Hello from Wilts

[tog]

Hi all,  just signed up here for some advice really.  I'm looking for a practical, relatively sensible car and am currently thinking about a Beta HPE.  My parents had a Beta berlina back in the seventies, and it is about the fist car I can remember so I've always had a soft spot for them.  My grandfather had an Augusta back in the 1930s too. so I'm keen to carry on tradition!

My Beta would be for use a daily driver, all year round, covering 15,000-20,000 miles a year.  Am I insane, or is this a realistic idea?  I'd be looking for a 2000 ideally, and not a VX.  I've had a quick look at one near me, and it seems like a useful little (I currently drive a W126 Mercedes S-class) car.  There's toddler carrying duties to perform, but most of the mileage is for work, so it would need to be reliable.  It's not just plodding along motorways, but a good mix of cross-country driving too.  What sort of maintenance schedule do they need?  What's the real-world mpg like? 

[rossocorsa]

an injection will be the best compromise fuel economy probably 28 to 32 mpg, to use one everyday you would need to get the most rust free one you could find and regularly apply rust proofing in the weak areas plus  check drains  for sills, box sections and sunroof. Maintenance is not so bad change oil/filter regularly (maybe every 6k) cam belt on that mileage every year you would be wise to stock up with service parts in case they get even more difficult to source especially if you find any cheap on ebay (this is a disease of lancia owners bit like magpies). I would recommend going over all the electrics and cleaning up connections applying contralube http://www.contralube.com/index.html wherever possible as bad contacts are the biggest cause of issues.

[tog]

Thanks, that's useful information.  And encouragingly, it's not a "Are you Crazy?" reply, which most people seem to say when I ask if I should replace a 23 year old Mercedes with a 30 year old Lancia

[HFStuart]

The thing is they were well capable of 15-20k a year in their day, often with poor maintenance so they should still be able to do it today with TLC from a sympathetic owner.

Most of the things that might go wrong are proably going to happen in the first 1000 miles of ownership and many of them will stem from lack of use, or be service items. Once they're sorted it should be relativeley plain sailing. Of course it won't be like buying a new Toyota but I don't think you'd expect it to be or want it to be.

Certainly I'd look for a car with power steering for regular use - they're a bit on the heavy side without. Make sure the lights are tip top too  - they're not particularly good if you're going to be driving in the dark a lot. An upgrade to Cibie units is possible.

Other than that good luck to you. Don't discount the Berlina though they're nearly as practical as the HPE but a whole lot rarer.

[tog]

I'd happily consider a Berlina, but I can't imagine ever finding one!  HPEs aren't exactly thick on the ground either of course, but there are at least a couple for sale at the moment!  I need to sell at least one car, ideally two, before my good lady will let me buy anything new unfortunately!

[rossocorsa]

I had a Berlina about 10 years ago admittedly it was low mileage but I'd have to say that in mnay ways it was way ahaed of the coupé or HPE built like a tank handled beautifully only the slow and heavy manual steering and the fact it was a 1600 let it down a bit (lovely engine the 1600 but especially  in the saloon a bit lacking in torque for modern roads). A late 2 litre series 2 berlina is a really nice motor for daily use I wouldn't recommend a trevi though despite the power steering as they seem to suffer from mad electrical glitches from Lancias use of more modern components too early and frying fuse boxes that were too near the manifold (no doubt a trevi owner will now come along to correct my prejudices!!)

can't think of anything worse than old German tech though nightmare to sort out once it gets old compared to a newish german car (or an MG with BMW tech built in)  a beta is a doddle the glitches are usually simple and avoidable

[tog]

I think my ideal would be a 2-litre injected HPE, with PAS.  Despite no rear doors, the estate would be useful from a getting long loads in point of view.  I sometimes need to carry 9' long tubes, which fit in most cars from the rear hatch down to the front footwell.  It is not essential (that's what the wife's Fabia is for now, as they don't fit in the Merc anyway), but it would be useful.  I need to sell a Merc and a Saab (the Merc's temporary replacement) before I can buy more cars though

[rossocorsa]

if you can tolerate the fuel consumption (probably 5mpg less than an ie) don't dismiss a volumex the  low end torque is a real delight and so much better than moderns (even most diesels), very nice to drive