Prospective owner 1980 GTV

[kartone]

Ciao Alfisti !

I owned a GTV6 in 1982, my wife has owned two Alfsud and I have had the pleasure to drive many Alfas while visiting northern Italy.

I am currently living in Melbourne and seeking to buy a 1980 or thereabouts GTV, preferably in original conditions (not modified).
Any advice as to where to search or whom to contact is welcomed.

[Scott Farquharson]

Quite a few of us looking for these cars - best bet is ebay and the usual on-line classifieds - depends how much you want to spend - there are a few good ones for sale atm but they have been there for months as the owners want silly money for them ($4000 +)  A good one will sell for about $2500. An average one for $1000.  A poor one for $500ish.  Good luck.

[kartone]

Thanks for the insight Scott.

I looked at one last week, all original with some rust on hatch door, mechanicals OK, they're asking 9K with RWC.
Too much you say ?

[k76]

9K definitely sounds over the top. Keep in mind that these cars can rust in places that are very difficult to see. As an example my car had one known rust spot (very easy fix), but has since revealed a few hiding under a respray. If you are looking to keep it in original condition I would probably look at body, interior and mechanicals in that order.

[kartone]

Hello there k76.
Besides the hatch door where rust was clearly visible, where else do I need to look ? The hatch will need replacement, any idea of the availability & cost ?
The inside is OK with a small wear tear on the passenger seat at seatbelt height; know of anyone that does Alfa upolstery.
Mechanically the engine looked and ran well, relatively leakless engine, transaxle and auxilaries.

Scott ,
would you be available for consultation / inspection on / of my prospective purchase? The car is garaged in the SE suburbs of Melbourne, close to the M1. Would appreciate your experience with Alfas, no responsilbility implied, just friendly advice. 

[Scott Farquharson]

Wow, $9k for a 1980 Alfetta GTV - it would have to be immaculate, very low k's and in showroom condition with just about zero rust (if that is possible).  $9k would just about get you a 1998 GTV!
I would have said that an immaculate and very original car would be about $5-7k.  $9k would have to be something special.  Very good 81-86 cars are around $4k.

Use the prices as a guide and then if you find a car you like have one of the specialist Alfa shops to inspect it - eg Monza Motors/Alfpa Repairs - these guys know what to look for.

Was this particular car advertised?  If so post the ad so we can have a look.  The defects you mention don't sound like a $9k car. 

Some others to look at at the upper end - remember these guys have been advertised for months and are not selling at these prices.  The ebay car (pretty good original car with momo vega's) sold at auction (a better indicator of market value) for $2500.

http://www.carsales.com.au/used-cars/private/ALFA_ROMEO/ALFETTA/details.aspx?R=6273598&__sid=11F1A837E4A3&sort_type=2&Make=ALFA%20ROMEO&__Ns=pCar_Price_Decimal|0||pCar_PrivateSpecialFlag_Int32|1||pCar_ImageCount_Int32|1&__N=4294967249%200%20408%201216%20834%20285%20257&State=All%20States&distance=25&silo=1003&seot=0&Cr=13&__Nne=20&trecs=52&state_id=0&PriceMax=10000

http://www.carsales.com.au/used-cars/private/ALFA_ROMEO/GTV/details.aspx?R=6690252&__sid=11F1A837E4A3&sort_type=2&Make=ALFA%20ROMEO&__Ns=pCar_Price_Decimal|0||pCar_PrivateSpecialFlag_Int32|1||pCar_ImageCount_Int32|1&__N=4294967249%200%20408%201216%20834%20285%20257&State=All%20States&distance=25&silo=1003&seot=0&Cr=19&__Nne=20&trecs=52&state_id=0&PriceMax=10000

http://www.carsales.com.au/used-cars/private/ALFA_ROMEO/ALFETTA/details.aspx?R=6359959&__sid=11F1A837E4A3&sort_type=2&Make=ALFA%20ROMEO&__Ns=pCar_Price_Decimal|0||pCar_PrivateSpecialFlag_Int32|1||pCar_ImageCount_Int32|1&__N=4294967249%200%20408%201216%20834%20285%20257&State=All%20States&distance=25&silo=1003&seot=0&Cr=16&__Nne=20&trecs=52&state_id=0&PriceMax=10000

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=180309688921&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=008

[k76]

kartone,

I think its quite common for these cars to rust around the bottom of the front windscreen, any bubbling here is going to be a lot worse than it looks. Rust here can extend to the base of the a-pillar, and the beam going vertically down from the base of the a-pillar. You can have a look at this beam from the inside if you remove the small carpeted panel just forward of the door.
The inner wings are also a known spot, if the car still has the original soft water bottle lift it up and have a look under it.

Rust in other places is more "honest" and easy to spot, I think aft of the front wheels, forward and aft of the rear wheels, sills and spare wheel well are the areas to look for. And the rear hatch of course

[Fast Eddie]

The blue one in Adelaide, 3rd on Scott's list would be my pick. (Or the white one on eBay)... too many red ones (including mine).

It might even be a club members car so if you ask nicely, i am sure someone from AROCASA will see this thread and offer to inspect it for you.  Wouldnt take much effort to drive over, hire a trailer and tow it back or even train over and drive it back.

[kartone]

Scott, k76  &  Edward thanks for the input.

This afternoon a deal was struck : 1980 GTV, 88K km, all original, one owner, extremely detailed maintenance history (serviced at Cambro Motors), $ 6,750.

Next step would be a careful inspection of the GTV by a keen Alfista eye to determine priorities ... any assitance would be appreciated ... HELP !

[1750GT]

kartone, how about some pictures? Scott was right get a good eye like Monza or Marinello etc. Look on this site and get it checked and priorities set for the car.

1750GT

[Paul Gulliver]

Kartone,
If the car is as described it sounds a pretty good buy. I searched long and hard to find a relatively rust free steel bumpered 116 GTV. I ended up buying a car down in Tasmania last year that had been in dry storage for the last 16 years. Some of the cheapie's i looked at where going to cost the purchase price and more just to get RWC. So if it ticks all the boxes it's worth paying a bit more on the purchase price.

IMHO i think these cars are a bit of a sleeper as an affordable classic. In an effort to talk the price up  not down it is interesting to note that these cars are now starting to fetch  around $10,000 AUS in Italy at the monent , so hopefully the longer term trend is going to start going up. 

http://cgi.ebay.it/ALFA-ROMEO-Alfetta-GTV-1800-PRIMA-SERIE-1975_W0QQitemZ200300903201QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobile_IT?hash=item200300903201&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1385%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.it/ALFA-ROMEO-Alfetta-GTV-2-0-1980-ASI-vettura-epoca_W0QQitemZ260343331877QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobile_IT?hash=item260343331877&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1385%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1308

I don't know if you intend to use it as a daily driver or weekend car but you ought to seriously consider coming to one of the club sprint days. It's a great day out with your GTV.

Hope to see you around .


Cheers


Paul

[kartone]

Ciao 1750GT:
should be in possesion of the car by the end of next week, will post photos of the 'mistress' soon therafter.

Paul:
thanks for the Italian links. The intention is to use the car for daily commutes (16km each way), and yes I do intend to participate in  club sprint days to catch-up with you fellows and gain some insight of the Alfa's 'temperament'; when is the next meet ?

[a sharp]

Kartone
This sounds like a car the was offered to me, it was valued by Shannons at 10K as it was an untouched car, complete service history, one small repair on a front guard otherwise untoched from the day it left Milano. If this is the car, good buy, enjoy it on a few sunny weekends a year. keep it as is and it will in time replace make the investment worth whiled. Unrestored low K cars will in time will be worth a lot more then restos. note that 3 years ago in europe GTV's went for 500 quid that price tripled  before the ass fell out of the world's money markets, in time things will return to there real value.