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White164
Member since Apr-29-03
78 posts		 Sep-29-04, 01:52 AM (EST)
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"Summary of maintenance after 20months of ownership"
 
   LAST EDITED ON Sep-29-04 AT 05:56 AM (EST)
 
There are always lots of questions by prospective and new owners about the maintenance we need to do and the costs we incur on our cars. Here is a summary of my expenses over the last 20 months:

Late January 2003
- Purchased vehicle, a white auto 1994 164 Super 24v 3L V6

February 2003
- Timing belt, idler bearings, tensioner, NGK spark plugs, water pump, 100,000km service, injector service, wheel alignment - $3,300
- Nokia car kit install and fix stereo gremlins - $300

August 2003
- Diagnose an engine miss - $200
- Coil pack - $310
- Ignition module - $200
- Flasher/hazard light relay - $90

November 2003
- Wheel alignment, balance, etc - $55

December 2003
- Minor service, Oil and filter change - $350

January/February 2004
- 2 x tows after break-downs - $110
- Diagnosis and repair electrical gremlins (rpm & temp sensor, new earth strap on plenum) - $350

March 2004
- 4 tyres - $1,100

August 2004
- Rear struts, misc coolant hoses - $1,100
- Major service, replacing all fluids & filters, various coolant hoses - $850

Sept 2004
- Front brake rotors and pads - $450
- A-arm bushes, inner tie rods, front bump stops & boots - $600
- Rear window defog relay - $70


Total cost of maintenance over 20 months - $AUD9,435, this equates to $USD6,604.

The car is my daily driver and completed 19,000kms since purchased. All in all, this is not too bad, particulalry when compared to the cost of leasing/financing a comparable new car.

For as long I enjoy driving this thing, I am happy to keep throwing money at it.

Regards


David C
Brisbane, Australia


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DP
Member since Oct-16-01
132 posts		 Sep-29-04, 08:38 AM (EST)
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1. "RE: Summary of maintenance after 20months of ownership"
In response to message #0
 
   David,

Very nice post. So that comes out to $330 USD/month. Not too bad. At least you own it. The leases I've seen so far in the U.S. is $259/month on a Saab 9-3, or $399/month for a BMW 330. You could also "buy" a car, such as a Pontiac Grand Prix for $449/month. The payments do not include alignment or worn items such as tires and brakes.

My experience is that it's been $200/month for me, which includes tires and brakes. Then again I only have a 12 valve 3.0. It gets scary when you shell out $1500 when you leave a shop as well as $300 here and there...but it all adds up to $2400/year. Some years are better than others.

Danny
Dallas, Texas
91 164l Blue
83 gtv6 3.0
90 Honda Civic


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mike m
Member since Nov-13-01
223 posts		 Sep-29-04, 10:19 AM (EST)
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2. "RE: Summary of maintenance after 20months of ownership"
In response to message #1
 
   ..that's sort of scary really.

i bought my tspark last july for around €1400 at 89,000 miles.

since then, off the top of my head;

service €300
replace cv joint €100
pair of rear dampers €250
oil change €65
rotate/balance wheels €40
bulbs €20

non-essentials;
set of 17" wheels and tyres €1000
squadra chip €250

now at 103k it's probably worth about a grand, but i don't want to sell it. after 3 weeks of V6 ownership it looks like things are giong to be a little pricier for the year to come though..!

mike m

'91 tspark
'97 2.0 turbo


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Tim Hancock
Member since Oct-12-01
911 posts		 Sep-29-04, 11:35 AM (EST)
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3. "RE: Summary of maintenance after 20months of ownership"
In response to message #2
 

A tale of two 164s

164TS Bought November 1999 38k miles Now done 72k miles

Spent £120 Radiator, £180 Exhaust (Complete) Water pump & Belt ( pump probably not needed) £50, Boot lock £40 Oil Pressure sender £40, six Goodyear tyres £220...Plus about five oil filters & oil and one fuel filter and two air filters, assorted car keys and replacment alarm sender for one I lost..about £200 all told. 1 set front brake pads £35 plus Fluid £10.

Breakdowns- Nil
Non starts-Nil
Costs on MOT test-Nil

Cars that are fun to drive don't get any better than this.

164Super....Well about £3k to re-engine it with second hand engine new water pump belts/tensioners/clutch/engine mount/windscreen/flexis/a/c condenser & hoses and drier.

Bits done by me since: new clutch slave cylinder & Fluid £20. New Front discs & pads £170, Pedal rubbers & Keys £20, New s/h rad fan £20 and thermo switch £30.

I'm sure there's a bit more here and there..but the answer is that a good TS (With chain driven cams) is pretty low cost motoring and V6 Alfa motoring isn't!!

Tim Hancock Boston UK

164TS
164Super


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Del
Member since Dec-14-02
582 posts		 Sep-29-04, 12:10 PM (EST)
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4. "RE: Summary of maintenance after 20months of ownership"
In response to message #3
 
   I didn't realize services and parts for cars were so expensive in Australia. Are they taxed heavily? When we were there not too long ago, we thought prices for many things were quite reasonable, at least for travelers and camping tourists.

Del


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White164
Member since Apr-29-03
78 posts		 Sep-29-04, 02:05 PM (EST)
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5. "RE: Summary of maintenance after 20months of ownership"
In response to message #4
 
   LAST EDITED ON Sep-29-04 AT 03:53 PM (EST)
 
Owning anything other than a "local car" in Australia, has always come at a bit of a premium. A new Saab 9-3 is about $AUD65,000 and a BMW 330i $AUD110,000.

With the Alfas, it is compounded by the fact that it is a low volume import here brought in by a distributor/agent and then provided to the small dealer network. Everyone wanting their cut along the way. Then theres the fact the v6 model seems to require a little more attention than the german cars (various BMW's, Audi A4 1.8TQ & VW Passat 1.8T) I've owned in the past.


David C


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tjp74
Member since Oct-15-01
1034 posts		 Sep-29-04, 06:19 PM (EST)
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6. "RE: Summary of maintenance after 20months of ownership"
In response to message #1
 
LAST EDITED ON Sep-29-04 AT 06:21 PM (EST)
 
But at $330USD/month I would rather lease a BMW 330i for $60 more. It's 10 years old car versus brand new top of the line BMW 3 series!!! Nothing can bit the fresh smell of brand new car. And you will be enjoying the technical and safety advances from the billions of hours and money spent by thousands of engineers worldwide for last 10 years. You can not ignore that.
Hey, don't get me wrong, I love my alfas and some of the aspects of 164 are still unmatched by today's car but only reason I drive and own 164 is because it's unique and cheap (I do all of repair myself). But I guess everything foreign in Austraila is all expensive that it makes spending $330/month on a used car is still cheaper than leasing a brand new car.

tj


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alfa_corse
Member since Dec-5-03
81 posts		 Sep-30-04, 08:15 AM (EST)
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7. "RE: Summary of maintenance after 20months of ownership"
In response to message #6
 
   I agree tjp. But parts/labor are comparable in US on Alfas; so the cost breakdown he posted would be similar if you had the work done in shop. That's where owning a 164 loses it's appeal for people who dont do their own work and those who might be interested in buying one used (non-alfa owners). I would not own one if I could not do the work myself; nor would I reccommend purchase of one if you could not do the work and be ready to deal with sourcing parts; etc.

I was talking to a guy a week ago about his repair costs on a '94 LS; seemed fairly comparable to above (although spread over more time I think).

JMHO...

'91 164 L
'91 164 S
'86 Spider Veloce


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DP
Member since Oct-16-01
132 posts		 Sep-30-04, 09:17 AM (EST)
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8. "RE: Summary of maintenance after 20months of ownership"
In response to message #7
 
   I don't know guys. Although it's $330/month and a BMW lease is $399, I don't think it covers consumables such as tires, brake pads. Do warranties cover hoses and servicing?

One key factor is a 164 is an Alfa Romeo. Unique and fun for everyone. You to drive in and others to want to ride in.

Heck, the new Honda S2000 completely smokes any of our Alfas here in the U.S. performance, safety and reliability wise. I don't think I'd get one though. Maybe an LS or a Q4.

Danny
Dallas, Texas
91 164l Blue
83 gtv6 3.0
90 Honda Civic


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alfa_corse
Member since Dec-5-03
81 posts		 Sep-30-04, 10:58 AM (EST)
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9. "RE: Summary of maintenance after 20months of ownership"
In response to message #8
 
   Hey if you like the car; and would rather own an Alfa and maintain it than lease a new car - by all means buy the Alfa. I would not have bought my S recently if I didn't think it was a car worth owning. So many people these days would rather pay the bux upfront by leasing a car; it pretty much equates to 'pay the money or-else' from the mfr/dealers. Nobody wants to deal with auto problems; and the car makers have made the cars so complex/problematic that for most it makes better sense to 'lease and pay'.

Personally I'll hang onto my 164 for as long as I can find the parts and do the work on it... (I'd rather pay-off the parts suppliers than the MFR's) LOL

'91 164 L
'91 164 S
'86 Spider Veloce


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