General How to spot a well cared for Coupe

[Gary]

If viewing a car you can tell how cared for it is,

When i got mine i checked the tyres were not cheap make they were pirellis
I checked all the paperwork,oil changed twice a year
In the boot i found spare bulbs,fuses,brake fluid and small oil container
This sort of attention means the last owner probably took real care of the car


But it will still cost you in the long run no matter who the previous owner was

 

[symonh2000]

As far as I am concerned I would be wary of buying a car from a well off man in a suit. These people tend to know little about a cars mechanics, and because they can afford to replace the car they treat it as a consumable item. They buy the car because they like the cars looks and image, not because they are passionate about it and the car gets neglected. These type of people often drive Audi TT's these days...
I would much rather buy from an enthusiast, who knows a bit about the car, loves it and treats it accordingly.

 

[pinin__prestatyn]

Look for bald patches, crap clothes, and bad breath. For a true coupe owner will go without basic hygiene, fashion, and indeed food, to make sure his baby is happy. So if the owner looks genuinely happy, clean, or has a mortgage, beware. A true coupe owner is the hooker begging for 20p outside the homeless shelter, just to make sure his cambelt is changed by a specialist, and that his manifold is sound.
And you know what? despite all the times she's let me down, every month I've not been able to go out on the p*ss because She's cost me £400, She's still my true love! my baby ferrari. It's not just a machine, you bond with it! very strange. But then love is.

 

[wotnowarninglight]

Slightly off thread but bear with me... in Devon last week when she needed the loo, stopped at a garage and they wouldnt hand over the key 'till we bought something so bought a classic car mag as it had a old versus new(er) feature - Barcetta v's 124 Spider in it

Looking at the price guide in the back under fiats they had a bit of a write up on the coupe as the pick of the crop for its unique driving sensation, suggest 5cyl 20vt but do warn that regular expert maintainence is required... think it may be time to grab a good one before classicitis hits and prices go through the roof

 

[StoneNewt]

Well being honest after swapping over tyres on my Sei' I'm much more inclined to stick with her for a while. Anyway guys thanks for the info, maybe I'll get a GTV/GT/Brera latter.

pinin__prestatyn, love your Coupe & information

 

[Trickey Dickey]

Hi guys
well ive not been a long lover of the coupe but ive owned a blxxxy nice looking porto blue coupe for the past 12 months or so and to be honest its not cost me a penny to run apart from the usual fuel costs and one service that cost me about £130 quid ish, it has had a shed load spent on it by a chap from cheshire who has now replaced the coupe with a maserati and also owns an alfa. so men in buisiness siuts can be a good option i reckon

 

[symonh2000]

Another thing to look for on a Coupe is thet tyres, a cheapo make or odd tyres suggest a penny pinching owner. After all if they cannot spend money on such an important safety item then they are not going to spend money on synthetic oil and other things to keep the coupe in good order. Thats my opinion anyway. I don't want to start another tyre arguement...

 

[sammiboo]

Another thing to look for on a Coupe is thet tyres, a cheapo make or odd tyres suggest a penny pinching owner. After all if they cannot spend money on such an important safety item then they are not going to spend money on synthetic oil and other things to keep the coupe in good order. Thats my opinion anyway. I don't want to start another tyre arguement...

Arrrgghh dont talk to me about tyres

Mine cost me over £400 and i got about 1k use out of them before i had the accident :bang:

 

[symonh2000]

That is sods law at it's most effective. The same happed to my dads TVR Chimaera, he had 2 new SO2's fitted to the back, and one week later someone wrote it off for him...

 

[pinin__prestatyn]

My back tyres are about four years old! The fronts don't last long though...

 

[hmallett]

personally i'd never buy a car from an enthusiast such as an fccuk member, it may look clean and shiney and be well serviced but it will almost definately have been driven enthusiastically. meaning the wear and tear on mechanicals will be above average for the milage it has done.

i go though wishbones every year no matter what car i drive, and discs, and pads twice a year, i rarely manage 2 years on new shocks. wheel bearings dont like me, i burn clutches out in no time and i've destroyed 4 gearboxes in 5 years.

Well I know who I'd not want to buy a car off!
H

 

[blu73]

PMSL, well said

 

[sammiboo]

He he :devil:

 

[pinin__prestatyn]

personally i'd never buy a car from an enthusiast such as an fccuk member, it may look clean and shiney and be well serviced but it will almost definately have been driven enthusiastically. meaning the wear and tear on mechanicals will be above average for the milage it has done.

Lol - you are a funny guy fair do's
A car that in the exact words of Fiat's head honcho was "an enthusiast's car, a car that we believe Britain deserves" and yet you wouldn't buy one unless it was driven by a granny. Hello? It's a 220BHP 5 cylinder monster, it's designed to be driven enthusiastically, as long as maint is up to scratch. Also the coupe's on Fccuk are the most fastidiously maintained, no expense spared, loved cars. Because the owners are enthusiasts, see? it's more than just transport to them. I guess you are the type that would buy from auto trader from someone that doesn't really know the car like a Fccuk member, and you'd pay for it 10X over in the long run.

Sorry don't mean to have a go but you were talking crap!

I could see your point if you were buying a Saxo say, from a "cruising" forum, but from the most mature, knowledgeable, and sensible owners on a forum like fccuk you'd be silly not to buy from the for sale section. In my humble opinion of course.

 

[whatmoretyres]

Basically, I'd say that you cant run a performance car on a budget, big performance costs. It's always something needs doing - £400 for the manifold next. You can pick them up for £2k, but I wouldn't. The best ones to get will be late 2000 run outs - best specs with smallest wear (in theory!) I also say to buy with your eyes, just because the miles aren't on 72k doesn't mean that the belt shouldn't have been done - 2 friends alfas failed on less than 60k - Regular sensible mantaince with all important oil and checking.

If you're buying modded - I think FF or FCCUK are the best places to start, most know their stuff!

 

[jug]

i wouldnt buy a car off me either. but yes i agree people who love their cars can be good people to buy off, such as fccuk members. i guess its more true for coupe's than many other cars as a coupe isnt the kind of car a kid could afford and only someone who loves the car would be willing to pay the costs of ownership. a shiney corsa would very likely be a well polished and well abused car, but a coupe is more likely to have a mature owner who doesnt abuse their car so its a different kettle of fish. i guess i was wrongly making the assumption that an enthusiast would also be a boy racer, but the two are very different. i wouldnt buy a car from a boy racer, but an enthusiast would be a good person to buy from. the difficulty is knowing which type of owner a car has had, which is why i've always kept away from modified cars or young sellers, but i dont see many boy racers owning fiat coupes.

i like the point about rich people not knowing about cars or placing much value in them. that makes perfect sense, i never thought of it like that before. if i was rich i very probably wouldnt give a toss about an old fiat so why spend a fortune keeping it right, i'd just drive it till it was time to get rid off it. that would be a bad car to buy. if i loved my car i'd make sure everything was perfect, which is what i do and partially explains why i end up spending so much on parts. i have a policy of changing things before they need doing to avoid any unplanned off road time.

 

[Hellcat]

Why oh why did I buy the Tipo? I really want a coupe but there is no way I can give up the Tipo.. I need a bigger house.. Oh wait then I can't afford the coupe


DOH!

 

[mad car man]

Look for bald patches, crap clothes, and bad breath. For a true coupe owner will go without basic hygiene, fashion, and indeed food, to make sure his baby is happy. So if the owner looks genuinely happy, clean, or has a mortgage, beware. A true coupe owner is the hooker begging for 20p outside the homeless shelter, just to make sure his cambelt is changed by a specialist, and that his manifold is sound.
And you know what? despite all the times she's let me down, every month I've not been able to go out on the p*ss because She's cost me £400, She's still my true love! my baby ferrari. It's not just a machine, you bond with it! very strange. But then love is.

why do you discribe yourself in such away

how it going mate

ive had a coop now for 6 months and its more reliable and a better build than my sw20 mr2

 

[pinin__prestatyn]

It's costing me a packet but it's through my own choice

Outlay for the past 3 months and the 3 months to go..

360 bumper - £204
screws and bolts from fiat - £13
Peco cat-back exhaust - £120
Hybrid turbo - £120
Recon the turbo - £200
Zender rear lip - £100
Sikaflex - £15
Pace Side mount intercooler - £200
Blitz boost controller - £200
Fit the turbo - £50
oil for turbo - £50
coolant - £10
Cambelt and ancillary belts - £420
Cam phase sensor - £30
Apex'i filter and hose - £75

= £1807

But that's not all, to get her back on the road I need

Tax - £95 (6 months)
Insurance £250 (first payment)
Trailer to birmingham and back (£200)

and I think she'll need

New front disc/pads £150
labour to fit £30

which knocks it up to £2532


And that's why I have no social life :bang:

 

[symonh2000]

A lot of the stuff is not really nessesary to keep your car on the road though it is for tuning and styling... Does that really count as running costs?