Buying a GTV6

[alex]

Hi Alfa fans,
I am considering buying a GTV6 as a car to drive 3-4 days per week. Is this okay to do, or are these Alfa's really ready for the Sunday, dry weather  only category? I have found a 83 model which is priced reasonably, but a few things aren't quite factory. I think anyway? Such as the later style dash and colour coded bumpers and lower door areas. Is this model injected?
I look forward to any feedback.

http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=8494677&keywords=gtv6&tsrc=allcarhome&__Ntk=CarAll&__Nne=15&__Dx=mode%20matchany&__D=gtv6&silo=1011&seot=1&__sid=1271FC521150&__N=1216%201246%201247%201252%201282&__Ns=pCar_RankSort_Int32|1||pCar_PriceSort_Decimal|1||pCar_Make_String|0||pCar_Model_String|0&__Qpb=true&__Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&Cr=0&__Ntt=gtv6&trecs=10

[dehne]

this car looks to be in great and the mods made are only to enhance it seems to have a good service history and as long as it goes well i would buy it everything seems to be done so all i can say is
SIT DOWN, SHUT UP AND ENJOY THE BEST RIDE OF UR LIFE

[alanm]

Hi Alex
The GTV6 is a comfortable car to use as an everyday drive. The steering is relatively heavy at parking speeds but fine when you get moving, the clutch is not overly heavy the brakes are excellent. Heating/demisting is good, front and rear, so winter is no problem. Ventilation and air conditioning is not so good. Anything over 27 degrees or so is not so good in heavy traffic. The cooling system copes easily with hot weather, even extreme if it is properly sorted.
I use mine at least 4 days a week and I really enjoy it.
Alan

[MD]

It's not so much how many days of the week you drive a car- any car. It's more about where you drive it.
30 km of country roads followed by 2km of high traffic to get to the office or 30km of stop start urban mobile car parks.

If it is the former, burn rubber to the vendor and buy it.
If it's the latter, get an automatic anything fitted with a homing device that gets you to work while you nap.

[alex]

I live in Adelaide, not much traffic and work 8 km from home in the opposite direction of heavy traffic, so not much hard stop start driving.
The car has two rust spots, one on a rear guard which I know from previous experience can get ugly and expensive. It was resprayed some time ago (I believe in 2000). Should I be put off by a respray? I think it was bare metal, so is this the best way to avoid future rusting? I know there's not much that can be done, but I've owned Alfa's in the past and I once bought a car that looked fantastic and quickly turned bad. How do you guys keep on top of this issue?

Thank you for all of your replies, they have been very helpful.

[116gtv]

that seems like a car to look at further, at least. what makes you think the dash and lower door areas are modified? the colour coding isnt everyones cup of tea, true. however, it could have badly faded and warped bumpers instead. i quite like the re-trim inside, better than a torn, faded factory interior IMO.. an 8 year old respray is better than a fresh one unless you have first hand knowledge of the job, as it cant hide flaws as easy over time.

I'd carefully inspect for rust from leaking sunroof drains. if you intend to drive the car 3-4 days per week, and have to rely on it, you want to make sure it's mechanically sound. the description of repairs, conducted by Avanti, sounds promising, which you should consider in the purchase price, because engine, gearbox and prop shaft work can quickly add up in $$, particularly if you dont know your way around these cars nor have a sympathetic, capable workshop..

[116gtv]

and yes, all GTV6s in Oz were injected,

[MD]

Alex,

The post by 116gtv is spot on. Recent resprays can be a concern unless you know the car and the owner. Long term resprays can simply be about conservation in the best interest of the car. If it was resprayed 10 years ago, most of the original gremlins would have resurfaced by now if the job was a shoddy one. The stuff that is evident now is most likely all you need need to factor in.

Painting the plastics around the car actually keeps them from U.V. breakdown so that's a good thing.

All that said, if you need a daily driver to fight peak hour traffic , this would not be my choice of car (even though I have one).

This is a car for the motoring soul. Well sorted tuned and maintained, they are extremely gratifying for the simple pleasure of driving a motor car. That rarely happens in commuting traffic. Too many cops and not enough bends..

[alanm]

Alex, 8 klms in Adelaide probably equates to 15-20 minutes yes?

I drive mine in peak Melbourne traffic for 30 - 40 minutes and that is fine, but I wouldn't want to be in the car for too much longer especially in hot weather. I do all my city driving at the beginning and end of the day and the car is in an underground (cool, dry) car park all day. I thinks thats an important factor for me because when I get into the car at the end of a summers day its not scorching hot. I say that because the air conditioning is blowing out chilled air but it will never bring the temperature of the interior of the car down.

A couple of things I forgot to say in my earlier post.
The seats are very comfortable even by todays standards, the interior ergonomics for a 6ft guy passable. The gear change is just passable on my Grand Prix (with Isostatic linkages?). I have heard people say that the flexibility of the motor is a factor in the enjoyment of the car in traffic because it means you can avoid swapping gears as often!

On the open road, the car definitely shines, but I must say I do like showing it off in the city too. Its got presence and charisma and makes good noises too!!

Afterthought... I think the condition of the car will make a big difference to its enjoyment, a well sorted car is always going to deliver a better experience than a roughy. Service history is very important. Fork out any necessary money straight up and enjoy the benefits if you can.

Cheers,
Alan

[franck]

hi alex i have a gtv6 that is going for sale if you want detail please pm me and will give you all detail on the car its an 85 white with 135k

[1750GT]

Alex, I think I tend to agree with the sentiments of most of the posts. These are great cars but unless your driving them in non peak hour traffic and fair distance and not stop start you'll soon get sick of driving it as a daily driver. In addition these are cars which (unless your handy with the spanner) you need to take care of them and that means:
> The car is properly garaged.
> Money on regaular servicing and replacement is a necessity
> A good mechanic that you know and knows the cars well (otherwise you get badly ripped off and problems)
> They need a good open road run regularly (which is a good thing)
If your going to keep it parked outside and haven't got the money to be ready to take on some expensive servicing and repairs at times then your not ready for this car.

1750GT

[alex]

Thanks guys for the continual feedback and info, I'm not far from Ital Service, and they've always done a great job of looking after my european cars. I own a Ducati, so I understand the importance of staying on top of things.
If I buy a GTV6, it will need to get driven as an occasional commuter and the good blast through hills - no problems.

Franck, where is your 85 GTV located? In SA? If so, I'd be quite keen to have a look and what is the price?

I've contacted the owner of the red 83 model and he emailed me a very decent reduced price, but as he is after a quick sale I might not get to it in time.

Regards,
Alex.

[alex]

that seems like a car to look at further, at least. what makes you think the dash and lower door areas are modified?

I wasn't 100% sure but I thought the 83 and earlier models had the tacho in the middle of the dash and I thought only the Grand Prix edition had colour coded front and rear bumpers and side skirts. When you're spending a decent amount of money on a car, I like it to be as original as possible, however, the two on my good list seem slightly modified. I'm just thinking of longer term desirability, originality is always preferred, but we're not talking about a $50,000 classic, so I'm probably being a bit picky 

An ex gtv6 owner is telling me to really have a good think about purchasing this type of car (suggesting keeping the body free of rust is next too impossible) however, both owners of cars I'm looking at are quite confident that their vehicles are a safe buy.

I understand they may be uncomfortable, heavy steering, low seat position, but I also ride a motorycle so anything with a roof and a proper seat is considered a luxury to me 

[116gtv]

if its a late 83 then it could have had the single dash from factory, as well as the interior update.

we know that the bumpers and side skirts are colour coded which is not factory, nor is the seat trim. personally i wouldnt worry about it  at this price level - asking price is $8k now. If it bothers you then you may want to check out those that look original in the ads, such as this one

http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=7941278&keywords=alfetta&tsrc=allcarhome&__Ntk=CarAll&__Nne=15&__Dx=mode%20matchany&__D=alfetta&silo=1011&seot=1&__sid=1264766BC374&__N=1216%201246%201247%201252%201282&__Ns=pCar_RankSort_Int32|1||pCar_PriceSort_Decimal|1||pCar_Make_String|0||pCar_Model_String|0&__Qpb=true&__Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&Cr=5&__Ntt=alfetta&trecs=11

My thought regarding long term desireability is - you buy for less, you sell for less.. there is always a market at the lower end..

Have you actually driven one yet? A test drive in a well maintained example will help you make up your mind very quickly, as you have enough feed back about its short falls but the driving experience of a good Alfetta GTV6 is hard to explain..

[alex]

Yes I've driven a few, the best was owned by a relative, and the driving experience was sensational, not fast, but so involved I loved it. That's why I am considering owning one. Before buying my current shape wrx, I test drove a 147GTA, that had the power the 116 GTV6 needed, but trying to get the front end to deal with all those horses was quite scary!

None of the cars are in my state, which doesn't really help, but a one way airfare isn't too expensive

How did you find that one? Under the search, Alfa, GTV6 it wasn't listed.