A friend turned me onto a 1990 Allante for sale at a local small used car lot. It's been there all summer and with the economy the way it is there are no buyers for such a car. It is Pearl White and has 10000kms (60000 miles). The paint, top and undercarriage is extremely clean. The red interior is nice however there are a couple of minor splits on the drivers seat. The trim around the drivers power seat switch is cracked. Under the hood the engine looks very clean with no leaks. The car certainly hasn't seen any foul weather as like I said the floors look like a 6 month old car, not an 19 year old car! I haven't heard it run as the lot is closed today. My friend knows the owner and said the car has a new ABS unit. He is going to try to get the keys tomorrow and let me take it for a drive. I am pretty mechanically inclined so I can do most repairs. One thing I did notice is the pull down mechanism for the back window seems to have a problem. I accidently hit the switch (the car was unlocked) and the back window would lift, go down, lift, go down continually for quite a while before it stopped. Perhaps a limit switch problem? Anyway, the asking price is $5995 CDN (about $5500 U.S) which includes our Ontario mandated safety inspection and emissions test. Is this a decent price? Any problems with the 90's? I've read on here that "regular maintenance" is the key to prevent abs problems. What maintenance? Brake fluid flushes?
Also, does anyone know how many 1990 Allantes were sold in Canada?
Thanks!

Todd

$5,500 (U.S.) seems like a pretty fair price. As always, try to negotiate for the best price possible. Remember: cash doesn't talk; it screams. Especially if the Canadian economy is going anything like the U.S.

The top motor "recycling" could be a few things. It's covered well on the Allantesource website. Most likely the contact which stops the motor isn't hitting.

I'd ask the owner about what ABS unit was replaced. The Bosch III ABS consists of several parts: resevoir, pump, accumulator, master cylinder. I highly doubt the entire system has been replaced. It's generally accepted that annual flushing of the brake fluid is necessary to prolong the like of the system.

Also, being a 1990 model it may have a Phase I or Phase II top depending on its production date. If the convertible latches are near the windows, it is an earlier Phase I car. If the latches are closer to the center (above the visor, IIRC), it is a later Phase II car. The Phase I top is known to leak; something to keep in mind should you not have a garage (or find yourself caught in the rain!).

It sounds, however, that you have really done your homework.

My top was doing the exact same thing and Tom Rohner, the AllanteStore... San Diego, did a two minute adjustment to the pull down latch, and my top has worked perfectly ever since! ;)

Chief