Same as my other thread really, except this time the car is in Bristol.

Give me a call if you are available at 6pm today, or at the weekend to help me give it the once over.

Thanks

Barry

You might want to PM Brewster, if he can't help he will know other people in the area

Thanks

By the way, I am not sure your original post is the best way of encouraging many strangers to give up their spare time to help you. It wouldn't do it for me - not even a "please".

Don't forget, you are asking for favours, not simply telling people what you want. Just a thought - sorry if I sound like your mum.

Having read it again, I can see how that could look a little presumptuous.

Apologies all round.

I would be very grateful if anyone would give up there time to help me out.

Many thanks in advance.

Barry. just incase you change your mind about mine the engine maagement light is now out. turns out it was the air flow mass sensor wasnt connected properly and had worked loose. sounds like you are not having much luck finding a coop that has had everything done like mine for the money and with low milage !

Thanks D, but settled on the Turbo now.

The car I viewed to day seemed ideal in every respect apart from the paintwork on the roof.
( There's always something!!)

Peeling and milky lacquer that it seems will require a respray to sort. I think it's a good price, here is the spec to see what you think.

T Reg
20VT
70K
Dark Red / Tan Leather
Air Con
Huge Service History
Cam Belt done at 59k in 2005
New Clutch this year

Seller wants £3200.

What do you lot think?

This one is ok i guess, looks like he wants £3k, £200 for paint. Not bad for an 8 year old car.
For that money i'd have Ruspers. You know what you are buying.

Seriously Barry, what are you expecting? It is a 9 year old sports car for £3k. You aren't going to get a mint Rolls Royce for this kind of money and this type of car. Just be grateful that the Fiat hasn't got the kudos of other cars with this kind of power because I can assure you, a Scooby/Evo in this price bracket won't just have a bit of peeling laquer, but will be an out-and-out nail. Never mind CarlT, you're pissing me off too now.

My honest advice, as a car fan, not a moderator, is to go buy something else. A Fiat Coupé *will* cost a reasonable amount to maintain and if you're worried about the odd blemish on a 9y/o, £3k, 220bhp car you are not gonna want to spend what is required to keep it roadworthy, especially as you have the honour of never being welcome to contact *the* main spare parts dealer for this car.

My honest opinion is that this car is not for you. The fact that you had the cheek to try to ask me to help you look at a car by sending a PM that contained only a link to the thread where you were asking (impolitely) for someone to hold your hand hasn't won you any favours either.

From here on in, you have two choices, as I see. You go elsewhere and buy an immaculate car for £3k (there are some lovely Skoda Fabias with 10k miles on and not a blemish in sight), or you accept that for £3k you are never going to find a "perfect" coop, and buy one, but in the knowledge that Fiat are stopping supplying parts for it and you will never be able to buy spare parts from the main dealer in the community.

If I were like you, and my name was Barry, the Skoda would be sounding very tempting right now....

Oh dear...All he needs to do now is annoy Powerfiat, Motormech and Alternative Autos.

John

Tyler - Brewster makes some very good points...these are now ageing Italian sportscars. We always say to potential new 20vt owners buying at the budget end of the market like yourself, to budget up to £1k per year just for maintenance (plus tax, insurance, petrol). If this worries you to any great extent, I would recommend looking elsewhere, either an n/a (but they too can cost) or Japanese is a good place to start for reliability (although probably not sportscars). Good luck if you do find a coupe

Vickster, dont forget that vauxhall so some lovely sports cars as well. Astra's, Corsa's, Nova's etc all really lovely.

Much nicer than a coupe any day. And cheaper. And you can get the parts from vauxhall. And they have much nicer forums as well.

I only have a coupe because I am a massochist otherwise I would be in a vauxhall nova, so stylish, so reliable..

Nova's mmmmmm...

I've almost hit that in 4 months, and thats not even on any big jobs

I can confirm. Between us, the previous owner and myself have spent £5000 in 3 years.......I've got the bills (and holes in the bank account) to prove

LOL. Priceless.

He seems to have disappeared.

My name's not Barry and my Skoda is well tempting

I am sorry to have caused such offence to so many of you. It was never my intention to come across as rude or presumptuous in any of my requests for help.

I am genuinely interested in owning a Fiat Coupe, however until I joined this forum I had no knowledge of cars in general let alone specific knowledge of the Coupe. As a result I was trying to get a lot of help and information quickly and in the process have got peoples backs up and been considered rude and impolite (honestly, I am neither of these).

I hope to buy one soon, and perhaps this bad start could all become water under the bridge as in the future I would like to meet other owners in person at meets and events.

For the time being I will keep my posts to a minimum.

Thanks for all your help so far, and I apologies again for how I have come across.

Barry

^^^ You can't say fairer than that.

Try READING the forum, and using the search option.

I sold 7 yes 7 coupe's last month, three adverts and three sold from contacts on here, all to people with no more than 14 posts, yet they knew all they needed to know.

When people give you advice dont tell them they are wrong, its a little annoying.

Real shame, ive got cars perfect for you judging by what your commenting on, and your 25 miles away, but i cant think of anything more annoying or more painful than trying to sell you one.

Your asking way to much, you have got too much of an opionin on what they should look like and be like. Yet your very blind at what you look at. I know, ive seen a couple you saw. You missed alot, and carry on as you are and trust me a freshly slapped v-car'd shitter is what you will get.

I would say to Barry: lurk for a while, watch and read a lot on here, take your time learning about these cars and cars in general, it took me 6 months of visiting the forum every day before I bought one, and I'm a fast learner. The Fiat Coupe is not a n00b car, it's an enthusiasts car, if you buy one without knowing what youre doing you will likely never escape from the technical problems section.

Good luck

Buying a coupe can be quite difficult especially with some of the rubbish that is out there. I can understand all of the questions and the fact that you would like someone to help you look a particular one.

However, the fact that it is quite a minefield out there, I recommend that you look at the 'coupes for sale' as your first point of searching for one, followed by pistonheads/
Autotrader. I am now on my second coupe and buying from a long term forum owner/enthusiast would be my recommendation, especially if you are not 100% sure what you are looking for.

Also have a very good read through the forum, all of the guides etc and get a good feel for what may need doing and cost (there is so much info on here its crazy). As has been said, you may need to budget around £1000 a year for the 20vt, if you cannot stretch to this then consider the 20v, just as good with all the styling and flair, but a little slower (not a lot thought and you can only legally do 70mph anyway)

Damiens sounds like a nice coupe with some of the expensive stuff done, leather & aircon, and within budget, but if you want a turbo, then cool

Lastly be patient

I owned one for 3.5 years before joining

so *thats* where their reputation for being unreliable originated from.

I bet you bought all your parts from Fiat had the engine out for every little job!

no but the forum definately saved me a lot of money over the time I was here, it's the site that keeps giving!

Barry, get yourself to a local meet if you can, chat with people, look at their cars and get a feel for what coupes are really like Just be gentle

Nice idea Vickster.

Thanks mate...

And you lot get it easy

I've got that little thing you lot have forgotten about

R U S T

Most of my time usually revolves it

Well to be fair if its a 20v then i cannot see why not Damiens fits the criteria surely? or a 20vt Ruspers.
If you bought from a forum member 90% of your questions are answered truthfully especially of these two long time forumers.
I bought my LE without even seeing it as it was sub £5k and did not expect a new car as it happens i was quite pleased and enjoyed the 5 hour journey back up from martock.