Hi all. This is my first post although I've been lurking for the last couple of weeks. I am hoping (and I mean hoping) to get some money through over the next week or so to buy myself a new car (my Golf GTI was written off by some plonker pulling out on me on a roundabout).

I don't know how I've done it but I've managed to convince my girlfriend that we should get a Coupe for occasional use and share a 'sensible' car for driving to work. I've wanted a Coupe for years and now's my chance, so I'm gonna look for a 20VT (as long as I can raise the money)

Anyway. After reading though many posts on this forum I've found the buyer's checklist very helpful in terms of what to look for when I go on the search. My question is, if I use the list as a guide, would an RAC or AA inspection be any use? What's everybody's experience with these inspections, are they worth it? I'm not mechanically minded when it comes to cars, but I can make sense of everything on Bockers checklist.


Thanks.

Lots of opposing views on whether an RAC/AA inspection is worth the money, to be honest its down to you.

What I and most fccukers would strongly recommend is asking for a current or ex coupe owner to go along with you for viewings/test drives.

Experience of ownership counts for a hell of a lot when it comes to coupes.

Don't rush and buy the first one you see/drive, take your time, ask for advice on here and don't let your heart rule your head

Good luck

Welcome to the forum Adam

The inspections are supposed to give piece of mind to people with no mechanical experience or to take the blinkers away from people smitten with a car who cannot see the obvious faults.

The problem, in my opinion, is that the mechanic may not actually know much, if anything, about the coupé and some of it's interesting foibles.

The inspection report is usually written in such a way as to include everything but state nothing and provide some degree of deniability to the organisation carrying out the inspection. For example, you purchase the car and discover that a component isn't working but when you read the report you realise that the component wasn't included in the test or had a phrase such as *may require replacing shortly*.

I've seen a few of these reports and you do wonder if they refer to the same car as the one you're looking at due to the sheer number of apparent *faults* that are listed. We actually dissected such a report recently, I'll have a search and see if I can find it. We took the report apart and stated in plain English what the inspector was trying to say

Use the guide, buy from the forum if possible (not always a guarantee, but it can help) and try to get a coupé owner with some experience to look at the car for you.

ALWAYS get an HPI check done. If you read a recent thread in the Coupé Related Chat section you'll understand why that is so important, even when buying from a dealer!

I'll try and find that re-written report, but welcome again to the forum, read as much as you can and don't be blinded by a bit of bling on the first coupé you see. These cars can seriously damage your wallet!

Read this thread!

Hi Adam and welcome to the Forum. Listen to the very helpful advice given above and it may also be a good idea to read the thread in the Buying/Selling Advice Section "help with viewing pos. first coop in Noriwch area" - this will give you a good idea of a recent process when purchasing a coup.

I hope that you find this helpful and good luck.

lly

Good advice guys, thanks.

I feel an inspection could be very useful, but getting somebody who actually owns a coupe to come along would be more valuable; otherwise its just an expensive MOT! As usual I'll definitely get a HPI check too, this is one purchase I'm not just going to take lightly.

I had a read of the "help with viewing pos. first coop in Noriwch area" thread too, sounds like he made the right decision in the end.

Hey Adam,
Am new here myself and have am activley trying to find a 20vt as well.

I have just had experience with an RAC check.
A few things you might be interested in.
(Only applys to RAC checks as far as I know)
If the car is over 10 years old it will cost you £205 if you are already a member.
A problem with the oil pressure in the one I was looking at was flagged as a possible issue - According to experienced owners on this forum and a current owner I took with me - it was a SERIOUS problem and buying the car would have been a mistake

As stan pointed out the reports are very non-commital. This 'could' be an issue. This needs further investiagation etc.

In my experience so far (limited) a good service history and an inpspection by an experienced owner from the forum is a much better bet. And cheaper.

I think the only thing it would protect you against is buying a pile of crap - but an experienced owner could tell you that anyway.

The guy who did mine did flag up a couple of small isuues - but again these had already been pointed out by the guy I took with me. (thanks again Olly )

Like others have said its up to you - peoples experiences will vary I'm sure. But theres no way I'd pay for it again.

Good luck in your search (good luck to both of us actually...)

Where are you located Adam? Another option might be to get a coupe specialist to check out a potential car for you. I'm thinking along the lines of Powerfiat in Basildon, or Motormech in Birmingham. When I was looking for coupe's a few months ago, Rog at Powerfiat said they could do a check for me and the price he quoted was a lot less than the RAC/AA although I can't remember exactly how much.

Not a bad idea Boosted7. I'm in the Stoke/N-U-L area, but I think I'll be looking everywhere to find a good 'un anyway.