Cheap Alfa 75 3.0 V6
Discussion
- Should I?? 
Yes. Great torquey engine and excellent handling.
BUT - the electrics WILL be dodgy, the gear linkage WILL irritate you (the gearbox is on the rear axle, which is great ofr the balance of the car but Alfa never properly sorted the linkage, making the gearshift action horrid at best) and the handbrake WILL need to be readjusted every three and a half minutes (never understood why this is, but it is).
Rust and build quality are major issues, but to have survived this long this may be a good one. If I found a good one for £350 I'd snap it up...
BUT - the electrics WILL be dodgy, the gear linkage WILL irritate you (the gearbox is on the rear axle, which is great ofr the balance of the car but Alfa never properly sorted the linkage, making the gearshift action horrid at best) and the handbrake WILL need to be readjusted every three and a half minutes (never understood why this is, but it is).
Rust and build quality are major issues, but to have survived this long this may be a good one. If I found a good one for £350 I'd snap it up...
Let us all know if you buy it
I had a black F reg V6 for a couple of years, it was genuinely one of the best cars I have ever owned. Seriously rapid, fabulous noise and if you get it onto Yokohama's it grips stupendously. Not expensive to run as it was actually really reliable.
Interesting to read some of the comments here though, my gear shift was fine. Not sports car quick, but smooth and accurate enough - but I've got a Sud as well which will probably influence my thoughts!
I had a black F reg V6 for a couple of years, it was genuinely one of the best cars I have ever owned. Seriously rapid, fabulous noise and if you get it onto Yokohama's it grips stupendously. Not expensive to run as it was actually really reliable.
Interesting to read some of the comments here though, my gear shift was fine. Not sports car quick, but smooth and accurate enough - but I've got a Sud as well which will probably influence my thoughts!
I've contacted the bloke and I'm going to take a look on wednesday 
Although it's fairly high mileage, I think that if anything was going to go wrong, it would have done by now. As far as I know the main reason he's selling it is because of the amount it costs in fuel driving it to work everyday! What sort of mpg should I expect? My 944 S2 does 25-30 usually.
Although it's fairly high mileage, I think that if anything was going to go wrong, it would have done by now. As far as I know the main reason he's selling it is because of the amount it costs in fuel driving it to work everyday! What sort of mpg should I expect? My 944 S2 does 25-30 usually.AJLintern said:
I think that if anything was going to go wrong, it would have done by now.
You've never owned an Alfa before, have you?
Superb but eccentric cars, the last "true" Alfa. Best exhaust note of any production engine in the world IMO, but can be expensive to fix if they go wrong.
You should get 25-30mpg.
I was on first name terms with mt nearest Alpha specialist and discovered they had a lot of 'special' tools that meant that a fair number of jobs were possible without reducing the car to component form. Hence I'm not sure about how easy home maintenance in going to be.
The specialists always insisted on reading the part number from the part because there were so many variants, even if it meant taking the car off the road to achieve this. Even then, probably one in five parts had to be sent back!
It took a year and a half to recieve a set of replacement engine mounts for an H reg 164 3.0 V6. Alfa had to manufacture another batch and meanwhile there were lots of Alfas like mine driving around with shagged mounts!
My first 164 occasionally flashed the dashboard lights like a christmas tree. However, the only electrical repair work actually carried out was a replacement ventialtion blower.
Driving position in the 75 is a bit bizarre, especially if like me you are on the tall side. Nothing that can't be adapted to as long as you are prepared to drive like an Italian.....
My Alfas were superb cars and if I saw a 75 3.0 V6 in reasonable nick at that price, I'd be seriously tempted.....
The specialists always insisted on reading the part number from the part because there were so many variants, even if it meant taking the car off the road to achieve this. Even then, probably one in five parts had to be sent back!
It took a year and a half to recieve a set of replacement engine mounts for an H reg 164 3.0 V6. Alfa had to manufacture another batch and meanwhile there were lots of Alfas like mine driving around with shagged mounts!
My first 164 occasionally flashed the dashboard lights like a christmas tree. However, the only electrical repair work actually carried out was a replacement ventialtion blower.
Driving position in the 75 is a bit bizarre, especially if like me you are on the tall side. Nothing that can't be adapted to as long as you are prepared to drive like an Italian.....
My Alfas were superb cars and if I saw a 75 3.0 V6 in reasonable nick at that price, I'd be seriously tempted.....
Thanks for all the feedback I'm not too worried about the maintenance, because I'm never going to have to rely upon the car as a daily driver - if something goes wrong I'll try and fix it and maybe learn something while I'm doing it! The only problems with running a 3rd car is the extra tax/mot/insurance every year, but I'm hoping that I could get classic low mileage insurance and I'll only get 6 months tax to start with. The mot runs until august luckily.
Afterall it's only £350 so it's not the end of the world if it all goes pear shaped!
I'm not too worried about the maintenance, because I'm never going to have to rely upon the car as a daily driver - if something goes wrong I'll try and fix it and maybe learn something while I'm doing it! The only problems with running a 3rd car is the extra tax/mot/insurance every year, but I'm hoping that I could get classic low mileage insurance and I'll only get 6 months tax to start with. The mot runs until august luckily. Afterall it's only £350 so it's not the end of the world if it all goes pear shaped!
Well I went to have a look and it was a little tatty - as one would expect. No major rust that I could see though. Engine seemed to run sweetly, all the gauges pointed the right way, no fluid leaking and nice clean oil/coolant. Interior in quite good condition. Checked the warning lights and all the external lights, all ok. Tyres in good condition.
Took it for a drive round the block No rattles or worrying noises, smooth and quiet. Gearchange a little bit agricultural but managed to find all the ratios ok. Long throw on the clutch and brake pedal, but worked smoothly enough. Throttle pedal a bit light for my tastes.
Seems to roll a bit, but then I shouldn't compare it to my 944 - it is a saloon afterall. Goes nicely, but realised that it was nearly out of fuel - at least I know the low fuel light works now!
Anyway - I pick it up tomorrow
Took it for a drive round the block
No rattles or worrying noises, smooth and quiet. Gearchange a little bit agricultural but managed to find all the ratios ok. Long throw on the clutch and brake pedal, but worked smoothly enough. Throttle pedal a bit light for my tastes. Seems to roll a bit, but then I shouldn't compare it to my 944 - it is a saloon afterall. Goes nicely, but realised that it was nearly out of fuel - at least I know the low fuel light works now!
Anyway - I pick it up tomorrow
Sounds as though you had pretty much the same experience with your 75 3.0 as I had with the 75 2.0 TS that I picked up today. The car goes like a scalded cat (especially in 3rd ) but it rolls something chronic when going round corners and the brake pedal seems to have a lot of travel on it before biting.
What do you think of the driving position? Coming from my '70s TVR it's VERY strange, and although I'm only 6' my head is touching the roof.....
kris..
) but it rolls something chronic when going round corners and the brake pedal seems to have a lot of travel on it before biting. What do you think of the driving position? Coming from my '70s TVR it's VERY strange, and although I'm only 6' my head is touching the roof.....
kris..
I knew that the driving position was supposed to be odd, but I didn't really find it too bad. But then I am used to driving 4 different cars quite regularly so maybe I find it easy to adapt. I'm also 6' and can't remember having trouble with headroom, even with it having an electric sunroof (I didn't dare try to activate it incase it failed in the open position )
I thought it rolled a bit more than I'd have expected, but I put this down to the age/mileage making things a little saggy!
Yes the brake pedal did need to be pushed quite a way before it did anything - maybe the fluid needs bleeding or something?
I'll have a better chance to see how it goes when I drive it home tomorrow, but I think it's got potential
) I thought it rolled a bit more than I'd have expected, but I put this down to the age/mileage making things a little saggy!
Yes the brake pedal did need to be pushed quite a way before it did anything - maybe the fluid needs bleeding or something?
I'll have a better chance to see how it goes when I drive it home tomorrow, but I think it's got potential
Yep, a good brake bleed is probably all they need (hopefully), although I've done a bit of reading and apparently 75s are notorious for having iffy brakes 
.
I must admit the body roll was a bit worse than I'd expected, but then I suppose that if yours is on 125k and mine is on 94k they have every right to be a little 'tired'. A new set of springs and dampers might have to be purchased if the car starts looking like a 'keeper' methinks.
How's the bodywork on yours?
. I must admit the body roll was a bit worse than I'd expected, but then I suppose that if yours is on 125k and mine is on 94k they have every right to be a little 'tired'. A new set of springs and dampers might have to be purchased if the car starts looking like a 'keeper' methinks.
How's the bodywork on yours?
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