One of the more curious events in the world of vintage cars is when a desirable enthusiast vehicle appears on a late-model used car lot. This pretty 1991 Alfa Romeo 164 S is not only a well-preserved example of a sports sedan we don’t see much of anymore, but it even has the preferred manual transmission and more powerful 3.0L V6 – which really makes me wonder who in their right mind thought the appropriate place to find a suitable replacement for such a niche car would be a Toyota dealer. Find the Alfa here on the Oakbrook Toyota website for $4,500.
The asking price seems more than fair, and I can honestly say that if this Alfa were parked on a lot within an hour’s drive, I’d be on my way right now. I love the 164, especially with that gorgeous six-cylinder engine under the hood. The body on this example looks to be in fine shape, with black paint still gleaming all these years later. The aggressive lower spoilers and valences really made this look far more sporting than its peers at Mercedes and Volvo, and the wraparound taillights and cockpit were borderline futuristic looking. Of course, what else would you expect from a design penned by Pininfarina?
While plenty of slushbox-equipped Lusso models still show up on craigslist and in self-service salvage yards, the “S”-spec cars with the five-speed are usually only found on enthusiast websites like Alfa Romeo message boards (and, well, here.) To find one sitting like any other Malibu or Accord sedan at the local Toyota dealer really is a head-scratcher, and is likely due to one of two scenarios: a member of the ownership group behind the dealer name is selling one of their personal cars, or an older driver passed away and the descendants simply brought it to whichever dealer was closest to save the aggravation of handling a private sale. That’s my best guess, anyway. The interior remains in fine shape.
The “S” models came with 200 b.h.p., a nice upgrade from the standard 183 b.h.p. These engines not only emit one of the prettiest sounds you’ll ever here in something that isn’t a Ferrari, but the intake runners can be polished to give the engine bay the kind of style that you can only ever find in an Italian car. While these can be very hungry cars maintenance-wise, buying one that’s been loved (as this one appears to have been) is a smart bet on a proper sports sedan that will never lose value if it continues to be maintained with a high level of care.
Traded in on a new Supra?
Camry.
It’s always a Camry.
https://oppositelock.kinja.com/its-always-a-camry-1567380418
TRD Camry I’ll bet.
I worked as a Alfa Tech back in the 90’s when we worked on these. Really fun cars. Not so easy to work on but really more robust than one would give them credit. They have some niggles and I would think parts are becoming harder to find. I had a 94 164LS with the 24V Busso and that was a fun car and one I had many fond memories.
My buddy was going through a divorce. He traded in his SWC for a small new Chevy. He said he saved a ton on the taxes. He never said what the trade in value was. I did not have the heart to ask. Pretty sad, he loved that car.
I remember when the Prius first came out our local Toyota dealer was getting some pretty eye opening trades by people wanting to be the first on the block with a hybrid.
Maybe something similar?
Something is odd with the mileage. It certainly looks like a 71,458 mile car, but…the Carfax shows this car had 71,000 miles in 2006. So it was only driven 458 miles in 13 years???
John
Given it’s an Alfa Romeo? Not all that surprising. Might have needed a very expensive repair and gotten parked.
That could be consistent with the “older driver passed away” scenario, where this was probably the “last dance” darling car of their sunset years when they didn’t drive much anyway, got a lot of rides with family, and/or had another more practical car for most of their routine errands. Maybe they only took it out on weekends in nice weather, or on rare days when their left leg was cooperative enough to operate the clutch.
Yikes; change the timing belt ASAP, or it will likely end up being worth a lot less than $4500 within the next 458 miles…
Joe Elliott speaks truth yet again. Not only is that V6 an interference engine, it’s got a LOT of stuff to interfere with, all of it expensive.
Yes, it is possible to have driven the car that little mileage in 13 years. This is why it looks like it does. I would to a timing belt, ignition tune up and fluid flush. Then I would check the fuel pump to see if it needs a new hose in the tank. That will resolve most issues. If you get lucky you might find a new pair of cams to drop in to get some more ponies. I own a 164Q and I love to wind that Busso engine out over 6000, it sings! If I could I put this matching car right beside it.
Bella Velocita! I first saw one of these at the 1991 LA Auto show and was smitten. If only….
Pretty much identical to the one I basically got for free: I swapped a Citroen a guy wanted to fix up for his wife’s 164S; he fixed up the Citroen and SOLD IT TO JAY LENO (look on Jay’s website for it). But the 164 had been my wife’s dream car for years, and she loved it … until it started sorta falling apart, and then she got a new Giulia. I wound up giving it to a couple of guys who did restorations …
Any 164 is a sweet driver, when it’s working right. The S can be TOO much fun if you drop the hammer in first gear, with the wheel trying to break your wrists a half-second before the engine hits the rev limiter. If I had another, it would be the 180 hp regular-gas model without that 10-pound spoiler on the boot lid. Really, it seldom betrays which wheels are doing the driving, and it’s almost as wieldy in the tight bends as my Milano. And a bit nicer on a long trip …
I bought a 164S in 1992 and loved it. First really performance front wheel drive but it handled really well and the sight and sound of that engine is spectacular!
I remember our AROC Chapter President in Nashville bought one mostly to try it out, and took me out for a ride in it. That was the first time I actually felt the phenomenon of feeling as though this kinda large car was shrinking around me, simply because there was nothing stodgy or ponderous about its progress down the road. By the time I actually had one I was used to that, having been through several Alfas by then.
He did not keep the car, though. He was basically a Spider guy, and in many ways still is.
Wow Nice car and only $4500. How much is a plane ticket from Portland to Chicago?
Well, kids, there was a nice if slightly worn 164 (non-S) advertised only in our chapter’s newsletter that got down to $1500 OBO. This was in San Juan Capistrano! It finally went for a good bit less than that to a buyer who just wanted the engine for a LeMons race car!
Right now said newsletter has what looks to be near-cherry ’86 Spider Graduate that will drop to $1200 OBO in the next issue … just because it’s somewhere near Fresno and the guy doesn’t do Internet!! I am also the DTP dude for said newsletter, so I am about to call this guy and ask his permission to put that on here. If he says OK, I have photos …
Hi, Will, before the stampede starts, I think your post was missing a zero? The AR newsletter does, indeed, have a lovely Graduate at $12k. At $1200, my Jag and I would be streaking to Fresno at the moment. :-)
Blackcat, this is not the national AROC “Alfa Owner” ads I’m referring to, but the SoCal chapter’s “Alfacionada”, which I publish as a PDF. I know this man does not want to sell the car for $1200; what he wants to do is to get enough people interested in the car to get some bids coming in, and for that he needs a larger audience that my publication can offer.
I’ve owned a twin to this 164S for 17 years. I think the asking price is about right. Mine has two and a half times the mileage but it shows at least as well and it’s never seen snow. I wouldn’t expect to get more than $4k for mine if I could bring myself to part with it, but I can’t.
Instructed in one of these at a club event back in the 90’s. Caught the brakes on fire on the second lap…
Ok, so I actually BOUGHT this car. I can tell you what the used car manager told me: Apparently, the guy who had this car before me (the 2nd owner) was into eclectic cars. They had an old 70’s Lincoln that caught his eye and so – bye, bye, Alfa and hello land yacht!
Anyway, my first experience visiting the car at the dealer was less than positive. The rear light was broken (as someone used opened the trunk buy accident by the fixture itself), it idled rough, and it was clearly not liking the piles of snow atop of it. However… something about it held me for the following week or so.
With a mechanic friend and the cooperation of the dealer, we put it on a lift and began to dig in. Decent underbody, minimal rust on the frame, several parts replaced (like the control arm), minor leak from the distributor cap, leaky power steering hose and other minor things that came with a 29yr old car.
Although it idled rough, get it past 1,000 RPM and hear the Busso roar to life! Solid torque in every gear VERY sensitive steering, and a smile that couldn’t remove with a power sander. Was it perfect? HA! Was it worth the price? ABSOLUTELY!
Several months and quite a few parts later, it is still in my friend’s shop as he tries to diagnose the rough idle. The timing belt DID appear newish, so he thinks it might have skipped a tooth or two. It will still need some TLC when it emerges, but so what?!? It is at least able to be driven while I bring it back to its former glory.
I will say this, even driving it as 3/4 of a car, it is still more pleasurable than about 90% of the cars I have driven. The sound and feel are absolutely euphoric and it makes me wish my Giulia sounded half as good.