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Joe_A
·I do drive this car perhaps 30 weekends a year for at least a short cruise around the neighborhood.
Who else is into cars? What do you drive?
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Pastorbottle
·It's really interesting and reminds me a lot of the stories told about Jaguar ownership, i.e., "this is a car you buy with your heart, and not with your head", and of course, "you buy this one for the way it makes you feel". I imagine being an Alfisti is quite close to this experience.
With Jaguar, part of their downfall was that they went from a manufacturer with a small range of cars to a larger range of cars. Between 1968 and 1999, they basically only made luxury sedans (the XJ in all versions) and grand tourers (first the XJ-S / XJS, then the XK8). After that, they diluted the brand with new cars they basically hadn't been building before, except maybe in the 1960s, when their range was at it's most muddled and chaotic. ... Okay, the point I'm trying to get to is that maybe it's better to only have a few models that play to the strength of a brand, in this case, Alfa Romeo. A wide range may not be the best idea, I think ;-)
I’ve had many Alfas and Jaguars over the years, in both cases I found their core reliability to be fine.
Core reliability is the extent that the car will actually start and run, performing is core function as a car, it doesn’t include non essential features such as the ciggy lighter, window winders, powered seat adjusters etc.
In both manufacturers case, I found the cars as far as the engines, drive trains, suspension etc. very good mechanically, in fact superb, they were however let down electrically with the quality of the components supplied to them, and in some of the detail engineering, things like door handle and window winding mechanisms, on the alfas could drive you to distraction if you let them.
On the Jags it was mainly electrical issues that were less than par. Some of that Lucas stuff was truly horrible!
Basically the cars I could rely on to get me where I wanted to go……… just not with all the auxiliary equipment still working when I got there.
Now before anyone starts sing the praises of various Teutonic marques, let me remind you of the VW bettle, a bloody awful thing, noisey uncomfortable murderous handling, ugly as a hatful of arseholes, but reliable…..you could always rely on the 6 volt electrics to let you down, leaving you stranded on a cold wet night. Even if the thing did start the headlights were so dim that you wished it hadn’t started.
Even Mercedes Benz’s cars from the era of being built regardless of cost, had design faults which could cause reliability issues.
However desirable some of it may be, the stuff they make now has many baked in problems.
And don’t get me started on the Jap crap
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ghce
·I do drive this car perhaps 30 weekends a year for at least a short cruise around the neighborhood.
I've had a hankering for one of these for a while now, luckily they have had a bit of a price drop in recent years and as the current owners die off quite a few have been coming to market in various distress or impress.
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Pastorbottle
·No price drop in big Healeys here in Oz unfortunately
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ghce
·No price drop in big Healeys here in Oz unfortunately
Over here in NZ the Vintage classic market has had more downs than ups in recent years, even American tin has been affected certainly in the vintage market where you can grab a bargain on Model A's and T's even ( which to me have been the market weather vane). The later US tin from the 60 to mid 70's still has ridiculous ask prices but who knows if they sell at that price.
Being a member of the local VCC and attending quite a few meetings its a sea of grey and me being in my mid 60's would usually be one of the youngest in attendance, most of them have a good 20 years on me!
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Vanallard
·Also has Atlas wheels, nice!
There is a fantastic Alltrack on BAT right now that I'd very much be wanting to bid on if I was currently in the market.
I like the OEM wheels but the Atlas wheels are a pretty cool alternative. I’ve got winter tires on the OEMs.
Congratulations on the SL500! The R129 series was "peak Benz", in my eyes. So much technical innovation in such a compelling package. And the SL500 is just an awesome machine.
Thanks! I’ve always been a fan of the R129. I almost bought a really nice R107 from a neighbor but he backed out last minute - the disappointment quickly turned to joy when I found the R129, which only had 55k kms/35k miles.
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Joe_A
·No price drop in big Healeys here in Oz unfortunately
I haven't noticed a drop in Healey prices in the New York area either, but it may be that I don't check often enough as I am neither a seller nor a buyer these days. I do check prices now and then . . . and also for XK-E Type cars, often a consideration from me. Haven't pulled the trigger on one though. Lately, as I have gotten older, I've been thinking of something more practical like a post 2015 911.
A quick XK-E story . . .
Many years ago as a young man I was in the process of installing a car phone into an E-Type when our sales guy who was a few years older than I, came into the shop and was admiring the car. After a bit, it looked to me as if he was going to break into tears. I could see that he was experiencing a flood of emotion and so I asked: "Harold, you look as though you are about to cry, are you upset about something?"
"Joe", said he, "I have always wanted an XK-E and I finally saved the money that I needed to buy one."
"So what happened, Harold?"
"I got married instead."
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dsio
··Ash @ ΩFI haven't noticed a drop in Healey prices in the New York area either, but it may be that I don't check often enough as I am neither a seller nor a buyer these days. I do check prices now and then . . . and also for XK-E Type cars, often a consideration from me. Haven't pulled the trigger on one though. Lately, as I have gotten older, I've been thinking of something more practical like a post 2015 911.
A quick XK-E story . . .
Many years ago as a young man I was in the process of installing a car phone into an E-Type when our sales guy who was a few years older than I, came into the shop and was admiring the car. After a bit, it looked to me as if he was going to break into tears. I could see that he was experiencing a flood of emotion and so I asked: "Harold, you look as though you are about to cry, are you upset about something?"
"Joe", said he, "I have always wanted an XK-E and I finally saved the money that I needed to buy one."
"So what happened, Harold?"
"I got married instead."
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Pastorbottle
·I haven't noticed a drop in Healey prices in the New York area either, but it may be that I don't check often enough as I am neither a seller nor a buyer these days. I do check prices now and then . . . and also for XK-E Type cars, often a consideration from me. Haven't pulled the trigger on one though. Lately, as I have gotten older, I've been thinking of something more practical like a post 2015 911.
A quick XK-E story . . .
Many years ago as a young man I was in the process of installing a car phone into an E-Type when our sales guy who was a few years older than I, came into the shop and was admiring the car. After a bit, it looked to me as if he was going to break into tears. I could see that he was experiencing a flood of emotion and so I asked: "Harold, you look as though you are about to cry, are you upset about something?"
"Joe", said he, "I have always wanted an XK-E and I finally saved the money that I needed to buy one."
"So what happened, Harold?"
"I got married instead."
By and large, cars last……..at least better than most marriages do!
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ghce
·By and large, cars last……..at least better than most marriages do!
No amount of money will salvage a bad marriage but money will make your car last forever.
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Pvt-Public
·I have wanted a convertible for over 40 years, a couple years ago I finally bought one.
2008 BMW 650i, still has under 40k miles on it.
2008 BMW 650i, still has under 40k miles on it.
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Watch my Whisky
·I have wanted a convertible for over 40 years, a couple years ago I finally bought one.
2008 BMW 650i, still has under 40k miles on it.
I love the E63. They look even better now than they did when new.
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Flatfoot
·@BlackTalon : taken at the bus stop.
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Flatfoot
·Here’s another street/track car of mine, which has been in my stable since 2001. BMW 3.0 CS, with a 3.5L at 12:1 compression, triple Weber 45 DCOE’s, close ratio dogleg gearbox. 280 lb/ft and 300HP moving a 2600 pound car. I drove this last week in Maine, on a 45 degree day- it has no side windows or heat. Light and nimble!
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BlackTalon
··This Space for Rent@BlackTalon : taken at the bus stop.
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Foo2rama
··Nowhere near as grumpy as he used to be...Here’s another street/track car of mine, which has been in my stable since 2001. BMW 3.0 CS, with a 3.5L at 12:1 compression, triple Weber 45 DCOE’s, close ratio dogleg gearbox. 280 lb/ft and 300HP moving a 2600 pound car. I drove this last week in Maine, on a 45 degree day- it has no side windows or heat. Light and nimble!
… are you open to adopting?
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Pastorbottle
·No amount of money will salvage a bad marriage but money will make your car last forever.
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sjg22
·Daily driver as a dad of 2 kids with daily daycare drop-offs, etc. is a 2013 Porsche Cayenne GTS in midnight blue with the optional colour matched 21in midnight blue wheels. I’ve toyed with replacing but can’t see a compelling reason to pay triple for a newer car when the NA V8 still raises the hair on my arm. It’s been extremely reliable in my 3 years of ownership as well (I can only seem to find photos with the winter wheels on… so here’s the exact spec a dealer is selling):
Fun car was a ‘98 SL500 in imperial red over black, but can’t make the 2 seater work… so, as ive told my wife, an upgrade to a practical vehicle was needed…
2004 Porsche 911 C4S in Carrara white over boxster red, with factory sunroof delete:
Fun car was a ‘98 SL500 in imperial red over black, but can’t make the 2 seater work… so, as ive told my wife, an upgrade to a practical vehicle was needed…
2004 Porsche 911 C4S in Carrara white over boxster red, with factory sunroof delete:
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Pastorbottle
·Baby vomit should contrast nicely on the Boxster red upholstery
😁
😁
