So you want an Italian thoroughbread, but you don’t want to break the bank? That’s a hard car to find these days, but Alfa Romeo may have the answer you’re looking for. Of course, you’re not going to find one of the high-end Alfas for short money, which means you’re likely going to settle for a fairly tired car with numerous untold needs. Heck, you may even need to go to a government surplus auction to find such a vehicle, as in the case of this sad looking 1987 Alfa Romeo Milano sedan, listed here on GovPlanet with no reserve and an opening bid of $300.
Now, the thing is, you can find one of these for reasonable money in fair shape. It will have needs, like even the best cars do, but it will be a runner. It doesn’t make much sense to buy one like this that has clearly been ignored for some time, even if it comes with the preferred manual gearbox and sonorous 3.0L V6 engine. The Milano is located in Washington State, which should suggest rust-free condition – but that’s not entirely accurate, as this example does show signs of rot-through in the lower fenders and a few other spots. The Alfa has clearly been sitting outside, as the clearcoat is baked right off.
Holy moly – that’s a nest. That’s either a lot of mice, or a far bigger creature I don’t want to meet. How did all those pine cones get in there? It’s a shame to say it, but this Milano has been stood up for some time and without any effort made to protect it from the elements or the environment. The bigger question, though, is how did it end up being auctioned off by the government? That has to be a good story, as websites like these are typically full of listings for heavy equipment, machinery, and military vehicles, not old Italian sports sedans. What do you think the story is here with how the Alfa ended up on GovPlanet?
The interior is factory correct, with the nicely bolstered sport seats, three-spoke steering wheel, and the must-have manual transmission. A fair number of these were equipped with automatics, so finding one with a stick and the V6 is the hot-ticket combo. But given the condition on display here, I can’t help but feel this will end up as a parts donor for an enthusiast trying valiantly to keep an old Milano on the road and finding that parts supply is extremely limited. The bidding may be cheap, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that $4,000 will buy you a very decent driver-quality Milano.
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