Re: alfa-digest V7 #321

[<lah@xxxxxxxxx>]

> This afternoon I looked at a 1991 164S Alfa. It's clean with some paint
> damage on the rear spoiler and trunk. The other problems are the leather
> on the dash at the instrument binnacle needs to be redone, the front
> seats are in fair condition and the bottom is ripped out of the rear seat
> on the passenger side needing to have several panels sewn in. On the test
> drive the rear windows didn't want to go back up with one very very slow
> when it did start working after several minutes of trying the switches. (
> I discovered the lock switch for the back windows but it wasn;t related
> to that.) The front passenger window went down and wouldn't go up until I
> fiddled with the switch for about four minutes. Also, the seat switches
> are reluctant to work. The owner tells me it just needs to have the
> switches replaced and he will do the ones on the windows. He warns me
> though that they will go bad again...is this right?

It sounds very much like the 91 164S I bought about 1.5 years ago.  I had
the same paint problem at the rear spoiler.  It was easy for the body shop
to repair and has looked great ever since.  Just make sure you have several
hundred ($500?) allocated for the job.

I also have the problem with the dash leather.  I never fixed mine.  I
don't know if there is an easy fix, but it is easy to live with.  I have
seen other 164s with this problem.
 
> The car has 102,000 miles on it and is located in Louisiana. It's owned by an
> alfa mechanic who says he bought it from a customer and he replaced the
> stepper motors about 30,000 miles ago and the clutch a few thousand ago. He
> says all the services have been done, timing belts, cv joints, etc recently.

You can take his word about everything but the timing belt.  Unless you
have real proof it was done, you will have to do it soon.
 
> He wants $7000 without the interior cosmetics done or $7500 with the interior
> cosmetics done and is willing to offer a 60 day warranty in wrtiting on the
> major assemblies.

I think the price sounds a little high, but I'm not sure.  I payed about
$6500 for my 164S with about 65k miles.  If it is rough, you need to get it
at a good price to make it worth it.
 
> I REALLY want a 164S... But is this a good deal? It's black with tan interior
> which I really like. The mileage, electrics and price scare me.

Only the price scares me.  I have found that the electronics are a never
ending source of problems.  They are almost always fixable at very little
cost, but you have to be willing to spend the time to tinker with them.  I
bet the switches can be fixed with just a good cleaning.
 
> Please give your input. Is it a good deal? Is the price high? What should I
> offer or should I just keep looking? This is the first one I've seen for sale
> in Louisiana in two years.

I know exactly what you are going though.  The 164S I purchased was a
little rough.  I consulted the digest and people warned me away from it.
Against my better judgment I bought the car.  In the end I think I did very
well.  There was nothing more wrong that I didn't know about when I
purchased it.  But, I was able to haggle down quite a bit because I had a
motivated seller.

The only complaint I have is that this car has a lot of complicated systems
that require constant tinkering.  I don't think it is any better or worse
then any other car in it's class in that respect, but it is about a million
times more fun to drive than other similar cars.

Good luck,
Lawrence A. Hegarty     Montreal, Quebec       lah@domain.elided
91 164S
86 Spider

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