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I went through this dilema about a year ago when I bought my Spider. Financially speaking, I wish I'd purchsed the absolutely cherry 1974 Spider (after looking at how much I've spent on fixing mine). I opted for the 1982 for half the price. Most of the stuff I've done has been maintenance items, and pretty standard stuff for a car of its age.

Personally, 1982 is one of my favorites. You get the styling of the S2 cars with the reliability of the Bosch L-jet fuel injection. I test drove many alfas of various vintages before I ended up buying this one, and overall I'm glad I did. I never hesitate to drive it anywhere. My girlfriend used to live 2 hours from me, and I'd go to visit her on weekends in it (leaving my nice, reliable Toyota Land Cruiser in the driveway), and only once did it let me down. This was indirectly related to the large quantity of oil coming out from the rear of the head gasket, but I digress. People (non-alfisti) regularly ask me what year it is, and are astounded to hear it's not a 70s car.

Again, this is personal preference. Some people simply don't like the "ugly bumpers" of this vintage, but they've certainly grown on me. Call it sacrilege (sp?), but I'm considering the euro bumper swap. That way I get the best of both worlds! But again, I digress. :)
 
I love my 1986 Spider with working AC. The rear spoiler and bumpers are beautiful. Although I remember admiring the cars since I saw one on "The Graduate", I had never considered buying a Spider until the guy I bought it from called and asked if I wanted to buy the car. I had admired it a few months before, and thought I couldn't afford to buy it. When he quoted me $2700, I went to the credit union and got him a cashiers check. I bought the car with 110,000 miles on it and haven't regretted it.

A couple of years ago, I hadn't driven the car for awhile, so I jumped in it and drove to Amarillo, TX from Albuquerque, NM. She purred all the way there and back.

The car has not been perfect- I have had many of the problems I've seen on this BB: electrical gremlins, speedometer not working, learned to clean the fuses, connectors, ground wires, straps, glowing alternator light, what problems common to L-jet systems. But I also read the manuals, Pat Braden's books, and others.

All I can say is that I enjoy driving the car- its fun, sexy, handles great, and I love parking next to people at work who own Miata's and telling them their car was copied from the Alfa Spider. And I bought the car to drive it. Its been dependable now that the kinks are worked out. See you on the road!
 
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