So I was tooling around in a Primera for ages (which is retained as backup company car) and at some point in the late spring/early summer, a friend decided he was getting rid of his Alfa Romeo 156 to undertake classic car ownership and asked if I'd sell it for him. I like money and cars, so I thought "alright" and went over to take custody of it.
Despite looking like your typical mid-spec 1.6, it isn't:
To give it the full name, it's a 2.5 V6 24V "De-Luxe" which is a spec for smart executives (like me). This means you get standard height suspension, regular Pepperpot-style wheels (but with wider tyres on account of the V6) and no spoiler/bodykit - subtle. However, on the inside you get everything - wooden Momo wheel and gearknob, pretend wood elsewhere, electric everything, leather, aircon and a fancy radio with a CD changer in the boot.
It's a weird colour which I haven't seen before or since, my mate dealt with a specialist breaker once who wasn't aware that the colour existed. More importantly, it comes with the best interior colour, both in name (Tobacco) and hue:
Anyway, I was driving around in it for a while enjoying the V6 throb and 6-speed box, thinking "shame I'll have to move it on", but then I looked at the pretty rock-bottom values and the fact that he'd recently undertaken an extensive service and cambelt job and thought "sod it, I'll just buy it off him". Ultimately it's probably the most sensible car I've ever owned outright. It isn't even that thirsty, contrary to popular idiotic belief, but bear in mind my opinion is dulled by spending 90% of my time driving around in old thirsty Japanese saloons. I bet the 626 uses more fuel. MPG has never bothered me really.
The driving experience is quite interesting, being the V6 it's rather nose-heavy and feels very planted in corners, but you get the impression that anything other than light throttle will create immediate snap-understeer and launch you through a hedge. It sounds very muted on idle, but if you floor the accelerator it suddenly barks into life and you can hear the huge airbox greedily sucking up air. It's a very odd V6 to be honest, all the power is in the mid-range so you have to get it above 4000rpm to really get the most out of it, similar to turbocharged cars. Having said that, you could probably drive it around in 3rd gear everywhere so it's not like it's short on power. It's just a bit weird. Whilst I enjoy the car and the driving experience overall, it kind of irritates me a bit to drive around in a car which is so commonplace, so whether I'll keep it long-term is undecided. Maybe I'll just store it away until they're nearly extinct.
Then later in the summer, a chance eBay bid landed something else.
This time around, a Mazda 323. An early example of the BF-series, with the same OHC 1.3 as the previous model. The "LX" spec which is pretty spartan, but only by Japanese standards, roughly equivalent to what you get in a European "GL". Got it recovered back and it turned out to be in lovely condition so I didn't waste any time in getting it in for a test, couple of tyres and a wheel bearing. It's ready to tax as soon as the paint's done, which is more-or-less any time now. Then I can get some fresh pics instead of relying on that one. Happy?
Here's the interior. Note the weird pull-out Goodmans cassette which has a digital clock to supplement the one in the dashboard. I love the colourcoded dashboards on blue 80s Mazdas (not particularly apparent in weird sunbleached picture).
Whilst that was going on, I had another "sell a car for me" type situation, this time with an Alfa Romeo 155. An unusual late spec model, a 1.8 Twin Spark 16V Sport. Kind of like the opposite to the De-Luxe spec on the 156, this one comes with a bodykit and gunmetal grey wheels with low-profile tyres. This means people always ask you if you've had the wheels painted and you have to tell them "no".
A genuine minter this one, it was owned by my mate since nearly-new (was an ex-demo or something) and garaged ever since, covering a few thousand miles a year and into the main dealer for servicing. Despite the general whinge of reliability issues with Alfas, there wasn't really anything in the bills which you wouldn't expect on something like a Mondeo, though the main dealer prices (particularly labour) were absolutely astonishing at times. I was a bit busy over the autumn, so it took me a while to get around to valeting it properly and getting it up for sale.
Being a 1.8 it's quite a different experience from the V6 - you have to work it a bit harder, though it isn't a slow car. Furthermore, the car has much better handling (lower suspension on the Sport) and the steering is very confidence-inspiring. Whilst I admire the achingly beautiful lines of the 155 (I think it's one of the most handsome cars ever made), my strange sloped driveway means I have inadequate clearance, so buying it was (fortunately) out of the question. Whilst I could park on the street, my paranoid side means I jump to the window at every single thud/tap/engine start. I had to leave the Laurel out in the street for a fortnight a few years back and I more-or-less had PTSD at the end of it. Luckily by this time I'd secured a nice dry lockup, so I could keep the 155 there in the interim whilst I gave it a deliberate slow valet to give me more time with its razor-sharp swage lines. GOD IT'S SO SMART
Once I was more-or-less done, I decided to take the picture I was intending to use in the for sale ads, but I quite liked the photo so I stuck it on a few places (including the M-S photo competition). Then just before I put it up for sale, I was contacted by M-S member "Mash" who has always admired the 155 and fancied owning a pristine example. He popped over and I gently persuaded him into ownership by allowing him a long test drive along the backroads, meaning he had no option but to fall in love with it (sucker!), so we struck a deal. Win-win for me as it meant I could secure a well-loved car a good home and I didn't even have to deal with any possible Alfasti weirdos.
And that's about it for now. OK? Good.
