A Request

[Coasting]

What was your impression of the car?

I think they are very good cars personally and unsurprisingly but I think you need to be aware of the cars short comings and accept them for what they are!

I think people can expect too much but the reason I like my car is the character of it which is missing from so many modern cars and although it isnt the faster car out there (I used to own a B5 RS4) it is great to pootle about in and then give it the beans when you have some road to yourself!

Mind you if you have an Alfa you probably already know about living with certain things!

[brrm]

What was your impression of the car?

Mind you if you have an Alfa you probably already know about living with certain things!

First impression was a nice-looking, well-appointed, comfortable car to drive at sensible speeds which, as you say, happens to give you a kick in the back and a good soundtrack if you press the loud pedal.

Alfas are indeed another heart-over-brain purchase, but apart from a recent appetite for power steering pumps it's not been too expensive to run, and is still as fun to drive as when I bought it in 2003.

I think my main worry was probably that if anything goes wrong, you're stuck with a crippling bill or even no options, but from talking to bainzi yesterday that doesn't appear to be the case, for the most part? And it seems possible to get tyres for a more reasonable sum than I was expecting, though I know they don't last as long as on some cars!

I'd like to experience a Mk1 as well, and I still need to get a handle on prices/ease of obtaining one - particularly as I'm after the tourer. There are three currently on Pistonheads:

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2237207.htm
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1635174.htm
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2260802.htm

I think at least two of which are known to/owned by forum members? Would be grateful if someone could explain the higher price of the Le Mans green Mk1 - is it just dealer markup, or do Mk1s fetch more?

Thanks!

[Coasting]

Personally I would try and go for an SE with all the toys, the MKI shouldnt be particularly more than a MKII, I would expect them to be similar prices, but if you are after an estate there is a lot less choice so the prices are higher than a saloon.

Just be careful about which one to go for and do your research on each car trying to make a note of the chassis number, ie last three digits to check on here for a particular one.

Regarding prices of parts etc there is a lot worse out there and many more modern cars have crippling prices for parts when they go wrong, the ZT is relatively simple and the shares many parts with the other ZTs there are a few unique parts, but nothing really horrible to worry about.

Rear brake discs appear to be a bit problematic but it is all out there and the good chaps on this site have done a lot of work investigating solutions for when these things crop up.