Hi, as the Convert name suggests I have previously been a fan of British 60's and 70's sportscars, the usual Triumphs, MG's etc but to address my mid life crisis I thought I'd give this well known Italian manufacturer a try. Of course I've done it all wrong and without too much research I purchased a 1998 Spider from the trade section of a fairly local garage, no service history, no master key and no warranty! Still it was cheap and came with an MOT! That was a month ago, since when the car has been on holiday with Tony at Ital Autos, having one of his reasonably priced recon engines fitted. I took the decision to do this on the basis that without service history I had no idea when or even if the cam belt had been changed plus the engine was quite smokey and rattled at the top end - in for a penny in for a pound so off it went. I'll let you know how I go on, so far Tony seems a really helpful, and dare I say it honest guy.
So there we are, a slightly painful entrance into the world of all things Italian, but even with the smokey engine the driving experience (all 100 miles to date) was fantastic and from the driving seat could be be mistaken for something far more exotic! I look forward to many future miles of topless motoring - Alfa reliability permiting!
welcome to AO. Sounds like the Spider will be llike new when she's done. Post up pics 
