Re: Welcome to alfa-digest

[Sean Simmen <emailseanstuff@domain.elided>]

Hi guys, I'm new to the list- I'm thinking about
getting a 1991 Spider Veloce and was wondering, in
general, how reliable these cars are.  I know it
depends on how many miles it has and what the previous
owner has done to the car, but I'd love to hear from
some people who've lived with these cars between
20,000 and 80,000 miles (around the mileage I'm
finding for sale).  And I did look for a Spider FAQ
but it seems it is missing on the digest site.

I can tell from a lot of the ads (see below) that
these cars do require A LOT of maintenance to keep
them on the road.  I was kind of surprised since they
seem to have pretty basic, small engines that have
been around for a long time.

Can anyone tell me what I should be looking for on a
used 1991?  Like what are signs that the top is bad? 
Is there a rust problem?  Etc...

Here's the pretty scary sounding ad... is this what I
have to look forward to or is this an anomaly-

A weekend car only, this car has been garaged
continuously. Very well looked after. The fol work
completed to date: 

Aug 2001 - Following replaced new: Valve tappets,
transmission u-joint, pinion seals, needle trans
bearing, lower shift boot, center u joint, alternator
belt, lubed cams and lobes 

Sep 2001 - new valve guides, reground valve seats,
head gasket, replaced master link in trans chain
replaced all gaskets 

April 2001 - Following replaced new: spark plug wires,
top radiator hose, lower radiator hose, dist cap, dist
rotor, spark plugs, alternator belt, drive belt,
clamps for hoses, fan relay and fuse, radiator sensor,
manifold thermometer, cam cover and seals, fuel filter.
Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better
http://health.yahoo.com
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