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Just brought a Spider

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2K views 39 replies 11 participants last post by  JOHNNYSF 
#1 ·
After three months trying to find an LE model for a price I was willing to pay I turned my attention to just a normal one within my price range - finally today got my first Alfa Spider for £19,250. Its a 3.2 24v Q4 2008 plate with 3k on the clock

Now I brought it but is the engine THAT good? is it significantly better than the 2.2 jts? any quick? how much is the service? I have thought about it before buying etc but I just had to get a spider.

I drove it round for half an hour but i just cant tell the difference between this one and the 2.2 except it is alittle quicker.

I pick it up on Wednesday and cant bloody wait.

Anyone share some experiences with it?

Thanks
 
#2 ·
Hi JohnnySF

Congrats :thumbs:

I've a 2 month old 3.2 Q4 (first Alfa, so can't compare to 2.2), but enjoying it immensely, & no regrets at all (except maybe it's a bit thirstier that I'd anticipated); I'd be interested to know what sort of mpg figures you get when you're up & running. Enjoy !
:cool:
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the response.

I am slightly concerned about the fuel economy too, I have read 20 odd mpg and i have read 10 odd mpg so im pretty sure that its a bit rubbish.

Will let you know. Ideally I wanted a 2.2 but this just came up and seemed like a decent deal etc..
 
#4 ·
Current figures on tank fill test suggest c 16mpg (75% urban / 25% ex-urban mix), should improve as it loosens up a bit, but I doubt it's ever going to be much better; great fun watching the trip computer showing current mpg estimate when you boot it a bit (not for the faint-hearted or the eco conscious) :D:D:D
 
#5 ·
Picking it up on friday so will let you know.

Firstly did not have a clue that road Tax is 405 bloody quid?

Secondly, it doesnt have any car mats. Anyone know where I can get the official alfa car mats for the spider? apart from going into a dealer?

Thank You,
 
#7 ·
Ok picked up the car er WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWO
Seriously its so so much better than the 2.2. There is this rasping loud sound etc

So many looks too and petrol consumption is like 2mpg then again I rinsed it out.

Stereo needs to change - the speakers rather but thats about it
Awesome. AFter six to nine months finally its here.
 
#8 ·
congrats. would love to see photos!

:)
 
#10 ·
G
#9 ·
Well done on your new purchase. :)

One of the sexiest Alfas in the current range.:cool:

The 3.2 is a great engine but as stated, criminally thirsty (320km on a full tank).

Sounds good under revs though and has none of the "hesitancy issue" that several AO posters complain of with the sans re-map 2.2.

Enjoy the beast and look forward to seeing some photos.
 
#11 ·
Hi Guys,

Gonn atake photos today and attach.

A couple of queries - fuel - how do i know how many miles on the tank i have left? I get a message saying limited cruise distance or something... not sure what that means. ill read the manual but its a massive thing.

Secondly, the armrest I am presuming is a cooler too - when i put AC on it doesnt seem to cool anything and no air comes out - does it only work if the lid is shut?

Im new to alfa so im sorry to regurgitate any new questions.
 
#14 ·
Hi,
Congratulations on your new spider! I am a fairly new 2.2 Spider owner myself. Fuel economy seems very good at 30ish on shell v power.

The armrest has a dial at the front to allow cool air or not, just give it a twist.

One odd thing is with my gear change. When I am slow and deliberate it changes OK, but when done at normal speed I get a sort of kick as if the sync mesh is weak. Anyone else have this? I am letting the dealer have a look at this on Friday.
 
#21 ·
Nice spider Johnny

as to the odd Q's ... I've got a 2.2 LE and my gearbox is notchy ... had it looked at and driven a couple of others and seems to be how they are ... mines especially notchy when it's cold and changing in the first 3 gears

in terms of fuel the yellow light comes on when you're down to the last 8th (I think) / last bar on the dial and then the 'limited range' comes up when you have 50 miles left according to the fuel computer ... be warned that last bit of fuel can go very quickly

pete where are you getting it serviced ?
 
#22 ·
Hi Seasider,
I am using Ancasters in welling. They were a Fiat/Alfa dealer but never a very good AR dealership so had the sales side removed a couple of years ago but still do the servicing. Not very hopeful, but I will give them ago as I am only about 5 minutes drive away!
 
#23 ·
Ve-ry nice :thumbs:

I've decided it's only money :) (as long as you don't do too many miles :( ), so work pays the rent for enjoyment, we're only on this earth once (I think), & I'm comfortable with the equilibrium - Ray-Bans, a sharp suit, & the Q4, doesn't come much better :cool:
 
#27 ·
Spider looks superb Johnny. thanks for posting pics.



not sure exactly what you mean. the JTS is an Alfa engine, built and designed to Alfa specs with Alfa heads/induction/exhaust and mapping. emissions does restrict its sound and performance a bit, but it produces more power/torque than the Arese version, and presumably more economical and doesn't have an expensive cambelt to change. all good.

i'm happy with both engines. sure, the GT V6 is a more raw, sounds excellent, and looks excellent. i just had the cambelt routinely changed, after 3 years and only 20K km's. *sigh*

:)
 
#25 ·
i actually like the sound of the engine - it kinda purrs then roars. Not sure why they couldnt put an alfa engine in there though then again i actually did just buy it for the looks and what it brings.

when i am at work all I think about is that I cant wait to get home to drive it. Its like having eva longoria at home cooking and you are at work and all you are thinking about is wanting to go home... not to cook... put it that way

I love being in it and the fact that its rare to see one of them is just another bonus. Its gonna cost a hell of alot but worth every penny
 
#26 ·
Lovely car Johnny. Just jealous that I'm at the wrong end of the country to get away with the spider and made do with the Brera :(.

Consumption figures for the daily commute (8 miles) comes in at about 12-15 mpg, and at brisk (not excessive) motorway speeds it comes in at about 23 mpg. Best I've got is a 40 mile run over A roads at around 60 mph which came back at 27 mpg. But hey, I knew what I was letting myself in for when I bought it, and so far doing about 13,000 miles a year.

As an aside I've found that Tesco Super 99 octane gives the best noise. Makes no difference to the economy figures but is does improve bottom end torque 1-2,000 rpm. Makes things very relaxing for town traffic, I don't need top go much above idle.

Gear changes are a bit clonky if I don't match the revs. I've found it best to either go for nice and relaxed or boy racer, it's the middle ground that's hard to get things smooth. It feels like there may be a very slight bit of slop in the transmission to the back wheels but not enough to cause any concern.

Right - you'd better get out there and make the most of the end of the summer. Enjoy ! :thumbs:
 
#28 ·
god im kinda going from the ICE forum to the spider forum fairly frequently for my liking haha. . .

Ok the wipers - er how do they work? I am assuming lever up is on demand and down 1, 2, 3 notches is intermittent, fast and very fast respectively.

my intermittent does not work at all it just works the once and never wipes again. so basically when it spits im there either on demand or fast.

issue? thanks
 
#29 ·
First click down should be automatic via the rain sensor on the windscreen, works well with most rain conditions, but not so good with drizzle or light spray (have to keep clicking on & off manually); I haven't worked out what the three settings are meant to be (accessed by the knurled wheel with a finger tab on in the handle of the switch arm) yet, though
 
#30 ·
refer to the manual. ;)

first click down is - as above - intermittent via the rain sensor (presuming the car has this). you can adjust the sensitivity of the sensor using the 'scroll' dial; so if you find the auto wipers aren't kicking in soon enough, ramp up the sensitivity so that they do. hopefully there's a setting that works suitably.

:)
 
#31 ·
This is probably the wrong thread now for this, but as I mentioned it earlier…..
I dropped my spider in to Ancasters to look at the gearbox and hesitation (and change the oil/filter as I don’t like the 2 yr service). They said they couldn’t detect the hesitation (no surprise there) but they did think the gearbox had a problem. YA!

They want it back for 3 days to pull it out and find what’s wrong. I will update next week but here’s hoping I get a nice smooth change when the car comes back. I only hope they don’t introduce more problems with dropping the box…
 
#32 ·
Cafce - mygears do seem fine. sometimes they dont change as easily as say, in my A4 cab, but its not causing me much of an issue.

Ha and yeah last night was raining hard and basically now i know what everyone was talking about when they were harping on about how the water gets in and stuff...

Anyone recommend a good cab roof cleaner or protector? my previous car had a blue hood which turned green and brownish over time. Dont want this this time round.
 
#33 ·
I have driven through some heavy rain without any leaks, not with the roof up anyway. :) Time seems to stretch when you are getting soaked waiting for roof to close, which has happened twice now :rolleyes:.
Can you point me to any links for water leaks so I know what to look out for?
 
#34 ·
its not a leak more like a poor design feature. Basically if its been raining and you open the door just watch out for all the water that comes from the roof down onto your seats etc. I would suggest that if you think its gonna rain put some kind of towel etc so as to protect your flooring and electric seat if you have them.

The water from the roof comes straight down on my electrics on the chair such as the heated switch etc
 
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