Looking to buy

[ethand]

Hi guys,
Well a year after selling my well-loved Eunos Presso (or 30x) for a 'practical' Mazda 323 SP20 sedan, I'm itching for something which gives me the same wonderful sensations I used to get with the old Eunos! I test drove a couple of '01-'03 147s, which were beautiful, and I just drove a '00 Alfa Spider & I'm completely won over! The Spider I drove is being privately sold, has about 115k kms on the clock and full service history. It's always been garaged & the roof is in brand new condition, as is most of the car.
I was just wondering if there is anything specific I should look out for/be careful of when buying a car like this? I understand that parts/servicing will likely be more expensive than my SP20 has been, but on a car like this, how expensive is it likely to be?? Mechanics told me that the SP20 would be 'heaps cheaper' to service than my Eunos, but I think it has been about the same.
Are there any tell-tale signs to look out for with regard to servicing? It drove superbly and the engine looked as though it had just been detailed!
To the best of my knowledge, it is fault free except for the airbag light staying on, which I understand can be caused by replacing a completely flat battery with a brand new one, as did happen to this car only a few weeks back...
Looking forward to hearing from you & seeing you all around on the forums.

Cheers
Ethan

[colcol]

Take the car to an Alfa Romeo Independant Specialist and have a pre purchase check to see what needs doing and what hasn't been done.
The cam belts on the Twin Spark and JTS models need to be done every 3 years or 50-60k or whatever comes first, this is non negotiable, if you leave it too long, the timing belt will malfunction and being an interference, you will ruin your engine.
The 4 cylinders like a drink of oil, so make sure it hasn't been run low and a cheap patch up job hasn't been done to get it going before its sold.
The correct oil for the twin spark is 10-40 fully synthetic and for the JTS 10-60 fully synthetic, and it must be changed on time.
The spare part prices aren't to bad and are most likely the same as expensive Mazda prices, you can do a lot of shopping around and save money by doing your research.
The airbag light could be on due to a voltage spike or loose connection or even a faulty airbag computer module??, get it checked out.
The front suspensions on these start to rattle about 80k, usually the top wishbones and then the anti roll bar bushes get loose, something to get checked out, Colin.

[ethand]

Thanks so much for the wealth of knowledge, Colin! Is there an Alfa Romeo Independent Specialist you can recommend for such an inspection? I'll make sure to do this before making the purchase and will double check the details on the service history at the same time to check the cam belts & oil have been done consistently. Is this something that the specialist would be able to pick up in their checks also? Or will it just be from what I can see in the service history?
Cheers
Ethan

[ethand]

Sadly, the spider I talked about in the above post sold before my own car did. I'm still looking around & have found a V6 GTv with 145k kms on it at a very good price, but it's in need of a timing belt soon. Any clues on how expensive this is likely to be? Or would my best bet be to call a local Alfa shop?
Cheers

[colcol]

Call your local Independant Alfa Romeo Service Provider for a price on a V-6 cam belt change, it has to be done every 5 years, and when you find a car, get them to do a pre purchase check, Colin.

[poohbah]

Ethan, I see you are in Perth. I recommend cileberti motors in Osborne park. Very good.

[poohbah]

There is also Autodelta in Malaga who are reported to be good too. I haven't used them personally, but have heard good things. Not sure about any Alfa specialists south of the river, if that is where you are located.

[poohbah]

Ethan, last time I had the cambelt changed on my V6 it cost about $1800 from memory. Total cost was more as I had a few other things done too.