Bora good for first car?

It has also only needed routine servicing and a replacement clutch operating pump at 82 thousand miles for the sequential flappy paddle manual gearbox.

Eh? The Selespeed doesn't have 'paddles'. It's not sequential either, well not in the SMG sense. It's a robotised manual and unreliable one at that. Not even the Alfa owners clubs recommend buying them because they ALL go wrong, it just being a matter of time, and they're a nightmare to diagnose faults on and £££££s to fix, especially when those actuators malfunction and a replacement (sealed) unit with labour costs in excess of £1,000.
 
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Paddles or buttons? Because they definitely don't have paddles. Paddles are what you get on the back of the steering wheel of a Maser 3200GT or a 430 Scuderia. Buttons are like what you get on a DSG.
 
Yep, 2002 onwards, paddles, before, buttons!

True, everyone and his brother say not to buy one, then the same people say don;t buy a RX8 because all rotary engines jam and give poor fuel economy, and no one should ever buy a BMW because it makes you drive like a donkey. Lots of people still do. Horses for courses I suppose!

My Sele has been faultless, is very pokey. Mine does 170bhp according to Rolling Road (Well 169.3, but 170 sounds better!) I can also drive it as a full manual!

Fair point, Sele isn't strictly sequential, but as the original meaning of sequential is that each gear comes in sequence without a missed gear possible, it kind of is! I flick down is one gear down and so on. I read it was a development mule for Ferrari F1 paddle shift roboticised mass production technology. So each fault and error on Alfa helped ferrari improve their own tech and software, I thats cool!
 
The buttons are thumb powered on the front of the wheel, paddles sit behind and are activated by fingers. Same result, one up, one down. Paddles work better as buttons are a bit too far in from rim edge for people with small hands.
 
Paddles or buttons? Because they definitely don't have paddles. Paddles are what you get on the back of the steering wheel of a Maser 3200GT or a 430 Scuderia. Buttons are like what you get on a DSG.

Buttons before 02, paddles after.

68_test_alfa_romeo_v1b.jpg


Paddles.
 
As Fox said earlier - look at the Seat Toledo. Same as the Bora but with a nicer body IMO and cheaper to buy

I found Alfas much more expensive to insure than similar cars from Vauxhall/Ford/VW/etc too - especially without any NCB or when you're young
 
Boras are good cars, toledos seemed to be a little hard to come by when Dad was looking so he ended up going for a Bora instead. I was really impressed tbh although all I have to judge it against is having driven a corsa (****), 106 (fun but like a tin can :p) and a megane (comfy but **** to drive and with stupid gearing so it's noisy as hell on the motorway :()
 
[TW]Fox;10974077 said:
Buttons before 02, paddles after.

68_test_alfa_romeo_v1b.jpg


Paddles.

Fair enough.

I've driven the ones with the buttons that you operate with your thumbs.. Would have gone for a longer drive if the car hadn't broken down half way through the journey :D

I found Alfas much more expensive to insure than similar cars from Vauxhall/Ford/VW/etc too - especially without any NCB or when you're young

Without a doubt. Think my sister pays about £700 for a Alfa 147 1.6 3 yrs NCB. AndyMac must be a 30 year old solicitor living in Alderley Edge with max NCB and the car garaged at night!
 
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