I've recently started work only a few miles from my home, so can now afford to have a big engined sports car on account of the fact that i'll not be using much fuel.

I started browsing eBay in January this year, specifically with an Alfa 156/147 GTA in mind and there were none available.  However, since the rises in vehicle excise duty came into force a few weeks ago, I now notice 10 such vehicles are for sale on eBay.  More research has shown that the amount of band G cars (now a whopping £400 tax) on eBay is markedly up on just a few months ago, with most not reaching their reserve.

My advice is if you are looking to buy one of these cars, I would wait 6 months.  The price of these cars will inevitably drop as it becomes a buyers market, with the credit squeeze and excise duty just two factors, along with the price of fuel.  I reckon you weill see some distressed sellers out there and would expect a 25% drop from the current asking prices of between £8500 & £10000 for a low mileage example.