The Alfa Romeo Spider hasn’t become Miata-like in terms of universal appeal, which is odd because it offers many of the same qualities in an Italian wrapper. Cheap to buy; affordable used parts; and a robust enthusiast community. However, unlike the Miata, the Alfa Spider has never become a track day toy or a backroads ripper with the right suspension tuning. It’s simply a drop-top, and it’s pretty good at being that. This particular car is a claimed low-mileage find, with the seller believing the 18,000 or so miles on the clock to be genuine. Find it here on eBay and located in

Through the years, the Alfa lost its original, delicate Spider shape, and it also got whacked in regards to its performance potential. Blame both of those concerns on our domestic car market, which stipulated a variety of emissions controls that sapped performance and safety requirements that added these awful, ugly bumpers. Alfa did their best to integrate the safety bumpers, adding a rear spoiler that surrounded the trunk lid and did its best to make the ugly appendage on the tail. The earliest Spiders were downright graceful with their slim, European market Chrome bumpers. I’ve always loved that Alfa stuck with the center-exit muffler.

One of the easiest ways to assess whether low mileage is indeed accurate is through the interior condition. It’s hard to tell for sure about this car, as we do see tears in the driver’s side seat cushion, and overall, the cabin doesn’t appear that fresh in these somewhat dark photos. The other tell-tale signs tend to be how much wear and tear there is on the switchgear and whether the foot pedals and steering wheel show signs of extensive wear; such an assessment will likely have to be made in person, although it’s not stopping bidders who have bid the Alfa up to $4,000 with a Buy-It-Now if $5,135.

Under the hood is a familiar sight, which is that of the 2.0L, fuel-injected 4-cylinder that does not run. The seller makes reference to some attempt to get it going again but doesn’t elaborate as to what stopped the project from moving forward. It has around 120 horsepower and fuel injection is courtesy of Bosch, which designed the FI system on many 1980s European cars. Getting it to fire shouldn’t prove too challenging and if the low mileage claims holds out, the next owner could be sitting on a car with plenty of open-air touring time left to enjoy.