Hi AlfaMug.

Sorry that your first post was trapped in the approval queue. It was obviously of national security concern . Happily, one of the few that gets stopped, that I could release to the forum.

So, a hearty welcome!

TBH, I would be tempted to do the drive, but would kick myself if history did repeat. Can you try to get another tow quote local to the dealer there? Perhaps, if you shared the region, someone here could recommend a company?

Edit to be clear - the chances of a total failure are slim. But you don’t know what lesser damage you might be doing to the engine for no real benefit other than saving a few bucks. You’ve already saved more by doing the service there.

 

Vehicle is 2.5 hours west of Chicago area. Dealership is in Chicago. Got dealer recommended towing quote for $1,400 and quote at seller's location for $855. It costs $899 to transport from Chicago to DC, so hard for me to lock in to the local towing quotes.

 

Five years without an oil change?

Post the location, you may be near a forum member who would help you with an oil change before the trip - a fair number of us do oil changes at home.

 

About 850'ish miles on it since that oil change. So the concern is the degradation of the oil and not the mileage. Found this in a quick search, but I know there are a lot of opinions out there:

Synthetic motor oil lasts five years before it begins to degrade. At least that's according to Mobil 1, as we mentioned previously. Amsoil and Chevron also say their oil lasts five years, while Pennzoil states it lasts four years.

 

Thanks all,
Vehicle is 2.5 hours west of Chicago area. Dealership is in Chicago.

 

I assume you've heard the saying "Buy the owner, not the car" I'd be wary of buying a 4C from someone who cared so little about it that they couldn't be bothered to have the oil changed for five years. Being direct injected the oil will have some fuel in it and, undoubtedly, moisture. If I really wanted that car I'd figure out a way to change the oil before driving it - independent shop perhaps.

 

Thanks JTod. I appreciate your insights. Owner unfortunately passed and is being sold by his widow. That explains a little of the time lapse.

 

I'd be surprised if synthetic oil turned to sludge but I'd want to verify that as a condition of purchase. I'd buy an oil extractor and either take it on the plane or have it and the oil shipped to the seller. Then you can pull 95% of the oil out of the car and inspect before filling with new for the 2.5 hr drive to service. If the oil that comes out looks fine I would assume the filter is also ok.

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www.amazon.com

 

This👆
Order on Amazon. Ship to owner’s house along with the oil. Suck out most and refill then drive. Far cheap than flat bedding the thing and avoids all the unnecessary stuff. The filter is fine. Simple and easy.

 

Im just south of chicago and use alfa romeo Naperville.
They are very fair priced and good with the 4c.

Take this number with a grain of salt as i dont recall it perfectly and it was 3 years ago. But for the belt service, oil, brake flush, the works basically was around $2,000. No more than $2500. But i did bring them the parts. If you really want me to i will check my records if you would find it helpful.

I just scheduled a bolt tightening service, oil change and alignment with them next month for $1700 as another reference. They are competitive in pricing especially for a dealer and i haven't had a single compliant in 5+ years with them

Roughly 45-60 min west of Chicago

 

Thanks Tex. Looks like slightly better prices, but Alfa Romeo of Glenview has ordered parts for me and I want to honor my commitment with them.

 

My take. If the car was garaged, the vehicle did not bake. Bout the best thing you could do is take it on a long drive and when arriving home, drop that oil which will have done a job. A car is essentially a closed system. I bought a practice a few years back which had a qt of ORIGINAL Mobil 1.........opened it and used in a lawnmower. 100% fine. You can have any indy in the oil knock out an oil change CHEAP. It is damn easy to do. Buy the car. Say a prayer for the deceased. Enjoy. Car collectors routinely bring cars to life after a 10, 20, 30 yr hiatus. They start and run. My dealer did my belt, water pump and tensioner for 2k last fall. In expensive CT. When you get home, do all the fluids. Where are you located? Great car to DIY as everything is very accessible except the timing belt which isn't bad but......don't get too paranoid. I bought my car in SLC and drove it 2900 miles xcountry to CT with a track day at Pitt......car loved it.

 

Thanks ViscontiVerdi164L! The car was reported as being stored in a climate controlled garage 24/7 and the owner collected European cars. I'm a planner/manager by trade, so I'm going through the process of mitigating risks. Probably will all be OK, but don't want any costly regrets.

 

Honestly, I would be just as nervous about the timing belt, brake fluid, tires, etc... You have to do all of the maintenance no matter what and that won't be cheap, spending $1000 in towing to not do potential damage or risk getting stranded and having a worse situation seems cheap.

 

Absolutely. @AlfaMug , There’s simply too much to lose to gamble on whether or not the oil and the rest of it is up to the task. Get it lifted onto a low flatbed and taken to a local or distant recommended service centre to have the work done before you drive it. I know of so many cases when belts have snapped because the owner thought they knew better (Other Alfas, not the 4C so please don’t be the first….).

 

Yes, I tend to agree based on my experience where I purchased a 2015 stock coupe with 8,000 km several years ago - I would tow the car to nearest reputable service point, change the liquids, timing belt, water pump, battery and tires after which the car will be baselined for peace of mind and of course full enjoyment.

 

Thanks Refik!

 

If you sign up for AAA Premier you get one 200 mile tow each year (and three 100) for $125 a year. If the dealer is 2.5 hrs away that should be less than 200 miles.

 

That's a good suggestion. Thanks!

 

I would be reluctant to drive this car before having it serviced. I would have it put on a flatbed and transported to a reputable service center, and having not been driven for 5 years, there’s no hurry. I would also imagine you must be getting a fantastic deal to purchase a car with so many known unknowns. You’ve got several thousand dollars between what the car will be worth when properly sorted, and its worth in its present state. Plus, you are going to do this work anyway. If not, you shouldn’t be buying it imho. So this isn’t so much a cash problem, but rather a cash flow problem. If you are confident the car can be brought back to its optimum state for the available margin or less, then it’s a good buy. If it takes a little longer to have the resources to do the work properly, why not just ask the widow if you could pay for the car and continue to store it with her until the resources are available. If the cost of bringing it to optimum exceeds the margin, then just ask yourself how much is it worth to you to own it. Only you can know that. In the end, you want to do the right thing by the car. That may be for you to own it, or perhaps someone else who will do right by the car. Good luck with your decision.

 

The car has been reported as driven on regular intervals, but low mileage. Owner was a European car collector. They logged mpg's and fill-ups.

 

Example. Brake Fluid. 10yr old cca cola still works. Sure it will boil quicker but. As far as the timing belt is concerned, if it sat out in the Nevada sun for 10yrs, totally different than garaged. I have change a few belts lately and it was hard to know new from old. GTS beltds were 8yrs old when I did them. Almost imposiible to tell apart. When 4C was done last fall, I asked about its condition. I t was 6yrs old, they directly told me it was still in excellent shape and this has been the case for all the 4C they have service.....sounds to me like these belts have 10yrs in them easy.
Its all about how it was stored. Definitely get it serviced when you get situated but way too much paranoia in this thread. I'm out. Good luck with purchase. The drive home would be the best therapy in the world for the car. Just buy it! Look up a great Indy in the area if necessary. Flatbed is GROSS overkill unless the tires are cracked. Again, doubtful.
New parts can fail too...rare but...........It is not a 10yr old car that has never been serviced. 5yrs is NOT eternity. Would I track it...no. Would I do a high speed blast....no. Is cruising up the highway at 75-80 about the most benign thing you could do. Yes. Peace.
And of course, this is all based on a good visual inspection

 

Too much paranoia? Everything I thought but was afraid to say. Thanks for stepping up with that comment.

 

All,
I just wanted to express my thanks for the feedback. Your opinions and recommendations are helpful as I navigate the risks with this transfer. The 4C community was part of my decision to purchase this car. I've owned a Datsun 280z, '86 Alfa Spider, and Porsche Boxster and was drawn back to the Alfa for many reasons when I was researching cars. Thanks for your support and feel free to keep the suggestions coming.

 

You should be able to get an enclosed trailer in the Midwest to bring the car to the dealer for $500-700 max. There are so many Independent guys out there doing this. Pm me if you get stuck. This is what I would do to give peace of mind. Congrats on your purchase. These are great cars!!

 

Thanks Borneo!

 

You could just rent a UHaul car carrier and transport it yourself with your car or rent a pickup truck for a day to tow it. They are very light cars. Throw a car cover on it to protect it.

https://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/Auto-Transport-Rental/AT/

 

Thanks for the suggestion, alphaboy1.

 

Looking for some general advice. I am in the process of purchasing a low mileage 2015 (10 yo) 4C that is located about 750mi/13hrs away in the US (private sale). A few services are due, not because of mileage, but because of time (oil change/June2020, tires, timing belt, tensioner, idler, aux belt, water pump, acc tensioner, pulley). Not concerned about bolt tightening with the low mileage.

My plan is to fly out, pick up the car, drive cautiously (as-is) 2.5 hours to a dealership, hang out in a hotel, complete the services, and then drive it about 13 hours home.

I'd service it at my location, but the dealership won't give me a quote and speculated $7-8k for the timing belt, then dropped a k when I mentioned I'd seen this work done for $1.5-2.5k. Dealership near pickup point quoted $3.5k including oil change. I'd consider a $900 transport to my house, but purchase/maintenance keeps adding up and I need to fly out there because seller won't take it to the dealership so it would be another $855 to tow it locally.

Wanting to avoid history repeating itself. Going back cir. 1997, I had timing chain preventive maintenance done on my 1986 Spider Veloce, took it with me to my assignment in Germany, drove it 13 hours on a return trip from Budapest to Frankfurt and lost a cylinder. Never got it working again.

Concerns: 2.5 hours with 5 yo oil; can't return to the dealership if issues; history repeating itself on long drive; sinking more $ into the car.

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That's a tough spot with all those services being due at once. Honestly 5-year-old oil has me more worried than the timing belt for that initial 2.5-hour drive - I'd probably bite the bullet and do a quick oil change before even moving it, especially given your Spider experience. The $3.5k quote actually sounds pretty reasonable for all that work compared to your local dealer's wild pricing. I get the transport cost keeps adding up but have you considered just having it towed straight to the dealership from the seller's place instead of driving it at all? That way you're not risking any damage and can inspect everything properly before the long haul home. Your gut feeling about this whole situation matters too, if it feels like too many red flags are piling up, sometimes it's better to walk away and find a better example. Either way definitely don't attempt that 13-hour drive home without getting everything sorted first.

 

Thanks Mauro Dense. I feel a little better that the vehicle was always kept in a climate controlled garage and virtual visuals of the oil seems to be good; although I will inspect in person and make a call onsite.

 

Update (positive): Climate controlled garage-kept car was in pristine condition. Dealer replaced oil, brake fluid, coolant, timing belt, pulley, idler, tensioner, serpentine, water pump, and tires. They confirmed oil was still good and the belts and parts were all in excellent condition (low mileage / high age). Afterwards, I drove it ~800 miles home with no issues. Thanks for all the advice and words of wisdom on this thread. Really digging this car and glad to join the 4C community.

 

Awesome!
That’s a load off your mind.
Now, let the fun begin!

 

That sounds like an exciting pickup but also a lot to juggle. Personally, I’d lean toward transporting it home first. That way you’re not stressing about 5-year-old oil and a 13-hour drive right after major service. At least you’ll be close to shops you trust if something comes up, and you won’t be stuck out of town. The 4C is worth the effort, just better to start your ownership without the extra “what ifs.”

 

Thanks James. The adventure and distractions were nice for me and glad it all worked as planned.

 

Join AAA at the top tier and you get one free row of up to 200 miles per year along with 4-5 more rows of 100 miles or less. Cost is $250 I think, so perfect for your situation. I have 3 Ferraris and they all get towed once a year on a flatbed. Should work for your new 4C