**BEWARE ***BEWARE ***THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BARGAIN ALFA

[SA ALFA FAN]

Having recently listed an Alfa or 2 for VERY sad sale, it has become increasingly obvious that many of the enquiries come from potential "Bargain Hunters". Having had the pleasure to have owned 4 other Alfas, I have had my fair share of problems but as the saying goes 'love is blind'. I too have previously been guilty of trying to buy ALfas 'on the cheap' and at first, they may look good, even sound good, but the honeymoon is short lived. The lesson I have learned is if the seller is willing to allow you to cut corners and grab a so called bargain, then the seller too is sure to be guilty of doing the same thing in terms of maintenance and sevicing of his car. If it seems to be too good to be true then it usually is!

I in fact saw a 1988 Alfa 33 on the SA forum and it was priced at $800. A phone call made this prospect sound promising. Low kilometres, piles of 'receipts' and a plausible excuse for the sale and it did indeed look good and sound good with an "overhauled gearbox and clutch". "Just reg it and enjoy" the buyer said after counting his money that came out of my wallet. Well sure enough a few days into ownership of my little toy, an awful crunching started occurring upon changing gears. A call to a local northern Alfa specialist who had overhauled the gearbox revealed he had "done everything" for $1200, except the clutchplate!!! to save himself time and a lousy $50 for a clutchplate. Kind of important to do I discovered! (the hard way).

I write this because a lot of potential buyers of my cars quote at me other Alfas for sale at cheaper prices. Indeed one chap on Ebay even offered me $9000 for my 166!! declaring he wanted a "bargain" Alfa. Needless to say he didn't buy my 166!! Please, please use a value guide as found on Carpoint or carsales or in "Just cars".

I only ever buy good Alfas now and if necessary pay that little bit more for them, I am an Alfaholic, and am always willing to buy, trade intersting antique and classic Alfas. I also maintain my cars to the highest standards with the immense help of a fantastic Adelaide Alfa specialist, Tim Ringwood (08) 8339 4247. What Tim doesn't know about properly maintaining Alfas is not in existence, he owns many beautiful Alfas himself and is a master craftsman and a PERFECTIONIST.

My cars, reluctantly may be purchased due to some temporary fiscal issues. However they have been PROPERLY MAINTAINED and will give many, many years of trouble free motoring. They are my babies, I love them and it shows. They are ready to drive and enjoy anywhere. I will not race them, although I do enjoy motor sport too many road cars have been forever lost to racing. Thanks for your enquiries and happy Alfa'ring

Regards
Edward