Re: Alfa Purchace Decisions

[David Rubie <david.rubie@domain.elided>]

Jon asks, after 15 years of non-alfa ownership, seems to be asking
what might be the best way back into the world of top-down, rorty
motoring (paraphrasing here...)

Here's my experience for what it's worth, although I'm a touch
younger than Jon and the path I'm currently walking wasn't exactly
by choice.

I've sent a few messages to the digests on the highs and lows of
attempting to revive "Rusty" the spider, a 1975 car I bought
cheaply thinking that it was in need of some repair work (mainly
rust, but other stuff too).  It has turned into a full-blown
restoration job over the past two years that I'm being forced
to call a halt to, mostly for financial reasons.

It isn't as bad as it sounds - I'm getting the car back in
a driveable, registered state in a couple of weeks, but
it's the cautionary elements of the tale that bear repeating:

1) Buying a car with the intention of doing all the work yourself
   is fine, but you do *really* have the time, skills and equipment
   to do it?  If your weekend is busy now, the answer is no.  Be
   honest here.  A couple of weekends in the garage in a row might
   be fun, but over a couple of months you need some serious
   dedication.  Also, you need to be honest about where your skills
   aren't up to the task and get professional help for structural
   level welding.  Mechanical tasks on Alfa Spiders are almost
   entirely within the skill of a very average, but careful
   enthusiast.  Body welding and painting is not.

2) Buying what you think is a good car with the intention of
   avoiding all this pain is (in my experience) virtually
   impossible.  The stuff that is for sale is usually for
   a reason (i.e. something expensive is broken or needs
   work).  You have to be super careful and get some expert
   help to judge a body under a fresh looking coat of paint.
   Find the dodgiest used car dealer you can borrow for $100,
   they have beady little eyes that can spot paint flaws in
   bad light, in the rain, and tell you whether the car has
   had an accident without blinking.  It's their job.
   The US experience may be somewhat different with Spiders,
   as they are rare down here.  Digesters did advise me to
   give up with this particular car which was excellent
   advice - I should have parted it out instead of fixing
   it but it's too late now.


Of all the cars I've bought and sold, it's the ones that were
honest looking but in need of mechanical (not body) fettling
that were the best bets.  Mechanical stuff is easy and cheap
to fix and you can have a driveable vehicle in a short time
(even if you cheque book it).  Buying somebody elses botched
restoration effort is a ticket to disaster, woe and financial
terror.  I will forever avoid buying cars with fresh looking
paint jobs - they always hide the multitude of bodges,
shortcuts and problems the previous owner could not afford
to fix properly.  Most people start out with good intentions
but end up looking for the quickest way out when the going
gets tough.

If you buy a tired looking, but honest car, you can do
a "running" restoration and still enjoy the car while
you're sorting it out.  Buying at the top of the market
just opens you up to the risky business of purchasing
a shiny but botched restoration.  Buying at the bottom
of the market in Spiders:  for the brave and rich only.
Even when the body parts are relatively cheap (as they
are for Spiders), the labour costs will kill you.  You
will not be able to replace floor pans or boot floors
without a great deal of skill, patience and time.  There
are web sites with great photos of ordinary joe's doing this
in their garage, but I think they tend to understate the amount
of experience the owners have with welding gear.

I've still got over $1000AUD worth of body panels in my garage
that I can't afford to fit to the car this year (outer sill
covers, guard rust repair sections) where my car is currently
sporting an awesome amount of body filler that only became
apparent when it started to bubble out.  OK - I did buy the
car very cheaply (at least for Australian prices) but I've
paid for it a couple of times now.  Frankly, I'm not sure
I'll ever really be able to "enjoy" it - we'll see.  There
aren't a lot of old parts left on the car any more (new floors,
new boot, new rear scuttle panel(!), rebuilt transmission,
front suspension, brakes...  What a dog of a car.

dave.

1978 Alfetta GTV "trusty"  <-- best car I've ever owned
1975 Alfa Spider Veloce "rusty"  <-- the worst
1994 Volvo 850 T5 wagon

-- 
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David Rubie
Disclaimer:  This message is not financial advice.
             This message is not the opinion of Macquarie Bank Ltd.
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