General getting first coupe

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General getting first coupe

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i've decided that i want a coupe so im going to start saving up for one, i want a 20v turbo in red if possible, what are the main things that i want to look out for when buying one? i've not had a turbo before so what do i need to check on that to make sure it is ok? and what price would you say is good? i've been looking on ebay but think they are all high mileage but you can get for around £1500, i want something with around 70000 miles on.
 
Lots of thrashed ones out there as the youngest 20VT is now 8 years old so few of them with less than 80k miles up.

Check the oil pressure. The Coupe is a devil for losing oil pressure through wear. The gauge should show 3 bar pressure when running above idle. At hot idle nothing less than 2 bar. Anything less then 1.5 bar hot then walk away.

Drive it and listen for clunks in the suspension. Usually wishbones, bushes or drop links. Easy to fix but not so easy to get the bits. The turbo should come in with a noticable kick at about 2000 rpm and give max boost of 1.2 bar on a standard set up (if the car has a boost gauge fitted).

Look at the exhaust..if the car is producing oil smoke then the turbo is likely gone /going. Also check to see if the chrome tip is still on the exhaust. Its spot welded and falls off in time. You then end with a melted bumper.

Lift the bonnet when the engine is running cold and check the exhaust manifold for cracks. Coupe is known for this fault. You will either hear it (chuffing /ticking) or smell fumes in the engine bay. This is expensive to fix. Bad ones have a diesel sound on start up.

Finally check the front end of the door sills on both side for rust/filler jobs. This fault isn't flagged much but all 3 of my coupes have suffered rust in the wheel arches where the sealing plugs go for the sills. It can be so bad the car is an economic write off.

Finally a bargaining tool...stone chips on the bonnet. They look awful and the only real cure is a front re-spray. Red is a bitch to colour match!

Good luck! Coupes are huge fun and endlessly tuneable. My last one ran 300hp after lots of fiddling and was an excellent all rounder..even for the Tesco run with herself and the bratz on board. Remember though that its an old car and needs constant maintenance. Its not a Jap Fire-Forget weapon. You need a big wallet and tolerance of its weird Italian ways...
 
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Sensible advice above.

You want to find one with the right service history. Needs to have been looked after properly and of course don't forget the cambelt! 20V cars cost at least £600 from a specialist (and don't go to a Fiat dealer unless you've about £1500 burning a hole in your pocket!). Every 5 years or 36000 miles without exception - the owner doesn't understand the car if he/she tries to convince you it's 8 years or 76k (per the handbook)!!

These are also known for head gasket problems so check for overheating & water in the oil. Turbos suffer from engine oil leaks, and non-turbos from gearbox oil leaks (rarely the other way round), so keep an eye on the engine oil in a turbo.

They should come with a red/burgundy "master" key to reset the immobiliser rolling code if it all goes wrong. Rarely needed but can cost up to £500 to sort it out, so a good bargaining point if the car doesn't have it!

Of course loads have been thrashed & crashed, so you need to be happy yours is a good one. They are out there, but getting hard to find. I'd pay more for the right car - pay £2500 instead of £1500 and you'll probably save a fortune in the long run.

Good luck, Gavin.
 
cheers(y) i wont rush into buying one then, ill wait till the right one comes along. if i could get one a old man has had from new and never taken it above 70mph i would be on to a winner then lol. i will take your advise gavin and save that bit extra up to get a good one.
 
good luck with finding one, there so much fun ive had mine for about 3/4 months and so happy with it, i was lucky and paid 1500 for it and only had to replace the turbo (my fault)

they can be the best if they have been treated well and looked after, and some times you will do a lot of painful drives for a waste of time but good luck,

one place to look is Solo Italia there on piston heads, they only do Coupes!!

Let us know how you get on!!!
 
Looked at one tother day in a local garage. They wanted top $ as it was a 'rare car.' 102k miles up.

Turbo oil seals were shot. The manifold was cracked and it seemed to have an intermittant misfire. 2 Bald tyres and finally the cambelt was last done according to the belt cover at 45k miles.

Paint looked fine..until I noticed the overspray on wheels and around the windows.

So re-sprayed and knackered. rare car indeed but I'm sure the garage will flog it to some mug.
 
Or you just go for it like i did,

Advertised at £1500 with 12months mot

i offered him £995 as it has 133,000 miles, no red key and scrapes on both bumpers.

But good thing is cambelt done at 100.000 and turbo and engine both run fine.

Since got a bumper for £30 in good condition in correct colour

Dont be put off by bad bodywork as there are loads in scrapyards
 
Couldnt read that link to coupe forum H ..membership needed..I saw the one you sold when we came up to visit you and sammi ..great looking cars but lots of problems which is a shame..how about the none turbo'd cars the should be more reliable shouldnt they..?
 
As a rule, NAs are reliable than turbos, yes.
The two main things that are affected are no need for replacement turbos when they go smoky, and no problems with cracking manifolds on the NAs.
 
My first coupe was an n/a and loads of fun..but the turbo is something else. Running costs aren't hugely different between the two. If you can find a decent 20vt then go for that. One thing I found was every dickhead in a white baseball cap and chaved up Civic wants a race so you might as well have a decent amount of poke...

I sold my 20vt when I started to get notes under the wipers...'Road race between X-Y at 3am..be there or be square' etc. Also our police decided that any performance car over 5yrs old was driven by a boy-racer and treated accordingly..so I sold the coupe and bought a 1.2L Stilo...
 
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