Help, Newbie considering buying a GTA either non or turbo

Dear All,

Any help and advice that you can offer would be gratefully received.

It is years since i last had a rear engined rear wheel drive car (Suped up Beetles) and have had 4x4 Ford Granada and Sierra's for last 7 years.

Porsches are too common and they cost a fortune to buy and maintain eg 964 C2 1990 .

So i have always been attracted to and fascinated buy Alpines especially the A 110 the GTA and A 610.

The A 110 and A 610 are out of my price bracket.

But the GTA turbo and non turbo may be the way to go.

I have looked at the ads on this site and have checked out Auto Trader etc.

So i fancy either a red or a blue GTA turbo.

Other colours would be considered, as condition of vehicle is paramount.

I have never driven one so what have i to look forward to?

Also how about running maintainance and repairs costs?

So lets see whether i can be persuaded to join the fold.

regards david

Hi there, Suffolk hey...Im only in Colchester. Could try my GTA if you like, turbo, not standard..not great nick either, but it would give you an idea..

Buy a turbo u can turn the wick up reasonably cheap!
way to go.

The GTA is a great car. Buy a turbo if youre looking for the best performance, its cheap and easy to tune up to fairly high levels. As for the driving experience, they grip like a vice in the dry and the feedback and feel is second to none in my opinion (Ive owned 37 cars now inc numerous Alfas, Renaults, kitcars and Skodas(!) amongst others), the next best being an Alfasud which is noted for this. They arent particularly comfortable and the electrics have a suit themselves attitude.....but the noise from the turbo on overrun and the chuckability of the car makes it good enough to put up with all the build quality problems.

I love my GTA turbo and have had it for nearly 14 years, theres not another car I would swap for it but thats not to say they suit everybody. They really do need to be pampered to stay nice. The build quality is not remotely in the Porshe class - think more like a French Lotus and you'll get the idea. Personally I think the foibles of the car are worth putting up for because the looks and driving experience are pretty much unrivalled for the money. So my advice would be if you can afford to run one as a second or third car and you only have a budget under 10k then nothing will touch the GTA as an all round package, but if you want a daily driver that doesn't need to be molycoddled constantly buy German or Japanese. And buy the best you can afford - you'll spend a couple of grand before you blink sorting out the usual problems that most aging GTA's come with - i.e. cracked headlamp glasses, speedo problems, radiators, leaky hoses, general electrical problems. And beware there are alot of dogs around also, I see a good percentage of the countries GTA's at shows and down ARR and believe me genuinely nice cars are few and far between.

[simontaylor]

David, don't make a mistake, buy one, you won't regret it. I've only had mine since Easter and it's great to drive. Try to have a look at a few and you will soon see the good the bad and the untidy. Pay as much as you can for a good one, well looked after is more important than age. Come along tomorrow to the Ace Cafe on the North circ and you'll see a few, make good contacts and get good advise, maybe even a ride/drive. More details in the Meeting forum,
See you soon ????
Simon

Thanks for that.

Encouragement does help.

I couldnt make it to london today due to the fact that it was somewhat wet here in suffolk and i could not cast off from my mooring outside my house. We have had 3 days of solid rain. In fact yesterday i rode my pushbike home in the heaviest rain i have experienced and this was interlaced with hail. So when i got indoors straight through to kitchen strip off and everything in the washing machine. Today there was no hail!!!!!!

I will hope to visit Colchester soon for a looksee and a chat.

Then i will decide on budget and start looking at cars.

many thanks.

p.s. anybody want a tidy 1989 Sierra 2.9 4x4 ?

oops sorry wrong forum.

regards david

David,

I'm about to put my Red '92 non-turbo GTA up for sale as it's become more of a hobby car than primary transport.

123k on the clock, engine rebuild at about 105k (2 years ago). FSH

Mechanically sound, but bodywork not perfect, and various "niggles" need sorting out.

Prepared to negotiate on price to get rid of it to a good home!.

Email direct if interested.

Mark
Nottingham

Well,

Finally did it, picked up my black atmo today and on the run down the M4 back to Bristol I couldn't believe the pickup at high speed.

Very pleased with it, there's a slight drop of oil and the fuel guage doesn't seem to work. Can't wait for the weekend and the weather to pick up.

Yep, Just do it and buy one.

Cheers

Mike