Good morning! Today we’re embarking on a special adventure, one that will take us twenty-six days to complete. We’re going alphabetically through the world of cheap and cool cars, starting with the letter A. Today’s choices come from Alfa Romeo and Audi.
On Friday we went absolutely mad with the prices and looked at some stuff I’m sure none of us can afford. But there’s nothing wrong with a little daydreaming once in a while, is there? When I checked on Friday afternoon, the votes were almost tied, but it looks like some more Ferrari fans came out of the woodwork over the weekend to put the silver Dino in the lead.
I could have fun driving either one of these, but I don’t think I’d want to own them. I just don’t do well with expensive or fancy things; I get too nervous and can’t enjoy them. Now, if some kind soul were to give me one or the other of these, I’d take the DeSoto, because I’m more confident I could fix it properly. I would jump at the chance to drive a Ferrari someday, but I have no desire to maintain one.
All right, let’s come back down to earth. For the purposes of this alphabet game we’re going to play, I’m going to first look for marques that start with the letter in question, but if I can’t find one, then the model name will have to do. And I’m going to try to avoid the common ones where I can: C won’t be Chevy, H won’t be Honda, and so on. Today we start with the letter A, and a pair of convertibles, one from Italy and one from Germany. Here they are.
1983 Alfa Romeo Spider – $4,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter dual overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, RWD
Location: San Francisco, CA
Odometer reading: 155,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Deet, dee-dee-dee, deet-dee, dee-dee deet-dee, dee-deet dee. Doot, doo-doo-doo, doot-doo, doo-doot doo… Oh, sorry. I get that tune stuck in my head every time I see one of these Alfa Spiders in red. I imagine by now, the owners of them are sick to death of that association, though, so instead, I’ll point out that this is also the car “smog tested” by Chevy Chase in the movie Fletch. And, looking back at that chase scene now, that little Alfa handled it pretty damn well. Luckily for Fletch, that one had plenty of gas in the tank.
In 1983, the Spider was in its third generation, powered by a 2-liter version of Alfa’s venerable twin-cam engine. It has Bosch fuel injection instead of the twin carburetors of the European version, to meet US fuel economy and, ironically, smog standards. Alfas don’t have a great reputation for reliability, as I’m sure a lot of you are aware, but this one has made it to 155,000 miles, and the seller says it runs and drives very well. Obviously someone knew what they were doing with its maintenance.
Inside, it’s as clean as you could hope for. The vinyl seats look good, and I have a feeling the carpet has been replaced. I’ve always liked the interior style of these, with that weird angle of the gearshift lever, the two big round gauges, and that deep-dish steering wheel. This one also has the required 85 MPH speedometer, with everything above 55 marked as a no-go zone. Yeah, sure.
Regulatory changes were never kind to small convertibles, but this one wears its big 5 MPH bumpers better than some others. Less appealing is the three-piece rear spoiler tacked on to all Spiders of this era. It looks like it belongs on a Camaro, not an Italian sports car. And just like on most Camaros, it doesn’t line up quite right. But who cares? It’s a shiny red Alfa with no rust, for a decent price. I call that a win.
2004 Audi S4 Cabriolet – $4,300
Engine/drivetrain: 4.2-liter dual overhead cam V8, six-speed automatic, AWD
Location: Encino, CA
Odometer reading: 79,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Some automakers are known for a signature feature of their cars. Think Subaru with its boxer engines, or, um… Porsche with its boxer engines. Sure, they make other stuff, but those other things aren’t really what they’re known for. For Audi, since the early 1980s, that signature feature is its Quattro all-wheel-drive system, especially when powered by really hot engines. For about three decades now, the high-performace Audis have had a model name that starts with S, which as far as I can tell stands for “Shit, this thing is fast.”
After years of turbocharged inline fives and twin-turbo V6s, this generation of S4 embraced the hot rodder’s mantra “There is no replacement for displacement” and made use of Audi’s 4.2 liter V8. With four camshafts, and five valves per cylinder, it’s a bit more complex than your average American V8, but it’s got the goods – 340 horsepower’s worth, to be exact. It drives all four wheels through a six-speed automatic. This car has only 79,000 miles on its odometer, and it runs and drives just fine, though in grand 2000s VW/Audi tradition, I think I see a yellow warning light on the dash.
It’s in nice condition inside, though not perfect. The driver’s seat shows some wear, and might have a popped seam. Apart from that, though, it’s holding up well. As you’d expect, it has just about every power feature 2004 had to offer – as well as a somewhat anachronistic cassette player. Still got your Kraftwerk tapes?
Cabriolet S4s are somewhat rare; the four-door sedans are a lot more common. It’s a handsome machine, and in decent condition, though the ad does say it has a rebuilt title, for an undisclosed reason. California seems to hand out rebuilt titles like candy, so it may be nothing, but it’s worth asking about, and checking with your insurance agent to find out if they care.
So that’s today’s Showdown, brought to you by the letter A: two European drop-tops, one throwback to the 1960s, and one that was state-of-the-art in its day. They’re about equal in price and condition, so all that’s left for you to decide is the style. Which one speaks to you?
Audi AWD and V8 power all the way.
I’ve suffered all of the VW/Audi pain I think I have in me. Bring on the Alfa pain
Twin-Cam Alfa Kammback
All Day, Every Day.
HOLY GOD Not an Audi over an Alfa with the Twin-cam.
I’m getting old and I’d like to have sex again before I die, so Alfa.
There’s a reason a $100,000 car that still looks great is only worth $4300. Alpha for me.
Are you from a future where compact Audis cost $100,000 new?
This car was more like $50K, even as a convertible.
Well, in 2004, the S4 Cabs went up to $60K+ with options. So in 2025 dollars, that’s $100K.
The Alfa Spider is remarkably reliable; there just isn’t that much to go wrong with them. An early aughts Audi V8 on the other hand… no thanks! I love the looks of the Alfa Spider and seriously considered getting one before ending up with a Miata.
An aging aughts Audi ain’t an auspicious alternative against an aged Alpha.
Aaaaaaaa
Which is going to look better broken and parked on your lawn?
Have you guys heard what that Audi 4.2 V8 sounds like??? I’d have one of those over almost any car! Rebuilt titles be damned.
Absent funding a war or wedding…nothing will drain your wallet faster than owning an older V8 Audi.
The manual Alfa is the easy pick.
The Alfa is fun to drive in a 1970s kind of way. Meaning not really all that much fun. I’ve owned one. This is a great price for one in this condition.
The Audi is going to cost a whole lot more than the purchase price. But how can I resist a V8 and AWD in a small car like this, even with an automatic?
Summer’s coming. It’s almost time to fly out to California and drive home with something topless and rust free. I’d risk it with the Audi this time, but it’s not an easy choice.
I went with the Alfa. When we get further along the alphabet, is it “I” for International Harvester, or “S” for Scout?
I had an unhealthy obsession with Audi when these came out, and deeply wanted a B5 S4, but have since grown up and relized I’m not willing to spend the money requried to keep these things running right, especially now that they are over 20 years old. I can probably keep the Alfa running with my existing tools and know how, plus the car just looks more fun and less wannabee.
Choose the Alfa as you need to own one at least once.
Amen and with 155,000 miles this one had to be owned by someone who treated it beautifully.
At first I thought it was an A4 and was going Alfa no hesitation, then I saw it was an S and wanted desperately to smash that button, then when rapidly scrolling down, I saw the automatic, and I’m back to Alfa. I love this body style A/S4, but an auto sucks too much fun from it for me, and Jeremy Clarkson told me I need to own an Alfa at some point.
I’m super excited for the next 26 days of these. A buddy and I have on many occasions gone through and made an A-Z garage and it’s always a fun exercise.
Neither vehicles are something I am interested in, but given the choice, I would take the Alfa. It is more interesting than the Audi. Plus, I like that it is currently registered in California. I always see it as a good sign that a car can pass California’s ridiculous vehicle inspections. I would not want to live in a state with emissions or safety inspections, but buying a car from one of those states seems like a good idea.
When I was in junior high, my dad bought a ’67 Alfa Spyder. It was pale yellow with a black top and interior. It was a project, but he never got it running and eventually sold it to some other hopeful/sucker.
I used to sit in it and pretend to drive it. I’ll take this Alfa and actually drive it.
Personally, I can’t wait for the upcoming Qvale Mangusta vs QX80 showdown.
A Quest vs a dubiously legal Qashqai.
When I read the title I thought Audi, but screw it fun weekend cars should be fun! Alfa!
I’ll take maintaining the old Alfa over maintaining a mid Aughts Audi. Especially one that likely has a lot of bespoke parts that are NLA.
I’ll take the Audi, then a shop will take my money, then my wife will take me to divorce court, then her lawyer will take me to the cleaners.
But hey, I’ll be stylin’ in that V8 Horch.
I hear ya.
The Alfa is the better buy but I have a weakness for this gen S4 so I voted with my heart, not my brain. If it was a manual it would have been easier but it still squeaked a win.
The price on this Spider seems a bit low somehow. I know the miles are up there, but this is like 2010 pricing. Regardless, I’d take it over the ticking time bomb that is the Audi. A is for Alfa!
San Francisco has probably the greatest concentration of surviving/regularly driven old Alfas in the US, so this Spider isn’t nearly as exotic in that market than it would be elsewhere, and while this is definitely on the low end, it’s not in red-flag territory for a driver-quality mid-80s model. It’s pretty tempting at this price, for sure!
That Audi would be a hoot to tool around in for a weekend, but it’s a wallet-breaker in the long run. Owning an Alfa isn’t exactly a low cost alternative, but it’s pretty simple by comparison and I even have a shot of doing most of the work myself – never going to be the case with an Audi. So Alfa it is – as long as it has passed the Fletch smog test, of course.
This is no contest. Alfa all day. Fix it with a multimeter simple. Parts aren’t subject to the Audi tax. Plus it’s able to be sold for about this to the next sucker, er, Alfa enthusiast.
The Audi is the better car to drive. The Alfa is the better car to own. A twenty years old German turbo is going to decimate the bank account.
I don’t know which is worse, the 2.7T or this S4’s V8.
I glossed over this one had transitioned to the NA V8. My bad. Still, the point about the maintenance costs stands.