Anyone in the Houston area...?

[Holshot]

Hey gang,

I found, what seems to be, a nice Spider in the Houston area and if we came to an agreement I would just have her shipped. My question is, is there anyone willing to check out a car and give a good first hand, 3rd party review of said car? I would prefer to have someone who has owned these cars and "know" what to look for and can spot the problems. I'm not sure if this was the correct place to post and if not I apologize in advance and understand if it needs to be moved to the proper section. I would be willing to cover any travel costs (gas, tolls) incurred and what ever you think your time is worth (within reason) to give it a really good look over as if you were purchasing the car for yourself and report back to me with what you found and think.

I've been without my Spider now for almost four years now and only sold my last car because I moved to Italy and have been living there for the last 3 years. Now that I'm back I'm really missing the joy of owning a Spider. The Vespa I've been riding for the last few years just didn't cut it, lol... You would be amazed how rare the 124 Spider is over there and what they sell for. Cars that sell here in the 3 to 7 thousand dollar range would easily sell for at least double most likely triple! So I didn't buy one while over there but thought about the idea of buying and shipping them over there, go figure... But with the shipping and import cost and the beauracracy which has to be the worst anywhere it just wasn't worth it in the end.

Anyways, sorry for babbling on and getting off topic... If anyone out there is available and willing please let me know as I would love to move on this ASAP! Kind regards and I appreciate any and all help...

Giuseppe

[txspider]

Giuseppe - Which car are you interested in as there are several here in Houston for sale. I know a couple of them and would be glad to check it out but because we are having are big regional Hill Country Tour this weekend it would be next week before I could look for you.

Mike R
Gulf Coast Fiat Group

[jfrawley]

Giuseppe, you need to reach out to John Erskine if you haven't already. He's the membership director fo our club, DC Fiats and is located just west of Annapolis, MD. He knows most of the local cars that might be for sale. As a matter of fact, he sent out a notice just the other day that someone in the club is selling their nice 1969 Spider. Here's his e-mail address:

j.erskine2@verizon.net

JF

[Holshot]

Giuseppe - Which car are you interested in as there are several here in Houston for sale. I know a couple of them and would be glad to check it out but because we are having are big regional Hill Country Tour this weekend it would be next week before I could look for you.

Mike R
Gulf Coast Fiat Group

Hey Mike, first and foremost, thanks so much for the reply! Here's a link to the car in question...

http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/3723861888.html

I've never been keen on buying cars sight unseen and have in the past with late model cars with low miles and had no problems up until now, knock on wood...but you know as well as I do I'm sure that 30+ year old Fiats are another story! I've had 3 over the years and slew of Alfas' but I've always found them locally and inspected them first hand. I just received an email back with the sellers number and plan on calling later on this evening to discuss the car in person. I'm hoping being that its a dry Texas car it will be virtually rust free. I've never had an older one like this one but I love the early style steel bumpers and wouldn't mind something a little different this time around. If you know where that area of Houston (Woodlands) is and isn't to far out of your way let me know if you would be interested in checking her out or even if you know of the car personally. Look forward to hearing from you and good luck with the tour!

Kind Regards,
Giuseppe

[Holshot]

Giuseppe, you need to reach out to John Erskine if you haven't already. He's the membership director fo our club, DC Fiats and is located just west of Annapolis, MD. He knows most of the local cars that might be for sale. As a matter of fact, he sent out a notice just the other day that someone in the club is selling their nice 1969 Spider. Here's his e-mail address:

j.erskine2@verizon.net

JF

Hey John,

Thanks so much for the reply! I've never been really involved in any local clubs but I would love to get involved now... I had just come across this site unfortunately only a few months prior to selling my last Spider and then I left for Italy so I had no idea that this community existed all the years I've owned Spiders! Thanks for the heads up and I will email John E. as soon as I'm done here... I LOVE the '69s and there's a nice French Blue car for sale on EBay but the seller still hasn't responded to any of my emails. I asked for a phone number and even included mine to talk in person about the car but nothing still and there's only 2 days left on the auction... Oh well... Again, thanks for the info and I look forward hopefully to meeting some of the locals as soon as I find my next Spider.

Kind Regards,
Giuseppe

[txspider]

Giuseppe - I do not know that car and it is way up on the north side of town and couldn't get to it until next week if you are still interested - there is another 80 for sale at $5900 -http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/3700707843.html - that I am familiar with - belongs to a Doctor and is in very good shape - runs good even with all the original pollution plumbing still on it. Depending on how much of a project you want, there are several cars for sale in Houston.

Mike