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Why are Alfa's so cheap second hand???



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 6th 04, 03:20 PM
joomper
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Default Why are Alfa's so cheap second hand???

Allright, I know this example has high mileage, but in general why is a car
that sounds this good (and Alfa's in general) quite cheap to buy second hand
in the UK??

http://makeashorterlink.com/?W27C46939

Are they expensive to service/parts?? Checked insurance and it isn't that
bad. So there must be some reason???? Isn't there????

TIA

--
Put Your Focus Where Your Mouth Is


Ads
  #2  
Old September 6th 04, 04:11 PM
Ian Riches
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Default

joomper ) wrote...
> Allright, I know this example has high mileage, but in general why is a car
> that sounds this good (and Alfa's in general) quite cheap to buy second hand
> in the UK??
>
> http://makeashorterlink.com/?W27C46939
>
> Are they expensive to service/parts?? Checked insurance and it isn't that
> bad. So there must be some reason???? Isn't there????


This was a sale of a high-mileage (102,000 miles) car, from a brand
that is still associated by many with rust, unreliability and
expense.

This is coupled with the fact that the displayed service history
shows that it apparently hasn't been touched for around 18,000 miles
(intervals are 12,000 miles, IIRC). It also only has a few months
remaining before it will require an MOT, and it has no tax.

Cambelts are now also recommended to be changed at 36k miles, which
means this example is due a change pretty soon.

That said, a Ford Mondeo with similar history would likely have gone
for even less!

Ian
--
Ian Riches
Bedford, UK
  #3  
Old September 6th 04, 06:28 PM
Catman
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joomper wrote:

> Allright, I know this example has high mileage, but in general why is a
> car that sounds this good (and Alfa's in general) quite cheap to buy
> second hand in the UK??

Shhhhhh
Don't tell everyone

--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 2.0 TS (two off)
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk
  #4  
Old September 6th 04, 06:52 PM
SS
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"Don't tell everyone "

yeah....the last thing we need is a load of spotty herberts in burberry caps
swanning around in them...
it would lower the whole tone of the thing....

SS.


  #5  
Old September 6th 04, 10:07 PM
Dev Cloete
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Because ignorant assholes badmouth these fine cars although they never owned
or drove one.
Dev
"joomper" > wrote in message
...
> Allright, I know this example has high mileage, but in general why is a

car
> that sounds this good (and Alfa's in general) quite cheap to buy second

hand
> in the UK??
>
> http://makeashorterlink.com/?W27C46939
>
> Are they expensive to service/parts?? Checked insurance and it isn't that
> bad. So there must be some reason???? Isn't there????
>
> TIA
>
> --
> Put Your Focus Where Your Mouth Is
>
>



  #6  
Old September 6th 04, 11:37 PM
joomper
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Default

"Dev Cloete" > wrote in message
...
> Because ignorant assholes badmouth these fine cars although they never

owned
> or drove one.
> Dev


Thanks for the replies

So you lot reckon I should seriously look into getting a two or three year
old 156 Veloce??

I'll have to go round to a garage and take a look at one properly.

Any major things I should look out for...???


  #7  
Old September 7th 04, 12:55 PM
Thomas Strandtoft
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Dev Cloete wrote:

> Because ignorant assholes badmouth these fine cars although they never owned
> or drove one.


I might well be one of those *******s, even if I've owned a couple
and just bought one again. In all fairness, I must admit a very
limited knowledge of the newer cars, I've never owned a car
younger than 15 years old, but it is my belief that you never find
an Alfa without "quirks and funny italian solutions" no matter
which year it was build. The deal therefore is this: testdrive a
couple of cars of the model you are looking for, and if you start
rambling to all your friends about how great this car was to
drive, while making engine noises and steering wheel motions in
midair, by all means go ahead and buy one. If you think "hmm, nice
car but what's all the fuss about?", then stay the hell away -
you'll probably just end up annoyed by the quirky stuff. And don't
fall into the trap of thinking economy into it, on paper Alfa
looks like a bargain horsepower for money deal, but really, they
only are if you can fix stuff yourself. And don't think that even
though the Fiat group has made a tremendous step forward in
quality control that you are buying a german car in an italian
suit..

For me, the solution is obvious. I think they are great fun to
drive and as a result of that, I don't care the least bit about
the quirky stuff. So what if my windscreen wipers doesn't touch
the windscreen at speeds over 140 kph, that just means I'll have
to slow down a bit in the rain. As long as the faulty wipers
doesn't has any effect on the driving itself, it will always be
one of those secondary things I'll fix "some other day".. As long
as the car drives well, I'm a happy trooper.. :-)

So forget rational thoughts, testdrive a couple of cars and if you
can't live without one, then you have your answer..

--
Hygge..
Thomas

<http://www.carftp.com> - a library of car videos.
  #8  
Old September 7th 04, 06:23 PM
Zathras
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Default

On Mon, 6 Sep 2004 15:20:02 +0100, "joomper"
> wrote:

>Allright, I know this example has high mileage, but in general why is a car
>that sounds this good (and Alfa's in general) quite cheap to buy second hand
>in the UK??


Supply and demand? Prices for Fords and Vauxhalls are low due to huge
supply from ex-fleets etc. If the case of Alfa, there's not a huge
supply so it must be low demand.

Why are Alfas not desirable on the second hand market?

1. Historical bad perception of reliability, rust, maintenance costs,
safety etc (all debated elsewhere).
2. In the market segments they compete in, Alfas tend to be in the
'aspirational' segments in each class. These automatically suffer
large depreciation due to 'aspirational' customers not wanting
second-hand cars.
3. People buying second-hand cars tend to *enjoy* more cost conscious
motoring. Alfas don't offer the cheap running costs that are required
for high resale values in this sector.

Add 1 to 3 plus any more you can think of....

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email without 'Alfa' in subject are auto-deleted..sorry!)
  #9  
Old September 8th 04, 01:25 AM
Synapse Syndrome
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"Zathras" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 6 Sep 2004 15:20:02 +0100, "joomper"
> > wrote:
>
> >Allright, I know this example has high mileage, but in general why is a

car
> >that sounds this good (and Alfa's in general) quite cheap to buy second

hand
> >in the UK??

>
> Supply and demand? Prices for Fords and Vauxhalls are low due to huge
> supply from ex-fleets etc. If the case of Alfa, there's not a huge
> supply so it must be low demand.
>
> Why are Alfas not desirable on the second hand market?
>
> 1. Historical bad perception of reliability, rust, maintenance costs,
> safety etc (all debated elsewhere).
> 2. In the market segments they compete in, Alfas tend to be in the
> 'aspirational' segments in each class. These automatically suffer
> large depreciation due to 'aspirational' customers not wanting
> second-hand cars.
> 3. People buying second-hand cars tend to *enjoy* more cost conscious
> motoring. Alfas don't offer the cheap running costs that are required
> for high resale values in this sector.
>
> Add 1 to 3 plus any more you can think of....
>



Good answer. Makes a lot of sense.

ss.


 




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