General New to the land of Coupe!

[LadyV]

Hi Guys

As I said, I'm new to the land of Fiat Coupes, and so really need some guidance :worship:

I'm after a 20v Turbo - HOWEVER - I need to know the real deal with these cars, and don't want any biased Bull from anyone, I just want the truth, ie, what goes wrong, running costs, etc Sorry to sound so blunt, but as a woman, some people think they can say anything to me

I've got my eye on one on PistonHeads, and also, going to pay Solo Italia a little visit, to see what they have to offer Has anyone used Solo Italia, and what was there experience?

Thanks Guys!! :slayer: :worship:

 

[Vickster]

Get yourself over to www.fccuk.org/forum ... dedicated to the coupe, including buyer's guides and lots of classifieds. You'll get no bull there, users tell it like it is

What can go wrong...most common things are the turbo, manifold and various nasties related to belts being neglected and oil starvation... unless you are a mechanic, most reckon to budget up to a grand a year for maintenance (plus insurance, tax, petrol).

Also, a newbie on there has just bought from Solo Italia, so should be able to help out My understanding is that, like most dealers, their prices are on the high side

 

[sumplug]

Hi Guys

As I said, I'm new to the land of Fiat Coupes, and so really need some guidance :worship:

I'm after a 20v Turbo - HOWEVER - I need to know the real deal with these cars, and don't want any biased Bull from anyone, I just want the truth, ie, what goes wrong, running costs, etc Sorry to sound so blunt, but as a woman, some people think they can say anything to me

I've got my eye on one on PistonHeads, and also, going to pay Solo Italia a little visit, to see what they have to offer Has anyone used Solo Italia, and what was there experience?

Thanks Guys!! :slayer: :worship:

Hi.
1st of all, stay well clear of Solo Italia. He built my 16v tipo engine when he worked at Forza Fiat. I purchased the car after the rebuild, for the engine to wreck its bottom end. £2700 he charged, and after i stripped it was i amazed at the workmanship involved. To cut a long story short, he is a charlaton and best avoided like the plague. He would not stand by the rebuild and made tons of excuses, so don't use him.
What to look for on turbos;-
High Mileage is not a bad thing on the Coupe as long as it has a proper service history. Engine can exceed 200k no problem if looked after.
Turbos will fail if not looked after. problems occur when owners rev the engine from cold or switch off amediately after a run. This cooks the bearings leading to failure.
Exhaust Manifolds tend to crack and cause a ticking noise when idle. They can be repaired, but it is not easy.
Radiators go anywhere between 70-90k.
Thermostats stick causing running problems.
Oil Coolers go but usually its just the pipes which can be changed.
Clutches can wear quickly if car driven stop start hard. Not cheap to replace.
Timing belts need changing between 28-36k depending on how its been driven. All tensioners, and water pump must be done at same time.
HT leads can give trouble.
Wishbones on front suspension wear.
Rear brakes can seize up as well as handbrake in cold weather.
Check the oil pressure when cold and hot on the dial. When cold, it should be at maximun on dial[3bar]. When hot, idle bar should read 1.5-2 bar. Rev engine and it should hit max 3 bar on dial. This shows engine is healthy.
Avoid modified cars with rechips. Seen to many go bang. Look for an unmolested car as standard or near standard as possible. An air filter upgrade is fine as it lets the car breath better and also gives slightly better fuel consumption.
Always run it on 98 ron unleaded like Shell V-Power.
Use a good semi or Synthectic oil but don't use a thin oil. They dont like it. A 10w/40, or a 15w/40 is fine.
Last but not least, check for crash damage. Many Coupes have been crashed. Bonnets secondhand are in big demand, so check the paintwork. A car with a spotless bonnet with above 50k on it has had a respray. Why? Accident?? An honest car will have stonechips and are welcome by me when choosing a new car as i know its not had an "Head on" accident.
Hope this helps you to find your next car. Any questions, let me know. Btw, what colour you after??

Andy.

 

[LadyV]

This is the one I've been looking at.. What do you think guys?



http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/117050.htm

What sort of money am I looking at on fuel? I dont want to spend £4k on a car thats going to cost me dollar in petrol!

 

[sammiboo]

Ok woman to woman an ex coupe owner.

Its not just petrol that will cost you, they arent a cheap car in any aspect. The cheapest part of owning a coupe is actually buying a car.

They are high maintenance, a lot of people sell their coupes because they cannot meet the costs of ownership.

Insurance is a big issue, when i first started to look at getting a coupe 20vt the quotes i was getting from insurance companies were coming out at around 5k.

Its a sports car so expect to pay sports car prices in parts etc.

I owned my coupe for 8 months and it cost me 3k in bills. Dont get me wrong the car is fantastic, unfortunatley mine was written off due after a wheel bearing had failed i recently had fitted.

The car financially crippled me but i didnt want to sell it - fantastic car, I commute over 400m miles - so not the best car to own if you have a lot of driving to do. Cost me between £200 - £250 a month in fuel.

My boyfriend owned a coupe ( thats how we met) in the time he owned one he spent thousands on it, he wasnt "too bad" when he lived with his parents, as he didnt have any other bills really to pay for other than the car, but when moved out and bought his own house, he just couldnt afford to meet the costs of coupe ownership and being a home owner. So had to sell the car early this year.

Lots of people keep their car less than a year because they can cost a lot to own.

If you think that its going to be a cheap ride then you will be in for a shock, so i think you need to weigh up your finances before you commit yourself.

Dont get me wrong, I abolutely love the car and yes i would get another, but when my finances are better and I dont need to commute 400 + a week.

If you want a coupe at lower costs then you should consider a N/A (none turbo) the costs of those are cheaper to own.

 

[LadyV]

Sammie, and everyone else who has contributed, thank you so much :worship:

I was going into the purchase blind, and didnt want to be shocked when hit with ridiculous bills, hence why I came on here for some honest advice.

I have a fairly good wage, and live at home still, but wouldn't be able to contribute £000's each month, other than on fuel and minor maintenance - not yet.

My good friend Nina has a Coupe, and she's not had to spend a penny on it since she got it (1 year ago) and its mint - Maybe she's just been lucky? Who knows?

I really appreciate all the honesty from everyone, but I think I will have to wait a year or so, and see if I have a better job and I'm in a better position to buy.. Looks like its going to have to be the 106GTi afterall

 

[sammiboo]

It is rare for them to not cost very much, but you have to bear in mind they arent new cars so things start need to be changed 70k+

My coupe had 95k on the clock when i bought it, so time for things to be replaced rapidly added up.

When I had a bearing fitted and new brakes fitted the labour alone cost me £250 and thats without the parts.

I try to put people off getting one who think they are a cheap sports car, it is better to wait till you can financially support owning 220 (+) bhp sports car.

But as i say a lot people settle with the none turbo and are happy with it. But if you can only afford little maintainance and petrol, then you are right to hang on a bit first, it would be a shame to buy one then have to give it up cos you cant afford to run it. i know my boyfriend was gutted to have to sell his.

have you looked at bravo HGT? they are fairly cheap to own (next to the coupe) They are good looking cars and have none turbo coupe engine, so will give you taster of the fab engine without the costs of a turbo

 

[Vickster]

If you like the coupe, why not buy a non-turbo...still a beautiful headturner and fast...for 4k you should get a very good example (probably one of the later ones), rather than most likely an average turbo (yes, there are minters out there for 4k, but likely to have done more miles and be older)...also cheaper to insure and maintain...no turbo do go bang, use much less oil and manifold issues much rarer. Tyres and brakes are cheaper too

Fuel consumption for both vt and n/a will do around 25mpg urban, 30-35 on motorways at sensible speeds - reckon on 300-400 miles from £50 of petrol mixed driving Less economical than a 106 gti but sooo much rarer and more fun :slayer:

 

[LadyV]

If I'm going to get a Coupe, I'm going to do it properly, and get a bad boy turbo :slayer:

I don't see the point in getting one without, to not be totally satisfied

Thank you so much, once again, for all the input :worship:

 

[Vickster]

True, not that I ever wanted a turbo (rather law abiding when it comes to speed limits ) and the running costs scared me !

I only suggested the N/A as you were going to cry off and get a 106 GTI...there is no comparison!

Have a look on www.fccuk.org/forum for cars for sale...some good uns at the moment and it's a good time to buy just before Chrismas

 

[pinin__prestatyn]

If I'm going to get a Coupe, I'm going to do it properly, and get a bad boy turbo :slayer:

I don't see the point in getting one without, to not be totally satisfied

Thank you so much, once again, for all the input :worship:

That's the spirit! Fast car or not at all fccuk really is invaluable.

 

[LadyV]

:slayer:

 

[sammiboo]

thats how i felt, the N/A wasnt an option for me, I wanted the turbo - albeit i did pay the consequences

After my coupe died N/A again wasnt an option, i am going to wait till my financial position is better to support the costs of a coupe. Main drawback is the hundreds of miles I do each week, so will wait till i move and find a closer job

I still think you should look at a bravo HGT better than a 106 GTI :slayer:

 

[Vickster]

If you're going to buy a Bravo HGT may as well buy an n/a coupe ... same engine and all But the coupe beats the Bravo hands down on looks and image Or just buy the 20vt :idea:

 

[Andy_sx]

If you're going to buy a Bravo HGT may as well buy an n/a coupe ... same engine and all But the coupe beats the Bravo hands down on looks and image Or just buy the 20vt :idea:

thats true in some respects, but the na coupe and the hgt bravo do the same performance wise really. plus with a copupe, yeah the 5pot na is a good engine but not overly potenet, whats the point of owning a car that is capable of so much more yet having a mediocre engine? this is coming from a hgt owner btw.

id personally get a hgt over a 106 gti for a few reasons. it will get you slightly more acostomised to the running costs, it wont be much more than the 106 in all honesty, but it will be more comparible to the turbo. secondly, you can get a good hgt a darn sight cheaper than a good gti, plus no one sees it coming either oh and the 5pot noise, be it turbo'd or na is addictive

ive just picked up a hgt, with full leather (fairly rare) air con, sunroof, 56k and full service history with cambelt change for 1600 squids, thats with 17", lowered, back box, alfa 147 door handles and panel filter. plus the hgt is less likely to have been ragged as the chavs etc dont know about them like they do the gti.

 

[bridges]

This will sound barmy but my coupe N/A flies. It feels far far faster than my Bravo Hgt even though in reality performance is near identical and on paper ever so slightly slower on acceleration than the Hgt. I put it down to the much lower driving position. The Bravo HGt is a fast torquey little car that has a lot of go. (you don't need to thrash it to make it move) The one thing I will say about the Bravo though is it does not feel fast, in fact you can do 120leptons and without looking at the speedo swear you are doing under 90. I have driven many cars in this league Peugeot 106Gti etc. I own a tuned Renault 19 and clio 16v and a Primera mk1 eGT. And the N/A coupe and the Hgt will hold with all of them. The renaults and peugeots have to be driven hard to make them really fly and they only score on the 0-60 sprint where the N/A 5 pot engines are more civilised round town. Even more than most family or small engined cars.

I think because the Turbo coupe is so fast it's little brother gets over looked. I would seriously look into one though. I bought my N/A so that I could enter the coupe world and learn from the forums about running and maintainance issues. I must admit I do want a Turbo, still, but will probably keep my N/A as well. My advice is try one.

Out of curiosity what car do you presently own?

 

[ChrisUK]

This will sound barmy but my coupe N/A flies. It feels far far faster than my Bravo Hgt even though in reality performance is near identical and on paper ever so slightly slower on acceleration than the Hgt. I put it down to the much lower driving position. The Bravo HGt is a fast torquey little car that has a lot of go. (you don't need to thrash it to make it move) The one thing I will say about the Bravo though is it does not feel fast, in fact you can do 120leptons and without looking at the speedo swear you are doing under 90. I have driven many cars in this league Peugeot 106Gti etc. I own a tuned Renault 19 and clio 16v and a Primera mk1 eGT. And the N/A coupe and the Hgt will hold with all of them. The renaults and peugeots have to be driven hard to make them really fly and they only score on the 0-60 sprint where the N/A 5 pot engines are more civilised round town. Even more than most family or small engined cars.

I think because the Turbo coupe is so fast it's little brother gets over looked. I would seriously look into one though. I bought my N/A so that I could enter the coupe world and learn from the forums about running and maintainance issues. I must admit I do want a Turbo, still, but will probably keep my N/A as well. My advice is try one.

Out of curiosity what car do you presently own?

Thats exactly why I'm looking for someone to swap my Alfa 156 with . I just can't resist the Coupes appeal .

 

[Venters]

Thats exactly why I'm looking for someone to swap my Alfa 156 with . I just can't resist the Coupes appeal .

You only just got it!

 

[ChrisUK]

You only just got it!

I know . I like it but would like a coupe better .