Alfa Romeo 166 Ti - Low mileage, excellent example of an increasingly rare car

Reluctant sale of a very cherished and rare car. It took me three years of searching to find and buy one of these in this condition. Face-lift 166's are rare anyway, the Ti even more so, this is my second 166 and it is in very good condition. I bought it to use when I opted out of Company car scheme, years of good but un-lovable German diesels made me want one of these more than ever, for years I tried to get one as a company car but low residuals and lack of RHD diesel versions made this impossible.
I bought this from an avid (and wealthy) Alfa collector who, like it's previous owners has kept it in amazing condition. I used it for about 5 months but whilst I loved every mile I covered in it, I also felt guilty just stacking the miles onto it, so I have kept it as a weekend/special occasions car. Unfortunately new house purchase means I can no longer keep it in a garage and also I need to release some money.
It has an extremely full and comprehensive Service History, with every receipt/invoice from day one, and has always been worked on by Alfa main dealers or specialists. It drives superbly and returns about 35mpg average if your'e careful. Everything works perfectly on it and if you've ever been in or owned one of these you will appreciate how comfortable, refined and quiet they are. It has nearly new Avon tyres and has had it's cam-belt changed just over 10,000 miles ago, so won't need a new one for another 35,000 miles. The alloys are in near perfect condition and are all originals with the Ti stamp on them (a lot of these have aftermarket or non-original wheels). There are no issues with the suspension bushes, which are quite a common fault on higher mileage examples, it really does drive and feel like new.
The only not so good bits are a rusty exhaust back box - it's not perforated at all and works fine, just cosmetic (stainless systems are readily available and relatively in-expensive), and some blemishes from stone chips. Also the plastic rear bumper has a parking mark on it. On the lower sills there are some areas where the lacquer is starting to lift, but that's not too bad really. The bonnet has had a repair at some point, in certain lights you simply cannot see it, but under florescent lights at certain angles it shows itself. There are no dents whatsoever and even the 'prone to damage' flanks of the car are perfect.
Overall it is extremely good and has proved to be 100% reliable (my previous 166 Facelift was also, I did 30,000 miles in it without a single fault) It attracts a lot of attention and will be sorely missed. This particular one has some optional extras such as memory seats and a rear factory fitted sun-blind. The dials on the Ti illuminate in red and on this one the writing is in Italian, so fuel reads 'Benzina' rev counter 'Giri' and water as 'Aqua', not important but I really like that!
There are only a small handful of these left and it will always be known as the last and best of the big Alfas, it should appreciate if looked after by new owner. It's worth having a look on You Tube at the Top Gear review of these, JC really loves them!
Please feel free to call me to discuss in greater detail or to arrange a viewing/test drive - 07971 147308 (Simon)

Also published at eBay.co.uk