Sorry I didnt get to talk yo you last sunday,I was the guy who arrived late in the porto coop.
To be honest i wasnt in any state to talk to anyone on sunday.
Lookin forward to the next meet

So are we gonna meet in Carlingford in the next couple of weeks or what??

Im up for that

looks like its just you and me then al

Well guys,

Only seen this now. I will be up for that also.

Will chat to Diathi about a possible route. I would suggest the latter part of August to avoid holidays etc.

See how many is interested.

Regards

CollieD

Sorry, just back from Spain in the last few days. Missed this thread.

Why not just meet up at the NIIMC All Italian Day event in Cultra at the end of the month? There should be a good crowd at that one! The Transport Museum is cool too

BTW my car is up for sale from Sept onwards if anybody wants an LE!

Well Daithi.

very sorry to hear that you are going to leave the fold. Maybe you will change your mind by then.

I cant make cultra unfortunately as I have a wedding that day. Still trying to get me brakes sorted. Got the ABS ECU and am trying to fit is this week.

CollieD

So let me get this straight, your selling your car because your mammy bumped into it don't be daft, I'm sure she kissed it better and then rubbed it clean with a saliva sodden piece of used tissue she took from her handbag!! would you not just get a 1.4 diesel for commuting and keep her as a weekend toy?

Hey Maastif,

Nah the tip to the rear which was very minor was just the straw that broke the camels back. I've spent thousands on the car in the last 14 months and the bills just don't seem to have an end.

For example, tomorrow I am driving a Nissan Primera to work because, yes you've guessed it, the Coupe is back in the garage again because all the coolant pi55ed out of the car at 1.20am on Monday morning, leaving me stranded in the rain by the side of the road in the dark. no damage was done but I have no idea what the repair bill will be . Maybe €20 for a new piece of split hose, maybe a hole in the rad which has happened already about 6 months ago and cost €280 to fix. It's just money money money.

The front end respray still needs to be done too and that’s gonna be expensive because the bonnet has to be stripped back to bare metal. Grrr.

Don’t get me started on the whole 2nd car route. I’ve phoned all the insurance companies and looked at the options and at the end of the day, you can’t use your NCB on two cars. You have to start a second policy from scratch. Tax & Insurance on the Coupe is close to €2k and to insure a lowish group car like a Ford Focus from scratch with no NCB on a new policy is €1,150 fully comp!!!!! (It would be less than €400 fully comp with my NCB). The figures just don’t add up. If Ireland had limited mileage insurance policies like you get in the UK, I’d insure a modern car as the primary vehicle and insure the Coupe on a ‘classic insurance’ policy. But that doesn’t exist. I’m certainly not gonna fork out €3,500 per annum for tax and insurance on two cars!!

At the end of the day I’ve had the car 14 months and in that time the car has been off the road being repaired for 10 weeks!!

I’ve fallen out of love with the car and unless I have a sudden change of heart, I’m gonna let this love/hate relationship run its course.

UPDATE.......

Yeah, that was the Coolant Hose of Death letting go

I feel your pain Dave! The coupe is a heart breaking mistress alright! my coolant hose went a couple of months ago, its scary how quickly that temp guage shoots up!luckily I caught it straight away too.

If your thinking your gonna go for an audi at least get an RS4 you pussy

I reckon the cultra day would be spot on. Pity you can't make it Collie, but I'll go for a spin pretty much any weekend I'm free!

It's not YOUR wedding day is it Colin? I'm sure the other half won't mind if you pop out for a few hours to hang around with a bunch of car-nuts at a museum! Marriage is about compromise you know

Sorry to hear about the hose of death and other hassles Dave
What mileage was the car at when it went?

Hi Daithi,

No not mine just yet thats next year and the coupe will have competition then. Ha Ha!

I would of loved to get to this.

Hope your feelin better about the car soon.

CollieD

It's anyone's guess! The car is currently at 92k but had an engine rebuild at 36,000miles, a replacement engine at 76,000 miles and another replacement engine at 89,000miles .
The pipe could be 92,000 miles old or just 3,000 miles old! I think the pipe was maybe new at 76k (Apr 08). The pipe itself is in good nick. I just think when the pipe was recently re-attached after the engine replacement, the jubilee clip just nicked the end of the pipe causing a small pinhole to form, which spits out the coolant once the system is pressurised.
New pipe was €24.92 from Fiat, ordered at 4pm yesterday and arrived 8.30am this morning! Have yet to find out the labour cost

Jeas sorry to hear about your recent trouble Daithi.
Dont know about the turbo but when mine went on the vis,I had too take the inlet manifold off needing a new gasket which was 75euro couldn't beleive it.

If your stuck let us know and ill do it for ya or give you a hand if the labour is high.

Its not that hard to change. Bit awkward to get at but I did mine without removing half the parts that the "How to" guide suggests. i'll give you a hand at the weekend if you want.

She back up and running again!

You're right maastiff, the garage said it was straightforward enough to replace the hose. They disconnected some pipework to get room to get their hands in but they too didn't have to remove as much stuff as the "how to" guide suggests.

Now to get the front end painted up ready for Cultra!

Daithi,

thats the spirit. Your falling in love again. Ha Ha!


CollieD

Glad to hear she's back on the road.

I've a few bits to do to get mine all pretty for cultra too