Alfa Mito Twin Air?
Discussion
That's kind of where I'm at...just the buyer's guides and some comments elsewhere seem a bit over cautious if there aren't full stamps in the book. I do know from my company car days that main dealers aren't the be all and end all though. Thinking that if it's running well on the test drive, like the really scruffy one I drove did, then plenty of preventative maintenance by me should keep it that way. At least my labour charges are cheap. 
It's not like I need it to get to work, though would be awkward if I broke down on the way to a gig in it.
We have our main car and even the back up of my son's car (which I bought, fixed up and then fixed again when he crashed it last month!!). The cost of the infamous Twin air unit isn't that bad if it did come to it, though I'm not sure how much work it would take for me to replace it. At this age, it's not really likely to get FSH anyway, so it's probably unrealistic/very rare to find such a car for sale, unless it's like the £££ one I found.
Otherwise it's no worse than any other option I can think of and arguably better than the risk of a Ford Ecoboost engine blowing up on me, otherwise I'd have maybe bought a Zetec Red or similar Fiesta.
It's not like I need it to get to work, though would be awkward if I broke down on the way to a gig in it.
We have our main car and even the back up of my son's car (which I bought, fixed up and then fixed again when he crashed it last month!!). The cost of the infamous Twin air unit isn't that bad if it did come to it, though I'm not sure how much work it would take for me to replace it. At this age, it's not really likely to get FSH anyway, so it's probably unrealistic/very rare to find such a car for sale, unless it's like the £££ one I found.Otherwise it's no worse than any other option I can think of and arguably better than the risk of a Ford Ecoboost engine blowing up on me, otherwise I'd have maybe bought a Zetec Red or similar Fiesta.
Well, if the oil level is fine when you look at it and it isn't as thick as black treacle it's a start.
That's the way I look at it and a fresh change can improve things further and of course prevent any maladies. I bought a 156 that was starting to overheat, changed the water pump to a metal impeller one, oil filter, coolant and it ran for another 70,000 miles. Rust killed it.
How many different cars use the twinair? At least the 500.
Actually bought a Panda 4x4 twinny and kept it for about 6 months but only drove it a handful of times, was a great little car. Only downside was the drivers seat didn't adjust up/down. Engine was a peach and it had a 6 speed gearbox!
That's the way I look at it and a fresh change can improve things further and of course prevent any maladies. I bought a 156 that was starting to overheat, changed the water pump to a metal impeller one, oil filter, coolant and it ran for another 70,000 miles. Rust killed it.
How many different cars use the twinair? At least the 500.
Actually bought a Panda 4x4 twinny and kept it for about 6 months but only drove it a handful of times, was a great little car. Only downside was the drivers seat didn't adjust up/down. Engine was a peach and it had a 6 speed gearbox!
I think the 500, Panda, maybe some Puntos too use the Twin Air as well as the Mito.
I've seen some 'Live' limited edition Mitos that tend to be in my price range, usually red (my preferred choice), but they have the 85PS engine on a 63 plate typically rather than the 105PS. I'd ignored these due to the lower powered engine, but the 85PS Mito would still be quicker than the Fiesta 1.25 Zetec I'm also considering and my current Ka of course.
I've seen some 'Live' limited edition Mitos that tend to be in my price range, usually red (my preferred choice), but they have the 85PS engine on a 63 plate typically rather than the 105PS. I'd ignored these due to the lower powered engine, but the 85PS Mito would still be quicker than the Fiesta 1.25 Zetec I'm also considering and my current Ka of course.
I think the big thing is just regular oil changes with the right spec oil. If your doing it yourself then you'll know it's done properly and you can't go wrong with that.
Anything else is just a lottery, as it would be with any other car. At the time I was car shopping I was also considering a panda 4x4 and there were a fair few on higher miles and some past 100k, so they are durable enough, maybe just a little needy!
Anything else is just a lottery, as it would be with any other car. At the time I was car shopping I was also considering a panda 4x4 and there were a fair few on higher miles and some past 100k, so they are durable enough, maybe just a little needy!
I'm happy to potter about doing little jobs outside on it especially once the weather improves, so it if helps keep one going and I fix minor issues along the way I feel like I've improved it too. At least there isn't a cambelt that will need doing as those were the first jobs I did last year on my son's Fiesta and my Ka.
There is quite a range of mileages within budget, seeing the higher ones makes me think that they can't be that fragile if people are getting to 100k in them: I'll do under 4k a year so one with the same mileage as my Ka would still only be at mid 70k in 5 years time, when I expect we might change and go to a single car between us.
A couple of otherwise likely looking examples have a rather lairy red dashboard. I wonder how hard it would be to cover it with something (vinyl wrap?) as it's pretty marmite I'd guess and even though I like marmite I'm not a fan of the red dash. Typical example below:
I wouldn't buy and think about doing a swap after I looked on eBay and saw a black one for sale for £99, but the work involved looks enormous. Maybe beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I'd get used to it.
There is quite a range of mileages within budget, seeing the higher ones makes me think that they can't be that fragile if people are getting to 100k in them: I'll do under 4k a year so one with the same mileage as my Ka would still only be at mid 70k in 5 years time, when I expect we might change and go to a single car between us.
A couple of otherwise likely looking examples have a rather lairy red dashboard. I wonder how hard it would be to cover it with something (vinyl wrap?) as it's pretty marmite I'd guess and even though I like marmite I'm not a fan of the red dash. Typical example below:
I wouldn't buy and think about doing a swap after I looked on eBay and saw a black one for sale for £99, but the work involved looks enormous. Maybe beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I'd get used to it.
Sounds a nightmare. Worth knowing too because the first thing my wife does when she drives my Ka is to mess about with the heater controls, even though she's only going a short distance to the gym and she's only driving it because it's raining...so she might as well have left them where they were anyway, which is to clear the windscreen. 
A few more Mitos appeared for sale yesterday, so I did my due diligence on the most likely ones. One private sale very low mileage (15k), with a sunroof and heated seats too (both seem rare options), but black so not my favourite choice. Another higher mileage (60k) in red and has a leather interior which is the first I've seen within budget.
Might ring about the red one this morning as the black one is private sale and can't get to it for a few days now, so will probably go quickly as per other really low mileage cars I've seen. Might regret leather seats in winter though as nice as they look, as no mention of heated seats. Quite happy with non heated with fabric though, so I'm not holding out for those options particularly, more interested in the condition and how they drive.
Budget creeping back up slightly, but still well under my initial plan.
Either that or just buy nothing and wait for others to turn up.
A few more Mitos appeared for sale yesterday, so I did my due diligence on the most likely ones. One private sale very low mileage (15k), with a sunroof and heated seats too (both seem rare options), but black so not my favourite choice. Another higher mileage (60k) in red and has a leather interior which is the first I've seen within budget.
Might ring about the red one this morning as the black one is private sale and can't get to it for a few days now, so will probably go quickly as per other really low mileage cars I've seen. Might regret leather seats in winter though as nice as they look, as no mention of heated seats. Quite happy with non heated with fabric though, so I'm not holding out for those options particularly, more interested in the condition and how they drive.
Budget creeping back up slightly, but still well under my initial plan.
Either that or just buy nothing and wait for others to turn up.
Well I've bitten the bullet. A fair bit under my initial budget and lots of history, plus the garage is doing an oil and filter change and the air strainer replacement as part of the pre-collection service. The colour I wanted, plus 17" rather than 18" wheels (potholes round here are terrible) and Teledial pattern too. Extra bonus is the leather interior. Given my low annual mileage I'm not overly worried about the 61,000 miles it has and I guess that's not too bad for this age anyway.
Hope to collect it on Monday, but a couple of dealer photos for now:
That lovely interior:
Always liked this angle of them too:
Of course I could turn up and it's a pile of *** but £99 deposit to hold is worth the risk and not too far to drive to get it.
Hope to collect it on Monday, but a couple of dealer photos for now:
That lovely interior:
Always liked this angle of them too:
Of course I could turn up and it's a pile of *** but £99 deposit to hold is worth the risk and not too far to drive to get it.
Legacywr said:
Looks nice
Thanks.A500leroy said:
Readers thread when you have it!
Will put something up, though I should get busy doing one for my RS2000 really once I get on with that properly. At least this one shouldn't need much of my time unless I want to do anything outside in the sunshine (when it comes back!).WelshPetrolhead said:
That looks really smart!
Thanks; appreciate your input earlier on this thread and some other posts I found on here you'd made about your Mito. 
Don't know what I'll do tonight as no more Autotrader searches, otherwise I might find another one and get buyer's remorse before I've even picked it up. I'll have to talk to Mrs OS I suppose, but then it is our wedding anniversary (apparently...I thought it was tomorrow with all the excitement and the recent bank holiday putting me out
).The Prof said:
Considering one of these for my son and test drove one at the weekend - characterful engine for sure.
Any low mileage examples (QV line) in grey, black or red 2015 or newer. I’d be interested in talking. In scotland would be nice, but will travel.
I bought the red one above on Monday...pretty decent and came with the DAB radio option, space saver tyre rather than a can of goo and two new front tyres which I wasn't expecting.Any low mileage examples (QV line) in grey, black or red 2015 or newer. I’d be interested in talking. In scotland would be nice, but will travel.
Don't know about Scotland, but there are a few on Autotrader at the moment, though I'm trying not to look now I've got mine.
There is a 15,000 black 64 plate one for £6,200 but it's near London. Has a sunroof and heated seats too. Don't be tempted to travel down here for the silver one outside Reading currently down to £7,500 (from £8,500 when I saw it) as it's a wreck and the clutch is well worn. There seemed to be plenty miles away from me, so maybe you'll find something closer.I put a new battery on mine yesterday as I got the 'check power steering' fault come up and it's often caused by a weak battery apparently. It was turning over a bit slow too, so since it's not covered by warranty (nothing ever is when I buy a car
) then I figured I might as well sort that out and put a decent one in with a 5 year warranty. OK so far and an easy job; no re-coding of the car or radio was necessary.Other than that I'm enjoying getting about in it.
Edited by OldSkoolRS on Friday 21st April 07:17
IMHO it's not worth the agro; it's an 80 mile return trip drive round the M25 and then potentially having to get home if they kept the car to 'investigate'.
Warranty booklet specifically mentions battery and other consumables/service items not covered, so no point going to a local VAT registered garage to then attempt to claim for a non-covered item.
I could have ended up paying more for a battery, plus labour and maybe not getting as good a battery. Being pragmatic I've sorted something out that probably would have been needed at some point during the expected 4-5 years I plan to keep the car for and the new battery is covered for 5 years now.
Swapping my insurance over today was more hassle than it should have been though: I got 5 days drive away insurance included as part of the £99 'admin fee' (which always annoys me, but I got that knocked off the price anyway). I had to change my Ka insurance over to the Alfa by tomorrow, but my renewal is less than a month away, so ever helpful Privilege had removed the button to 'amend details' on my policy page.
At least it was eventually sorted by WhatsApp chat(!) and they waived the usual £10.08 admin fee. They did try to upsell me everything from a bigger courtesy car option, breakdown and tried to get me to pay for the renewal as well (stuff that as other equally well known companies come up cheaper.
).
Warranty booklet specifically mentions battery and other consumables/service items not covered, so no point going to a local VAT registered garage to then attempt to claim for a non-covered item.
I could have ended up paying more for a battery, plus labour and maybe not getting as good a battery. Being pragmatic I've sorted something out that probably would have been needed at some point during the expected 4-5 years I plan to keep the car for and the new battery is covered for 5 years now.
Swapping my insurance over today was more hassle than it should have been though: I got 5 days drive away insurance included as part of the £99 'admin fee' (which always annoys me, but I got that knocked off the price anyway). I had to change my Ka insurance over to the Alfa by tomorrow, but my renewal is less than a month away, so ever helpful Privilege had removed the button to 'amend details' on my policy page.
At least it was eventually sorted by WhatsApp chat(!) and they waived the usual £10.08 admin fee. They did try to upsell me everything from a bigger courtesy car option, breakdown and tried to get me to pay for the renewal as well (stuff that as other equally well known companies come up cheaper.
).Edited by OldSkoolRS on Friday 21st April 14:06
Legacywr said:
Sorry, I didn’t mean it would be a warranty issue, it was a problem the car had at point of sale, which comes under your consumer rights, but as we said, not worth the leg work
I agree and if they'd been more local it might have been worth it, though I guess they'd have put the cheapest battery it could get away with only to push the problem further down the road for me. This is why I tend to buy cars privately since the warranty/come back never seems to work out for me, though in this case the price was cheaper than some private sales anyway, so overall I'm OK with it. If the PAS fault comes back then I will make sure that gets done under warranty and can be done locally at any VAT registered garage according to the booklet (will see if that is the case should it come to it though).I'll do certain jobs as long term preventative maintenance anyway. Especially as I only have book of service stamps and not a pile of parts receipts like I got with my Ka and my son's Fiesta; at least that way you've got an idea of what has been done.
Lovely things. We’ve had this 12 Plate Car for over 8 year and up until 3 years ago it was the wife’s main car. I put 500 miles on it last week and the mileage is almost 90,000.
The picture below was taken at an Alfa event in Cheshire not long after buying the car.
The picture below was taken at an Alfa event in Cheshire not long after buying the car.
Edited by Rob 131 Sport on Saturday 22 April 06:34
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