Club Alfa Sport

Alfa Romeo brought renowned automotive style salon Pininfarina to makeover the GTV Spider in 1998, thankfully. At the time the $60,000 price tag was a lot to ask for what seemed to be an underpowered and ungainly car, but, as with all cars, a used Alfa Romeo Spider has depreciated, becoming a much more reasonable priced ride.

As with all used cars, you can not just dive in head first and hope you have bought the right car. There are many things to keep in mind when shopping for a used Alfa Romeo. First, if you opt for a pre-2000 convertible, the tops were known to have an issue with the teeth. Check for smooth action as the top is opened and closed.

The next item to check for is the maintenance record. If the seller doesn’t have one on hand, do not buy the car. Alfa’s are finicky cars and if they are not properly maintained, they will fail. As you look over the maintenance record be sure that the oil was changed every 5,000 miles. The manufacturer recommended every 10K, but the cars use too much oil for that interval. Semi-synthetic oil should have been used each time. Listen for a rattle that sounds like a diesel engine when the car is started. It may clear up after a couple of moments, but it means that the hydraulic variator is bad. That means a new engine.

Other items to look for are: cambelts should have been changed every 35,000 miles, rotors and brakes, the high pressure air conditioning line frequently leaks near the evaporator, and a squeak in the rear suspension means a dry bushing. The bushing is integrated into the control arm, meaning a fairly expensive repair.

After checking any used Alfa Romeo over in person, pay for a vehicle history report. No need to be surprised by crash or weather damage that has been covered up. If you take care, you can enjoy your used Alfa Romeo Spider for years to come without spending a fortune in repairs.