Hey Mugen.--Good onya dude sounds like you have the right idea. But don't make my mistake. As much as I aplaud what you are doingyou need to find a life balanceor you will end up either going nuts or in hospital. Socram is right but ya can't reap the benifits if you are 6 feet under.
mugenb20b,
Apr 17, 5:20pm
Thanks Kaz. Yes, you are right, I do have a hobby (doing up a house, would you believe it!), but I am on the lookout for some cheap project cars that I can modify for off road use. That will give me some sanity.
Speaking of which, my MIL is here visiting, so hopefully she doesn't drive me nuts any time soon, or a visit to the hospital will happen ;)
socram,
Apr 17, 5:56pm
Good on you.I have to say that I have enjoyed life more after paying off the mortgage, having had to start again at zero $ at 39 (don't ask, but it has to do with ex-wife.) Fortunately new wife was able to stump up the deposit! We struggled, as initial interest was 23%, but maintained the payments when rates dropped and were mortgage free 7 years later.
We are now really enjoying life yet again, now that work doesn't demand a 50 hour a week attendance!
stevo2,
Apr 17, 6:13pm
Socram, werent you asking a couple of years back about buying a bach! Did that ever happen!
mugenb20b,
Apr 17, 6:52pm
Crikey! That must have taken a lot of commitment and discipline. It's great that it all worked out in the end. Fantastic.
socram,
Apr 17, 8:24pm
I can't remember that!I don't know about Alfa's being unreliable, but maybe my memory is.
stevo2,
Apr 18, 4:03am
My bad, must have you mixed up with somene else.
vjregal770,
Apr 18, 5:28am
My '82 Giulietta was absolutely reliable. Rust killed it (obviously).
For the record. so was my '70 P6 3500 and both my Citroen DS's - all daily drivers.
No problem wanting something that stands out from the crowd - the problem is asking the crowd for their opinion.
A lot of Dog & Lemon-inspired BS around here.
socram,
Apr 18, 7:10am
LOL!Or taking any notice of it!
johnf_456,
Apr 18, 8:59am
Agreed not to mention how much money you can waste on cars, a house is the bigggest purchase in your life generally so pay it off. Work hard then enjoy later on.
johnf_456,
Apr 18, 9:02am
So why are you here.
toysky,
Apr 18, 12:53pm
From a 156 owner in OZmy son in fact re selespeed gearbox.
Its not unusual for a clutch any modern car to cost 1k to fix let alone an auto gearbox so its ok. The gearbox is not even made by alfa, its a company called magneti marelli and they do gearboxes for bmw & ferrari aswell, the same ones, the gearbox in mine is an improvement of what was in the ferrari 355 fr, one of the best ever and almost the same as a ferrari 360, a car with 4x the power so they can take some punishment, mines gettin a service in a couple of weeks from a specialist then im driving to adelaide & puttin it on the train there. Its 1400km from sydney to adelaide, will cost 500 bux extra on the train, tht will pay for the service and half the gas for tht stretch.
bellky,
Apr 18, 12:59pm
Sounds expensive and inconvenient to me.
toysky,
Apr 18, 1:33pm
lol--------- He is moving from Brisbane to Perth to live, not just for maintenance!
sw20,
Apr 18, 3:08pm
Your the only thing your Selespeed and the flappy paddle shifter from the F355 have in common is that they are both Italian.
trdbzr,
Apr 18, 3:32pm
LMAO +1
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 18, 3:59pm
This has lost a bit in translation. but don't worry you are closer to the truth than those in the posts below you.
Magneti Marelli are a company a bit like Lucas or Bosch. They don't make transmissions but they do design and manufacture electro-mechanical and electronic stuff that they supply to various manufacturers.
What the Selespeed is, is basically just a regular manual transmission which is then fitted with actuators to move the gear and clutch linkages. These are in turn controlled by an ECU. Marelli design and supply the linkages and the mechatronics that make it work. The transmission from looking at them in the case of the 156 appears to be just a standard Fiat/Alfa design and no doubt is supplied by Fiat/Alfa.
Clutches etc are no dearer than an other manual transmission for obvious reasons. Yes Ferrari used very much the same setup from Marelli but I would imagine like with Fiat/Alfa it is bolted on to their own transmission.
In terms of maintenance, the Selespeed just needs a quick hook up to a PC with appropriate software (cheap and easy to get on the net) and you just run it through a calibration procedure to adjust the clutch actuators etc. This is best done annually, pretty quick and easy to do but not many garages will be familiar with it.
I am not a Selespeed fan though. I don't find them an advantage over a manual, they are not very intuitive in town and even when in "quick change" mode over 4000rpm they don't feel like they change any quicker than a manual. which should make sense given the design. The extra maintenance and components don't really give you anything in return for the hassle/complication they bring.
They are not end of the world though. they do the job. However, take that technology and add another clutch like the DSG and you have a truly amazing transmission that is everything the Selespeed tried ot be and more.
After reading this it should be apparent why when recommending for a "mainstream buyer" I suggest they stick with a manual or Q System automatic 156.
a.woodrow,
Apr 18, 4:01pm
Lol I was like.is that you jazz!!
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 18, 4:50pm
Yup, No getting past you! Mrs Jazz was still logged into trademe.
guest,
May 22, 11:12pm
I drive an Alfa with 204500 ish km on the clock. The car has been quite reliable to date. The main problems you are likely to have are small trim problems and also the lower control arms can give out if your roads are rough. Oh, yes, make sure that all your fluid levels are always OK. If you run an Alfa without oil you will regret it. Other than that, a fantastic car. :)
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