Recommended insurer?
 

"Hellraiser" > wrote in message
...
> Looking at getting an Alfa 155 2.0 Twinspark, but the insurance costs seem
a
> little scary - 800 quid or so, yet I'm 32, been driving company car last 7
> years, and a couple of SP30s. Anyone know of an Alfa-friendly and
> my-sort-of-person-friendly insurer?
>
> Hellraiser.........>

Try changing your name for starters ;-) I am 46 and it's 350 quid for my
1.8 156 with full NCB at Kwikfit.
Sjm

"Simon Mason" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Hellraiser" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Looking at getting an Alfa 155 2.0 Twinspark, but the insurance costs
seem
> a
> > little scary - 800 quid or so, yet I'm 32, been driving company car last
7
> > years, and a couple of SP30s. Anyone know of an Alfa-friendly and
> > my-sort-of-person-friendly insurer?
> >
> > Hellraiser.........>
>
> Try changing your name for starters ;-) I am 46 and it's 350 quid for my
> 1.8 156 with full NCB at Kwikfit.

LOL, I guess that would cause them to view me in an unfavourable light :)
Will enquire with Kwikfit and see how much they reckon, I can't see why it
should be so high though - admittedly, I do have a couple of SP30's but when
you do 36k+ per year it's statistically much more likely you'll get done,
particularly in the wilds of Staffordshire where the crime level must be so
low that they can afford to have coppers in vans catching naughty motorists
all day long :)

Cheers

Hellraiser..........>

Hellraiser > wrote:

> > Try changing your name for starters ;-) I am 46 and it's 350 quid for my
> > 1.8 156 with full NCB at Kwikfit.
>
> LOL, I guess that would cause them to view me in an unfavourable light :)
> Will enquire with Kwikfit and see how much they reckon, I can't see why it
> should be so high though - admittedly, I do have a couple of SP30's but when
> you do 36k+ per year it's statistically much more likely you'll get done,
> particularly in the wilds of Staffordshire where the crime level must be so
> low that they can afford to have coppers in vans catching naughty motorists
> all day long :)

I think you've just hit the nail on the head here.

36k miles / year.

If I insure the 155 for 10k miles / year, I can get it for around £300
full comp.

Telling the truth about my 20k miles / year, it jumps up to £520.

--
Steve H 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
http://www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - MZ ETZ300
VW Golf GL Cabrio - Alfa 75 TS - Alfa 155 TS Lusso - COSOC KOTL
BoTAFOT #87 - BoTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

> > LOL, I guess that would cause them to view me in an unfavourable light
:)
> > Will enquire with Kwikfit and see how much they reckon, I can't see why
it
> > should be so high though - admittedly, I do have a couple of SP30's but
when
> > you do 36k+ per year it's statistically much more likely you'll get
done,
> > particularly in the wilds of Staffordshire where the crime level must be
so
> > low that they can afford to have coppers in vans catching naughty
motorists
> > all day long :)
>
> I think you've just hit the nail on the head here.
>
> 36k miles / year.
>
> If I insure the 155 for 10k miles / year, I can get it for around £300
> full comp.
>
> Telling the truth about my 20k miles / year, it jumps up to £520.

Ah yes, but that's in my current company car - I'm (hopefully) changing jobs
soon, and will just be travelling to and from the office, so around 8k miles
per year. Still bloody expensive though - you'd have thought the more miles
you did, the cheaper it would be as you'd be more experienced behind the
wheel :(

Anyway Steve, how old are you, how much NCD and who do you insure with if
you don't mind me asking?

Hellraiser..........>

Hellraiser > wrote:

> > Telling the truth about my 20k miles / year, it jumps up to £520.
>
> Ah yes, but that's in my current company car - I'm (hopefully) changing jobs
> soon, and will just be travelling to and from the office, so around 8k miles
> per year. Still bloody expensive though - you'd have thought the more miles
> you did, the cheaper it would be as you'd be more experienced behind the
> wheel :(
>
> Anyway Steve, how old are you, how much NCD and who do you insure with if
> you don't mind me asking?

5 years (protected) no claims.

Aged 30. Living in South Wales, insured with the RAC.
--
Steve H 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
http://www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - MZ ETZ300
VW Golf GL Cabrio - Alfa 75 TS - Alfa 155 TS Lusso - COSOC KOTL
BoTAFOT #87 - BoTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

SteveH > wrote:

> Hellraiser > wrote:
>
> > > Telling the truth about my 20k miles / year, it jumps up to £520.
> >
> > Ah yes, but that's in my current company car - I'm (hopefully) changing jobs
> > soon, and will just be travelling to and from the office, so around 8k miles
> > per year. Still bloody expensive though - you'd have thought the more miles
> > you did, the cheaper it would be as you'd be more experienced behind the
> > wheel :(
> >
> > Anyway Steve, how old are you, how much NCD and who do you insure with if
> > you don't mind me asking?
>
> 5 years (protected) no claims.
>
> Aged 30. Living in South Wales, insured with the RAC.

Nearly forgot.... SP30 in June last year.
--
Steve H 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
http://www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - MZ ETZ300
VW Golf GL Cabrio - Alfa 75 TS - Alfa 155 TS Lusso - COSOC KOTL
BoTAFOT #87 - BoTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

> > > Ah yes, but that's in my current company car - I'm (hopefully)
changing jobs
> > > soon, and will just be travelling to and from the office, so around 8k
miles
> > > per year. Still bloody expensive though - you'd have thought the more
miles
> > > you did, the cheaper it would be as you'd be more experienced behind
the
> > > wheel :(
> > >
> > > Anyway Steve, how old are you, how much NCD and who do you insure with
if
> > > you don't mind me asking?
> >
> > 5 years (protected) no claims.
> >
> > Aged 30. Living in South Wales, insured with the RAC.
>
> Nearly forgot.... SP30 in June last year.

Cheers for that Steve, all is not lost then :)

Hellraiser..........>

One question I forgot to ask - which model 155 do you drive?

Hellraiser.........>

Hellraiser wrote:

> One question I forgot to ask - which model 155 do you drive?
>
> Hellraiser.........>

It's in his .sig :)
--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7
Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

Hellraiser > wrote:

> One question I forgot to ask - which model 155 do you drive?

2lt TS Lusso 'Narrowbody'. 10 years old on an L-plate.

ISTR the 75 is about the same.
--
Steve H 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
http://www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - MZ ETZ300
VW Golf GL Cabrio - Alfa 75 TS - Alfa 155 TS Lusso - COSOC KOTL
BoTAFOT #87 - BoTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

"SteveH" > wrote in message
k...
> Hellraiser > wrote:
>
> > One question I forgot to ask - which model 155 do you drive?
>
> 2lt TS Lusso 'Narrowbody'. 10 years old on an L-plate.
>
> ISTR the 75 is about the same.

Cheers Steve, are these 155's really as good as they say?

Hellraiser........>

Hellraiser > wrote:

> "SteveH" > wrote in message
> k...
> > Hellraiser > wrote:
> >
> > > One question I forgot to ask - which model 155 do you drive?
> >
> > 2lt TS Lusso 'Narrowbody'. 10 years old on an L-plate.
> >
> > ISTR the 75 is about the same.
>
> Cheers Steve, are these 155's really as good as they say?

Probably a bit early for me to say, as I've only had it a week. Although
I have put 500 miles on it in that time.

Initial impressions are that it has a very odd driving position (even
compared with a 75, which is saying something), but the seats are
comfortable, and once you're used to the relatively high seat complete
with the long arm / short leg ergonomics it's not a problem. However, I
do miss the telescopic adjustment of the wheel that was standard on the
75.

It's slower than the 75 with the same engine - a combination of catalyst
and close on 200kgs of extra weight have taken the edge of the
performance.

Other than that, it handles well (if a little tail-happy in a lift-off
oversteer style), performs better than most of it's contemporaries,
still has the lovely classic Alfa twin-cam engine noise and seems pretty
well screwed together (120k miles old and everything still works, apart
from the wiper motor, which was my fault anyway).

Plenty of kit in mine, too - alloys, fogs, electric front windows /
sunroof / mirrors.

I think I'd still prefer my 75 for a back-road thrashing, but the 155 is
an altogether more refined car for long distance travel.

Bear in mind that mine's a 'narrowbody' so doesn't have the enhancements
(better driving position, neater handling) that the 'widebody' cars got.
However, the ideal combination of older Alfa 8v TS engine and 'widebody'
chassis is very rare (only available for 6 months), so I'd settle for a
narrowbody any day over a 16v widebody any day.

Still prefer the 75, though.... but that's not back from it's gearbox
rebuild until the middle of next week.
--
Steve H 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
http://www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - MZ ETZ300
VW Golf GL Cabrio - Alfa 75 TS - Alfa 155 TS Lusso - COSOC KOTL
BoTAFOT #87 - BoTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #

> Bear in mind that mine's a 'narrowbody' so doesn't have the enhancements
> (better driving position, neater handling) that the 'widebody' cars got.
> However, the ideal combination of older Alfa 8v TS engine and 'widebody'
> chassis is very rare (only available for 6 months), so I'd settle for a
> narrowbody any day over a 16v widebody any day.

Now that's weird - everyone I've spoken to reckons the 16v engines are
better than the 8v, so why the narrowbody/8v preference? The 16v has more
umph apparently, or does it suffer from the usual lack of bottom end torque
most 16vs have?

Hellraiser..........>

Hellraiser > wrote:

> > Bear in mind that mine's a 'narrowbody' so doesn't have the enhancements
> > (better driving position, neater handling) that the 'widebody' cars got.
> > However, the ideal combination of older Alfa 8v TS engine and 'widebody'
> > chassis is very rare (only available for 6 months), so I'd settle for a
> > narrowbody any day over a 16v widebody.
>
> Now that's weird - everyone I've spoken to reckons the 16v engines are
> better than the 8v, so why the narrowbody/8v preference? The 16v has more
> umph apparently, or does it suffer from the usual lack of bottom end torque
> most 16vs have?

16v has marginally more BHP, but more weight. I'd love a widebody 8v,
but try finding one!

My preference for the 8v is that it's an all-alloy engine (helps the
balance of weight distribution against the iron-block Fiat-based 16v)
and is proven to be a totally bulletproof lump - 8v, camchain, Bosch
injection. Not much to go wrong there!

Whereas the 16v suffers from problems with the timing variator, and also
needs the belt replacing every 40k-ish miles. Ignore this at your own
risk.... they're also, should we say, a little 'thirsty' when it comes
to oil, too, and many haven't been looked after by enthusiast, so will
have run low on oil, which effectively means you're sitting on a
time-bomb.

It's all personal preference, of course, but I know and trust the 8v
engine.


--
Steve H 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
http://www.italiancar.co.uk - Honda VFR800 - MZ ETZ300
VW Golf GL Cabrio - Alfa 75 TS - Alfa 155 TS Lusso - COSOC KOTL
BoTAFOT #87 - BoTAFOF #18 - MRO # - UKRMSBC #7 - Apostle #2 - YTC #