Alfas on a budget

[Philip Gicante <pgicante@domain.elided>]

Good afternoon Alfisti..

I'm a Electrical Engineering student who is presently
doing an internship in Toronto and I have owned an '89
Milano Gold for the past 2 years.

I believe Joe Elliot's response, while valid, failed
to account for a few extra expenses that Ted, Neil and
myself and others have to incur :(assuming a
high-school student lives at home) living expenses,
mortgage/rent payments, heating bills, etc.. 
Presently, I limit my monthly expenses (rent +
everything else) to about $1000 a month. (This will
drop when I return home for my final year of school)
The only way I can afford to keep the Milano running
is that I'm also a musician who works weekends, and
the money from my 2nd job is reserved for car-related
expenses..  Another problem I think is that when
something does go wrong, its not a matter of walking
to the local Autoparts store and picking up X-brand
replacement part.  I don't belive its the ideal
situation to have an Alfa as a single car, especially
up in Canada or any other climate where road salt and
- -15 Cel is typical..(Waiting for the insults and
rebuttals..)  It doesn't offer the luxury of working
on the car for extended periods of time, and the
garages in London, ON (my weeekend home) only like to
work on Alfas during the week.. 

Personally, I don' see myself selling my Milano for a
long time  and will have enough money saved up by the
end of my internship to pay for my final year of
school and purchase another car.  I'm planning for
this to be an Alfa as well, and if entirely necessary,
when I enter the workforce full-time, I can purchase
or lease a 3-4 year old VW Golf or Civic for a minimal
cost and run that into the ground in the winter and
summer..

I'm not sure what actual advice to give, but it would
seem more logical to keep a present car (which
honestly won't bring all that much on the market) than
to purchase a new one.. However, I can see the safety
and reassurance of owning a car still covered by a
factory warranty.. Its a balancing act..

Phil Gicante
89 Milano Gold
London/Scarborough ON Canada
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