Cheap Dailys??

[baldrick]

Whats cheap actually mean? 

I'm a newbie here, joined in February after picking up a '03 147 manual for $3K with a touch over 100,000km on the clock, timing belt recently done. Its joyful little jigger. Sweet, free-revving 2.0 litre four. Nice chassis balance and good steering and brakes.... albeit a bit underdamped (spring rates feel good though) comfortable, good looking. I've given it an oil and filters change,  replaced the crank sensor and sorted a few niggles - seat lifter, door lock.

A friend drives an '02 Corolla 1.8 manual that he bought 3 months earlier, for $500 more, with DOUBLE the Km's. The 147 makes more torque at lower revs and more power at higher revs than the Corolla, the Toyota has bum basic cloth seats to the Alfas' comfortable leather, manual window winders to the 147 power windows, optional but basic aircon to the 147 climate control. Alfa has ABS, stability control and traction control. ABS was an option on the '02 Corolla. And the funny bit? 147 has 6 airbags, '02 Corolla just the one.... and its subject to the Takata recall..!

In the used market the 147 is a bargain compared to the same model year Corolla. The 147 gets me 8.5l/100km around town driven without an eye to economy and my fully comp insurance cost all of $280. Its a fun daily driver and cheap to buy and run.

Plus this forum is fun.... can you imagine what a Corolla forum must be like? 


     

[V AR 164]

Well, it didn't take long for the voices in my head to start screaming, 'a Toyota??? a Mazda??? HOW COULD YOU!?!?'.

Turns out I have given in, and decided to spend a bit more in getting a very nice and comfortable daily driver, and it has an Alfa badge too.

I am going to go have a look at a 2006 159 JTD 6 speed manual this weekend (2.4 liter 5 cylinder turbo diesel). It has a complete service history and always serviced by Alfa mechanics, eg Zagame. The only downside, is that it has quite a few kilometers on the clock. Of course this doesn't bother me, because it is how the car has been maintained, not the kilometers it has traveled which is what matters.

Anyone have any opinions on the car, what to look out for, what goes wrong, whats the economy like, are these engines reliable? etc.

Hopefully it goes well and I'll have a nice 164Q as the weekend car and a 159 as the daily.

Cheers, Andrew.

[poohbah]

Flash!

[john m]

Baldrick,

Welcome to the family....

[poohbah]

Now that you are back in Alfa mode Andrew how about this from fellow club member? He's even willing to drive it down from Sydney to Melbourne ...

www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php?topic=18333.msg0#new

You already know the Busso, and you'll love the 6sp.

[McAnnik]

  Hi Guys,, not much street cred in anything mentioned
so far....how about  a      '84  Pontiac  Fiero   RHD  has been on club plates......no reg problems. If you dont know what  these are... google it .......and be amazed!!   $1000 gets it.   PM or what  ever.

[ugame]

Good outcome.

As for the person who suggested an NX coupe, shame on you. There has never been, nor will there ever be, an uglier car with a Nissan badge.

YUK (imho of course).

[Pseudonym]

Lol, you forgot about the Nissan Arna [emoji23]

Sent from my HTC 2PS5200 using Tapatalk

[poohbah]

And the Micra Cabriolet

[Pseudonym]

Those blue and white ones with solid half doors? My mate had one of those, I'm not sure why but hugely popular with the ladies [emoji23]

Sent from my HTC 2PS5200 using Tapatalk

[Citroënbender]

Probably pheromones.

I'm downvoting the 159, it's too same-same. 

Other barges to explore include the LS400, Stagea, Century.

But I would advocate a small van for the feeling of something different with fun and versatility mixed in. Caddy, Kangoo, Berlingo are all well serviced with internet parts and mostly interchange chassis elements with a related performance hatch from the same company.

[poohbah]

CB, I think you are forgetting Andrew is a young man. Ergo, a delivery van may not be all that appealing.

That said, when I was a student in my early 20s (ie broke), I owned a string of clapped out old station wagons (2 x Valiants, and one HJ wagon). Each one cost $500-$1000 to buy, I spent zero dollars on maintenance (just fuel and 3rd party insurance) and I drove them til they were completely buggered, then flogged them for whatever I could get as rolling parts cars, and bought the next one. Not one of them had working locks, and the HJ could be started by just turning the ignition lock with your fingers. I loved every one of them, never had to worry about them being scratched, dented or stolen, and drove them all over the country. They were also great for hauling amplifiers/guitars/people from gig to gig, and had plenty of room for sleeping in the back when required. All of them lasted at least two years.

Nowadays you probably can't get a running Valiant or Kingswood wagon for that kind of money, but if I was in Andrew's shoes and was looking for super cheap go-anywhere practicality with zero care factor, a post '95 Commodore, Falcon, or Camry wagon could be had for next to nothing and fill the same role.

[Citroënbender]

The problem with newer wagons is they lack the space of older ones like those you cite. Less headroom in the back, more sloped rear glass and a more "wraparound" aspect to the sides. 

A van will - like your wagons - cart music gear/adventure kit/camping stuff etc, most are engineered to be frugal on fuel, they lock up securely and when required you can almost kip comfortably in them.

[poohbah]

Yep I see what you mean. But I will say, we owned an AU wagon. It had a bigger load area with seats down than a hino tray truck!

[ugame]

And the Micra Cabriolet

Well played sir. Well played.

I'd argue though that the Micra Cabriolet at least "may" have been attractive for young P plater ladies perhaps.

The NX Coupe isn't attractive to anyone. It serves no market or purpose.

It's only saving grace is the SR20 under the hood, coupled with it's RWD configuration.

But a clean un-molested S13 silvia will give you both of those with the added bonus of not requiring a paper bag to drive it, which brings us back to the question of "why oh why did the NX coupe ALSO have a Targa Roof?"