I have been looking for the rarest of 16 models for sometime , the 166 V6 Ti was had the very last 3.2 24V V6 Busso engine, mated to a 6 speed gearbox and IMO is one of the best performance executive saloons, there were reported to only been 36 imports into the UK so finding one is like finding hens teeth or rocking horse droppings. I do know of a low mileage one in the UK and have first dibs on it but I know the owner has no plans to sell and if he does he would want top end money plus being a UK car I would have the joys of VRT to deal with.
However I have heard of one over here which apparently has chequered history, which I have been tracking down and piecing together. Originally it is a genuine 166 3.2 Ti registered in the UK in 2004, it covered quite a few miles over there, 120k before being imported into Ireland with all VRT duties paid and now wears a Irish registration. So far all good but now the story starts to unfold, the 3.2 engine snapped a cambelt and damaged the engine, the Irish owner decided to commission one of the best Alfa specialists to fit a 2.0 16V engine to the 166 as this was a Ti option from Alfa and over here 2.0 road tax is a 3rd of that for the 3.2. The owner had all the correct engineers reports and got the car reregistered as a 2.0 all well and good, by this time the car had about 150K on it. Now the story takes a turn for the worst, 12 mths after having the 2.0 fitted that failed, not quite sure why that detail seems to have been lost although an Alfa owner I know here knows the cars owner at the time and has contacted him for the exact details of this failure.
Needless the owner had had enough and sold the car to its current owner who decide to get the car back to as near original spec as possible, he rebuilt all the suspension, upgrading where necessary, refurbished the wheels, and even repainted the whole car in its original Stomboli Grey as after 150k miles there were quite a few signs of road wear and tear, he fitted new tyres, refurbished the headlights and fitted new badges - still all good. However he couldn't find a 3.2 V6 so he had a 72k (no proven history) 3.0 24V recommissioned and fitted, this had all the normal belts, tensioner, water pump etc done before being fitted and was detailed to match the external look of the car. The completed car would not run smoothly and the issue was tracked to the ECU which was replaced with an upgrade version from over in there Netherlands and then the car ran perfectly, current owner has put about 5k on it with no issues. The current owner has not updated the paperwork to match the current engine but will do as part of the sale
The car is up for sale at €7k which is significantly cheaper than it would be in the UK but it has the wrong engine, however the current owner has purchased the original 3.2 fro the garage that fitted the 2.0, he has has the heads and bottom end all rebuilt but it still needs its belts done and needs some cosmetic TLC as it has sat around a workshop for a while. The owner will sell the 3.2 at a cheap price and I suspect a deal to buy both could be had for about the current asking price. As it currently stands the car is not a 3.2 Ti but with a bit of money the original engine could be completed and refitted and if that was the plan there is little point getting the paperwork aligned to its current 3.0 engine spec. to only have to complicate the history further when changing for a 3rd time.
So potentially a 166 3.2 Ti with quite a few miles on the clock with a chequered history but in wonderful condition, a bit more money to get the original engine back in would get everything aligned and probably could be completed for under the current market value and without having any import issues. A chance to get a super rare car for OK money or a potential nightmare - decisions decisions