only 22 and looking at getting a 20VT

Hi, I'm new to the Coupe fourms, but a couple of friends of mine have been on here for a while and it just so happens that one of them is about to sell his coupe to help fund his new 'project' motor. I'm only 22, but I've got a nice secure job as a maintenance engineer so I can aford to splah out on a new car this year. for a while now I've been driving in very 'disposable cars and I'm going to embrace this opertunity to get something rather special.

I was wondering if you guys had any advice for me whether you think that it's worth it for me, if I don't get the coupe I'm going to be looking as sensible and reliable cars such as a mitsubishi Galant (same price range and same cost of insurance).

Recently I've become somewhat of a mechanic, I'm unafraid to tackle the most dificult of tasks, like an engine swap, cam belt change or full engine rebuild, so I'm confident that if anything does go wrong I can fix it. In addition I've been looking out for a car with great tuning potential, I'm not the sort of person who goes around wearing a fake burbery cap dreamin' about Saxos and Novas, if I'm going to fettle about with a car I would like to start with something that's pretty damn good to begin with.

you guys have a passion for the coupe, do you think it's the car for me?

Solouko

Yes. You need to be fearless to own a coupe and if you can do a lot of the repairs yourself then it will be a cheaper experience!!

Ross

im only 22 also and maintenance /service engineer!great car!hoot to drive,obviously cars are getting older so things will need doing which is half the fun anyway.

If I were you you, I would save money for some spelling lessons

But after that, then yes maybe the coupe is for you, but beware to get to 250/260 bhp is easy and cheap, you start looking at 290/300+ bhp then you need to budget a fair bit more money and more skills in the engine bay

But if you think you can do it, you will not be able to go quicker for less money

I fully agree, this time last year I wouldn't even entertain getting an italian car, simply because of the suposed substandard build quality, but now i have 3 engines in my guarage in pieces, one set for ebay, one set for the 131N file and one about to be droped in a vauxhall ashtray, for a friend. It's all good, and i'm getting this coupe cheep because it needs a new exhaust manerfold (yes i do know the work involved in changing this)

And I apologise right now for my really bad spelling, it's never been my strong point.

In that case, I apologise as well, mind you I had to copy you for the spelling of apologise so you can't be that bad at spelling

Bloody hell, not another one from North Wales! At this rate it'll only be Coupes on the roads up there.

Like to see what Brunstrom would think of that!

im only 22 and im after one :-) im also useless with a toolkit aswell so you have one up on me ha ha. the way i see it i might aswell have one now whilst im still living at home and got a few pennys because i know for a fact when i buy my first house i wont be able to drive a performance coupe :-( more like a jalopy 1000cc

Well I am 21 and have an LE.

Its not been too expensive to run so far but I do have a 2.0 16v Tipo which the same mechanically as the Coupe 16v so maybe my idea of not much money on the car is slightly off well the mrs Sedici thinks so

If you can afford it I would say do it. There are not many cars like the Coupe in existance and less chance of more like it being built.


Take the opportunity while you can!

Im 22 with a heavily modded coupe and i would say go for it if you have the money to maintain plus patience to keep going.

Ross

Well it's nice to hear such positive feedback, I actualy took a test drive of the coupe i'm planing on buying today and I was very nervious. it is very fast but i found it relaxing as i didnt have to wory about pushing it to it's limits to join from a slipway or to overtake quickly.

however... the one thing that HAS got me worried is the closeness of the pedals i was driving very slowly to begine with while finding my feet and in addition i also had to find the break. every time i went to press the break i managed to hit the accelerator too with my oversized size nine cats! i dont think the coupe is work boot friendly.

but i'm hoping this is something i'll get used to, no two cars are the same and the coupe is quite different from anything else it's age or class.

I am also concerned about rust... it's 9 years old now and should i expect things to need welding soon? if so i'll start changing all the nuts and bolts to stainless steel ones and remove any bits of undercarage (like the wishbones) and have them galvanised!


IMPORTANT:
I've checked the car once and i've just been reading the buyers guides on the forum and i know that the car does NOT have a blue key, i know the red key for most cars is imprtant for the engine imobiliser but what does the blue key do and if it's important how much is it to replace?

Thank you

just forget the blue key if you got the red then your home and dry,well wellcome to the club mate,and from n.wales seems theres a hell of a lot of use now,so were in n.wales,.....ps just looked and your a carl as well

Yeah, there's alot of us carls about and because of this fact most people just call me jackal at work, it saves alot of confusion, but on hear I'm happy with solouko. you know, i think i've seen you about, on my travles up and down the A55 I've seen a green coupe a couple of times.

glad i dont need the blue key, but what's it actualy for?

It's the everyday key for the car (three came originally with the car, alloy/blue, blue and red) - you need the red one to get a new key cut, go to local key place as you'd be stuffed if anything happened to the red one (and AFAIK, you shouldn't use it everyday)

I'm starting to feel old reading this thread
(I'm 28 and not looking to buy a coupe )

Thank's dude, that's a big weight off my mind, might have to invest in another key just to be safe, the car's got a total cloasure system on it which i envision making it a squillion times less difficult to lock your keays in the car. i've done it before and i'm pretty dman sure i'll do it again!

ah thats not me its the wife,i dont use it much only some times, so what part you from

Hiya chum Get a coupe you'll love it! 22 is just the right age to buy one (when I got my 16VT ) Where abouts in N.Wales are you?

There was what appeared to be a nice coop for sale in Flint

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?V...0070151221&rd=1

Don't think it sold. And it's the best colour coupe (undisputed)

it because we have the best roads

@solo. where abouts you from??

Jackal - why are you called Solouko?
I have just sent you a long e-mail BTW on the reasons why you should buy Gi's coop!
Fellow forum users beware - Jackal/Solouko is Mad as Cheese!!!

ive got to say the pedal setup is very good on the coupe. i have size 12 and i used to have a 206 those pedals where too close. the punto i had before was a bit better than the 206. but the coupe pedal layout is just right. but it varies with people i guess.:)

Thank you "the Dude" for warning the other members about me, I'm sure they'd come to realise how insane I am quite quickly and how poor my spelling is! Thanks for the e-mail too dude, had snaky in stitches too! and as for the solouko thing, it's just a name I use on forums as Jackal is almost always taken.



Thanks for that Pinin but I've commited myselfd to this one now and in answer to where i'm from I'm from Kinmel bay, and I also know where you live! my ex lived just round the corner from you and every time I went past I used to rubber neck it trying to get a good look at your coop... very smart.

kimmel,right is it a dark red one that you are getting

Does it have a silver key? Or just a red?

If it only has the red, I'd get one cut from it straight away.

If its only missing the blue and you've got a silver and red, don't worry

Go for it I say

I bought mine when I was 22, before this I had an MR2 Turbo for 2 years. I never got to exploit the Mr2 as I couldnt handle the RWD LOL.

Like has been said, things may go wrong or need refreshing. As long as you dont mind the cost or hassle for the money its hard to find a better car IMO.

Hence why I wont be changing mine any time soon.

Dont wory I have the silver and blue fiat one and the red one, but it's jsut the blue one that's missing

and it's a silver coop that i'm getting not a red one, i know it's not the most exciting of colouts but i've never been one to draw too much attension to myself.

Are you getting Gile's coupe? That's an absolute belter! Looks with the Zender kit, I used to see him about in Rhyl before I met him via the forum.

So you know where I live? Small world hey Well I hope to meet you soon at one of our North wales coupe meets! (although mine's been off the road for ages )

Yeah, that's the coop i'm getting, she is gorgious and pretty nippy to boot. Yeah going to a meet up sounds fun, hopefully you can get yours back on the road ASAP, if you dont mind me asking, why's she off at the moment, technical dificulties?

Yeah, the phase sensor went which means you have to remove the cambelt so it's a cambelt jobbie The turbo needs replacing because it smokes really badly, then the MOT lapsed and I needed brakes and discs all round, The exhaust started to corrode badly so I needed a new one, etc etc and I was just too skint for all that so I took it off road for a year or so. She'll be back in time for summer though. We'll have to have a meet then! We combined ours with the pistonhead gang last time and the coops were mixing it with TVR's, Ferrari's, porsches and a 600BHP s'charged ultima Which was nice

That's alot of stuff to go wrong, i hope nothing like that hapens to me, although i'm sure it will. I cant wait to attend a meet up, it'd be a really nice experiance meeting all the guys from the forum and their cars. i've only been her a few days and i already feel so at home (thank you).

BTW, i now have the coop! unfortunatly I cant get insurance on it untill monday... unless I want to spend another £150 and buy it online from admiral or elephant... it's sempting as then I could be driving it tomorrow. what does everyone think? even with the cliford 600 all singing all dancing super alarm that car might of the very hords of hell itself i'm still worried about it as i can't yet get it into the guarage, as there's still a rarther broken astra (not my car) in there at the moment, which i was hoping to have up and running today but something has gone bang and now it will not release the clutch. *sigh*

Drive it immediately...

Dont tempt me... i'm not even sure I can aford £150 to insure it right now... I think i've pretty much emptied my banck acount as it is!

Any one know if Admiral are open tomorrow? if i phone them I can get them to switch my car insurance which should only be an extra £500, might be easier then Noel Dazley, possibly worth the extra £150?

Damn it, i';m ttoo tired to think about all this right now, i've been up since 5am working on that god-forsaken ashtray! *rants*

They'll be open. Still drive it though, regardless.

Lol. I would imagine that Admiral will still take your money now.

Admiral would, you're right. God they're awful. Shameless, even in motor insurance world...

*reaches for phone*

hmm.. admirals opening hours are saturday 10am to 5pm and sunday 10am to 4 pm....

I'm going to phone them 10am tomorrow!

Fine, but don't expect them to be anything other than difficult if you ever claim!......

I'd go pretty much anywhere else than them. It ain't all down to price, you know (without wishing to sound condescending).

Failed there then!

nice one bud, catch you soon. silver is my fav colour on a coupe

Dude, you can be as conderscending-sounding as you like, if you feel that stronly about somethihng then just let it all out! but I'll heed your advice but i doubt it'll be enough to counteract the power of the coop compelling me to drive her!

I need to stradle her with a firm gripp of the gear stick and unleash this bestia di sesso!!

I work in Lloyds. Admiral are, erm, well known.

If you can't wait a day or two, get down to Halfords, load up on around 50 quid-so of stuff, and give her some luvvin....

I like that idea :3 i think i'll spend the whole day with her tomorrow, probably just sitting in her trying to get used to her comfyness ^_^

the coop interior is nicer than my living room, all i need is a computer in there so i can be on the forums and i think I'll start living in there!

God, and I thought I was smitten!....

Play them off against each other and go with the place that offers you the cheapest quote

Don't worry about anything else until you need them.

Yeah, and when you claim?.....

Admiral avoid claims like you would not believe.

Moral of the story? Just never claim, I guess.

I best shut up, soon!

I worry about that when it happens.

I figure they're all as bad as each other. Some are worse than others admittedly - but most years you shell out money and don't need em.

I like ringing around and getting the best deal whatever I do, make em work for their £500 I say.

Last few years I've got it cheaper than the year before, but may be different this time cos we've moved and the postcode ain't as good as it was last year :(.

I like that philosophy, prevention is better then cure i guess... the trick is how not to claim, the way i see it there are two options;

1. Drive carfully and sencibly keeping to all speed limits, slowing down when road conditions decline and being focused and ataintive at all times.

2. Carry a bat in the boot so that if you do hit any one you can bludgen them and dump their body in a local river.

As for bad uns, Endsleigh's the one I'd recommend to stay clear of, IMHO.

Have you tried Greenlight or Noel Dazely? Both tend to be good with Coops

To be honest, I don't blame you at all. The "value" they attach to loyal (ie, more than 2 years) customers is a joke, all things considered......

The margins on motor insurance are hilariously thin. None of them, without exception, make an underwriting profit. The money they make is all down to return on investment.

[quote=Solouko2. Carry a bat in the boot so that if you do hit any one you can bludgen them and dump their body in a local river.[/quote]

PMSL

I've got my best quote off ND so far of £1050 and if i can resist the temptations of the coupe untill monday i'll accept it!! greenlight were um... not-so-good, quoting over double that x_x

but I'm very suprised how insurers have percieve my infomation that I've given them, several have asked what cars I've earned my no claims bonus on and because they've been low powered 'sencible'/boreing motors some have said;

"he's a sencible fellow we can trust him with 220BHP"

and other have said,

"he's not got any experiance behind the wheel of a powerfull car, he'll kill himslef before we can stick a stamp on his documents!"

[quote=Solouko"he's a sencible fellow we can trust him with 220BHP"

[/quote]

No-one has/will ever say that about you mate - and you can insert whatever figure where the 220 is - makes not a jot of diference
Congrats on your purchase - DONT DRIVE IT UNTIL YOU ARE INSURED - clean it and polish it, black the tyres, autosol, the rocker cover, back to black the induction, look at it, photograph it, love it...................................
and then be gutted its not Broom Yellow - Ha!!

I wasn't planing on driving it untill I was insured... I'm eager, not stupid! but i will admit... I am slightly disapointed it's not yellow, 'tis a gorgious colour, maybe I'll save up for a respray... sell a kidney or something. For the time being, going over it once again checking what works and what needs replacing (exhauust manifold, front disks ect.. ) might be an idea then double check the fluids! And why did you tell Gi to use halfords own brand fully synthetic in it, I'm having trouble believing that stuff's going to be benificial to any engine or even provide lubrication!

I mean any true engineer sould enjoy the chance of working on this car Im a engineer myself not engines wise telecoms I do but handy with spanner! . Its a piece of ART bodywork wise. The engine is far more tunable than the current (hot hatch variant astra vxr which is 237bhp but 4clynd) 20vT is 5clynd far more tunable bhp wise not even to mentoin trq figures as that would just be imbarssing. sorry for spelling guys lol
oh bhy the way c2gt remap specialists are angeltuning.co.uk after speaking to the guy taking my 1.6 16v from 110bhp to 122bhp said a remap on the 20vt would be 270bhp from 220bhp was quite impresed actually thinking of buying another 20vt as track car again? especially with £500 giving 50bhp?

I presume you've tried sticking your mum/sister/granny on the policy to bring the price down (assuming they can drive and have a decent driving history)?

I made a big claim with Elephant and they were fine in paying out...maybe I was lucky

I must admit, once i've got the insurance paid out, and the car up to scratch i'm first going to look at lengthening the life of the car, pissibly iol cool (if it doesnt already have one) turbo timer and just checking to see what's rusting and replace it (bolts, nuts and anything around the suspension) and THEN i'm going to start tuning it, and having already taken my friends 1.6 mitsubishi from 98BHP to 200+ I'm really going to embrace up-rating and up-grading a car that's so much more felxable and quite high performance to begine with.

But I think I might be looking at a second car so that i can still have a runabout while I'm doing any major jobs on the coop.

BTW, I've not got anyone who I can add as a second driver, Mum's not driven since the 60s, both sisters have disapeared off the face of the earth (hopfully perminantly) and I'm glad to say I have no other imediate family well I probably do, but I'm going to pretend they dont exist and sit in a corner with me fingers in my ears going "la la la la la"

Jackal - you could put me as a named driver - I wouldn't mind keeping my hand in, coupe wise

You've obv. not been taking those spelling lessons I told you about have you?

Are you gonna do the manifold yourself, or are you getting someone to do it for you?

well i'm going to try and do it myself, its no harder then taking an engine out of a normal car... i shouldt think.

what's to say putting you on my insurance would make it any cheeper? how many points have you got now??? at least you'll struggle getting any more in the superzuki! but saying that you are getting on a bit... in terms of maturity you must be pushing 12 by now!

And as for the spelling, what can I say, I can't be gorgious, sexual AND inteleignet, that would just be greedy! God has to make compromises somewhere along the lines when he make people as perfect as 'the jackal' :3

WRONG !!!!!!
You'll need a gasket kit - main dealer in wrexham will do it for about £20 - you'll need some coolant, as you'll have to take the rad out - might as well do a complete coolant flush while you're there and you'll also need to get your aircon re-gassed after you've broke into the system to get the old manifold out. Give me a shout when you're doing it and I'll try and get over.
You're dangerously close to the turbo there - not tempted to dump a hybrid in while you're in the area?

oh expleative!

well i was planing on changing all the fluids at some pont anyway, especialy the coolant, just in case somone's been topping it up with 'just water' insted of anti corrosion coolant, manky rusty engine blocks cant be a good thing on a coupe. if de-ionised water with anti corrosion fluid is good enough from ym computer it's good enough for the coupe, the coupes cost almost DOUBLE the comp

and if i'm going to do it i might as well do it right.

as for the turbo... it would be a shame to do nothing to the turbo when it's pretty much half out anyway.... and yes, as soon as i do it i'll give you a tinkle on the old dog 'n' bone and you can stand around telling me how badly i'm doing

have you given Gi the manifold yet because if not i dont mind coming to pick it up... any excuse to drive the coupe at the moment is very much welcomed.

yeah mate - I dropped the manifold at your work on sat. morning - it'll be waiting for you on monday morning!

Thanks dude, you are a star!!!

I'll have to nip to the main dealer at some point to then, unless they deliver.

thanks again dude, if you even need anywere warm to service the zuki, you'll always be welcome at chataux de la Jackal.