Discussion
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
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
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
Always promised myself another (big) Merc to compensate at some point
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.Always promised myself another (big) Merc to compensate at some point
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
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'
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'
Nice car
I've looked at these so many times as i think they look fantastic and i love the V6's, but i just can't get on with them on the test drives i've done. the seating position just feels so wrong!
If the seating position was like my old corrado i'd have one in a heartbeat!
MrGman
I've looked at these so many times as i think they look fantastic and i love the V6's, but i just can't get on with them on the test drives i've done. the seating position just feels so wrong!
If the seating position was like my old corrado i'd have one in a heartbeat!
MrGman
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
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
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