TissoT
Guru
- Location
- The Home of British cycling
-
I also speak from experience having owned a Renault.
Take his advice ... and look else where
I also speak from experience having owned a Renault.
Car question
- Thread starter Accy cyclist
- Start date
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OP
OP
Accy cyclist
Legendary Member
- Location
- The hills of Accrington
Thanks for all the replies. I phoned the seller up he was a bit vague about the cars history and after reading about some of your Renault experiences i'll be giving it a miss.
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
You were lucky! Have you ever bought an
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
Buy a Vauxhall. We bought a Combo van eight years ago for £2000. It had 100,000 on the clock. It went to the scrappy last summer with 165,000 on the clock. They gave us £90. It was never serviced and passed all its MOTs without great expense. I'm not even sure that the oil filter was changed. All it needed was a few new tyres, a few batteries and a new alternator. It never went anywhere near the thieving clutches of "the professional services" of a main dealer. As the RAC man said after the last battery died..." Don't get rid of this van, mate. It's a nice little runner". In the end, the ghastly spectacle of the rusting bodywork started annoying me. I bought another old Vauxhall.
Piemaster
Guru
- Location
- UK City of Culture
Absolutely! And I'm seriously thinking about buying an older Alfa than the current one.
Family hack is a Skoda. It ticks boxes, does everything asked of it competently.
Or put another way, the Skoda is a fridge, the Alfa is the cold beer in the fridge.
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
The rusting fridge.
BrumJim
Forum Stalwart (won't take the hint and leave...)
- Location
- Selly Oak, Birmingham
[QUOTE 3571125, member: 9609"]what can the Alfa do that the Skoda can't ? (apart from rust and break down)[/QUOTE]
Quicken the heart, and make the legs go wobbly.
Quicken the heart, and make the legs go wobbly.
w00hoo_kent
One of the 64K
- Location
- Maidstone or Greenwich
Is that after you've pushed it the first 100m, or the second?
Profpointy
Legendary Member
but what about the breaking down part?
Yes, maybe. But so do BMW, Audi and Mercedes.
Piemaster
Guru
- Location
- UK City of Culture
[QUOTE 3571125, member: 9609"]what can the Alfa do that the Skoda can't ?[/QUOTE]
Fold the top down.
Alfas gained an unfortunate reputation in the UK, perhaps deservedly so at the time, but were they any worse than what was being churned out by the pinnacle of quality that was British Leyland at the time? Rust no better worse on the new ones than anything else of the same age.
I have had a couple of electrical gremlins over the 10ish years I've had one. But then the wiring looms were built by the Germans, not Alfa.
Fold the top down.
Every time. EVERY time I walk away from it I can't help but have a glance over the shoulder at it. It amused my wife greatly, until I caught her doing it as well.
Alfas gained an unfortunate reputation in the UK, perhaps deservedly so at the time, but were they any worse than what was being churned out by the pinnacle of quality that was British Leyland at the time? Rust no better worse on the new ones than anything else of the same age.
I have had a couple of electrical gremlins over the 10ish years I've had one. But then the wiring looms were built by the Germans, not Alfa.
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
I haven't seen an Alfa Sud for several decades. Odd that. I wonder what happened to them all...
sidevalve
Über Member
Back to the OP
Yes the mileage can be 'fixed'. Look for old MOT's and check on the current one. The old checks - seat condition carpets etc are easily 'fixed' by a crooked dealer but for that price it's probably not worth his while.
My bro in law has one at well over 100 thou now and has had no problems with it BUT when he took it in to a dealer for a trade in he was told it wasn't worth their time.
IMHO it's a gamble at that price anyway [and don't forget to check insurance costs].
Yes the mileage can be 'fixed'. Look for old MOT's and check on the current one. The old checks - seat condition carpets etc are easily 'fixed' by a crooked dealer but for that price it's probably not worth his while.
My bro in law has one at well over 100 thou now and has had no problems with it BUT when he took it in to a dealer for a trade in he was told it wasn't worth their time.
IMHO it's a gamble at that price anyway [and don't forget to check insurance costs].
I haven't seen an Alfa Sud for several decades. Odd that. I wonder what happened to them all...
How many Ford Cortinas, Escorts, Morris Marinas, Vauxhall Cehevettes, Rover SD1s, BMW 2002s do you see in the average day and I wonder what happened to them?
Most 70s cars were rustbuckets. The Italian and Japanese car industry sorted their rust problems out, the British car industry didn't and cars like the MKIII Golf and bug eyed Merc e-class show Germany haven't entirely got on top of rust protection either.
But Italian cars are still all rust buckets because some idiot down the pub said so.
