General Should we buy a Barchetta?

[friend of stouby]

Hello

We are in our 50's and live part of the year in the UK and part in France.

We take a Ducato van with us to France as we have stuff to ship in both directions.

We live in central France and have some wonderfull roads for 100's of km in all directions and would really like to drive a nice car on some of these, so have thought of a Barchetta.

The idea would be to buy in the UK and re-register in France, has anybody here done that and is it a good idea?

We also have proper winters in this area of France, mostly bright and sunny in the day and sometimes very very cold at night. The winter proper lasts maybe for two or three months.

Do these cars have a good heater or are heaters an after thought?

Are hard tops easy to come by or rare and expensive?

Are these cars reliable if looked after with good spares/oils etc?

Is the boot size reasonable, say for 2 small suitcases and a little more luggage?

Is there a thread here that will give pointers on what to look for and what to avoid when looking at a car?

As our small barn is full the car would have to remain outside, is that a problem with these?

It's obvious from reading these threads that these small cars are a lot of fun to drive, are they easy to drive too?

If after reading the above, do you think we are looking at the right car for this situation?

Sorry there are so many questions but much of these don't appear to have been asked before although I could have missed them!

Thanks everybody for your time, hope we can get some good pointers here.

Jamie

 

[CasaPaulo]

We are in our 50's and live part of the year in the UK and part in France. A Priest could absolve
We take a Ducato van with us to France as we have stuff to ship in both directions. Smugglers?

We live in central France and have some wonderfull roads for 100's of km in all directions and would really like to drive a nice car on some of these, so have thought of a Barchetta. Amongst others?

The idea would be to buy in the UK and re-register in France, has anybody here done that and is it a good idea? Sort've Lights are tres expensive unless DIY taken apart plus Frog re-reg costs All do-able and done previously by others in France. Some have imported from Germany which seems to be the most popular 'home' for used Barchettas, spares too.
We also have proper winters in this area of France, mostly bright and sunny in the day and sometimes very very cold at night. The winter proper lasts maybe for two or three months. We're the same the seasons zip by all the time.

Do these cars have a good heater or are heaters an after thought? V/G Heaters
Are hard tops easy to come by or rare and expensive? Relatively rare as is the car and expensive ish £500 & up s/h only

Are these cars reliable if looked after with good spares/oils etc? Yes

Is the boot size reasonable, say for 2 small suitcases and a little more luggage? Smaller side of reasonable. No real oddment space within the car, mean sized boot. A rack would be useful to overcome space issues, but 2 cases (small) is OK.
Is there a thread here that will give pointers on what to look for and what to avoid when looking at a car? There are many threads covering all & every issue

As our small barn is full the car would have to remain outside, is that a problem with these? No more than any other unless the hood leaks. I've not got any Barn and manage

It's obvious from reading these threads that these small cars are a lot of fun to drive, are they easy to drive too? True & Very + 35 mpg ish

If after reading the above, do you think we are looking at the right car for this situation? One of the horses for the course, methinks a MX5 are more plentiful similar usage with cheaper Hardtops & abundant Spares then again the Budget is the real issue. A DB9 is better. My take on it is THE main joy is the lid down aspect. The 'Sports' performance is irrelavant to moi, nice to easily keep up tho. Not needed to Tour anyhow and can't be used generally cos of cameras either. Most Mundaneos can outrun it really BUT then again WHO drives too Sportingly really (with a valid licence)
Sorry there are so many questions but much of these don't appear to have been asked before although I could have missed them! You did

Thanks everybody for your time, hope we can get some good pointers here. The Barchetta is rare ish becoming rarer and old, tho being mostly Punto DNA greasy bits are v/easy to come by. It's the odd non Punto bit like hood rubbers or Hardtops that are premium priced. I regularly drive from the UK to Spain return, very comfortably too, without seeing another. Don't see many in the UK either come to think of it. The base is a Fiat Punto so quite 'tested' and v/reliable apart from the Variator. Hood rubber prices are outrageous. As said I like owning a rag top as a second car like you propose for the purposes you describe. It'd be a pain imo as the only drive but ideal for Fun.

 

[wish mine was orange]

welcome to the forum. and lets make the answer easy
yes.
they are a great car hood easy available from ebay, this has been one of the cheapest cars i have ever had,
i have used it for a weeks holiday without a rack for 2 so pack small bags easy done..
as for my freind casapaulo he must be forgiven for mentioning a mx5!! you dont want that you want a barchetta

 

[desert rat]

Hi I'd have to agree with casapaulo The B is a great car, reliable and quite rare.

I have just come back from a 5 week vacation and other than being covered with sand my B started frist time .

I agree Germany would be a better place to look for 1. that way no trouble with headlights, speedometer and reversing / rear fogs that would need to be altered. Check www.ebay.de for car prices / parts

Build quality and availability of spares is not as good as an MX5 but in 3 weeks in the UK I saw about 100 MX5's and only 1 B.

Boot space is kinda small but comparable with any other 2 seater that i've owned. Whilst in the UK I was driving my sisters MX5. Boot seems to be a bigger opening but is no where near as deep as the B's boot. Her MX5 seemed to run smoother than my B but there again it is 5 years newer and a hell of alot miles on the clock but I would still prefere the B. Not had a chance to check out the DB9 yet but I was tempted to buy a raffel ticket for the one in duty free last night..

Try to find 1 locally and take it for a test drive. You will come back with a big smile on your face

I can't really comment on the heater but If you get one that has aircon it will cope with summer in the middle east (just) so France summer weather would be no problem.

 

[wish mine was orange]

desert rat wash your mouth out mentioning mx5 here

 

[bumble]

The answer is definitely "Yes" You should buy a Barchetta. I think you stand a better chance of getting one in France or Germany and you often see them for sale on Ebay abroad. Of course, you will pay more for a red one, whereas the owner of an orange one will probably pay you to take it away. Hope you're successful... keep us posted. Steve

 

[Rustbucket]

Good choice..exclusive sort of car (I have one of the 12 odd in Ireland)..opposed to the 12,000,000 MX5's.

The are getting older but there doesn't seem to be a spares issue yet. Roof needs replacing around every 5 years if its kept outdoors and can be a pain to get done. Both in cost and finding somebody to do it..

Mechanical reliability is fine..so long as its serviced regularly. Bodywork is on the flimsy side..lightly built and the paint has a tendency to chip easily.

Depends what you want from it. If you want something different which you are preparared to put in some TLC then go for a Barchetta. If you want 'lid down' Fire and Forget motoring which you only have to lift the bonnet once a year for servicing or fill the washer bottle and are happy with seeing a million others on the road, then go for an MX5.

EDIT: Avoid orange or red ones. These have usually been owned by hooligans. Often stolen and resold cheaply on ebay.fr.

 

[wish mine was orange]

what is it with the mx5 guy
by the heaters are great i have roof down in the winter and its cold here lol.

as for orange what can i say

 

[Rustbucket]

what is it with the mx5 guy

Love the B but...

MX5 has been continually developed year on year..B has just grown new bumpers..

Woman at work has a brand new black 2l version, full leather, wood spoked wheel and various bits and pieces. Its a nice car but I'm not gay or a stylist and its even less practical than the B.

 

[bumble]

Bumpers?.... there's just something about that word.

 

[Crachat]

Putting in my two penn'oth, don't bother looking for a Barchetta here in France from a dealer or Club de France member, they will be ridiculously expensive, UK and Germany much more reasonably priced. I was lucky and stumbled on one at a good price more by luck and very much NOT by judgement! Re the rear fog/reversing light needing changing over, mine passed it's Control Technique without (ie. rear fog on the right, reversing on the left) with no comment. I have never seen a tester check for operation of both/either for any of the cars I've taken for a test...and that has been more than one.
Good luck with the search, I'm glad I've got a 'B'. That Japenese car may be very good etc, but when you pull in to fuel up and mechanics come out to look at the car and dealers run their hands over her (car not wife) (there again...) (there was this one chap...) (ok, time for my medication and back to the subject,) and drool and say that she is tres chic and tres jolie, c'est quoi? Gives one a sense of pride even though she has parking scars and has done nearly 210,000kms. Go for it.
Good luck.

 

[Richpea]

Go for it. Such exclusivity for such little money and every time you drive it I guarantee you will have a huge smile. On the last 3 trips to France, each covering in excess of 1,500 miles, I have not seen another B and it attracts admiring glances wherever you go. You will not get that with a Mazda, even thought it is a fine car, that's for sure.

 

[johnv]

I am in my fifties and live part of the time in France too - I bought my B earlier this year, and have already done 5000 trouble free miles in France, with a few more to go before it gets home! It's great, don't regret a thing!

 

[afroking]

I use mine daily, already clocked up 10k miles. No problems.

 

[bumble]

I'm liking the sound of all these 'fifty somethings'. Only thing is, I dont spend part of the year in France. I didn't realise that was compulsory and, I must try to rectify this soon. Now then, where is my Sanatogen tablet?

 

[afroking]

I'm liking the sound of all these 'fifty somethings'.

I'm not!

 

[wish mine was orange]

me neither

 

[Abarth barchetta]

Goddamn it I'm not far off it! But by the law of your only as old as the woman you feel |I'm only 34 is that ok?
Ps go on bite the bullet and buy it, you'll quickly fall in love with the B and learn to shop around for those expensive parts when they go.

 

[bumble]

Youre never too old to rock and roll if you're too young to die... Someone should write a song about that one. Buy a B... you wont be disappointed. Steve

 

[Crachat]

Bumble, France is a small country somewhat to the south of your neck of the woods. It is ruled by a small man with a pretty wife who likes to take her clothes off and sing boring songs. They drive (DRIVE???) on the wrong side of the road, very fast and it is compulsory to have consumed a litre of wine at breakfast and every two hours thereon for the rest of the day. Whisky is not counted as it is the wrong colour and is called things like 'Sir Pitters' and 'Black Willie' (I think excess intake causes the last). They are generally laid back (or laid out) about pretty much anything and live a good 10 to 15 years later than us Anglo Saxons who beat them in the 100 Years War and helped out a bit 90 odd years ago and then again 60 odd years ago! But I love it here and no it is not compulsory. To be either 50 odd, just odd or live here.
;-)