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Hey all, I'm new to the forum, but I just wanted to ask a a lot few questions to all of you. First off, I found this s3 1987 Alfa Spider Graduate with 140k miles. It's on its second owner, and after talking to the owner on the phone he seems like a nice guy. He said he was trying to make it perfect for his wife, but then got divorced. He said that in the past few years has put in: a new clutch, top, new seat covers, rebuilt the fuel injection system, and a new windshield. He said that he's done all the work on at a local mechanic that specializes in Mercs, Porsches, and Alfas ( I looked the mechanic up he has very good reviews - 4.9 from 40 reviews), and that he has all the receipts for the work done on it. The car also has 0 rust. I asked him the reason he's selling it and he told me that he just bought another car, and no longer has space to garage it for the winter, and with the work done to it, he doesn't want to leave it sitting in a field, so he's looking to sell it to someone who will enjoy it and take care of it, even if it means taking a loss. He said that he would be open to negotiating something under $3000 for it.
Here are the reasons I want to pick the car up:
1) I'm visual arts major, and have always been a huge fan of car design. I have always wanted something designed by Pinifarina. I'm also absolutely in love with Italian artistry, F1, the history, and that general aesthetic. There is nothing on the road is like it.
2) I don't mind a slow car, and have heard that these handle and feel amazing to drive.
3) it's an Italian car. C'mon.
4) I've heard its easy to work on, and I wouldn't mind getting some more personal up close experience with maintenance and repairs.
5) I live 20 minutes away from Centerline Alfa in Colorado, so I'd never have to pay for shipping on parts. They are also neighbors with a shop that knows A LOT about Alfa Spiders, (albeit they said that they don't work on the fuel injection system).
5) Insurance should be cheap considering it would be under my uncles name, and because I'm part of the family plan and have very good grades in college.
6) Outside of this semester because of covid, the car would 90% of the time be driven in the late spring, summer and early fall, and garaged during snowfall.
7) I have family members that are now working online, so in the worst case scenario, I'll have a spare car.
8) it is the Graduate, meaning there is 100% less stuff in the car to break, including not having AC.
Now here are my reservations for picking the car up:
1) I'm 20 and in college (on an almost full scholarship), and am a bit afraid about reliability. I don't mind working on it for maintenance and some stuff, but I'd rather not be 70% working 30% driving you know. I know almost everything about how cars work, (I worked at an advance auto parts for a year and had to learn) but I don't have much actual experience. I worked a lot on my buddy's cars, NA Miata, RSX, and Mazdaspeed 3. Again, I have no problem working on it and learning, in addition to that my buddy would always be willing to help me, and he is much more knowledgeable, but still, I'd like it to be at least decently relatively reliable. Again my main concern is that I'll be working on it more than driving.
2) I'm worried about maintenance costs, right now I don't have a super stable income, but I do have something around 5k saved. As soon as have any car, I'll do some Grubhub just to put a little cash in my pocket. The reason I don't have work this second is mainly because of covid - I live with my old abuela and don't want to risk her getting sick - but I'm planning on working next summer provided everything is better.
3) I've been told by my buddy (yes the same one) that its a stupid idea, he thinks its one of the stupidest car decisions I could do. He's pushing me to go American or Japanese. Some other cars in mind that I really like are the V6 Fiero ( love the way it looks, and the interior is amazing, I've just heard it handles okay, is hard to work on and isnt very fast), the MR2 ( kind of hard to find right now ), The Firebird (I actually REALLY like this car, but I cant really find any Trans Ams or Formulas for sale at a decent price right now), and a F-body Camaro. I think the Camaro is OKAY, but I actually really like the Firebird and the Fiero and the MR2, but none of them compare to the love I have for the Alfa. I did however find a 5 speed v6 SE Fiero with 110k miles. The guy is asking $3500, but there really isn't history on the car from what I'm aware, and he's been a bit hard to work with (most likely busy tho)
4) I'm worried that I'll go upside down on the car. The guy selling seems trustworthy (esp. when compared to the other people I've dealt with, and the cars I've seen) and he says everything is working on it perfectly, but at the end of the day it's still an alfa, If I have a catastrophic failure, I don't want to end up absolutely upside down. But I guess worst case scenario I can sell it, but in that scenario I'm afraid its going to be sitting for a while on the market.
5) I'm honestly worried that I'll make a bad decision lol, and that I'll have a car I like but cant drive. I know it's not really that much money for a car, but its still a big decision for me, as it would be one of the biggest purchases I've made.
So ultimately, I just want some advice. The alfa is a dream car for me, but I'm worried that I'm in over my head and that it'll be too much for me to handle, but I'm also concerned that this will be one of the last times I'll be able to get one of these for a reasonable price.
Final Questions:
Is this a stupid idea? Should I go for the Fiero?
Do you think it would be reliable enough to be a summer daily?
How expensive have you found your spider to be on a yearly basis? Both from an insurance/maintenance standpoint?
Do you think it wouldn't be a good first 100% self owned car? (for the past few years I've taken care of and driven a CRV, but it technically wasn't mine lol).
If I do go for the car, what are some tools/things you all consider absolutely necessary? What are some items of preventative maintenance that I can invest into to make it as close to fool proof as possible? What are some big things/sounds too look and listen out for when buying an s3?
So with NO BULL****, tell me your honest experience with your spiders, and tell me your honest opinion on this idea. Try and be as unbiased as possible.
There are some photos of the car below.
Thank you all so much,
Juan
Here are the reasons I want to pick the car up:
1) I'm visual arts major, and have always been a huge fan of car design. I have always wanted something designed by Pinifarina. I'm also absolutely in love with Italian artistry, F1, the history, and that general aesthetic. There is nothing on the road is like it.
2) I don't mind a slow car, and have heard that these handle and feel amazing to drive.
3) it's an Italian car. C'mon.
4) I've heard its easy to work on, and I wouldn't mind getting some more personal up close experience with maintenance and repairs.
5) I live 20 minutes away from Centerline Alfa in Colorado, so I'd never have to pay for shipping on parts. They are also neighbors with a shop that knows A LOT about Alfa Spiders, (albeit they said that they don't work on the fuel injection system).
5) Insurance should be cheap considering it would be under my uncles name, and because I'm part of the family plan and have very good grades in college.
6) Outside of this semester because of covid, the car would 90% of the time be driven in the late spring, summer and early fall, and garaged during snowfall.
7) I have family members that are now working online, so in the worst case scenario, I'll have a spare car.
8) it is the Graduate, meaning there is 100% less stuff in the car to break, including not having AC.
Now here are my reservations for picking the car up:
1) I'm 20 and in college (on an almost full scholarship), and am a bit afraid about reliability. I don't mind working on it for maintenance and some stuff, but I'd rather not be 70% working 30% driving you know. I know almost everything about how cars work, (I worked at an advance auto parts for a year and had to learn) but I don't have much actual experience. I worked a lot on my buddy's cars, NA Miata, RSX, and Mazdaspeed 3. Again, I have no problem working on it and learning, in addition to that my buddy would always be willing to help me, and he is much more knowledgeable, but still, I'd like it to be at least decently relatively reliable. Again my main concern is that I'll be working on it more than driving.
2) I'm worried about maintenance costs, right now I don't have a super stable income, but I do have something around 5k saved. As soon as have any car, I'll do some Grubhub just to put a little cash in my pocket. The reason I don't have work this second is mainly because of covid - I live with my old abuela and don't want to risk her getting sick - but I'm planning on working next summer provided everything is better.
3) I've been told by my buddy (yes the same one) that its a stupid idea, he thinks its one of the stupidest car decisions I could do. He's pushing me to go American or Japanese. Some other cars in mind that I really like are the V6 Fiero ( love the way it looks, and the interior is amazing, I've just heard it handles okay, is hard to work on and isnt very fast), the MR2 ( kind of hard to find right now ), The Firebird (I actually REALLY like this car, but I cant really find any Trans Ams or Formulas for sale at a decent price right now), and a F-body Camaro. I think the Camaro is OKAY, but I actually really like the Firebird and the Fiero and the MR2, but none of them compare to the love I have for the Alfa. I did however find a 5 speed v6 SE Fiero with 110k miles. The guy is asking $3500, but there really isn't history on the car from what I'm aware, and he's been a bit hard to work with (most likely busy tho)
4) I'm worried that I'll go upside down on the car. The guy selling seems trustworthy (esp. when compared to the other people I've dealt with, and the cars I've seen) and he says everything is working on it perfectly, but at the end of the day it's still an alfa, If I have a catastrophic failure, I don't want to end up absolutely upside down. But I guess worst case scenario I can sell it, but in that scenario I'm afraid its going to be sitting for a while on the market.
5) I'm honestly worried that I'll make a bad decision lol, and that I'll have a car I like but cant drive. I know it's not really that much money for a car, but its still a big decision for me, as it would be one of the biggest purchases I've made.
So ultimately, I just want some advice. The alfa is a dream car for me, but I'm worried that I'm in over my head and that it'll be too much for me to handle, but I'm also concerned that this will be one of the last times I'll be able to get one of these for a reasonable price.
Final Questions:
Is this a stupid idea? Should I go for the Fiero?
Do you think it would be reliable enough to be a summer daily?
How expensive have you found your spider to be on a yearly basis? Both from an insurance/maintenance standpoint?
Do you think it wouldn't be a good first 100% self owned car? (for the past few years I've taken care of and driven a CRV, but it technically wasn't mine lol).
If I do go for the car, what are some tools/things you all consider absolutely necessary? What are some items of preventative maintenance that I can invest into to make it as close to fool proof as possible? What are some big things/sounds too look and listen out for when buying an s3?
So with NO BULL****, tell me your honest experience with your spiders, and tell me your honest opinion on this idea. Try and be as unbiased as possible.
There are some photos of the car below.
Thank you all so much,
Juan