Alfa Romeo GTV V6: Shed of the Week

Shed pulls at the heartstrings of PH with a V6 GTV in need of some TLC

It's a fair bet that most PHers, or the UK-based ones anyway, will have purchased goods from Argos. Shed was in his neighbourhood branch the other day looking for a set of stepladders to help him swipe what little lead the local villains couldn't be bothered to prise off the church roofs.

Yep, the GTV is prone to 'accidents'

For obvious reasons, the ladders had to be quiet, so Shed wanted to examine the choices on offer to make sure they wouldn't clank or clatter unduly. Unfortunately, the Argos system doesn't really allow for pre-inspection of goods. You see a picture in a bacteria-rich plastic book, tap a seven-figure number into a Fisher-Price terminal to see if your item is in stock, and use the world's nastiest biro to scribble down its number on a scrap of paper, which you hand to Argos Joe No 1 - who then goes back into the computer to tell Joe No 2 to get it from out the back.

As should be quite clear now, Shed is no expert when it comes to business models, but even he can see there's an element of redundancy in there somewhere.

Anyway, the point is that the Argos model is based on a 'semi-secret' selling principle, where you order half-blind and are then either pleasantly surprised or unpleasantly depressed when you open the box to find your shiny new consumer good is actually made from an combination of low density MDF, frangible plastic and roughly compressed baking foil.

Much prettier when you can't see what's leaking

Which, at last, brings us to this week's Shed. This Alfa GTV is being sold according to a very different model. It's not just total transparency, it's a step beyond that. This vendor believes that features some of us might consider to be negatives - like high mileage and oil leaks - are in fact points in the car's favour.

There's a certain twisted logic to it. Cars notorious for cataclysmic failure in their earlier years can be sold on in the autumns of their lives with a lightly skipping heart and no feelings of guilt, on the grounds that if they've got this far, then surely all the known weaknesses will have been sorted by now. It's maybe stretching things a bit to suggest that oil leaks are good because they make you concentrate on topping up the level, or that high usage keeps the rubber nice and flexible, but you do have to admire the breezy optimism.

Navy V6 GTV with teledials? We'll forgive a lot

As you might expect, this 13-year old GTV has had a fair bit of work done and a fair number of parts replaced. All it needs now, apparently, are new shocks and springs, a rear suspension rebuild, a new clutch (dual mass flywheel job, yuck), new diff, an option on a new oil cooler, cambelt and exhaust manifold, and maybe a little light gearbox work. While you're checking the wobbly front bumper you might want to check the underside for rust. The body is scratched here and there, and the driver's lock is especially battered. Couple of hours work for the lot, tops.

Come on, let's not carp too much. We're talking character here. In keeping with the Argos style, this one does look good in the pictures. That's a fetching shade of blue, and Alfa does have the knack of making long-lasting and inviting leather perches. The engines are strong, they go well and by gum they make a glorious racket while doing so, and the electrics aren't as bad as you might think.

SOTW shock: interior better than exterior

From a practical point of view, the spare wheel eats up most of the boot space - but who cares about practicality when you've no money left to buy things to put in the boot?

These V6 GTVs are nose heavy. The weight of the engine puts a heavy load on the standard suspension and makes the car want to go straight on in bends, but as the owner would no doubt say himself, the beauty of this car is that the regular diff and half of the suspension are on the way out, allowing you the luxury of retro-fitting a limited-slip diff along with a set of Konis or Bilsteins to transform the driving experience.

Back to the car. Neglected GTVs are trouble; looked after ones should be good. Emphasise 'should'. So there it is then, an interesting if slightly scary vehicle that you can take away today and treat as a rolling project. One final word of advice, though. If you've been thinking about that new driveway, you might want to go for simple Tarmac rather than any other non-black surfacing material. Shed can put you in touch with some nice chaps he knows. They drive a Transit and are known for their highly transparent quotations.

Here's the ad.

Here I have my year 2000 GTV Alfa Romeo V6 24 valve Aero Kit. I have owned it for about a year and a half.

Over the year I have completed a fair amount of mileage, but it hasn't been an everyday car. It has always been 100% reliable always starting and being an amazing Grand Tourer (at speed!)

If you have never driven a V6 GTV then you will be surprised how responsive they are. The engine has so much torque, in any gear at any speed.

This is the right year and model that you want (well unless you want to find a Cup).

It has;
3 Litre 24v Busso Engine. It is the Euro2 with only one catalytic converter (later models are strangled with three catalytic converters) This also means that Tax is based on engine size rather than emissions (so is a bit cheaper).
Drive by wire for ultra quick throttle response.
6 Speed Gear box
Phase 2 car which includes a number of upgrades but particularly the interior.
Lusso; Leather, toys etc etc
17inch Teledial alloys
Aero Kit (apparently this gives a slightly higher top speed!)
If you have another car, then you can get classic insurance on this car.
On a motorway drive you can get over 30mpg is driven sensibly (6th gear comes in handy). The 2.0 litre ones, in reality, are little better.

So later ones are strangled and the earlier ones don't have the drive by wire and upgraded interior.

I have done a fair amount of work to it over the year;
4 New tyres (Hankook Ventus V12 Evo) just under £400 worth early this year (but still look almost new, Hankooks wear very well but are still ultra grippy).
New front control arms
New front drop links
Rebuilt rear brake callipers
New thermostat
New spark plugs
Made sure that any wiring associated with the drive by wire is all secure (common problem with this which gives the ECU errors).
I have been changing the oil / filter every 3000 miles or so.

Other good points;
No rust issues from what I can see
Interior in great condition (for age a mileage)
You can drive away in a reliable car.

OK so why am I not asking for top dollar for this car?
Mileage is 161,000 I actually think this is a good thing, the car has been used not left around seizing up with rubber degrading. This is the second Alfa I have had with over 150,000 both have been 100% reliable. But it obviously means there is some wear.
It leaks a small amount of oil from the oil cooler, you need to keep an eye on the oil level anyway so the most major issue with this is the mess on the drive.
Gearbox appears to be leaking a little oil, it is still smooth but I would want to investigate (and probably replace the clutch and differential at the same time).
It could do with new shocks and springs + rear suspension rebuild.
Exhaust manifolds has a bit of a tick
I would want to re apply rust proofing underneath.
Front bumper looks as if it needs some new supports.
Glove box is a little bent in the corner.
The body work is good for a 13 year old car. It polishes up well, but there are marks on it. The worst is a scratch on the rear wing and the damage near the drivers lock. (this was done by the previous owner leaving the door open and without the handbrake on properly)
I have no history of the cambelt being changed. I would suggest it is done sooner rather than later. The V6 engines appear to be far more resistant to cambelt issues compared to the twin spark models.

So yes, it has its issues but you can drive away in this car and immediately have fun! It is beautiful to look at and surprising cheap to run.

Writing this is now making me think that I shouldn't be selling it..... but alas, the girlfriend wants a house so I have to save every penny.

This car has 5 months tax and MOT until Feb.

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Trusty Steed

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224 months