spending the last ten years running Mercs - a couple of W123s, two W124 estates and a W210 E55 AMG I decided it was about time I got back into an Alfa, so with the E55 sold, I bought a superbly well looked after car from a member on here.

Bye bye to traction control, electronic stability, power heated seats, cruise control, limiters, electric everything and back to driving rather than operating a car



also I must add, (rather ironically) bye bye to rust

[andy_k]

nah, the 230TE was the red one we had before we bought the green one (that was an E320T)

I just never updated my profile

[andy_k]

Chicane-UK said:

Alfa looks lovely but I'm sure you must miss the W124's. I very recently and regretfully chopped in my 1991 200TE on the scrappage scheme so my partner could get a new car for her job.. the car had some extensive problems that would have been very costly to fix but damn I miss the comfort and luxury that the old bus gave me! An absolutely superb drive and seemed to have a special bond with other W124 owners - had many occasions passing one on the motorway when people would wave, or conversations in car parks when I parked near another one

Always promised myself another (big) Merc to compensate at some point

No, I don't miss the W124s, I reached the point where I'd had enough of them. i'm 6'3 so they aren't that comfortable for long journeys - I found the front seat squabs were too short and didn't give any support. I was very dissapointed with the electrical gremlins on the 320 model which ended up with me buying a new loom and still not finally fixing the problems because when it failed it took one of the coil packs with it. Whilst we had them they were fantastic load luggers and great family cars but our needs have changed so whilst we are running two cars we can have a fun car and a sensible car.

The E55 was a fantastic machine (note I say machine not car) and we had nearly two years of virtually trouble free ownership but it was starting to rust on every panel and sooner or later a couple of big bills normally associated with AMG ownership would no doubt have come our way.

I also got a bit bored with it and wanted something less German

I love Alfas, I always have and in the past I've owned a few, a couple of suds, a couple of Sud Sprints and a Montreal so I felt it was time I revisited them. I love the looks of the GTV, the Busso engine is fantastic and it's a blast to drive it.

Crazy? Maybe, but we only live once

I think it's really comical that we have abandoned Merc ownership due to electrical problems and bodywork issues

[andy_k]

RobCrezz said:

Very pretty car! Is it the 3.0 V6?

yep it's the V6, as I said earlier, I may be a little bit crazy but I'm not daft enough to think that swapping from a 5.4 litre V8 to a 2.0 litre 4 pot would keep me happy

[andy_k]

RobCrezz said:

Cool. Dont knock the 2.0 4 pots though

I wasn't knocking the 4 pots - they are great engines, I just like a bit more ooomph

[andy_k]

thanks for all the comments guys - it's amazing just how much attention the car gets everywhere we go.

I had one elderly guy dribbling all over it in Tesco's car park this evening saying how he'd love a car like this but his wife only ever wants boring cars. As he walked away, he looked over his shoulder and said 'hopefully I'll outlive her'

[andy_k]

the seating thing is fair comment - the seat seems to be about an inch too high. There are a couple of mods, one of which involves removing a coupe of spacers on the seat frame and the othr which involves removing some of the quite generous seat squab padding.

I quite like the driving position (although it could be improved) but I can understand why some people don't and the seats do seem to lack a bit of lateral support

I'm planning on taking a look at both options when I get half an hour to spend with a friend of mine that is a vehicle upholsterer. He reckons they can be modified easily and cheaply

[andy_k]

Kinky said:

Hopefully I'll get to see it on Sunday

Be good to catch up. Coffees on me

K

will look forward to that

Cheers

[andy_k]

yes. it is Proteo red - great colour

Yep, I do use it daily but to be honest I'm not really keeping that much of an eye on fuel consumption. I just put fuel in when I'm passing the garage

I'd guess it's doing somewhere in the mid to high twenties - about the same (probably slightly less) as the E55 we had previously - but I didn't buy it for fuel economy

[andy_k]

badger_royale said:

Watch the airbag connectors when you take the seat out though, or the light will permanently be on (though it probably is already )!

the trick seems to be to disconnect the battery before removing the seat and make sure that the seat connectors have a cable tie holding them together when you re-assemble stuff

Edited by andy_k on Thursday 1st July 23:14

Edited by andy_k on Thursday 1st July 23:15

[andy_k]

rb5230 said:

looks excellent, love the colour in the sun, i imagine it doesnt look so nice when the weather crap though.

what are the maintenance costs like on these, is it just the cambelt that needs pretty regular attention?

it looks good whatever the weather

maintenance costs, Cambelt change every few years seems to be the biggie at about £800. The recommend interval is higher on the V6 engines than the twinnies although I'll probaly err on the side of caution and change it on a lower mileage.I've not heard too many horror stories about huge servicing bills and replacement parts don't seem to be too badly priced

Edited by andy_k on Saturday 3rd July 00:47

[andy_k]

rb5230 said:

andy_k said:

it looks good whatever the weather

im sure it does but the deep red does look lovely in sunny weather and when gleaming clean.
i have a ford galaxy in a very similar colour and the paint looks lovely in the sun once polished (even if the car does not) but once there is any dirt on it it just looks so dull.

go on then, I'll agree with you - the colour does show dirt/dust like no other but if it's too cold to wash it myself, my local hand car wash are only too happy to take my £5 in return for a gleaming car