Looking to get into Spiders

[owl]

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum. I have wanted to get a Spider for quite some time now. I'm seriously considering getting one in the near future and came across this forum to learn more about this cars (other than they look great). I'm looking for a 83-85 model, mostly due to gas emissions inspections.

I do some of the work in my cars, things like timing belts, rotors, and alike, but I'm not a mechanic by any stretch. I would be hard pressed to fix something substantial. After reading throughout the forum I'm getting concerned Spiders are hard to keep running/utterly expensive to maintain. Am I getting the wrong idea?

[81SPIDERMATT]

first off let me say yes ... I think you are getting the wrong idea ... I am no mechanic by any means ... alignment is the only thing I have not done on my own .... joining this forum "the best place on earth" (stolen phrase) has just saved you countless money time and frustration for anything that could come up ..the fiat family on this site is more than willing to share all they know ...and support from the vendors is fantastic .. .. these are simple cars and are quite tough once sorted out .... I think that it is possible to throw a lot of money at anything you own ... and older cars do require maintenance .... I myself am lucky to have found a car that ran well and had almost no rust ... did not stop or steer very well and with purchase and upgrades to fix those items and freshen up some old items.. I am lucky to be still under 4 grand total .... she does not look as good as she runs but I love her ... she is also my daily driver and I drive like I stole it .... there are things to look for when purchasing for sure ... there are cars that are well sorted and buy and drive is a definite option .... take your time and you will find the one that is meant to be .... those that are the naysayers about fiats have never really owned one or did not have this forum or were just lazy and would have had problems with any car that they owned ... good luck and welcome to the madness

[RRoller123]

They are great little cars! Get one with no rust and the parts to sort out the mechanicals are both available and quite affordable, both new and used. But these are not as simple as many cars to work on. The engine compartment is jammed (comparatively), and there are a few things that are difficult and time consuming. But they are worth the effort! If you have some patience these are wonderful little cars.

[FiatBen]

These are great cars. I've been addiction for over 35 years myself!

The impression that they are maintenance-heavy comes from the fact that in a forum most of us are here to figure out either what the problem is or how to fix it ourselves. I would never pretend to be a mechanic, but with a little experience and the great forums (as well as vendors who love the cars as much as we do), I feel confident to tackle most things. Considering even the newest Spider is 30 years old, it would be unrealistic to expect it to be trouble-free. The good news is that virtually any problem you might encounter has already been solves a hundred times by people who are more than willing to share their experience and all the tips to make things easier.

As has been pointed out, the trick to is be patient and shop for the one that fits your experience level and desires. It would seem there are three major points to consider; 1. rust in all the wrong places, 2. electrical gremlins that will make you think you've lost your mind, and 3. SPOT - stupid previous owner tricks.

Look around on the forum and make a checklist (if someone hasn't already). Rust-wise - shock towers and floorpans are the biggies. Rusted shock towers are a deal breaker, walk away. Rusted floor pans are an opportunity to up your skills level. Electrically - grounds, grounds, grounds, and learn the brown wire fix. SPOT - well, those must make owning a Spider more interesting.

Whatever you buy, post pics of it and keeps us up-to-date on problems, repairs and improvements. We all love seeing someone else's car, either to inspire us to new heights or to reassure us that we do not suffer alone!

Let us know where you are, and we can probably find another addict, I mean owner, nearby.

[owl]

Thanks a lot for your replies! I'm impressed with the friendliness over here.

I have a better idea now. I have nothing against Fiat, in fact my first car was a Fiat. It was a Brava, the one from the late 90s, not the older one. I believe that car never made it to the U.S., at least I have never seen one here. I do remember my friends tease me for owning a Fiat (unreliability main the subject). I got it new and abused it for about 8 years, never had a problem.

I recon that in Forums you mostly read about the problems cars have. Most people don't post that often on how reliable/enjoyable their cars are. I've been reading and this forum has been very useful on getting some good info on what to look for when looking for a car. I will keep you posted on how my search goes.

[vandor]

You also need to remember that because these cars tend to sit a lot, sometimes years, they often need refurbishing not because of wear, but because of lack of use!
BTW, where are you located?
bye,

[owl]

I'm in western PA. I've been looking for the cars that are available locally and I have seen:

- An 85 with very low miles and apparently not rusted. It is pricey though, listed at 8.5k
- An 81 that looks pretty standard for 3.5k. About 90k miles, seller says there is no rust on shock towers or flooring.

I'm OK with paying more for a car in better shape, but it is hard to me to judge if a car is priced fairly. What do you think is the right price point for a well kept Spider?

[vandor]

I'd say a real nice Spider is worth ~$6k. However, cars with low miles always get a premium. Back in 2006-2007 before the economy tanked, low mileage Spiders often went for ~$12k on eBay.
You really need to have any Spider you are considering inspected by someone that knows these cars to make sure there are no major faults.
bye,

[joeforum123]

<deleted> Oopps , replied to the wrong topic....

[V12StealthHunter]

I'd say a real nice Spider is worth ~$6k

I really hope that isn't true. Maybe for a post 1974 car in California maybe. Pre-smog car in "real nice" condition should be at least twice that. Again, I really hope.

[vandor]

I supposed it also depends on how you define 'real nice'. I meant the top 25%. I don't think the top 25% of Spiders are selling for an average of $12k. If you mean top 5%, then yes, you are right.

[aj81spider]

What people are asking seems to have increased a lot in the last year. However I'm not sure they're getting it. I see Fiats languishing on Craigslist for years in my area (there is a guy selling an 850 who has posted it a couple times a week for 3 years).

Last fall I sold a solid running 81 with no rust that could have used paint and minor body work for $3000 and it took me 2 years and several price drops to get that. It wasn't a top 5% car, but it was a solid car that you could drive anywhere.

Perhaps the market is better in other parts of the country...

[georgeramos]

Id think a low mile 85 would be worth a bit more than some of the earlier years no?

[2ndwind]

A low mile but WELL MAINTAINED '85 or any year spider is worth far more than the average "nice driver" IMHO. After spending $10K on my "driver" over the past few years, retrospect tells me I should have saved up and bought a top 5% spider for $10K.