Hi everyone!

I'm new to the site and still a coupe virgin. So hello to everyone.

I am currently looking at buying a coupe and just looked at one yesterday and was hoping to get some advice on it. I will be taking it out on a test run on Saturday so it would be great to hear your thoughts and suggestions.

The car is a 1997 Coupe 20v Turbo and the asking price is 1200.

Firstly, the mileage is quite high at 160k. Although the car looks pretty well looked after I am wondering how much it's got left in it. I'm especially worried about what sort of repairs and costs I might face and of course how long it's likely to last.

The other thing I noticed: when firing it up, there was a slight whistle when the car got up to 2-3k revs in neutral. Other than that the engine sounds quite smooth (to my untrained ears at least).

The owner also complained about some dodgy sounds when on full right lock, although she has been assured that this is not a problem.

As I only had about 20 minutes last night to look at it, that's all I noticed so far. If you have any advice on top of the great buyer's guide in this forum I would be grateful to hear it. As I said I will be test driving it on Saturday.

Many thanks!

How much do you have to spend? £1200 doesnt buy you much.

Sod the mileage, a low miler is as likely to fall apart, they are usually far worse.

Is this Abigail's coupe?

Even if you have to spend £2k getting it up to scratch, it's still a cheap 220bhp, 155MPH sportscar

Thanks for the comments so far!

@carlt: Yes, it's Abigail's coupe (in Cambridge). I have more than 1200 to spend, if the right car turns up, so if you have any other suggestions...

Are you based in Cambridge as well then?

No the midlands, miles and miles away.

Buy on condition not the mileage. I see a few 20vt's the cared for and used properly examples hitting 200K on the original engine.

I see far more dead low mileage heaps. Usually because the owners are too busy fondling themselves over the speedo to look at the car. All the low mileage freeks recently are buying bent sheds that will fall apart very soon. Its usually those with no mechanical brains and that know nothing about cars that buy low milers unfortunately, see some kind of assurance.

You need to look at the car in its present condition, not the mileage, not the paperwork, not the owner just the car. The car is the only thing that will tell you the condition of it. If your not mechanically minded then find someone who is.

Buy on condition not mileage.

What is your budget?

To be honest £1200 is the very very very lowest end of the market. I pay more for cars to hack to death, people spend more on an engine alone (not from me). You really need near 3 times that to get what could be a very good coupe.

But then you could land a bargain or a shed.
Dont expect too much, whatever you buy will cost you, more so if you spend that kind of amount unless your very lucky.

Hi I am new to this form and i am hoping someone can advice me some how. Does any one have any info for this Trader:
first choice vehicles T/A vans4me
277 Holdenhurst Road
Bournemouth
Dorset
BH8 8BZ
United Kingdom
I will be glad to hear about them.

welcome and may i suggest you start your own thread and be more specific, like have you had a problem with them or have you seen a car there and would like advice etc.

Top advice from the people on here, especially what Carlt says.
When I got my coupe recently, from a forum member on here, I was expecting some super condition, super-tight sports car, with hardly any problems or marks on it.
Don't get me wrong, I have a good 20vt coupe (there are better 9 year olds out there but far worse ones believe me, I had been looking for 3 months!) with nearly everything working, that needs some small jobs doing but then most 9 year old coupes will.
Trouble is, I came from a 4 year old Civic Type R, which I owned from new. This was as good as it gets for an overall ownership experience in terms of build quality, reliability and core driving dynamics (gearbox, clutch, engine, driving position)
It has been a bit of a shock going back into a 9 year old car that has "been around the block" so to speak but I have always wanted to own one of these coupes for a bit and get it out of my system, before the looming mortgage and sensible car ownership has to take over.
So I guess my advice is that it is a unique, old school performance car with a lot of charm and wonderful looks but don't expect the world for a few thousand pounds.