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Even the Experts can be Fooled sometimes—Our 1974 Alfa Romeo GTV Coupe

When you get a call on an extremely rare, rust free California Alfa GTV you listen. You also have no one to blame but yourself if you don’t look the car over thoroughly before buying it. Just like a novice private party, we bought this lovely GTV on the advice of another dealer and some well-staged photos. Based on our purchase price, we expected the car to be showroom ready. When it arrived at Roadster Salon, our hearts sank.

While the car did run well as described, the photos we examined told a different story from what we saw in person. Why on earth would a customer—or dealer for that matter paint a $60,000 car with the skill set of a fifth grader. Runs, drips, fish-eyes and orange peel were in almost unlimited supply. Waves and misaligned body panels took center stage. And it wasn’t just the paint. We were also treated to mismatched tires, shoddy bright work, and worn out carpets (hidden by new floor mats) at no charge.

Clearly, this car needed our help. Thankfully, the most important attributes—a clean rust-free chassis and solid mechanicals were accurately described. But the paint and interior were going to need the Roadster Salon treatment if the Alfa was truly going to be returned to its former glory.

A strip down to bare metal and proper sorting would be essential for the correct result to be achieved. Keep an eye on this one! Roadster is all in on making it right. This GTV should be available for purchase in the Spring. Call about pricing and details.