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Be patient or bite the bullet

  • Wait for another few weeks

    Votes: 1 5.6%
  • Wait until a good one is out

    Votes: 16 88.9%
  • Buy the nearest one I can find

    Votes: 1 5.6%
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Well I collected my Black and Tan one yesterday an absolutely love it. Its a keeper for me and I wanted original as well but just couldn’t resist the stage two alfaworks offering with nitron shocks. It is brilliant and don’t mind the compromise one bit having done 250 miles in the last 24 hours !!


I also like the veloces one mentioned by OP and there is another red one in Crawley near me that looks good also. The white one in karmann cars looks good value as well.
 
There is a grey one on eBay, priced under market , it had some minor damage to it's underneath from a tyre piece on the road, so long as the tub is ok (and they say it's only a scuff) then it seems a good buy with low miles and service stamps from Alfaworks. Maybe get it inspected by Jamie porter first or ask him a few questions he may know the story.
 
There is a grey one on eBay, priced under market , it had some minor damage to it's underneath from a tyre piece on the road, so long as the tub is ok (and they say it's only a scuff) then it seems a good buy with low miles and service stamps from Alfaworks. Maybe get it inspected by Jamie porter first or ask him a few questions he may know the story.
Think that silver one has been discussed recently. Apparently that tyre piece turned out to be a rock that damaged the floor pan. Should be structuraly sound still, but requires repair (y)
 
Congrats 👏 . Black and Tan is a gorgeous combination. Let us all know how that stage 2 works out. Mine is currently Alfaworks S1 @ 280hp.
the stage 2 is great. Car gathers speed at phenomenal rate and I don’t sense much lag. Jay Emm has a you tube review of the stage 2 and his makes a weird noise. Mine definitely doesn’t do that and sounds great with race exhaust. Personally I wouldn’t have gone for the stage 2 but as it was done 600 miles ago by Alfaworks and cost me about 1/3 of what previous owner paid I am very happy.
 
It was so interesting that you said this - my original plan was to buy the Alpine a110s (2023 model) - drove it, was nice, but similar to the Audi TTRS that I used to own.

Then I test drove one of the 4c's as a 'back-up' - boy I fell I love straightaway. Absolutely love the rawness and the go kart feel! People complains about 'tramlining' and 'goes to the nearest ditch' but I love it! Not going to go on touring in it but a perfect toy for an hour or two weekend blast!

Sadly that makes it even more so a keeper so I am desperate to find a good one :)
So, yeah, anyone saying "tramlining/goes to ditch" simply aren't drivers nor do they understand how to actually drive a car, period. Don't take my word for it, just read up on race car notes, from "CTR Yellow Bird" to Mclaren F1 LM GTR's to Fangio's "silver arrow". Anyone who complains about unassisted steering that is actually tight, robust, and made up of only 2 handfuls of parts simply can't drive a car at the limit, or needs a car that "intelligent steers" for them with active this and that and "smart systems". With that logic, then an AI driven car on pre programming is merely a less risk difference, also 100% (not 99.9999%) faster than such "drivers" on top.

Cars are what they are, and they aren't faults when the nature of something is what it is. No different than a bunch of wannabes going on "extreme tourism" to a warzone, dressed like their call of duty avatars, and complaining the violence is too much and want it scaled back or a refund. Maybe ask if respawning and unlimited ammo is a no cost option.

If you wanna directly feel the forces your tires are actually dealing with, you're gonna have to directly control those forces. If you want a computer to do it for you, you're not actually DRIVING, aka controlling/piloting the car. Same with "automated manuals" BS. Are you a Driver, or a passenger with suggestions?
 


If I find a good one I'm probably just going to keep it. I live in London and the 4c is not going to be good in town. It will also have to share sunny weekends with my bikes too so I'll be lucky to put 1,000 miles on it each year.
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View attachment 137832
Hi @ericinlondon
It will be your bikes that will be doing less miles on those sunny weekends, not the 4C.
You will be getting up in the middle of the night and driving to some quiet twisty roads just to blow out the cobwebs from your Alfa.
I’m biased, but I vote for a Spider. I also vote for waiting a while to find the right one.
Just like spotting a beautiful woman in a bikini on the beach with her top off, it is a very different experience in a topless Spider.
4C’s are made to be driven enthusiastically, roads with speed cameras everywhere are less fun than gentleman’s race days at tracks with your mates, but collectors may never know the joy of this activity if they never want to take their precious car out of the garage for fear of adding a few miles.
Unless they are stored properly, 4C’s that sit for months at a time tend to have more issues than those that are driven regularly. We see that a lot on these forums.
When you own a 4C and actually drive it properly, by that I mean drive it as it was intended to be driven, the Italian way, enthusiastically at full throttle, as fast as the wind will carry you, what I have written here will all make sense.
If you want the low mileage collector version of the 4C, then be prepared to pay over the odds, as the boys that have still got their childhood Matchbox cars in the original packaging to make them worth something one day in the future have already bought those cars. My Matchbox cars as a kid were all dinged and scratched, but boy did I have fun with them. The cars I have owned over the years have all bought me pleasure by driving them and appreciating them at the time.
My 4C Spider has 80,000 km on it, has a few stone chips, some scrapes under the nose, and has seen some track days and skid pans where I learned more about car control and what the little Alfa can really do at the limit than I ever thought possible. She gets driven in the sun and rain and we drive with the top off whenever we can. It is a daily driver and the car stands up well to all that goes with that.
Six years of having a 4C in my life and I still look back and admire her curves when I park her and she can turn heads like any beautiful motoring work of art wherever she takes us.
Good luck with your hunt for “the one”.
Cheers,
Alf.
 
Be patient, wait for a good one, be prepared, then jump on it right away. It took me about a year to find the right one because I did not act fast enough when I first started shopping. The good ones did not last long. And get the one you want (coupe, spyder, color, etc.)
The worst thing is to spend all that money, compromise on your wants Then see the one that you really wanted, come rolling down the street, and think, should have that one. :oops:
And that will happen every time you see one that you really wanted.
 
@ericinlondon have you considered this one:


IMO, a good spec and worth a conversation with the owner to discover service history. I do think the asking price is a bit steep though…
 
Discussion starter · #31 ·
@ericinlondon have you considered this one:


IMO, a good spec and worth a conversation with the owner to discover service history. I do think the asking price is a bit steep though…
Will reach out soon

thanks for the tip!
 
Discussion starter · #32 ·
Hi @ericinlondon
It will be your bikes that will be doing less miles on those sunny weekends, not the 4C.
You will be getting up in the middle of the night and driving to some quiet twisty roads just to blow out the cobwebs from your Alfa.
I’m biased, but I vote for a Spider. I also vote for waiting a while to find the right one.
Just like spotting a beautiful woman in a bikini on the beach with her top off, it is a very different experience in a topless Spider.
4C’s are made to be driven enthusiastically, roads with speed cameras everywhere are less fun than gentleman’s race days at tracks with your mates, but collectors may never know the joy of this activity if they never want to take their precious car out of the garage for fear of adding a few miles.
Unless they are stored properly, 4C’s that sit for months at a time tend to have more issues than those that are driven regularly. We see that a lot on these forums.
When you own a 4C and actually drive it properly, by that I mean drive it as it was intended to be driven, the Italian way, enthusiastically at full throttle, as fast as the wind will carry you, what I have written here will all make sense.
If you want the low mileage collector version of the 4C, then be prepared to pay over the odds, as the boys that have still got their childhood Matchbox cars in the original packaging to make them worth something one day in the future have already bought those cars. My Matchbox cars as a kid were all dinged and scratched, but boy did I have fun with them. The cars I have owned over the years have all bought me pleasure by driving them and appreciating them at the time.
My 4C Spider has 80,000 km on it, has a few stone chips, some scrapes under the nose, and has seen some track days and skid pans where I learned more about car control and what the little Alfa can really do at the limit than I ever thought possible. She gets driven in the sun and rain and we drive with the top off whenever we can. It is a daily driver and the car stands up well to all that goes with that.
Six years of having a 4C in my life and I still look back and admire her curves when I park her and she can turn heads like any beautiful motoring work of art wherever she takes us.
Good luck with your hunt for “the one”.
Cheers,
Alf.
Very well put Alf!
 
I went to see that one before buying mine over Christmas. Personally didn’t like the body kit, non standard wheels which they have now completely blacked out (worse IMHO) or the non leather interior. Drove fine though and seemed in good condition just not for me.
 
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