Is the 75 a good daily driver?

[italiansedanman]

And I mean this in the context of reliability. I am looking at getting a new daily driver, something that doesn't guzzle petrol, and that has air con, and that is a relatively nice place to be for 40 minutes at a time as a commute. I am after a twin spark manual and totally original.

I've never driven a 75 unfortunately, or had much experience with them. So what am I looking for? Is a 'good' example likely to give me many problems, and what kind of mileage can I expect?

I live on the East Coast of Australia, it gets fairly hot here and i'm a bit tired of driving my 60's and 70's cars in the blazing heat with their black interiors and no a/c, little ventilation etc, etc.

Give me your input, as i'm very interested. I dont want to buy a boring car, and the prospect of owning an Alfa that i've not owned before is quite exciting.

[Craig]

G'Day Ben,

By choice, my TS is my daily driver. It's not a Camry in any sense .

Caveat: It's still a 20 year old car.


Comfort level is good. Depending on your body shape.

Not boring.

A/C and ventilation is fair.

Not boring.

Reliability is good.

Not boring.

I get 10l/100km (others get 8l/100km so my right foot must be a little heavy).

Not boring.

[alfettish]

Get one, you won't be disappointed. The ultimate version of the best engine they produced, and the ultimate street chassis on a real Alfa. You'll cart the whole gang around in comfort too.

[oz3litre]

Get one for sure! I drive mine daily and it is used as the family car. It is an absolute joy to drive. When we take it on club runs through the hills I just want to keep driving. The handling, responsivenes and the motor are brilliant. Without reserve I say it is the best car I have ever owned. When I am driving it I almost feel sorry for everyone else, except maybe Ferrari or Porsche drivers, but they can have their maintainence costs. In my opinion 75s represent the pinnacle of Alfa's rear wheel drive design. The only Alfa that would beat it would be an SZ which was based on the 75 but with rose joints and coil overs on the suspension. They don't exist in Australia and are very rare in Europe, and only came in left hand drive. As far as reliability is concerned, I think it is a matter of getting any existing faults fixed and then maintaing it well. I think the stories about poor electrics on Alfas for example are exaggerated. So far they don't seem any different or worse than any other car I have owned. If you do your own work it is not hard to keep it all working. Don't let auto electricians loose on it. But you probably know that already. My aircon isn't working because I haven't got around to having it regassed. The main thing with that is not to let them put R34 in it but an R12 equivalent because the new stuff isn't cold enough for older systems according to advice I have been given. I don't know about Twin Spark economy because mine is a 3 litre V6.
Boring is not a word you can attach to any Alfa as far as I know and 75s are as far away from boring as a car can possibly get.

[alfettish]

Yeah and the 2litre will handle alot better than a v6 because of the weight issue.

[Gubi]

I drive mine every day. Works great for me - much more practical than the Spider, and yet interesting enough that I don't get bored with it. Like any older car it took me a bit to get everything sorted out, but after that the reliability has been fine.

I have to disagree with one thing said, though: a significant portion of the teething problems with my Milano were electrical-related. The electrics are definitely more quirky than in my Spider, but it's still a simpler electrical system than the 164 so when problems do crop up they generally aren't too tough to sort out.

With the 2.5L my average mileage has been about 20 miles per US gallon. Not exactly stellar, but that's with California gas, a lot of stop-and-go, and a heavy throttle foot (Gubi like hear revs! Woo!)

[oz3litre]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alfettish Yeah and the 2litre will handle alot better than a v6 because of the weight issue.

[py105]

Ben ben ben... You just never stop thinking do ya buddy

[fraz]

Been driving my 3 liter for many years and she is quite reliable. Just stay on top of the timing belt/tensioner and you can drive the piss out of these cars.

[alfettish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oz3litre That aint necessarily so. My V6 has absolutely no hint of the understeer or body roll they often talk about because it was set up by Beninca Motors and has Koni yellows on it. It is dead neutral. It will corner a lot faster than I am game to push it and responds instantly to the wheel. My 2 litre Alfetta GTV isn't quite as sharp, despite having the same Konis. I haven't driven a 75 TS to compare.

[oz3litre]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alfettish Well stock cars are very different from improved cars.

[py105]

The V6 is thirstier though by a noticeable margin and the man is looking for decent fuel consumption

[italiansedanman]

I've been driving Alfas all my life, so I've no fear of the cars (i've done time with a 33...) I guess I just dont want another car that 's going to be a continual maintenance magnet, because i'm still going to run the 1750, and my 525 Touring. Mortals would suggest that I do get something "normal" or common, but its against my religion...

More advice and quirks please, you're all encouraging me. I was seriously thinking along the lines of a LHD Integrale, but that would be ridiculous in terms of maintenance and upkeep, and practicality and parts supply etc, etc. The 75 is from the same era, shares many styling cues and is Italian and RWD... Its looking like a good case.

[alfettish]

Dude Get The Delta!!!!!!!

[italiansedanman]

I'd absolutely love an Integrale, but I live in the Northern Rivers area of NSW - they look at you funny when you ask for Bosch parts for an Alfa ignition at Repco - can you imagine the life of a commuter in a Delta up here?!?!