Mito - First Car...
Discussion
Not my first car, but the first car for my son.
When I was learning to drive I was lucky enough to have use of my Mum's Spitfire 1500. I not only learn't to drive in it, but also took and passed my test with it.
So started my personal journey and love of cars. My dad had always fixed his own cars, and anyone who remembers British Leyland will know that most of their products required regular 'maintenance'! The Spitfire was not only a form of transport but a hobby too. A slogan that later changed to "A hobby and less of a form of Transport", when I bought a Cerbera, but I digress.
I have maintained, fixed and upgraded all the cars I've ever owned from humble Dolomites to my current C350e Mercedes, I wanted my son to be practical too, he already fixes the various mowers and brush cutters that I break! The way the future is looking he may be the last generation who can really get dirty and hands-on fixing their cars.
Going back to the Triumph Spitfire, I always thought it was cool to have a car out of the norm as my first 'ride', how could echo this experience with my, soon to be, 17 yr old?
For anyone who's had the pleasure of trying to insure a teenager will know it is prohibitively expensive, and anything a bit interesting is totally unaffordable.
Cars on the top 10 list for teenagers are either minuscule or just dull. Why pay IRO £1300 for the 'pleasure' of driving an Up?
We decided on a bit of badge engineering in the shape of the Alfa Romeo Mito, which, for those that don't know, is a Grande Punto in a pretty dress.
To quote Clarkson 'YOU CAN'T BE A TRUE PETROLHEAD UNTIL YOU'VE OWNED AN ALFA ROMEO', well that was my thinking.
With my son working in McDs, whilst doing his A-levels, and the promise from his grandmother to put some money in the pot, we started looking at what was available at the lower end of the market, let's face it, despite his protestations to the contrary, whatever we bought he would dent it and scratch it, so this seemed like a good place to start. A budget of £2250 was set. There are loads of Mitos around this figure, but most seem to have been abused or have galactic mileage, but we'd keep looking until the right car came along, as it was at least 6 months before he could even start learning to drive.
Then an ad popped up on Facebook...
A Cat N damaged 1.4 16V Mito in red, and just around the corner. A phone call later and my son and I were on our way to view.
What we found was a low mileage, 59 plate Mito in a lovely Alfa red, looking past the obvious damage it seemed to be an unmolested mid-spec car, with only a couple of owners on the logbook. A quick run around the block to check it actually ran and the deal was done, with a little haggling, for £750.
When I was learning to drive I was lucky enough to have use of my Mum's Spitfire 1500. I not only learn't to drive in it, but also took and passed my test with it.
So started my personal journey and love of cars. My dad had always fixed his own cars, and anyone who remembers British Leyland will know that most of their products required regular 'maintenance'! The Spitfire was not only a form of transport but a hobby too. A slogan that later changed to "A hobby and less of a form of Transport", when I bought a Cerbera, but I digress.
I have maintained, fixed and upgraded all the cars I've ever owned from humble Dolomites to my current C350e Mercedes, I wanted my son to be practical too, he already fixes the various mowers and brush cutters that I break! The way the future is looking he may be the last generation who can really get dirty and hands-on fixing their cars.
Going back to the Triumph Spitfire, I always thought it was cool to have a car out of the norm as my first 'ride', how could echo this experience with my, soon to be, 17 yr old?
For anyone who's had the pleasure of trying to insure a teenager will know it is prohibitively expensive, and anything a bit interesting is totally unaffordable.
Cars on the top 10 list for teenagers are either minuscule or just dull. Why pay IRO £1300 for the 'pleasure' of driving an Up?
We decided on a bit of badge engineering in the shape of the Alfa Romeo Mito, which, for those that don't know, is a Grande Punto in a pretty dress.
To quote Clarkson 'YOU CAN'T BE A TRUE PETROLHEAD UNTIL YOU'VE OWNED AN ALFA ROMEO', well that was my thinking.
With my son working in McDs, whilst doing his A-levels, and the promise from his grandmother to put some money in the pot, we started looking at what was available at the lower end of the market, let's face it, despite his protestations to the contrary, whatever we bought he would dent it and scratch it, so this seemed like a good place to start. A budget of £2250 was set. There are loads of Mitos around this figure, but most seem to have been abused or have galactic mileage, but we'd keep looking until the right car came along, as it was at least 6 months before he could even start learning to drive.
Then an ad popped up on Facebook...
A Cat N damaged 1.4 16V Mito in red, and just around the corner. A phone call later and my son and I were on our way to view.
What we found was a low mileage, 59 plate Mito in a lovely Alfa red, looking past the obvious damage it seemed to be an unmolested mid-spec car, with only a couple of owners on the logbook. A quick run around the block to check it actually ran and the deal was done, with a little haggling, for £750.
Always liked the Mito but it's a bit small for my needs so I have a Giulietta as a daily driver. You've done well getting donor car for that money as Alfa dealer prices are hilariously high and even non OEM can be high.
Never had any issues with Alfas. For a learner I'd keep the DNA switch on N as Dynamic mode as a L driver is probably the quickest way into the nearest tree.
Never had any issues with Alfas. For a learner I'd keep the DNA switch on N as Dynamic mode as a L driver is probably the quickest way into the nearest tree.
TT Tim said:
Zlat502 said:
Looks a good first car, I assume you purchased with the capability/ideas in mind of rectifying the damage?
Exactly, and if it all pans out as planned, I'll be picking up a donor car next week that has all the bits we need for the grand sum of £350!
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