A friend's husband died recently, and she's looking to sell his Alfa Spider Quadrifoglio. 1985, IIRC, with 52k miles on it. I just inspected the car - I know old cars generally, but I'm not specifically familiar with Alfas - and it's in good shape.
The body shows no rust that I could find, even behind the plastic body cladding underneath. Paint is good from a few feet, but close inspection shows some cracking on the upper horizontal surfaces (mostly on the fender tops). A few tiny dings, but overall very presentable. The top is intact, but the inside shows some wear in spots and the rear window is a tiny bit yellow. Interior is a bit tatty, but complete and intact.
Engine starts easily and idles smoothly, with about 30psi oil pressure hot. I little visible oil leakage at both the engine and transmission, but not enough to make it to the ground. I didn't get to drive it due to a bad clutch slave, but the suspension bushings are worn, as are the transmission mounts, and probably most of the underbody rubber.
She has the complete workshop manual and a bunch of receipts going back at least two owners as well. She's just trying to get a ballpark on what it's worth before she puts it on the market. No rush to sell, but it's not being used, so she's not looking to hold onto it forever. Car is in NY state.
Any suggestions on how to value it would be appreciated. Thanks.
Spiders aren't worth as much as their coupe brethren, but this one is the top of the line version. You didn't mention if it still had its hardtop, but if not, that reduces it considerably. Just from your description and without the hardtop, I would say maybe $6 to $8k. If it was pristine with no issues maybe closer to $12 to $15k.
http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/?0=0&adtypeFacet=Vehicles%20for%20Sale&makeFacet=Alfa%20Romeo&sort=sort_time_desc&page_size=15&modelFacet[]=Spider
I had a black one of those in flawless mechanical shape (all new bushings, suspension, etc, engine gone through by an Alfa specialist) but some dings and dents and ratty interior. I sold it for $4k relatively easily. I would think that one is a $6k car with the clutch slave replaced to make it a driver.
Also, does it have the original hardtop included? Spider Quads only bring the big money if they still have it, as I found out with mine. The first question EVERYONE asked was if it had the hardtop.
EDIT: also, AlfaBB.com will be a much better place to gauge value than Hemmings, which is often ridiculously inflated.
oldtin
PowerDork
2/19/16 1:48 p.m.
sounds like a 5-7k car. Solid but a little scruffy
Hemmings Sports and Exotics just did a feature on these a few months ago.
http://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hsx/2015/05/Four-Aces---Alfa-Romeo-Spiders/3748524.html
In reply to Woody:
Uhhhh, so did Classic Motorsports...
https://classicmotorsports.com/issues/details/243/
I really liked my 87. If the synchros are good, especially 2nd, and there's no rust I'd say a $7k ball park is good.
crankwalk wrote:
I really liked my 87. If the synchros are good, especially 2nd, and there's no rust I'd say a $7k ball park is good.
2nd gear syncro is never good! 
I find it odd that spiders are cheaper than the hardtops..
Robbie wrote:
In reply to Woody:
Uhhhh, so did Classic Motorsports...
https://classicmotorsports.com/issues/details/243/
Jeez, I've gotta check the magazine pile. I never saw that issue.
racerdave600 wrote:
mad_machine wrote:
I find it odd that spiders are cheaper than the hardtops..
They aren't as rare.
They're also a lot floppier chassis-wise. Spiders are very entertaining, but scuttle shake is a big part of the experience. It is also nigh impossible to get a track legal roll bar in one that will fit under the top if you're over 5'10" or so, which sucks for me at least.
Thanks for all the feedback, folks. I'll pass it along to her and see how she wants to proceed. It's a neat little car - I'm half-tempted to see if I can somehow swing the money to buy it myself, clean it up and drive it for the summer, then sell it on (I've got no room for another long-term resident). But that probably won't happen.
mad_machine wrote:
I find it odd that spiders are cheaper than the hardtops..
And before you get too far in that idea, check the prices of the Duettos. They have been consistently higher than GTV's for a while now.
