Thinking about buying a Spider
Discussion
Hi all - summer is here and I'm thinking about buying a 1997 Alfa Spider, 2ltr lusso, 30,000 miles on the clock (appears genuine, but will check with receipts). The timing belt has been changed - what else should I be looking out for? Any advice greatly appreciated.
Edited to add: I've already seen the GTVV6 faq and the owners' club faq & drawn up a checklist from them. Anything else I should be aware of?
>> Edited by windandwave on Tuesday 14th June 19:28
>> Edited by windandwave on Tuesday 14th June 19:29
Edited to add: I've already seen the GTVV6 faq and the owners' club faq & drawn up a checklist from them. Anything else I should be aware of?
>> Edited by windandwave on Tuesday 14th June 19:28
>> Edited by windandwave on Tuesday 14th June 19:29
Hope this helps.Wrote it a while ago when I was a Spider owner.Now sadly traded for a 147,which isn`t the same..[url]www.alfaowner.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=23905
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Its now on the AROC site too.Main point:Check the suspension bushes!!!!!!!!
Good luck with your search!
>> Edited by Alfa Pete on Friday 17th June 14:30
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Its now on the AROC site too.Main point:Check the suspension bushes!!!!!!!!
Good luck with your search!
>> Edited by Alfa Pete on Friday 17th June 14:30
In a word, dont.
Italian cars are just too unreliable (see my earlier post "Honeymoon is Over"
. Why take the risk with a Spider, when for a similar price or less, you can get a Swedish, German or Japanese car which at least give you a decent chance of arriving at your destination without the involvement of a recovery vehicle.
Sorry to have this sudden phobia of Italian cars, but to people like myself, trying to juggle running an interesting car on a fairly restricted budget, Italian cars are just not reliable enough.
Have you thought about a Celica Convertible ? Can pick up an M/N plate for £5000. Admittedly not as good to look at as the Alfa, but I can assure you when your stuck on the M60 sans gearbox, the looks of your smoking pride & joy are somewhat removed from the reality of actually being mobile.
Italian cars are just too unreliable (see my earlier post "Honeymoon is Over"
. Why take the risk with a Spider, when for a similar price or less, you can get a Swedish, German or Japanese car which at least give you a decent chance of arriving at your destination without the involvement of a recovery vehicle. Sorry to have this sudden phobia of Italian cars, but to people like myself, trying to juggle running an interesting car on a fairly restricted budget, Italian cars are just not reliable enough.
Have you thought about a Celica Convertible ? Can pick up an M/N plate for £5000. Admittedly not as good to look at as the Alfa, but I can assure you when your stuck on the M60 sans gearbox, the looks of your smoking pride & joy are somewhat removed from the reality of actually being mobile.
PDV6.
Hear what you say, but you only have to look at the numerous requests on this site for assistance/explanations of sudden electrical failures/catastrophic cambelt failure etc, to realise that our Italian friends really are taking the proverbial in shipping over such sub standard rubbish which inevitably breaks down at the most inopertune moments.
Since the most basic principle of a car is to get you from point A to point B, surely Im not asking for too much for this to be mirrored in the Italian car I drive. Seemingly it is though....
Whilst it may seem a little childish of me to do this, I am going to make it my business to ensure that anybody in my Office who is thinking of either getting their own car or upgrading their company car, DONT get an Italian car. Already Ive managed to convince someone not to wait for the new 159, but instead invest his own hard earned pennies in a Saab 9 3.
Quite simply any manufacturer who takes its customers as much for granted as the Fiat Group doesnt deserve to be in business.
Hear what you say, but you only have to look at the numerous requests on this site for assistance/explanations of sudden electrical failures/catastrophic cambelt failure etc, to realise that our Italian friends really are taking the proverbial in shipping over such sub standard rubbish which inevitably breaks down at the most inopertune moments.
Since the most basic principle of a car is to get you from point A to point B, surely Im not asking for too much for this to be mirrored in the Italian car I drive. Seemingly it is though....
Whilst it may seem a little childish of me to do this, I am going to make it my business to ensure that anybody in my Office who is thinking of either getting their own car or upgrading their company car, DONT get an Italian car. Already Ive managed to convince someone not to wait for the new 159, but instead invest his own hard earned pennies in a Saab 9 3.
Quite simply any manufacturer who takes its customers as much for granted as the Fiat Group doesnt deserve to be in business.
MILF said:
PDV6.
Hear what you say, but you only have to look at the numerous requests on this site for assistance/explanations of sudden electrical failures/catastrophic cambelt failure etc
Fact of life with websites / fora - people generally post with problems they want fixing or to have a moan. Human nature dictates that the other 99.9% of fully satisifed customers don't continually post "no problems to report" messages...
So you've had a Coupé engine go and a 156 gbox lunch itself? Very unfortunate for you but not necessarily a reflection on the FIAT group as a whole. One might even be tempted to suggest that your driving style might not be overly mechanically sympathetic, but again that would be leaping to a conclusion based on little or no evidence...
Have to agree that in a lot of cases UK main dealership service and customer relations are pretty poor. The easy solution to this problem is to pick a good independent to look after your vehicles.
Tell me, though, why did you choose an F Coupé and an Alfa 156? Could it be that there's not a lot else around that gives the same mix of looks, performance and passion at an affordable price? By all means turn to Germany for your next car(s), but please give up the 1 man crusade against Italian vehicles - next you'll be telling us all Alfas rust like mad!
MILF said:
Whilst it may seem a little childish of me to do this,
Certainly does
MILF said:In a word do it!
In a word, dont. Italian cars are just too unreliable etc.
Why buy an Alfa instead of a SAAB/Volvo/Toyota etc.? I'll tell you - the grin that driving an Alfa puts on your face. If you just want a car the others are ok, if you want something interesting get the Alfa 
And just to prove there is an opposite to every argument, I had 2 x Alfa 164 3.0 V6 back in the early 90's and they were smashing cars far more interesting than the equivalent BMW 5 series and totally reliable. The only items I ever replaced were 1 x clutch at 132,000 miles and a ABS sensor. My wife has since had 2 x Alfa Spiders, a 2.0 and more recently a 3.0 V6. The only problem we had was with the power hood mechanism needing the hydraulic topping up (tell me any make of convertible that hasn't had hood problems - I've seen several Porsches with their roofs stuck half way up 
) If you can afford the 3.0 V6 go for it but if not the 2.0 is a fine lump that makes all the right Alfa noises. Cheers Rich... 
I can only give examples of the italian cars I have owned....here we go.
1. Alfa 33 1.5 85k no problems apart from the 'computer' randomly showing mad lighting.
2. Alfa 33 1.7 cloverleaf sportwagon 102k....erm no problems apart from occasionally spitting the odd flame out of it's arse end when changing down at high revs. Oh, it needed an alternator...
3. Alfa 164 2.0 twinspark, 193k
...£400 electrical fault, of that £385 labour tracing it to a loose wire near to the front of the car....
4. Alfa 156 sportwagon twinspark 85k - no problems
5. Alfa 156 sportwagon jtd - no problems so far....
So, mine have been ok. I must add that I have owned several BMW's, only one let me down, I popped an engine on a 316
But my best was completely destroying an engine on a Saab 9000. The biggest bill on a car was from a mercedes 300te munching its' tensioner. I must add I drive reasonably sensibly and service my cars well.
I like BMW's nearly as much, and would have another. not sure about another Merc, but I seem to be drawn to alfa's. And would definately have a spider but unfortunately my kids won't fit in the boot.
As much as I would indeed feel like milf does if I had a hoofing gearbox bill, I think I have proved that all italian cars aren't bad. Maybe I have been lucky :touchingwood: They do have great flair, and are still that little bit different. (For the right reasons IMO) :d
Mike.
1. Alfa 33 1.5 85k no problems apart from the 'computer' randomly showing mad lighting.
2. Alfa 33 1.7 cloverleaf sportwagon 102k....erm no problems apart from occasionally spitting the odd flame out of it's arse end when changing down at high revs. Oh, it needed an alternator...
3. Alfa 164 2.0 twinspark, 193k
...£400 electrical fault, of that £385 labour tracing it to a loose wire near to the front of the car.... 4. Alfa 156 sportwagon twinspark 85k - no problems
5. Alfa 156 sportwagon jtd - no problems so far....
So, mine have been ok. I must add that I have owned several BMW's, only one let me down, I popped an engine on a 316
But my best was completely destroying an engine on a Saab 9000. The biggest bill on a car was from a mercedes 300te munching its' tensioner. I must add I drive reasonably sensibly and service my cars well. I like BMW's nearly as much, and would have another. not sure about another Merc, but I seem to be drawn to alfa's. And would definately have a spider but unfortunately my kids won't fit in the boot.
As much as I would indeed feel like milf does if I had a hoofing gearbox bill, I think I have proved that all italian cars aren't bad. Maybe I have been lucky :touchingwood: They do have great flair, and are still that little bit different. (For the right reasons IMO) :d
Mike.
So having put a couple of hundred miles on it, here are my first impressions:
1. MILF - you were at least partially right. No sooner did I get it out of the dealer than I discovered that the intermittent mode on the wipers didn't work! Still, that's what warranties are for.
2. It's a gorgeous design, still quite modern. Funny that it shares so many styling cues with the Fiat Coupe. Common designer?
3. Lovely to drive, and it's a challenge keeping it under the limit. Makes a lovely sound when you floor it in third or fourth.
4. Damp weekend here so didn't really get to drive with the top down, but I was impressed with the hood mechanism. This one's a manual hood, incidentally, so that's one thing less to go wrong.
5. Standard radio didn't seem to want to play with an iTrip - anyone experienced this?
6. It's a big car. My mental image of convertibles centres around MX5s or MGFs. Until I came to park it I didn't really appreciate the extra inches it has. I think this adds to its presence though.
1. MILF - you were at least partially right. No sooner did I get it out of the dealer than I discovered that the intermittent mode on the wipers didn't work! Still, that's what warranties are for.
2. It's a gorgeous design, still quite modern. Funny that it shares so many styling cues with the Fiat Coupe. Common designer?
3. Lovely to drive, and it's a challenge keeping it under the limit. Makes a lovely sound when you floor it in third or fourth.
4. Damp weekend here so didn't really get to drive with the top down, but I was impressed with the hood mechanism. This one's a manual hood, incidentally, so that's one thing less to go wrong.
5. Standard radio didn't seem to want to play with an iTrip - anyone experienced this?
6. It's a big car. My mental image of convertibles centres around MX5s or MGFs. Until I came to park it I didn't really appreciate the extra inches it has. I think this adds to its presence though.
windandwave said:
So having put a couple of hundred miles on it, here are my first impressions:
1. MILF - you were at least partially right. No sooner did I get it out of the dealer than I discovered that the intermittent mode on the wipers didn't work! Still, that's what warranties are for.
Common problem, well documented.
windandwave said:
2. It's a gorgeous design, still quite modern. Funny that it shares so many styling cues with the Fiat Coupe. Common designer?
Well, Pininfarina's studio anyway. Plus they're both based on the Tipo floorpan. windandwave said:
3. Lovely to drive, and it's a challenge keeping it under the limit. Makes a lovely sound when you floor it in third or fourth.
windandwave said:
4. Damp weekend here so didn't really get to drive with the top down, but I was impressed with the hood mechanism. This one's a manual hood, incidentally, so that's one thing less to go wrong.
5. Standard radio didn't seem to want to play with an iTrip - anyone experienced this?
No emperience of iTrip, but the OEM Clarion head is generally considered to be a big pile of pants, so that can be sorted with an aftermarket unit.
windandwave said:
6. It's a big car. My mental image of convertibles centres around MX5s or MGFs. Until I came to park it I didn't really appreciate the extra inches it has. I think this adds to its presence though.
As its essentially a GTV with the roof chopped off, you're right; its fairly long and quite wide. I once parked my GTV next to a mate's Fiat Coupé and was amazed at just how much longer it is, considering they share the floorpan.
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