As described by the seller on eBay Motors:


This is a USA car converted to carburetors (Webers) as a European model. Engine redone 3,000 miles ago. New transmission, new $3,000 paint with new rubber throughout. Original interior in near-mint condition. No cracks on dash. Extensive work mechanically and otherwise. Drives and looks like new. $500 remote control stereo system. Excellent, almost-new Pirelli tires. Doesn't need anything. Your gain, my loss. Between last owner and me, over $22,000 in this Alfa. I've never seen a better one. Turn key, fast and classic. I have the original fuel injection gear, European manual from 1969 and many receipts. Serious buyers only, please. This car is the real thing. Starts every time and I'm open to inspections.

{analysis} This car, item number 1843160613, sold on eBay Motors for a mind-boggling $6,995 on July 16, 2002.


From time to time, a sale comes along that blows a hole in the Price Guide large enough to drive a Lincoln Navigator through. Rarely, however, is the vehicle in question a four-door sedan, and in this case, arguably the least interesting model of Alfa saloon ever imported to the United States.


What factors would conspire to cause someone to pay twice the going rate for an unloved car? Strangely enough, you will find them familiar. Rarity and condition.


It is a seemingly oxymoronic truism in the collector car world that the most common cars often have the lowest survival rates. Who would want to preserve, for instance, a Chevette or a Mustang II? But after the drudgery of daily use has decimated the ranks of these plebian commuters, the survivors develop an attractiveness all their own. Witness the 1979 Ford Pinto, as new with only 328 miles showing, that sold at the 2001 eBay/Kruse Spring Auburn auction for $6,466, nearly twice what the car cost new. So, even though more than 100,000 1750 Berlinas were built, there are few left today, and far fewer in excellent condition.


When introduced to the US in 1969, the Alfa Berlina was the stylistically uninspired follower of the quirky but cute Giulia Super.


While the predecessor Giulia sedans got everything right, the 1750 seemed to get almost everything wrong, beginning with a fuel-delivery system that the factory refused to make user serviceable, and a dramatic propensity to rust. A dual-circuit brake system was one of the federal mandates for this model, and the 1750 fitted two failure-prone and expensive (at $300 each) Binaldi brake boosters in the engine bay. A 60-mm increase in wheelbase made the car roomier but less nimble than the Giulia sedan. Interior changes included less supportive seats and a secondary instrument cluster placed on the center console, out of the driver's line of sight.


As time passed, Berlinas, like Alfas in general, aged poorly and expensively. While the values of Berlinas plummeted on the resale market, the costs of a valve or clutch job remained the same as the more cherished sporting models. Who would bother to put a $3,000 paint job on a $1,500 car?


And that brings us to the car in question.


For an Alfa enthusiast who, for whatever reason, is looking for a perfect Berlina, this was a brilliant buy. The previous two owners, perhaps after smoking something stronger than Camels, succeeding in reportedly "investing" more than $22,000 in this car.


They addressed the SPICA issue by converting the car to European-spec Weber induction, and one would hope that it was done properly, with the correct European intake manifold, conversion of the throttle linkage and installation of the cold-air canister.


Assuming that the $22,000 spent went for proper overhauls and refurbishments of the suspension and mechanicals, for less than $7,000 the new owner has a better-than-new car, a perfect example of one of the last of the front-mounted transmission, 105-series four-door sedans.


Is this a good investment? Perhaps. At the 1988 Alfa National Convention held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a burgundy Berlina, similar to this car, and restored to showroom perfect, attracted the most attention of any car in the concours and was awarded the "People's & Judge's Choice." Why? Because while restored Giulietta Spiders and even SZs are a relatively common sight at Alfa gatherings, rarely does a restored Berlina make an appearance.


So long as the car is kept in its current pristine condition, the owner is likely to be able to get his money back upon sale. But there lies the conundrum. If he drives and enjoys his new, 30-year-old car, he is subjecting it to the risk of rock chips, parking lot dings, worn upholstery and all the other indignities that accompany daily use. This car is only a few imperfections away from being a $3,000 Berlina.


Our advice? Since the car will never be worth significantly more than it is today, holding it for investment purposes is futile. Far better to take it out and enjoy it, and should it depreciate to half its current value through use-induced road rash, view that as simply the price paid for driving a time-warp car.-Pat Braden{/analysis}

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