Driving at last

**Richard2** · #1 (**permalink**) 06-22-2007, 06:43 PM

I couldn't stand it any longer. I transferred insurance from the truck to the Berlina and took it for a drive. I've had this car for a year. The only time it's been driven was the 1600 mile drive home from the purchase. It was off the road for 2 months to be painted. The rest of the time it was one problem after another. They're not all resolved yet, but it starts well and is very drivable. We had it out for an hour of fun. Even the windshield wipers worked in the rain.

I really need to find a trailer hitch for the 164 so I can part with the truck on a permanent basis, and add the Berlina as a daily driver. I really don't want to insure more the 2 cars at a time. It's going to be a pretty nice car.

**Bill S** · #2 (**permalink**) 06-22-2007, 08:09 PM

Well, that sounds very encouraging. You probably know every nut and bolt in the car at this point! Enjoy.

Bill

acurtiss · #3 (**permalink**) 06-22-2007, 09:38 PM

Berlinas are so very driveable, aren't they?

I don't know what your insurance is like, but I found with mine that if I added more cars the price went *down* with the 'multiple car' discount.

**Richard2** · #4 (**permalink**) 06-22-2007, 10:20 PM

Bill...I know more nuts and bolts than when I started. Unfortunately, too many. I definitely know how to take the head off and put it back. I also can rebuild a Weber now.
I'm sure there will be more to come

Acurtiss...True the cost per car comes down, but the total insurance bill still goes up. It's the out of pocket money I'm concerned with. Besides there are only 2 drivers in our family. Why would I insure 3.

acurtiss · #5 (**permalink**) 06-22-2007, 11:17 PM

Right, I meant my total bill has actually gone down when I've added vehicles! Ok, only by 10 - 15 dollars, but still.

adenzeno · #6 (**permalink**) 06-23-2007, 07:37 AM

The real Q is since you can only drive one car at a time, why do the Ins Companies make you pay for 2 or 3?

**Andrew** · #7 (**permalink**) 06-23-2007, 09:42 AM

I have classic (Hagerty) insurance on three of my cars, which is really cheap and gives a lot of coverage. However, it requires a garage, and precludes daily going-to-work use. But it allows limited real-world use.

Andrew

**Richard2** · #8 (**permalink**) 06-23-2007, 02:01 PM

When I looked into classic insurance, it was quite limiting. Driving to a car event or car show was ok, but don't go to the store.

**101/105guy** · #9 (**permalink**) 06-23-2007, 11:19 PM

Check out L.C. Taylor classic Ins. You can drive your classic anywhere, just not to work every day ( but who wants to do that ;^) ).

**Andrew** · #10 (**permalink**) 06-24-2007, 08:50 AM

There are a bunch of different insurers; check out a copy of Hemmings or Sports Car Market for some to look into.

Andrew

MrT · #11 (**permalink**) 06-25-2007, 05:55 AM

"Why would I insure 3?" is a good question. You were in VA for a while, no? Here we are required to insure a car in order for it to be registered. If you want to do something else, you have to pay a hefty $500. fee for the privilege of registration without insuring. Of course, the money _isn't_ an insurance premium, so you are _still_ uninsured. We have many drivers and many cars, and it is often an attractive option to suspend insurance on an unused car. But you have to de-register it or the state duns you about it. They can get very sticky about it, too. I once terminated insurance on a registered Spider, planning to get classic insurance for it. That didn't work out, but I lingered too long and had to sign papers and forms and certify that the car wasn't on the road in the meantime (true). But it was a mess.

I'll bet a Berlina would be fun. We have 164s and 2L Spiders from the Alfa world.

**Richard2** · #12 (**permalink**) 06-25-2007, 07:45 AM

Never lived in VA, but I was in JAX while Steve was there. He was a great help and a friend. I would have been at the pool tech session too