Ebay Dipstick - a home for idiots

[outlaw118]

Check this one chaps; should go on Ebay tat, but I wanted to draw everyones attention to the twat seller.Check the text of the ad " needs a respray".it wouldn't need one if you hadn't stacked shite on top of it !!!http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1985-Alfa-Romeo-G ... dZViewItem

[Milford Cubicle]

What we need to know - was his father a non-smoking owner?

[Arthur-walker]

I think its disgusting that someone should leave a few items on an old car when theres clearly no space for it elsewhere. Makes my blood boil does that. The work of a twat for sure.

[Guest greenvanman]

If it's as good as he says it is, then why has it been shoved in a garage for the last 15 years? The paint doesn't actually look that bad in those pictures, I suspect a respray is the least of its worries. I know Alfa Romeos are much loved on here but the experiences of my AR-owning friends suggest they are temperamental money pits, or is that too unkind?

[mouseflakes]

Nothing wrong with piling stuff on top of a car - if God hadn't intended us to do it then he wouldn't have created the roof rack.Not sure how he'd view their use these days as a fashion accessory.

[wuvvum]

I know Alfa Romeos are much loved on here but the experiences of my AR-owning friends suggest they are temperamental money pits, or is that too unkind?

Nope, I don't think that's unduly harsh. Pretty much any Alfa Romeo is, sooner or later, going to have something awkward go wrong. The amount it costs depends on whether you can fix it yourself. I've been lucky so far in that everything that's gone wrong with the 166 (and the Alfasud that I had a couple of years ago) has been within my capabilities to fix. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that nothing drastic goes wrong with the 166. Of course on something the age of that GTV the electrics are going to be a lot simpler and most of the problems will be due to dodgy connections or bad earthing. The main problem older Alfas have other than electrical woes is rust - as long as they're looked after and treated properly, they're actually pretty robust mechanically (synchromesh aside), but the electrical ancillaries that are needed for the engine to do its thing can, and do, go wrong.

[STUNO]

How does he know its rust free underneath.By the look of the floor he hasnt been there for 15 years. But---putting stuff on the roof = bad, fortunately not too much there.with a roof rack on it would be first-class shite

[outlaw118]

Having re-read my original post, I do appear a bit harsh - my crapi has thing on the roof (seats, cushion side down) but the general state of the garage is a concern, as STUNO says, god only knows what its like underneath judging by the state of the garage floor....

[Mr Lobster]

I know Alfa Romeos are much loved on here but the experiences of my AR-owning friends suggest they are temperamental money pits, or is that too unkind?

No sadly thats very true! They are great cars but when they go wrong they really do go wrong and then its full on wallet battering time!

[Guest]

I think they're a car that require a lot more looking after than most. My mate has an Alfa 155 that he has owned for about 10 years, the only things I can think of going wrong on it were it requiring a new battery at some point and one of the dashboard lights flickering a bit on start up. I guess he was one of the lucky ones!

[Spottedlaurel]

Old Alfas are the sort of car I admire hugely, but not sure if I would ever be brave enough to own one given my lack of skills. Having said that, if I could find a ‘Sud for £129 like Wuv’s new one I think I’d risk it!My dad had a pair of Guiliettas brand new, first one in 1980 then the second in 1982. Both 1.8’s, and we were very impressed with them compared to the Cortinas he’d had previously. He ran them as company cars in his job selling tractors in Suffolk, which probably eased the pain that went with them racking up the miles in that he didn’t have to pay for the bills.I recall going with him to the A-R dealer after the first one had a load of rectification body/paintwork done on it (I was only 10, still got some of the brochures from that trip). He had the next one (black, special order apparently) for way longer than he should have done, I remember him resorting to doing things on it himself to keep it going at way over 100k, and at some point it had the boot floor repaired as towing Mitsubishi mini-tractors around didn’t do it any favours…I think the first one was used in some sort of criminal escapade after he’d sold it, and I saw the black one (VGV 272X) in Colchester a few years later. DVLA says it lived until 1991, which is pretty good going as it must’ve been somewhat knackered when he left that company in 1985 or so.On the odd occasion I’ve seen one on eBay they appear to make decent money, so doubt I’ll have the opportunity to give one a go in the near future.

[Mr Lobster]

Alfas do need to be loved more than most other cars - I guess its all part of their charm! I loved my 145, it was honestly one of the best cars I have ever had but when it went wrong, it did so spectacularly. I think you just have to expect that you will get the occasional large bill with an Alfa, its part of the ownership experience.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

These alfas are temperamental and bloody awful to repair, my 33 is currently awaiting some new bushes in the gear linkage, took me 5 hours to get the linkage off. Now Mangoletsi are telling me 99% of all the bits I need for it are NLA. That 75 was horrendous for working on too, bolts completely inaccessible, shonky flimsy-ass mechanisms for stuff like windows, choke cables and what have you.However they still have some appeal, thats why I am so looking forward to the 33 hitting the road, shouldnt be long now either, W0O0O0O0O0oooTZ!

[ChinaTom]

SL, was your old man working from Ipswich selling tractors? I had a few family members who did that - I remember going to see my Uncle Johnny at work when I was about 3 - I remember a load of new tractors and combines parked diagonally outside a showroom in Ipswich - can't remember the name of the dealer though. It struck me doubly as he drove a Cortina. Right county, right trade, right car - blimey there's a 2% chance you're my bloody cousin! Mind you, Suffolk - lot of tractors, lot of Cortinas!

[pompei]

500 notes as a starter! No wonder he didn't sell it. I'd be very wary of an Alfa that has stood in a (probably damp) lock up for all that time.I've had a few Suds, and borrowed 75s, and enjoyed a real love-hate relationship with them. Now I'm back in (gainful) employment, I considered a nearly new 156/159 as a work-mobile, but the Alfa experts I spoke to confirmed that there is loads to go wrong, from minor electrics through wishbones to catastrophic engine failure. Look at the number on ebay and in the Trader that require new engines - this is because the clots who have had them have not checked the oil. So how do I know if I buy one whether it has been owned by someone in the know? Too risky by far if serious money is to go into it.

[Raffles]

I'm intrigued by the need for a total engine rebuild at 45K...