IDK what to do!

Tops and seats will set you back a lot, so I think you're thinking correctly re offering a lower mount. I just got shot down on an offer for an 89 Grad today, but the car needs windshield, muffler, alignment, disks, and I think they're just being unrealistic on their asking price. Good luck.
Andrew

go and buy it..it's just money you where going to waste anyway, on girls , beer.. at least you will have something to show for all that money..

bianchi1 said:

go and buy it..it's just money you where going to waste anyway, on girls , beer.. at least you will have something to show for all that money..

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Now that is some superb logic. So go for it! If you can get it for the $500 you plan to offer then it sounds like a great deal.

"...only a little rust...", lol, ain't no such thing. Best check that puppy carefully.

It's a convertible. There's rust in the floor.

$1200 for a 3-year derelict non-runner is absurd. The guy is fantasizing.

$500 sounds at the high end to take a chance on it, if there's no obvious drivetrain damage. The motor should at least turn over. I'd pull the spark plugs and valve cover to see if anything is obviously bad. Check the coolant and oil for contamination. Clutch, etc. At minimum, the entire fuel system is going to have to be dismantled and cleaned, fuel tank to injectors. And it's almost certain that the $350 in fuel pumps are going to have to be replaced.

My favorite is when these owners tell a prospective buyer some BS that it would only take a couple hundred to get it running again.

I'd probably offer even lower. Almost NOBODY wants a non-runner Alfa. And a junkyard will probably charge him to pick it up.

bianchi1 said:

go and buy it..it's just money you where going to waste anyway, on girls , beer.. at least you will have something to show for all that money..

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Yea, in my lifetime I've spent a fortune on women and booze . . . . the rest I just squandered.

Even if the seller brings it to your house and you pay zero for it, once you get the car to the level that you want, and total what it cost, I will bet that it will have been way more expensive that if you had taken the same amount of money and bought the best car you could find. The most expensive Spiders are always the ones that cost the least to buy.

Best regards,

You guys sound depress over your Alfa. Give a guy some encouragement.

"Ran when parked" is one of the great ones. In my experience, people pay too much for these poor-condition, probable non-runners. For what you spend fixing up, you could have bought a much better car to begin with and been on the road already. If you have an upholstery shop install your top, the total can easily be $1000, at least at Calif labor rates.
I know the appeal of cheap nasty cars; I've bought many of them. But I'm not willing to pay much, and I can do my own work, "free" by my delusional calculation.
Andrew

That's what we call a rat here in Nebraska.