Advice for a newbie

Having just come into a small inheritance, I was interested in the possibilities of joining the Alpine throng. But although I have read a good deal about GTAs, I've not seen too many close up, and few that come up for sale are near North Wales, where I live. So my questions -

Is it realistic to use a well- maintained GTA as a daily driver (35 miles a day!)

Is there a reliability/ practicality difference between turbo/ normally aspirated?

Is there anyone in the North Wales/ Chester/ Wirral area I could meet for a chat before pressing the 'bid now' button on Ebay?

Many thanks for your help!

Tom

Hi Tom ,

I use mine as a daily driver and it's far better to do this than leave them standing for any length of time .No problems at all in running them as your main car .As with most fibre bodied cars the electrics are the main source of problems when it comes to everyday annoyances .The dash goes all over the place every now and then and the power drain from the engine cooling fans takes it toll ,so an upgraded high power battery is always a good idea .You get a lot of earth leakage so running it daily on a bit of a run will tend to keep the battery healthy ,if I leave my healthy Turbo for more than a week it invariably wont go

The main differences twix Turbo and Atmo are ,fuel consumption,electronic controls and ease of service .On the Atmo don't expect more than 20 MPG most of the time on a commuter run Turbos will be more like 30 .Changing the plugs on the Turbo is not a quick job unless you have 'A Woman's Hand ' and many of the tasks are long winded purely thro lack of space and access .Also there's far more to go wrong electronically and finding the source of the problem can be tedious and expensive ( See Ben Shepard's mammoth thread 'Cutting Out ' ).The Atmo is far easier to work on DIY or garage so the service costs are less .

Generally they both suffer from the same sort of problems ,but the Atmo is cheaper to sort on the engine side of things ,swings and roundabouts as you will have 50% higher fuel bills .

For Gods sake don't press the bid button without doing your homework and never sight unseen ,I think there are a few members near you so try and get a looksee at those and pick some 'brains'
If you get a good one there is plenty of fun to be had .......................
Good luck

Lee

Hello Tom
I live near Rhyl and your welcome to come round or meet in a pub anytime. Don't work much these days but can get dragged off with zero notice - missed Donington DOH!

Everything Lee says is right but I have owed my 1988 turbo since 1990 and it has always been at least a second car only just topped 50K miles and as all my cars never been near a garage since i bought it. Due to previous work/me it spends weeks without running (not currently taxed) and I have never had any problems yet. Battery has as standard a quick disconnect and the rear brakes need (on any GTA I think not just low use) annual exercise by removing pads and manually operating adjusters to keep free.

Problem with electrics is that most connectors (not just GTA) have a very low dis/reconect tolerance ie once you have started taking them apart you are on a downward spiral. Contact cleaner is likely to wash as much contaminant into the joint as it takes out.

I am more of a classic enthusiast than most folk here I think and have a couple of Triumphs. The guts of a GTA are pretty good but the problem with running any old car as a necessary daily driver is the poor availability of parts if something does go wrong or get damaged . If you hav'nt got a complete donor car you can end up on the bus for some time.

Dave

Tom,

GTAs are scarce, but not too rare.
Keep looking and don't buy the 1st one you can get to see.
Do your researh, like you are now.
There are bound to be quite a few cropping up in the spring, see keep your eyes peeled here, some one may offer you one, and keep looking on ebay, the trader and find-it.
I'd guess that there is a least 1 a month for sale around the country, of which there was about 500 RHD cars imported, 60% being turbo.

Good luck.

Tom,
If you want to view a GTA Turbo I live in Colwyn Bay, N Wales. My phone no. is 01492 533430 or 07721717453.
You haven't said where you live in N.Wales but if you ring me we can arrange a meet.

Andrew

I used my GTA as a daily driver for about 4 years, including a 32 mile communte to work and back. Only a problem if you don't have a car to fall back on if it does break down. As dath said, you might have a wait for parts or it might take time to diagnose the exact problem, as in Bens case. Best compromise is probably to use it as a second car, but regulary. As clee pointed out, the battery will flatten quickly if it's not used regulary. Mine's been sat for over a week. Went to give it a run today and the battery was as flat as the proverbial pancacke!

Thanks for all the speedy and helpful advice. It is either a GTA or a Subaru SVX for me - different animals but hopefully interesting!

I'll follow up the kind offers for a meet and let you know what happens in due course!

Tom

left mine for well over 2 months, slow to turn over, but started fine.
I think the battery is about 3 years old.

I leave it with the front wheels choked, to save using the handbrake as it does have a habit of sticking on.

Yes, leave my handbrake off too. Problem with the battery is I think the alarm drains it. I should turn it off because it's immobilised anyway, but the alarm fob operates the remote locking and using the key seems so inconvenient! Thinking of getting one of those solar panel trickle charger things that plug into the cig lighter. Anyone know if they work or not?

I would say the main problems are electrical.....you will be lucky to find one where everything works all the time. Bear in mind you are buying a (minimum of) 15 year old car that wasnt built by the Japanese and you'll be fine. Definitely best as a second car because some parts are to order and if they go wrong you'll be wating for them to arrive......have something else on stanby! For reliability definitely buy an atmo...less complicated and fewer unusual parts.

[Alpineandy]

Subaru SVX

IIRC they're nice cars but have a very weak gearbox.
If you can find a decent one.

[mettersl]

Hi Ben,
Surprising the number of people who like Alpines and Subaru SVX's- it seems. All the peple I have ever met with SVX's have alpines too- all two of them.
When I bought my A610, one of the others I looked at was being displaced by an SVX, and I have met another A610 owner who has a SVX (he uses it as the daily driver).
Strange bed fellows- what is it that attracts us to both? Rarity? less loved than they deserved? who knows....

My Alpine is a second car to an Audi A6 quattro- Diesel! -quite a contrast in power, grip, handling, reliability (the Audi & A610 both start every time) and economy.
I have to agree with the others though, its the time to get spares that keeps me from every day use of the A610- that and the fact that it would be nearly 50 miles a day.
What other cars do we all drive? Many Subaru's out there? Any more SVX's anyone?

Lee

I've owned my GTA since 1990. Its a turbo and has done less than 2000 a year on average and hasn't had virtually any problems at all. My advice would be buy a turbo if your going to use it for daily use as they are better on fuel, better at starting and are quieter and smoother to drive. There are advantages to the atmo but the carbs can cause problems and there is a noticeable difference in outright performance. Watch out for speedos often don't work, very expensive to replace. Lots of parts becoming difficult to get from Renault now and very expensive. Great cars to drive with fantastic ride / handling compromise and great looks. Also look out for chassis corrosion, seen some bad rot in acouple of cars lately. SVX interesting too - nearly bought one a few years back but auto only and the boxes have a reputation for causing problems

[phildini]

I agree with Tony, I have a turbo and Atmo, the atmo is always a pain in the asp to start from cold, carbs always need balancing, nicer to drive in tight country lanes due to the way it delivers the power.
The turbo so far has never let me down she is a beauty! smooth and very responsive on long journeys. Then gain my turbo was pampered from day one from the previous owner, so i guess i have been lucky.

So my opinion Turbo great on long jourmeys, Atmo great on short journeys.

Svx's there is two near where i live and to be honest i always fancied one.

What other cars do we all drive? Many Subaru's out there? Any more SVX's anyone?

Lee

Currently running besides my 2 GTA Turbos, a mint Skyline R32 GTR, a Toyota Aristo Vertex (same as a Lexus GS300 - but 3.0 twin turbo) and a Mondeo 2.5 24v Ghia X Estate. Aristo will go soon - might replace it with an SVX! I had a thought - the engine is basically the impreza 4 with 2 extra cylinders grafted on to make a flat six - I wonder whether an Impreza gearbox, clutch etc would bolt up. Sti pistons, twin turbos - stop stop stop right now