Beretta.net

So, I'm fairly new here. I've owned a Beretta for a year and a half now. I've been 'following' Bfest on FB from Europe and I was wondering what makes the Beretta so special to you? I don't think it's a widely loved car like, say, the Camaro. I would love to hear your stories, I'll go first: I have always liked American cars and the first car I drove was a Chevrolet Celebrity, then came a Corsica. After my divorce (the Corsica had been replaced by a Mitsubishi Carisma:shock: ) I was looking for a car that wasn't too big (not convenient in crowded Holland) but still very American. I was thinking of maybe a Chrysler LeBaron (but for some reason most LeBarons in Holland are convertible which in this climate is not a great idea) when I came across the Beretta that I now own. Everyone said I was crazy to even consider buying this but I am so glad did. Best buy ever! It's comfortable and fast and looks great I never thought I could feel this way about a car!

I grew up with the Beretta my mother owned and I wanted one since I was like 1 year old. lol.

1987 Beretta GT, red interior, red exterior, 2.8 v6 auto.
It had over 200k miles on the odometer, and it probably had 200k miles worth of idle time on top of that considering it was almost always left running for the heater or AC. lol.

But that wasn't the first car I owned. My first car was my 1996 Beretta Base, Black exterior, grey interior, which I since had the Z26 body kit, gauges, wheels, etc swapped onto the car. And grey 88 GT seats instead of Z26 seats because GT seats are better. lol. Had somewhere around 50k miles, I forgot the exact number when I bought it. Now it has 131k miles. And it has remote start, and a sound system, and high powered radiator fans that sounds like a jet engine. lol.

They are great cars, but I'm wanting something different as time goes on. My plan is to daily drive my 96 Beretta like crazy, load up the miles, winter summer doesn't matter anymore. I want to enjoy driving it for at least 10 years before I either scrap it or sell it. Then I'll eventually repeat that with my 90 GTZ. the GTZ is nice because the quad4 gets awesome gas mileage, and having been restored by a previous owner it was like buying a new car for cheap, I couldn't pass it up.
My mint 90 Indy will be my last and only Beretta eventually. I don't plan on buying another one. That one is upgraded to historical status as of this year and it will get taken around with a trailer, however I will still drive it for local shows/events. It won't be a daily driver, its more of a family heirloom to me.
What I really want is an electric car with like 600-1000 miles of range about 20 years from now when they finally get good batteries. Because then I can plug it in every night like I do my cell phone and its ready to go every day.

Overall what I like most about the Beretta is the style. Its design doesn't age or get old like most other cars. It looks a lot better than many newer cars on the road today, especially with the euro headlights.
Overall the biggest disappointment is how the dashes will always warp unless they are always kept in a controlled environment in a garage. Luckily the dash on my GTZ was custom made aftermarket so I don't have to worry with that car.

My first car when I was 16 was a 5spd GTZ. I had a lot of fun beating the snot out of that car. I actually went to the lot to buy an 88 Monte SS, but it was the mechanic's new car and he was selling the Beretta. I loved the body style.

I basically wore that car out and bought a 3100 Z26 for college. I modified that car pretty heavily but it rusted out from under me. So I bought a bare shell and built it from the ground up. Like every single bolt removed bare shell... It was a ton of work, but I basically have a car built exactly the way I want it.

Thank you Judith for starting another enthusiast-thread -I love these!

Back in the '80s and '90s I remember noticing the Berettas, and thought that they were nicely styled, and a little different than anything else on the road. At the time, my old '70 Road Runner had recently been stolen, and I was thinking about what car I would be getting next. I was tired of seeing third-gen Camaros sitting next to Honda Accords and Ford trucks at virtually every single stop-light, so I was pulling myself off the market for one of those. The first-gen Ford Probe was a next-looking sporty futuristicy car (like the Beretta), and I had not yet learned to hate all things ovaled by blue yet. I ended up just getting a Honda 750 Sabre -a very futury-type bike in its' own right with over half-a-dozen micro-processors, digitally-driven speedometer, LCD displays, liquid-cooling(!) and a digital systems-check unit that monitored everything from the headlight and taillight bulbs to the battery electrolyte level(!!). 16 valves, four camshafts, and six speeds complemented the tech on that thing, and I eventually toured coast-to-coast on it and foreswore four-wheeled travel for a few years, even riding four-seasons in sub-zero temps and even some snow-storms -hey, it was what I had, and I had decided to go back to school for my degree so money was too tight for much of anything else.

Eventually, I ended up with my "old" '88 Camaro (three of them now, coupe, T-Top, and convertible), but I never lost interest in the Berettas, and winter driving with the Camaro was nearly as bad as on the Honda, so something was still missing...

I started dating someone that had a nicely kept blue-on-blue V-6 5-Speed 'Retta, I put a ton of work into that car too. But the owner had a lot of health problems, and eventually decided to sell it, having too much trouble shifting all the time. I bought that car for $700, and really felt like I belonged with that car almost as much as I did with my 'old' Camaro. Eventually, I added a couple more Berettas to my family, stumbled onto the old "Bstuff" owners' group website, and got further into them as an enthusiast. The community is the only car-group I am really into, and when Bstuff died, it took me a long time before rejoining the community here. Unfortunately, this site isn't very active anymore, and I will not go over to face-plant.

The mod-ability of the Beretta, the still-unique styling, performance (of mine, at least ), affordability, and the community support have kept me a die-hard Beretta fan, likely for life.

I feel the same way about facebook, except I used to actually have an account with them until I realized how bad facebook is and I quit using it.
I wish this group had more involvement through the Bnet forum instead of facebook.
I feel like only a few members/admins and the yearly Bfest registrations are the only reason Bnet stays up, if it wasn't for their dedication the Bnet sight would probably be gone and there would only be the facebook fan group. I do agree though, if Bnet goes away, I won't rejoin through facebook.

I used to know someone who daily drove their motor bike as well, he had different mud/snow tires for it for winter, he also had hand warmers, gloves, slush/rain pants, and other stuff to combat the water/cold. He was dedicated to it.

I like seeing your build threads, I'm glad you are one of the few who post about your cars. I don't ever plan to modify my Berettas as much as you have/are doing but its fun to see what others are doing. I'm interested in your 1/4 mile times for that 3/4 turbo swap, I think that will be fun to drive. The only thing is I feel your timing belt replacement will not be an easy job when it comes time to do so. lol.

thanks for your replies, it seems for most, one Beretta isn't enough. Loved reading your posts, I am still learning about the different types but it seems the Indy and Z26 are the most wanted, is that correct? I assume here in Holland most people went for the base model. Mine is a GT of which they are only around 12 still on the road.
It's too bad this place is so quiet, a forum can be a very nice way to 'meet' others with the same interest. The FB group is very active but doesn't have that much room for discussion.

As a kid in the 90s, I remember seeing a white GTZ from the school bus every morning back in ~1992. Always thought it was something cool; something special. In 1999 when it was time get a first car, my parents found a 2-for-1 deal on 2 Berettas, a 1990 GT for me and a 1990 base for my sister. I didn't have that car long before the motor blew up but it gave me the Beretta bug... I bought my first 93 GTZ in August of 2000. Found it on a dealer website in Montana (I was living in Idaho at the time) with no mention of it being a GTZ. I knew it was a GTZ based on the Vin#... Called the dealer and made arrangements to buy it, sight unseen. LOL.

I had that car for 5 years and sold it in 2005 when I bought a new SRT4. The SRT4 turned out to be a pile and I missed my Beretta. I began looking for another GTZ/Z26 in the fall of 2012. I picked up my current 93 GTZ from a Bnet member in January 2013. The body and interior were solid but it needed EVERYTHING when it came to drivetrain and running gear. It's finally to a point where I'm actually enjoying driving it. It doesn't make tons of power but it makes up for it in smooth handling and awesome braking.

I've bought and sold a few other Berettas since buying this current GTZ and will likely buy others. I can't put my finger on what exactly it is about these cars that I find so interesting. They are a good overall style, but there are parts of the design that I don't like. Certain angles look great, others look goofy. I think it's all about the challenge for me. Nothing comes easy on a Beretta. They require dedication and commitment because you're not going to find any bolt-on performance parts for these off the shelf. Beretta-specific parts are getting really hard to find and that's part of the fun.

Oh, and the community is a HUGE part of what makes these cars interesting. I've been a member of other model-specific communities but Beretta.net treats you like family, whereas most other groups make you feel like you're just another number, lost in the crowd.

Agreed. The lack of traffic here kinda sucks, but it's also kinda great because it's a tighter group.

I, like DanteGTZ, remember the '90s fondly, other than school. I hated school, everyone picked on me.

I grew up with these cars, and I've never got over them. I think they were so far ahead of their time in styling. I have a soft spot for many '80s-'90s cars. Currently my daily drivers are:'93 beretta, '94 s10 blazer, and a '93 gmc pickup.
All of the above vehicles are generally regarded as cheap junk by many. However they treat me well and I find them very reliable.
In my opinion these vehicles are a pain to work on in ways, but I can always figure them out. To me they have so much less bs sensors and electronics, this is a plus to me and I do electronics for a living!

My first Beretta was the first car I ever got a loan for, $6500 for a '90 base model, malachite green, with a 2.2l auto.
I kept that thing spotless! Blackouts, old school hammer-type aftermarket wheels, big system, I loved it! Unfortunately it took a lot of abuse from me driving it under the influence and wrecking it more than once, but it was fixed, and I eventually sold it when SUV's became hot and I bought the s10 blazer that I still have.

Fast forward, and then I meet my wife. Turns out that she had a teal green Beretta too when she was younger, and she loved it despite the wet carpet and the messed up window regulator, etc.

So one evening we were discussing this, and "simpler times". The next day I pop on Craigslist and happen to find the '93 GT that I have now.

My car is nowhere near as nice as most other members cars, and it's completely stock. I came to the site to learn about the car again since I had been out of the scene so long. I contribute here and there, although my posts aren't real exciting since I'm just doing normal maintenance and repairs.

We all obviously love our cars, and it's fun to share that even if it's only in a virtual way.

As to "why Beretta?" , I still don't know. Sickness?

A co-worker referred to it as a "poor boys camaro"! Gawd I almost passed out laughing. I think it mostly refers to the MSRP, which apparently wasn't all that much less than '90's camaro, I don't know. I do love me some late 70's (like Woody's mullet camaro)through early 2000's camaros too!

EPfiffner wrote:I, like DanteGTZ, remember the '90s fondly, other than school. I hated school, everyone picked on me.

Was it because of the Beretta? I was teased about the Beretta. Plus I don't think parking it in the very front space (which was also the widest space) every day helped. I was known as the Beretta kid and I was told my Beretta sounded like a "go cart on steroids". lol.
This is what I drove my last 2 years of high school 07-08, the red 88 GT was my moms first car back in 87: Everyone always used to ask me about the car catching on fire, and friends would ask if the car was safe to ride in.
That was only rustproofing on the hood. lol.

EPfiffner wrote: As to "why Beretta?" , I still don't know. Sickness?

I think its because we grew up with these cars and although I was the generation after, I still like them.

GT_Indy wrote:

EPfiffner wrote:I, like DanteGTZ, remember the '90s fondly, other than school. I hated school, everyone picked on me.

Was it because of the Beretta? I was teased about the Beretta. Plus I don't think parking it in the very front space (which was also the widest space) every day helped. I was known as the Beretta kid and I was told my Beretta sounded like a "go cart on steroids". lol.
This is what I drove my last 2 years of high school 07-08, the red 88 GT was my moms first car back in 87:

DSCN0614_2.jpg

Everyone always used to ask me about the car catching on fire, and friends would ask if the car was safe to ride in.
That was only rustproofing on the hood. lol.

No, I didn't have my Beretta until after high school. I just wasn't "cool". Seemed so important then, and so irrelevant now.
My high school car was, get this: an '81 Chevette. Now wait for it: a diesel! Yes, a diesel. And you thought you had it bad!

EPfiffner wrote: As to "why Beretta?" , I still don't know. Sickness?

I think its because we grew up with these cars and although I was the generation after, I still like them.

right on, that's why. Mine was brand new the year I graduated, '93. Pearl Jam, flannels, etc

EPfiffner wrote:

GT_Indy wrote:

EPfiffner wrote:I, like DanteGTZ, remember the '90s fondly, other than school. I hated school, everyone picked on me.

Was it because of the Beretta? I was teased about the Beretta. Plus I don't think parking it in the very front space (which was also the widest space) every day helped. I was known as the Beretta kid and I was told my Beretta sounded like a "go cart on steroids". lol.
This is what I drove my last 2 years of high school 07-08, the red 88 GT was my moms first car back in 87:

DSCN0614_2.jpg

Everyone always used to ask me about the car catching on fire, and friends would ask if the car was safe to ride in.
That was only rustproofing on the hood. lol.

No, I didn't have my Beretta until after high school. I just wasn't "cool". Seemed so important then, and so irrelevant now.
My high school car was, get this: an '81 Chevette. Now wait for it: a diesel! Yes, a diesel. And you thought you had it bad!

EPfiffner wrote: As to "why Beretta?" , I still don't know. Sickness?

I think its because we grew up with these cars and although I was the generation after, I still like them.

right on, that's why. Mine was brand new the year I graduated, '93. Pearl Jam, flannels, etc

Yah I miss that red 88 I used to have.
I saw the red 89 on ebay, 5 speed manual, I wish I was able to get that, but I can't own them all.
But that car is my ultimate favorite color combo for the Beretta.