GTA V6 n/a - general views?

Hi All, me again. Having missed out on Martin's blue turbo, I'm now looking at the grey 2.8, advertised on the forum pages, being sold through RIchard in Northern Ireland. Called him today and he gave a very thorough and honest run through of the car. Couple of questions for you chaps if I may.

1/ It is a bog standard basic spec car. No leather, no abs, no aircon and standard wheels now. Whilst I am all in favour of this as it is 20 years old and having that lot missing means much less to go wrong, my fear is it is totally undesirable and could prove a nightmare to sell on when the time comes.

2/ Does anyone have a good cloth drivers seat for one of these? Light grey. This one has an optional extra of duck tape on the drivers seat bolster - Richard thinks not general wear but more like something has caught on it. However, lets the interior down and I would want to get it replaced, or perhaps fixed if possible.

Other than that, it is boggo spec, nice colour and subject of getting blown away by all sorts as it only has 160bhp! However, I aint an F1 driver and the experience is not all about outright go.

What do you chaps think?

Seats aren't a problem to come by .I have one in good nick I think ,will have a look .
As long as you don't let it deteriorate then it will not lose value .But if you're after making money on it then any ones guess really .
Bog standard is best for keeping value as well .

Nah. not about making money at all. Just enjoying what I think is a special kind of car.

Other thing I should have asked - it has a couple of cracks in the bodywork, hairline fractrues - one on the drivers door and one under the nearside rear "quarterlight". Should this be a concern or do they all do it, or am I looking at buying a vat full of uhu and trying to glue it back together in the future??

It's 20 years old and plastic....can't see it being a major problem .Mine has a few stress marks .Some of it is fibreglass ,other bits plastic so repairs are not major but need doing correctly depending on the material .

I cannot really comment on the car, but i can on the engine.

Back when i was 19, my dad had a R 30TS with the 2.7 Carb engine.
I however had to go one up on my dad, and i had a R30 TX with the 2.7i engine.

I always thought my dads Carb'd version was a better drive. It certainly felt more powerfull and responsive on the throttle. Also much easier to work on.

Hey Paul. Not talking to you, you bought the blue turbo! Swine!

No, thanks for the feedback. A part of me thinks a 2.8 carb car - we're back to the 70s here, but in a way, this base model is an honest sports car. As long as I avoid folk in turbo Vectras!

Atmo or Turbo ,you wont be disappointed .
Atmo is just as much fun as the Turbo as it's the handling that makes these cars stand out from the crowd .
And then there is the fact that you will never pull up along side another one unless you know you are going to

Many owners will tell you that the 2.9 atmo engined car is better than the 2.5 turbo. They say that the atmo pulls a lot harder low down and just keeps on going, where as the tubo needs driving in the upper rev range to make it start to perform.

Your best bet is to look on ebay, autotrader, pistonheads and anywhere else and go see a couple of cars first. Then you can gauge if any minor-faults are a problem to you or not.

Why not come along to a club meet there will always be fellow owners willing to take you out for a spin.

I have only ever heard good feedback about cars that Mr Walsh has worked on and he knows what he is doing.

Nah i didnt buy the blue GTA Turbo. But i did get all the cash out the bank today ready !. Damn........

So will keep my eyes pealed now for another one.
I specifically want a GTA Turbo, with Leather, and pref with nice Wheels. Not standard ones.

[BIG_MVS]

You all should have got out of bed earlier on sunday and given me a ring like this other chap

Having owned both Atmo and Turbo I think overall the Turbo is the better car. That said if your not buying a GTA for performance then get the Atmo.

Or if you are getting a bit old and fat then perhaps a 610 is called for

Being 30 miles north of Aberdeen makes it tricky to get out and see some examples! Only Renault I have ever had was a 21 turbo quadra when I was 23 or so. That was a damn good car. Had it at an indicated 137 on the way to work one day - motorway. Those days long gone.

Having had a variety of semi powerful cars - the 21, Fiat Coupe 20vt, Lancia Kappa 20vt, Legacy Spec B with 245bhp, just wondering if 160 is going to cut the mustard. Other option for the toy is an old 1990s Merc 500SL, but ......I like "unpopular" cars, so the merc dont cut it either!

I know its not the same car.. But...

I have had 3 Pontiac Fiero GT's.
They are very similar to the GTA, in that they are 2 seaters, Spaceframe chassis. All plastic / Enduraflex body. RWD, with a 2.8 V6 sitting right over the rear wheels. Its a old pushrod design V6 with 145bhp @ 5200rpm.
But with the Torque of a V6, and the low weight means that they absolutely fly !.

I would imagine the GTA is the same. Its light, so the benefit of V6 torque will haul it off the line.
Like i said, my dad had the R30 TS, which is the 2664cc Carb'd PRV engine. And that thing went like stink. And it was a 5 door Exec car.

[BIG_MVS]

Or if you are getting a bit old and fat then perhaps a 610 is called for

Your not wrong, my belly is expanding rapido so the extra 50 bhp has come in handy. Was never a believer that the 610 was worth 2-3 times a GTA, but now I have taken the plunge I'm slowly coming round (literally )...

Had 6 Renault 21 Turbo Quadra's over the years which led onto a GTA a while back, great cars.

Put it this way, and only being honest here (sorry richard) after 21 Turbo ownership the ATMO was disappointing performance wise so I had to buy a Turbo instead.

PAINT AND BODYWORK
any 20year old car thats used every day is going to look a bit shabby but most alpine's have stood the test of time pretty well. the plastic panels are usualy ok, the things to look for as you have spotted already, surface cracks,blistering,poor or old paintwork, all of these can be repaired and painted. the good thing about alpine's is you won't find any dents or rust scabs on the body
in fact alpine's are in many ways easier to repair and paint than steel cars, unfortunatly when you ask for an estimate on paintwork most bodyshops will ram the price up because of its construction and its a classic.
to paint a front or a side should be no more than the same on a vectra.
ive worked in the paint and body trade for 25 years some of it with renault uk so if you ever want any advice or work doing just give me a shout.