Alpine A110 owners

[Frada01]

Thoughts on buying a ex demo car? Seriously considering taking the plunge on a Pure but I'm concerned about how these ex demo cars are treated. I believe there is quite a strict run in period on the Alpine A110. I know modern engines are pretty bulletproof but something keeps telling me to stay away. Thing is, I've had a test drive and I'm now hooked. Would love to have had a new car but can't stretch that far and don't want to finance a car as this will be a keeper.

I was after a PE but missed out on a few. The only cars in my price bracket seems to be demonstrators.

Has anyone looked at or driven demo Pure at Glyn Hopkins St Albans? would be great to hear from anyone about its condition.

Lastly, I've driven a car with the performance brakes, they were great. Are the standard brakes as bad as I have read and would a decent set of pads sort them out?

Sorry for all the questions.

[bcr5784]

Frada01 said:

Lastly, I've driven a car with the performance brakes, they were great. Are the standard brakes as bad as I have read and would a decent set of pads sort them out?

Sorry for all the questions.

I wasn't aware that the standard brakes were bad. Someone on here (was it Venison?) finished up buying a car with the standard brakes and said he would have preferred the high performance ones. I suspect the standard brakes would be perfectly adequate unless you tracked the car. Very few cars seem to be specced with the standard brakes, so there isn't that much feedback on them.

[Frada01]

bcr5784 said:

I wasn't aware that the standard brakes were bad. Someone on here (was it Venison?) finished up buying a car with the standard brakes and said he would have preferred the high performance ones. I suspect the standard brakes would be perfectly adequate unless you tracked the car. Very few cars seem to be specced with the standard brakes, so there isn't that much feedback on them.

Sorry, should have included my intended use of the car. It's going to be my daily, around 3-5k miles per year. I do intend to tack the car at least 1-2 time a year too. I see life110 sell a set of performance pads. Maybe that would be option to stop fade.

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the standard brakes don't have much feel or bite and fade quite quickly.

[Sporky]

Simon Owen said:

Hi guys, had first quote through for insurance as part of our Admiral multi policy - £580 ish for 8k miles, age 52 & 19 years no claims, off road parking etc. Seemed a bit toppy to me but guessing Alpine's could attract a bit of a premium, what do you recon ?

Mine's £518 with esure, 8k per year including business use but in storage which adds a chunk. With hindsight that mileage is way over the top.

[Simon Owen]

bcr5784 said:

Frada01 said:

Lastly, I've driven a car with the performance brakes, they were great. Are the standard brakes as bad as I have read and would a decent set of pads sort them out?

Sorry for all the questions.

I wasn't aware that the standard brakes were bad. Someone on here (was it Venison?) finished up buying a car with the standard brakes and said he would have preferred the high performance ones. I suspect the standard brakes would be perfectly adequate unless you tracked the car. Very few cars seem to be specced with the standard brakes, so there isn't that much feedback on them.

My view was to be patient and hold out for the big brakes, on the basis that they might feel a bit nicer to use, not because I was worried about cooking the stock brakes on the road. Brake feel is an important aspect of the driving experience to me. Cars are around with them if you wait. As for the 'demo' if you do not go for a demo it's tricky to find a used car !!! I pick a 3k miles car up on Saturday - I do not know how it was run in so just a risk I will have to take but with a two year warranty left, hopefully OK !!!!!

[khart]

I have driven the Pure for sale in St Albans. It was a good car and I thought about buying it but they appeared not to care about my part -ex and I really wanted an S.
The S I bought was an ex demo. They have such low mileage and any niggles should have been sorted out. There is no guarantee that any second hand car has not been ragged from the off . No problems so far....

[Frada01]

Thanks for the feedback. Also thinking that waiting for something with the bigger brakes will be the best option.

[bcr5784]

Frada01 said:

Thanks for the feedback. Also thinking that waiting for something with the bigger brakes will be the best option.

I think the big brakes are great - but they are unusual

1) They are quite heavy (would be ideal for H&T!) - which comes as a surprize these days.
2) They are very progressive
3) As a result you need to press unusually hard to get ABS to intervene.

That suits me just fine. Would be interested to hear how the standard ones compare.

[Frada01]

bcr5784 said:

I think the big brakes are great - but they are unusual

1) They are quite heavy (would be ideal for H&T!) - which comes as a surprize these days.
2) They are very progressive
3) As a result you need to press unusually hard to get ABS to intervene.

That suits me just fine. Would be interested to hear how the standard ones compare.

The big brakes had a really good feel to them.Didn't notice how heavy I had to push. Only had the car for 20 mins but gave them a good test. My concern is waiting till next year before buying. Pretty sure with the prices of new cars going up due to Brexit it will have an effect on the used car prices too. Plus I'm impatient and my Golf clubsport S goes tomorrow so have a space on the driveway .

[Venisonpie]

Frada01 said:

Thoughts on buying a ex demo car? Seriously considering taking the plunge on a Pure but I'm concerned about how these ex demo cars are treated. I believe there is quite a strict run in period on the Alpine A110. I know modern engines are pretty bulletproof but something keeps telling me to stay away. Thing is, I've had a test drive and I'm now hooked. Would love to have had a new car but can't stretch that far and don't want to finance a car as this will be a keeper.

I was after a PE but missed out on a few. The only cars in my price bracket seems to be demonstrators.

Has anyone looked at or driven demo Pure at Glyn Hopkins St Albans? would be great to hear from anyone about its condition.

Lastly, I've driven a car with the performance brakes, they were great. Are the standard brakes as bad as I have read and would a decent set of pads sort them out?

Sorry for all the questions.

I test drove a Pure with big brakes but bought a Legende with standard brakes (got a good deal on a stock car). I loved the big brakes for feel and performance but as I won't track it decided the standard ones would be ok - they are. They're more than adequate for road use they just need a good shove, certainly not poor by any standard.

The pricing is interesting, there are normally only 3 or 4 used under 50k regardless of spec and seem to be holding up well. A lot of dealers are now seeing fresh (new) stock coming through and have managed to sell out their previous stuff however you might find a dealer with something unregistered that's been sat for a while. If so a cheeky offer can prove worthwhile..

[MSR12c]

I’ve driven the demo Pure at St Albans which I think is up for sale at £44k. It’s lovely and appears in great condition, the standard brakes seemed perfectly adequate to me. Nonetheless, I wanted a bit more spec so went for another car from Winchester. Both dealers were excellent.

[Simon Owen]

Bit late to the party here guys but I am now a signed up Alpine owner. Costed a chunk more of cash but very pleased I didn't go with the GR Yaris, not a criticism of the GR just that the A110 suits my brief better.

First overarching impression is we had to do a long motorway trip to get home, I was gobsmacked at how comfortable and refined the thig is and yet by witchcraft 12hrs later we complete a dawn raid around the peak district and it still feels like a proper Sunday morning car.

I'm still a bit 'clumsy' with the paddles at the moment ... never owned an auto sports car before so that's something to work on, gearbox feels plenty slick enough for me though. Ratios are superb for road use and it absolutely makes for an interesting debate - long geared good manual box vs short geared good auto, and that's coming from a huge fan of the manual box

Out of interest do you guys use Track mode on the road, i.e. does it add anything to the driving experience other than slackening off the stability systems a bit ? I read in the manual that changes are a bit quicker ? Are the systems slackened off to a scary level ?

[Venisonpie]

Simon Owen said:

Bit late to the party here guys but I am now a signed up Alpine owner. Costed a chunk more of cash but very pleased I didn't go with the GR Yaris, not a criticism of the GR just that the A110 suits my brief better.

First overarching impression is we had to do a long motorway trip to get home, I was gobsmacked at how comfortable and refined the thig is and yet by witchcraft 12hrs later we complete a dawn raid around the peak district and it still feels like a proper Sunday morning car.

I'm still a bit 'clumsy' with the paddles at the moment ... never owned an auto sports car before so that's something to work on, gearbox feels plenty slick enough for me though. Ratios are superb for road use and it absolutely makes for an interesting debate - long geared good manual box vs short geared good auto, and that's coming from a huge fan of the manual box

Out of interest do you guys use Track mode on the road, i.e. does it add anything to the driving experience other than slackening off the stability systems a bit ? I read in the manual that changes are a bit quicker ? Are the systems slackened off to a scary level ?

Congratulations and you're right. The blend of GT cruiser and Sunday blaster is very special. I can't answer the track mode question as I've only used it in sport to keep full control of the gearbox and nothing beyond.

Which one did you go for?

[bcr5784]

Simon Owen said:

First overarching impression is we had to do a long motorway trip to get home, I was gobsmacked at how comfortable and refined the thig is and yet by witchcraft 12hrs later we complete a dawn raid around the peak district and it still feels like a proper Sunday morning car.

Almost the first thing new owners say is what a refined and comfortable cruiser it is. But I suspect non owners are still skeptical - thinking that perhaps such a light car might be more refined than, say, an Elise - but not that it REALLY comfortable compared with most, if not all of the competition.

Re track mode, not really pushed it on the road in Track. Gear changes are not as smooth and it sits on the rev limiter rather than changing up (useful sometimes on track) - so not my preferred mode.

Edited by bcr5784 on Monday 21st December 14:45

[Simon Owen]

bcr5784 said:

Simon Owen said:

First overarching impression is we had to do a long motorway trip to get home, I was gobsmacked at how comfortable and refined the thig is and yet by witchcraft 12hrs later we complete a dawn raid around the peak district and it still feels like a proper Sunday morning car.

Almost the first thing new owners say is what a refined and comfortable cruiser it is. But I suspect non owners are still skeptical - thinking that perhaps such a light car might be more refined than, say, an Elise - but not that it REALLY comfortable compared with most, if not all of the competition.

Re track mode, not really pushed it on the road in Track. Gear changes are not as smooth and it sits on the rev limiter rather than changing up (useful sometimes on track) - so not my preferred mode.

Edited by bcr5784 on Monday 21st December 14:45

That's helpful thanks, I will stick with Sport for now.

[Simon Owen]

Franzino said:

khart said:

I bought a ctek charger with an extension and the 10mm connector. Didn't need to remove the boot as the top of the battery is accessible with the panel removed. I have run the cable through the hinge into the boot. I have seen someone cut a hole in the boot and fit a connector which is another possibility.
I think they should include the service in the price.

This is how I fitted my CTEK fixed charge cable for easy charging on our A110. I also send a email to CTEK support concerning the Alpine Enhanced Flooded Battery and the need of EGM function on the CTEK charger.



Question: I have a brand new Alpine A110 with a Enhanced Flooded Battery (EFB).
When charging this EFB battery with CTEK MXS 5.0; do I need to activate the EGM function
on the charger? Some info say yes and other say no.

Reply; from CTEK => NO

Just a thought - can I charge through the socket in the car, middle rear near cup holder ?

I have the necessary adaptor to do this ?

Cheers - sorry lots of questions

[springfan62]

I doubt it, Alpine have a very expensive battery charger as an accessory and it's also connected directly to the battery so i would says it's unlikely.

[bcr5784]

springfan62 said:

I doubt it, Alpine have a very expensive battery charger as an accessory and it's also connected directly to the battery so i would says it's unlikely.

£233!! Looks like a ripoff - even by Porsche standards (which is just a rebadged CTEK)! You may be right though. It just depends on whether the 12v socket is kept alive when the car is switched off and the charger is connected. Porsches do keep it alive, but haven't checked whether Alpine do.

[Simon Owen]

Just checked and doesn't appear live with the ignition off.

Looks like I will have to hard wire, I did have a go this afternoon but it wasn't quite as simple as I imagined so need a bit more time !!

[bcr5784]

Simon Owen said:

Just checked and doesn't appear live with the ignition off.

Looks like I will have to hard wire, I did have a go this afternoon but it wasn't quite as simple as I imagined so need a bit more time !!

Did you plug the charger in and switch it on? The Porsche one goes off too if it doesn't detect a charger (12v source)