I've had my Allante for about 2 years now, an 88 with 193000 miles. Runs, drives and looks like new. It's true, some tecs are not entirely familiar with some of the unique components on Allantes,and most new car dealerships won't work on a car that's over 10 years old anyway.. and the youngest Allante is 15 yrs old now(1993) the oldest is 21.
Mechanically, Allantes are basically the same as the Eldorado and Seville of similar years.. no big deal. any shop can repair them but the info is clearly in the service manuals for each year, get one when you get your car and you'll be fine. AS a matter of fact, the Allante has one of the most sophisticated on board diagnostic systems ever put into a car, and it's relatively easy to use ( explained in the manual) so the car can tell you what needs to be repaired, the problem is most shops just want to hook it up to their machine to see what the trouble is, and their amchine only tells you about engine emission controls and such for the most part.. whereas the on board Allante system will also tell about internal electrical stuff, like switches, lights,relays for everything from the air conditioner to the door locks.
As for parts, the only things that are crazy expensive are trim pieces, most trim pieces on the car are repairable and don't require "replacement"
(bumper covers, door panel, seats, dash, arm rests, power seat and window switches, etc ) but most folks just assume replacement is the only option, and consequently, due to limited production,stuff is expensive to replace.. mainly the head lights,and tail lights, and power window switches,
(a good used tail light goes for 350 to 500, driver's side power window switch 250). and some major brake system components. Again, this is understandable, since the Allante has one of the best braking systems ever put into a car.
Funny thing is, it seems the Allantes that give current owners the most trouble are the ones with supper low miles that have sat for years not being driven, or the ones that the owners didn't follow some basic ( BUT ALLANTE SPECIFIC) maintenance on.( annual coolant drain and refill with tablets, annual brake fluid flush, and regular driving, including some freeway driving) as well as all typical regular maintenance like oil changes and such.
Luckily, there are three businesses around the country that specialize in Allante Cars, all are extreamly active in the national Allante Clubs, and each happens to know the cars inside out and can make any part or system on the car new again.. and if you don't live near one of them, they are all able to advise your mechanic on what it will take to fix whatever is wrong with your car, as well as provide the parts necessary.
So, there you have my 2 cents on the Allante, it has some quirks like any old car, but what hand built, limited production, high dollar, Italian import doesn't?
I really like mine, and actually go through "Allante withdrawal" if I don't drive it for a few weeks.. ( I have a few other cars)
Here are some pics, if anyone cares to see.
http://allante.clubexpress.com/conte..._id=14711&pp=1
Thanks, MAtt
can hook you up. They have both been there for me. I have had mine for about a year and have put almost 25000 miles on it with only one problem with a transmission hose clamp. It was truly a pucker moment but a quick easy cheap fix and anyway I needed to change the transmission fluid. Of course at the time when I thought it was going to mean a new trans 
it was not so funny.
