131 Sport on Ebay

[mirafioriman]

There is currently a sport for sale on ebay. Currently ?550 reserve not met. Looks like a good project for someone......

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fiat-131-Mirafiori-Sport_W0QQitemZ140191887658QQihZ004QQcategoryZ31352QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[mick131]

Tis a sad story this,

The guy has been searching for one for ages, as the add says, he then finds another garage to store it in and withdraws it from ebay.

The garage, without his knowledge, then just shoves into the street  and he re-lists it again.

He obviously loves the car and I hope he manages to keep it somehow.

[f1lmm]

i'm bidding on this,,but guys what do think this is worth in this condition?,also its a s**t time off the year to be trying to start a project

[kev131]

Welcome to the forum F1lmm

If you are bidding on this car then you must be a true fan of the 131 and the Sport in particular and as such please keep posting and tell us about how you came to be interested in these great cars.

What is it worth...? Any answer that you get to this question is subjective but having watched the values of these cars on mutilpe web sites I'll give you my view.

On the plus side it is RHD and this is a big factor as so few such cars become available. Also it is in a popular colour (some would say the most popular) AND it appears to be nearly complete and unmessed with - Again strong plus points. From the pictures supplied it looks quite straight but as the car has been washed down since I would ask for additional and current photos (including the underneath) before deciding on my maximum bid.

On the debit side you have no description of how the car drives although the engine seems to be running - There are significant holes in the body and cosmetically the car seems like it needs a lot of work to get it to a stage where the new owner would be proud of it.

The owner has posted more information about the discovery of the car on his website (addresss on the photos).

Even though values of these cars have seen a steep rise in the last few years the money required to get this car right would exceed it's market value, at present anyway and assuming that you are not doing the work yourself. But of course very few people buy Fiats in this condition as an investment - It has got to be for the love of the car or not at all.

So how much to bid...? I would estimate that bidding will not reach ?1000 but might get quite close. This is quite a good price from the seller's perspective considering as how 10 years ago you could not have given away a Fiat 131 in this condition. From the buyer's perspective and if they wish to return the car to original condition and to be able to reliably use it in the classic car scene they will be getting a challenging but unusual project.?

[f1lmm]

cheers kev,i just remember when i was about 10 years of age,and remember seeing a 131 sport exact colour and discription,and its never left my head!! ,i just thought that is stunning!!! ,my misses thinks it horrible,but she will just have to get use to it(simple) ,if i win of course.i've had italian cars all my life and the 131 sport was a too own car before i die in the term of phrases!.at least it has not been tampered with in the respect,that it hasn't been changed to stradale replica,that everyone is doing,i would like to keep it standard.i have a alfa romeo 155 martini replica,and an lancia delta evo11 at the moment,the 131 would be nice edition,but the evo11 is in the process of being sold and also thinking of selling the 155,so it would a nice project to do cheers kev

[kev131]

Fab looking 155 - A lot of work has gone into that car - If it was you who did it can you really consider selling something that you've put so much effort into??

Anyway glad to hear that we have another 131 Sport enthusiast in our midst and soon to be an owner possibly?

As some inspiration here are some recent photos of my own car that I was lucky to find in more or less this condtion just over a year ago.

[mirafioriman]

Some really good photos there, which show the car as a lovely example. A lot of quality work would have to go into that ebay car to make an example as good. A lucky find a car in that condition!

[Thotos]

OK, I'm getting a bit silly here (maybe been at the festive spirit too early?  ) but here's the best way to photograph a modified Alfa 155; THROUGH THE WINDOW OF A 131 WHILE OVERTAKING THE ALFA!



The Alfa 155 in the photo was a highly modified Tarquini replica that belonged to a friend of mine.



On a more serious note, as of a couple of weeks ago, I too am now an Alfa Romeo owner for the first time 

[kev131]

Thanks Dave - Yes really pleased to find a car in this condition - By the way will we be seeing you and at least one Mirafiori from your collection in Inveraray in May?

You have bought an Alfa Theo - Really? - Tell us more!

Meantime let me guess - Seeing as your other Italian classics are 80's cars (more or less?) and that they are boxy 2 door cars what is there in the Alfa range that matches that profile - Cant think of any offhand - You didn't buy an Arna did you...?

Seriously & for the sake of guessing I'll say a GTV.

Or have you bought a modern 147 for your daughter...?

And in the spirit of recording Fiat 131s overtaking Alfas here is my example...!

[f1lmm]

lets just say THAT NO 131 WOULD PASS MY 155,AS I HAVE AN ENGINE,AND GEARBOX,AND SUSPENSION,BRAKES, TO MATCH THE LOOKS,AND YOUR LUCKY IF AN ABARTH CAN LOOK AT MY CAR,IT WAS TUNED BY AUTODELTA,WHICH ABARTH TO FIAT,IS TO ALFA ROMEO,AUTODELTA ARE ALFA ROMEO MAIN TUNERS!!!! I TOOK IT DOWN TO ,LONDON,TO GET SPECIAL TREATMENT,,AT A COST!!!!.,,,BU T THIS IS WHAT IS NOT ABOUT,I LOVE TO SAVE ITALIAN CARS FROM BAD PEOPLE BASICALLY,SO I WANT THIS CAR!!!!!!

[kev131]

No 131 would ever pass my 155..!??

Aha - I sense a "top trumps" challenge here.?

If your 155 has the "go" to match the "show" then it must be quite a quick car - However to say that there are no similarly one off modified 131 specials out there that are quicker, ...well I wonder.

There are some some turbo charged V6 engined 131 canditates as well as a Rotary engined car which had an accident a while back, too fast maybe..? but Fiat themselves made? a very quick Fiat 131 before the Abarth, Sport, Volumetrico versions were even conceived. It is the 270bhp 031 used in the Giro d'Italia? which it won quite easily.

Details on this thread...

http://131mirafiori.com/smf/index.php?topic=601.0



Seriously though your car seems prepared to a very high standard and if I worked for Auto Italia I would like to do an article and photo shoot with both cars mentioned on this thread.

Keep us updated on whether you win the Sport. I'm sure that you will get lots of body and mechanical support and advice on this forum if you take on the challenge.?

[Thotos]

Meantime let me guess - Seeing as your other Italian classics are 80's cars (more or less?) and that they are boxy 2 door cars what is there in the Alfa range that matches that profile - Cant think of any offhand - You didn't buy an Arna did you...?

Totally wrong guess Kevin as you assumed I bought a classic (I would certainly buy an Arna if I found one for sale though; just for the novelty factor!).

The Alfa I bought is new, not square and with four doors.  And you'd still be guessing wrong if you are now saying "Alfa 159" because I bought a new 156! Yes, I know they stopped making them nearly two years ago but a consignment of 156s to Malaysia have remained unsold due to local tax changes or something and they have been imported into the UK (Malaysia gets UK spec RHD Alfas; just the Km speedo needed changing). A brand new car at half the list price is something I couldn't resist. 

TUNED BY AUTODELTA,WHICH ABARTH TO FIAT,IS TO ALFA ROMEO,AUTODELTA ARE ALFA ROMEO MAIN TUNERS!!!!

Next time you are down at Autodelta say hello to Janos from me. Just say "Theo says hello and he STILL has the Gamma". I suppose Janos has stopped laughing about that by now...

[f1lmm]

will do ,speaking to jano,about supercharging my car,but will be till march next year,i'll tell him theo

[kev131]

Last minute, new and unidentified bidder secured the car for ?1010.00 - Hope we see at shows, etc soon.

[mirafioriman]

It's still saying 'reserve not met' on my ebay. Made ?1010. Obviously not enough for the seller, unless it was close to the reserve and they manage to have a deal of course. Perhaps ending on Christmas day did not have a positive effect on the bidding.