So it looks like I'm going to be moving to Southern California for my job. I've lived in various parts of Illinois for my entire life and I've always had to live by 2 car rules: 1)No convertibles (only good during spring/fall) and 2) No rust buckets (winter salt).

Well, LA negates both of those. Warm weather and no snow. The thing is, I absolutely love my MINI. The handling is sharp, and it's the first car that I've been perfectly happy with without suspension mods. I like power, but handling is much more important to me. Which is one of the major reasons I want to relocate, so I can get on the canyon and mountain roads.

But then I think of the little Alfas. Series 3, fuel injection, decently reliable, Pininfarina looks, RWD, the elusive (to me) convertible...

Alfa owners or those with knowledge: How does the Alfa compare to the MINI on handling? I'd assume that the steering isn't as sharp, obviously, because the newest car that I'd be looking at is 18 years old. But say I replace all the bushings, pop on a set of Konis, would it be comparable (or better?)

 

You know they sell NEW Alfa's in the States...LMAO

 

Is this going to be your daily driver??? If so you might want to think about something newer- the up keep of an old Alfa is going to be much higher than your MINI and I think you will have to go for a full competition suspention to get close to the MINI-but that might make it too harsh for the road conditions.

I agree a convertible would be great in So Cal but you'll also to check out your parking situation, etc to see if you can safely leave a convertible parked-and a 20 year old car doesn't have imobilizers and other modern anti-theft devices. You might want to pick up an old Alfe as a resto project/weekend car- I also love old Alfa's- bee sure to check out the Cars-N- Coffee posts, it's in Irvine so you be able to check those out in person!

 

I don't have a spider, but I am the happy owner of a 71 GTV and I would have to say that it's surely going to be more expensive to drive than a MINI. While parts aren't ridiculously expensive, they aren't cheap and there are sure a lot of them. The engines themselves are very solid, but the fuel system is something that you have to constantly pay attention to. You will also have to pray you get one with a solid wiring harness. Electrical problems are pretty common on some of the older cars.

Having said that, driving an Alfa can be a lot of fun, especially if it's setup correctly. The Alfa is setup more or less for track time, so it's stiff, but very responsive, but I think a MINI with decent shocks, sway bars, springs and tires could take the Alfa pretty easy. I love my Mini and I love my Alfa and have no plans to get rid of either. The Alfa is my saucy Italian mistress and my Mini is a much more civilized, yet bawdy Wife.[FONT=Arial][/FONT]

 

Sweet Alfa Fini-that's one of my favs.

Any pics??