Learn me/talk me down: Alfa GTV6

Well I'm looking to diversify my stable. Get out from my current expensive daily and get a fun daily/beater truck combo. Currently I work away for 2 weeks and am only home for 1 so "daily" is used fairly loosely. My current obsession is the GTV6 and I need you guys to teach me it's ways. I am from Canada and have never even seen an Alfa in person let alone a GTV6. This would have to be a fly and drive purchase, more than likely from the US. What sort of things do I have to be looking for? What price point should I be looking at for a nice driver's quality car? I've seen them anywhere between 6k and 18k.

Alternately talk me out of this decision or talk me into a 911sc

You're looking for a fastidious owner who knows Alfas, or it'll be a major headache. You need to make sure that all the maintenance is up to date (especially the timing belt on the V6) and that the owner has been feeding the car the right amount of parts.

A 911SC is the easy button in this case as it's much easier to find a good one and find a decent mechanic to work on it if/when you don't want to.

A 911SC is also about 500% less biodegradable than your averaqe Alfa.

Alfa GTV6 is sex

911SC is physics

You decide.

rust will be your biggest issue.

I loved mine but I got when I was too young/stupid to take good care of it. Get one, you will not regret it.

Timing belts, rust, electrical fires, fuel fires, typical Italian car stuff.

Don't buy one with any rust at all. And change the timing belt, tensioner, water pump and all the fuel lines before you drive it. Other than that, a gtv6 shouldn't be too scary. Used parts should be far cheaper than a 911 too.

Alfa V6 transaxle cars are superb cars and my Milano made an excellent daily driver. Mine was very reliable, I've been looking for another.

I loved mine, but you need to understand it. It does not take abuse well, and the timing change, water pump every two years is NOT a suggestion. This has to be done, as do valve adjustments. Aftermarket parts usually do not hold up well on a GTV6, and the gear shift is vague, but once rebuilt will feel ok. As stated, do not buy a rusty version, and try to seek one out from an Alfa club member or enthusiast. If you've ever read up on a Porsche 944, the GTV is almost exactly like it in terms of maintenance, with the added electrical issues. Fortunately those are normally bad grounds.

For all the headache, you get one of the best sounding engines ever! The car handles nice, and it is distinctly Italian for better or worse. Try to find a southern or south western car, there are plenty around.

Flight Service wrote: Alfa GTV6 is sex 911SC is physics You decide.

Sex! Sex! Sex!

The 911 will be faster, better built and will require less maintenance.

The GTV6 will sound better, be more rare, and more quirky in an Italian kind of way. (arms stretched out-- odd ergonomics, vague shifter, cool, but odd looks, etc.)

Both are desirable---- drive them before taking the leap, as they offer very different driving experiences. You may like them, you may not, but at least you'll know what you are getting yourself into. Just don't trick yourself into thinking that either would serve well as a DD. They are both old cars at this point, and will require attention....always. There will always be something to replace / improve. This isn't always a bad thing, but try not to go in with rose-colored glasses, as either can be an expensive proposition to put right.

In reply to doom:

"I am from Canada and have never even seen an Alfa in person let alone a GTV6."

They sold all kinds of Alfa's including GTV6's in Canada. So what's that tell you about the rust issues.

The 911 is all about logical thinking and is designed from the brain. The Alfa is about sensuality and is designed from the heart. Yes, the ethnic stereotypes are real in these two cars.

If the car is rust free go with the GTV6. Not even a contest. Every dentist and his brother has owned a 911. Dare to be different.

Had a GTV6 it was fairly easy to maintain and it was a surprisingly reliable car. The transmission feel wasn't great on my car but it didn't detract from it much.

Car was about as fast as a stock 240sx maybe a little more. I would buy it as a cruiser or a show car or something like that but not for a autocross or track day car if that's what you are thinking. Do not drive it during winter, any salt on the car at all will begin a rust apocalypse.

Buy the best enthusiast owned example you can find.

I you like 80s wedgy fastback cars that are more durable I can give a few suggestions because I like cars of this type myself. None are as interesting as an alfa tho.

911SCs have been skyrocketing in price. If you want one ever buy now

One other advantage to the gtv6 is stuff like a used long block or transaxle can be found pretty cheap (even less than $200), I can't imagine finding a good 911 engine for that cheap.

The main problem with the 911sc is that it costs twice as much, and the whole point of getting out from my current DD would be to cut the overall value of the stable while still diversifying it. Otherwise, it's a clear winner. It can be found locally (or at least within the country), parts would no doubt be easier to source, local knowledge is easy to find (rather than the one guy I heard about in the next city over who own(s/ed) a GTV6), more of a dream car than an AADD fling, etc. The sharp increase in price on the 911 is also a factor. Do I jump on one before the go even higher or wait until it possibly settles down? Part of me wishes I had bought one last year when I was in the market but I decided a house was first. Hindsight is always 20/20 I guess.

Are Alfas usually as sparse as they are now, or is it a winter/sports car thing? I'm finding less than 10 around the country at any time using the usual avenues. The rust issue you guys are bringing up is especially troubling for me having to do a fly and drive situation. That is a big thing steering me away from them. Perhaps the Alfa is something I would enjoy more later in life when I'm not a young idiot.

An addendum to the thread/question at hand: Now that I'm back home (and behind the wheel of my current DD), I'm finding it a lot harder to cope with the decision to sell it. At what point do you give up on something you truly enjoy? It's big, it's loud, everything is black, and the turbo sound is glorious. It's truly ridiculous/fun and I've built it to be reliable for years to come. It's a set of injectors (and a beefier trans to take the beating) away from being an 800hp truck. On the other hand; it's the most expensive vehicle to insure in my area, it takes forever to warm up in the winter with the huge turbo sucking air, I am making payments on it (which I feel isn't a large problem in a DD, but none would be nice), it gets terrible mileage (although compared to other diesels it does fairly well), and maintenance is very expensive for it. On paper the logical decision is to get rid of it while I can still come somewhat close to breaking even, but the butt calculator says otherwise.

Are Alfas usually as sparse as they are now, or is it a winter/sports car thing?

The only GTV6 i've ever seen in person that was not mine was none. I never seen another one, ever. The Alfa Spider is supposed to be far more common and i've only seen one once in person.

They are rare. 80s cars in general are getting rarer but these are rare on top of that.

One thing is you are Canadian. You can get fairly ridiculously awesome cars up there that would be better than an Alfa in terms of reliability, parts, rust, etc as well as coming with a cool factor like the alfa kind of does.

Like for less than $10k usd (including overseas shipping) you can get the following:

Lancia Delta Integrale 8v/16v

MK4 Supra

FD Rx7

Ford Escort Cosworth

Ford Sierra Cosworth (rwd or awd)

Celica GT-Four

Alfa Romeo 156 (turbo AWD with Lancia Delta Integrale Evo drivetrain)

Nissan Skyline R32 GTS-T or R33 GT25-T

And that is only the start of things. I wish I lived in Canada, lol. I'd give up my guns for a Escort Cosworth or R33 GT25-T

Just contact someone like Derek at pacific coast jdm, in Japan you can get pretty much any car you want i've seen all sorts of euro stuff there if that's what you are interested in. You can probably get a Eurospec 911 for less money in Japan than a 911SC would cost here. If I were up there and wanted a car like that I wouldn't even consider buying domestic.

The thing about importing is that I'm just not a huge fan of RHD and everyone who I've heard from has made importing from Europe out to be a big hassle. The only car that I would consider going RHD for is the R34 GTR which is now eligible but it's price puts me into gen1 Viper/DeTomaso Pantera/Exige territory which are all far more appealing to me.

I never even considered bringing over a eurospec 911 from Japan so that is definitely something to look into, thanks!

Uhhhh, details on this DD? Make a Project thread!