re: 1999 164 L? fun at the Alfa dealership....

[TJCallahan@xxxxxxx]

In AD v7n354, Bill wrote:

>The fun dampened when I suggested we "reverse part" out a 164, and build
>a car from parts and have a new one... :o) A 1999 164? Hmmm

I noticed a similar listing for my '63 Spider in the Parts Book portion of my
CD. I thought it was great to be able to order a complete body unit.

A couple of thoughts:

1. You NEVER want to try and build a complete car by buying spares and
assembling them (even if you're the parts guy and can get a DEAL from the
supplier). The cost of spares is WAY TOO HIGH to consider this. AFAIK, most
dealers (cars, planes, bikes, etc.) make the bulk of their profit on the
spares sales. The whole item itself is <almost> a loss-leader. This pricing
would tend to take the shine off the idea of a '99 164, wouldn't it? :-(

2. You can get a bunch of the Brit classic cars (MG's, etc.) as spares. Body
shells, complete, with a blank VIN/SN plate, engines, other key components,
too. Wow, that's a good after-market!

ciao

Tom
'63 Spider
Seattle

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