I don't see many people mention the Alfa Romeo Spider

[AlexNJ89]

I've been looking for a fun car for the summer and been through a lot of options such as:
SL (both 90's and 00's era)
Porsche Boxster
Z4
3 Series convertible.

And an Alfa Romeo 3.2l Spider has caught my eye.

They don't seem to have a good 0-60 for the size of the engine, but it's a nice looking car and could be a bit different.

What is the general consensus on the Spider/Brera models?

[anonymous-user]

I think they're nice looking cars, never had one so don't know what the reliability is like, rarer than the others which I tend to like.
The 0-60 time provided it's reasonable doesn't really come into play as all the cars you mention will be a bit off the pace compared to the latest powerful sports cars.

[griffter]

It’s the only front wheel drive car in that bunch, so for some will be compromised. Having said that it’s supposed to be a fine handling front driver, but it still isn’t rear wheel drive. That might be why it doesn’t always get mentioned.

[Vanordinaire]

I keep getting mysteriously drawn to the beautiful and charismatic marque then manage to remind myself in time that they're still bloody Fiats at heart.

[Audis5b9]

My mother had a new one for three years, it spent more time at the dealer being repaired under warranty than being used....

[SiT]

They are very beautiful as Alfa's tend to be, but I think buying a good one is quite hard these days. I am not sure it was their best era for build quality. I sold one for my uncle which was lovely on the face of it but think it had quite a lot of issues during his ownership and no doubt will require keeping on top of as it gets older.

Si

[Ian Geary]

Vanordinaire said:

they're still bloody Fiats at heart.

I'm not sure what a "trope" is, but this sounds like one.

Whilst the old Tipo and the 156 shared some floor pan parts, anyone who has ever driven the 2 will realise the suspension and steering setup is/was fundamentally different, so "underneath" as well as "on top" they are different cars.

My 90s era alfa was as reliable as my 90s era Toyotas, Hyundai, Vauxhall or VW (once i'd cable tied the airbag connectors under the seats, as you do)

[Pericoloso]

Vanordinaire said:

I keep getting mysteriously drawn to the beautiful and charismatic marque then manage to remind myself in time that they're still bloody Fiats at heart.

Yeah ,what idiot would have one of those ?......

[P700DEE]

The 3.2 fitted was thirsty and under powered for its time. The car is heavy hence even worse fuel consumption and not the best handling. A friend had a 3.2 Brera but chopped it in for a diesel as quicker and had at least liveable fuel consupmtion. Pretty cars and not common but not the best of cars vs the competition at the time.

[Frankthered]

P700DEE said:

The 3.2 fitted was thirsty and under powered for its time. The car is heavy hence even worse fuel consumption and not the best handling. A friend had a 3.2 Brera but chopped it in for a diesel as quicker and had at least liveable fuel consupmtion. Pretty cars and not common but not the best of cars vs the competition at the time.

This is pretty much it, I think. Not sure how they compare on price on the used market, but when they were new they didn't really make sense. I think the Brera is a fantastic looking car (I prefer it to the Spider) and I might scratch the itch to own one at some point, but almost everything else that was around at the same time was either faster, more economical, cheaper or handled better. In some cases, it was all of the above.

So, all you are left with is - looks nice. (And not everybody will agree with that!)

If you like the looks and can live with the rest of the package, there's no reason not to, although it might be worth signing up on one of the Alfa Forums and/or speaking to a specialist to find out what the real problems are and things to look for / avoid.

[davek_964]

I've had a 2.2JTS for a couple of years.

Few minor issues (window regulators, oxygen sensor) but nothing you wouldn't get on any 10-12 year old car. Everything works, and it looks great.

It's not a daily - only does about 2.5k miles a year but I've been happy with it. I didn't buy it as a car where I was bothered about its performance, but think it's perfectly adequate for my use.

The FWD is actually a tad annoying - noticeable mostly from a standing start. Throttle response around town is horrible - bit jerky - but can be tuned out apparently.

G/F had a Boxster when we met, and I used it for a week. Didn't like it any more than the Alfa (in fact, I preferred the Alfa).

[tim0409]

I think they are beautiful cars, which is why I made the fateful decision to bid and buy a low mileage model at auction....with a faulty roof. I had convinced myself that it would be a fairly straightforward fix. It wasn’t; it had been leaking for a long time and as a result all the contacts/wiring/modules were corroded. I lost £2000 on it in a short period of time - all entirely my own fault. I had watched a mint low mileage diesel model sell for £12k (book price was £7500) the week before at auction and thought the one I bought was a bargain; it wasn’t.

I was pretty shocked at the build quality; it just felt a couple of generations behind other contemporaries.

Edited by tim0409 on Monday 24th June 16:31

[davek_964]

I've really not noticed any build quality issues - was better than I expected (based on the common view of Alfa's), and doesn't seem much worse than my other cars.

Roof can be challenging - mine was a pain in the first year, but a few trips to a specialist sorted it - although I still hold my breath each time I open and close it