Curiousity- Alfa Milano?

Ok, now I think i'm losing it. I've been content to tinker with Japanese cars for a number of years now, and that's been ok. Recently I was watching reruns of Top Gear, and happened across the episode where they all buy Alfas. Clarkson's Alfa Romeo 75 intrigued me, so I googled it. Turns out, the American version is the Milano, at least according to the internet. Now, I know zero about Italian cars other than the BiTurbo- and that clearly is NOT a car you want to benchmark a countries offerings by. So, what's the story with Milanos? Are they reliable, at all? Easy to work on/obtain parts for? Fun to drive? All I really know is I like the way they look, and the deepdish wheels that Clarkson had on his were amazing.

Your best bet to get info about the Milano is to head on over to www.alfabb.com. Lots of knowledgeable Alfa owners over there.

The shifters suck. At least the one I sat in.

They're all like that. You don't really notice after a while, and there are improvements to be made to the shifter, (but it'll never shift like a Miata.)

They are absolutely fun to drive, reasonably easy to work on (inboard rear brakes and t-belt changes can be tricky until you know what you're doing) , and there's no real reason why they can't be reliable.

Travis or someone will chime in with specifics.

The one you really want is the Milano Verde. It has the 3 liter as opposed to the 2.5 and is really a nice car. They have issues as you might expect, such as water pump and timing belt replacement every 30k miles. It is not a suggestion and bad things can happen if you don't adhere to it. It is something you can do at home though, and is easier than a similar job on a 944.

Also, the transaxle is at the rear, and with inboard brakes if it similar to the GTV6 I used to own, and I think it is. With the linkage running to the back, it will never feel like a direct path to the gears, and is not as good as the similar Porsche unit. 2nd gear will always have a crunch unless brand new, and will need to warm up before it can really slot in with any ease.

Interior pieces will...fall off. There's no way around this, they simply will fall off with time and abuse, and the electric windows will fail if they even still work.

However....the V6 is one of the best sounding motors of all time, and you'll look for tunnels just to hear it better. It really does make your hair stand up, and is worth the pain of having a really ugly car that falls apart around you!

As the past owner of may a couple of dozen Alfas, I think everyone should own one at some point. Just don't expect it to be a Honda and treat as such, and it will give you a very un-Honda like experience!