Any thoughts/ideas for cheapish £5k daily runaround Alfa GT 3.2 V6 vs rivals???

rockits

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Afternoon all

Will probably be selling the work Jaguar XJ soon and looking at what I could replace it with. I have never had an Alfa and always wanted one but it never happened for one reason or another.

Was thinking of something like an Alfa GT 3.2 V6....any thoughts or advice? Or any obvious or better alternatives?

Will need to be flexible that it could take a child or two, a bit of practicality (folding back seats etc.) for odd carrying around, be decent to drive, not ruinous to run although mpg is not an issue as it won't do that many miles. Will probably try to service & look after myself.

Budget of £5K would be ideal although would push a little more if something was so good it warranted it. Other option as well is to still buy this car but also another small 2 seater.....again cost effective but a proper little raw drivers car. Light and pure. An MR2 or MX5 although something a little less feminine might be preferred. A VX220 or something like that...you get the gist.

I have a nice R129 1999 SL500 that is up for sale at the moment that will fund both of these as can't see the SL fitting into these plans at all as is a little too expensive for me to tie that cash up in one car at the moment

Any thoughts or ideas?

Thanks
Dean
 

rockits

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Looked at an R32 a few years back which is an option as was a good drive although not sure how much better it would be than standard 2.0 GTi. Had a 3.2 V6 TT S-tronic but never really gelled with it.
 

zagatoes30

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20,759
I have a 3.2 GT and am amazed how good it is.

To start with the engine is a joy, loads of power but surprisingly more torque than I remember from the older 3.0 24v engines and the noise, well short of an Italian V8 it is hard to beat. Gearbox is 6 speed but it really needs either a Q2 or Quaife LSD to control the power, pretty easy upgrade and you will find a lot have already had it done. The gear lever is quite far back which causes Mrs Z an issue because she is short and has the seat forward her arm has to go down the side of the seat to change gear but that just means she doesn't nick it off me.

Chassis is pretty good but front suspension is known to be noisy and can be harsh if you hit a reasonable pot hole, this is a feature of the standard suspension but I have a guy who believes he has a setup for £500 that will solve the problem. They handle well, a bit softer than a GTV and with significant less tendency for the rear to break away.

On practicality side, I can get all 3 children on booster seats in the back no problem. The boot is large with the seats up but with them down I easily got 4 4200 rims & tyres in the back. The 3.2 doesn't come with a spare wheel it is a tube of gunk only but you can easily get a space saver and jack on the web and there is a space in the boot for it to go. Fuel economy is not great but I average about 28 mpg but have seen 35 mpg on a long run at a pretty constant 70 ish.

I am really surprised with mine, it is much better than I expected it to be. If you want to have a play before you buy you know where I am.
 

rockits

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9,167
Thanks, the GT sounds like a definite contender then. Seen a decent grey one with red leather for £4.5k so the numbers work. As you say a different diff and front suspension changes & it seems to hit all the criteria and be a nice little solution.

I may well take you up on that offer closer to the time.
 

lisknik

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You may be able to stretch to the GTA's, especially the 156 GTA the four doors may be handy ;) A good 147 GTA may be out of reach.........
 

StuartW

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The 147 GTA looks a great car, would love to have one in the future as a (very quick) run around
 

rockits

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A few good choices there for sure. A 147 GTA was indeed on my list...the silver one is a decent enough motor for an honest price & represents some good value with the diff & brake upgrade. A saloon doesn't give such good practicality options though so that will be out.

There are a ton of motors I would buy for £5k.
 

zagatoes30

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The silver 147 GTA is on the cheap end of 147 prices, good ones are certainly moving upwards. I looked at them but decided I could get a better GT 3.2 for the less money.
 

Andyk

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Between 5k and 6k (more like 6) I would hunt down an E46 M3..... There is no other performance car that comes close at that price range.....Quick, great handling, rear wheel drive, more fun than the above and athough most on here will say not passion I have had a number of these and a number of Alfas and has character and a great noise....But of you are wanting Italian I get this wont flout your boat....Till think this is the best performance car you can buy for under 10k....and it has four proper seats.......BUt this is the bottom of the price range.....
 

hoyin

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For £5k or under I would be tempted by a Honda S2000. Great car to drive and would be super reliable.
 

StuartW

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Good shout Mr Coop - I had a 16v turbo and loved it. I think it still looks excellent and the small design elements like the metal dashboard and the alloy, hinged fuel cap are sublime
 

rockits

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Now that is a good shout & very tempting coop . Doesn't meet the practicality bit so much but maybe this could replace the 2 seater other motor.