Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Austin
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 10-04-2009, 12:38 PM
 
37 posts, read 112,261 times
Reputation: 12

Advertisements

I am thinking about buying a vitage Fiat Spider.

1) I found one Alfa Repair shop out by the lake, but wanted to seewhether anyone knows of a shop in the city that knows and can work on old carbed italian cars.

2) I do not currently have a garage. Anyone know whether I could rent a carage somewhere - maybe a storage unit with a power supply?

Thanks
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-04-2009, 05:01 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
16,787 posts, read 49,073,910 times
Reputation: 9478
Sounds like fun, I drove one years ago. There are lots of storage units avaiable around town. What part of town do you live in, that should make a difference I assume.

Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-07-2009, 02:22 PM
 
37 posts, read 112,261 times
Reputation: 12
I am central - right by campus.

However the location of the storage unit is not that big of a deal.

That said - what does seem common is that even drive up units do not have power source - which would be pretty important if it is to serve as a garage.

thanks - that is a great looking Spider.

Igor
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-07-2009, 11:15 PM
 
Location: Texas
5,872 posts, read 8,095,507 times
Reputation: 2971
Import Auto on Grey Ave. It's North off of Anderson area. Awesome, I took my wife's BMW & Mercedes there and trusted them completely.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-08-2009, 10:57 AM
 
1 posts, read 6,569 times
Reputation: 10
I would not buy it. If you do, pay only salvage price, as that is all that it is worth. I could tell you my whole experience but the message would be the same.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-08-2009, 06:26 PM
 
37 posts, read 112,261 times
Reputation: 12
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim in Houston View Post
I would not buy it. If you do, pay only salvage price, as that is all that it is worth. I could tell you my whole experience but the message would be the same.
I assume you are talking about not owning a Fiat/Spider

Did you have a bad experience?

I feel like I know what I am getting into - but do share if you want to!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-08-2009, 07:41 PM
 
8,231 posts, read 17,321,103 times
Reputation: 3696
Sigh. I want one so badly...hair blowing in the wind, Wayfarers, etc.
HOWEVER....my husband has said categorically NO. Fix It Again Tony (FIAT). He's promised me a brand new one...they are going to release soon.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-08-2009, 09:01 PM
 
10,130 posts, read 19,882,004 times
Reputation: 5815
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim in Houston View Post
I would not buy it. If you do, pay only salvage price, as that is all that it is worth. I could tell you my whole experience but the message would be the same.
Doesn't FIAT own Chrylser now? They also own Alfa Romeo (and I think the new Alfa Romeo is based on a Dodge platform!), Maserati, and Ferrari.

I guess they couldn't have been that bad
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-08-2009, 09:19 PM
 
Location: Avery Ranch, Austin, TX
8,977 posts, read 17,555,108 times
Reputation: 4001
As a former Fiat and Triumph owner(and Lancia admirer, in college), I can feel your impending pain. My '91 Miata would run circles around both of the others and could actually PASS a garage without stopping. A former tennis pro buddy of mine couldn't make it home from the mechanic in his Alfa Spyder. Only thing crazier was a friend who spent thousands on his Porsche 914 in grad school...paid many times the original cost in maintenance and repair.
I'd look for a '95 or newer Miata and enjoy driving rather than wrenching!

Best of luck!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-01-2010, 10:47 AM
 
9 posts, read 17,443 times
Reputation: 19
Default Fiats are special

Old Fiats are special kinds of cars for a special kind of person. You could buy a Miata and be like everyone else with a Miata or you could drive a unique looking Fiat Spider that with just a little bit of work and bolt on parts will be faster and handle better then a typical Miata. Suggesting that you buy a Miata instead of a Fiat is like telling someone who wants a 1967 Pontiac GTO to buy the 2004-2006 GTO because it will have less repairs. Its not the same thing. You don't buy a Fiat because you want a reliable car to drive to work. You buy a Fiat because you love the car and as an expression of yourself. Will there be repairs? Sure there will be, the car will be 22-40 years old. Will there be people walking around your car thinking "what kind of car is that?" or "wow, I haven't seen one of those in years."? Definately. Will there be Miata owners looking at your car with envy. You can count on it!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Austin
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:39 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top