Hey, would like all your opinions on what I should do in the near future with my 20vt..
Spec: R reg
123k
no service history
recon turbo recently.
powerflow cat back.

Ok so my dilemma is as follows, Should I spend the high maintenance bills ie cam belt (due) clutch (will most likely go soon as its a bit juddery) on a car that has no service history and such high miles? Or break it and buy a better one to start with when something breaks?

Comments appreciated (but please dont slate me)

Thanks, Nathan.

better the devil you know!

Why break a car that runs ok? Are you going break the next one when that needs some money spent on it?

This is what I ment by dont slate me. Im fully aware that a working coupe isnt going to get broken. What im saying is, Think of the figures: lets say £400 for a cam belt and £300 for a clutch thats £700 on an engine that has no service history and 123k miles.
Thats my worry and the only reason im dubious.

It's a good reason to worry - but you'll spend near as much on the next one, and the next one, and the next one. Because you've got little guarantee that the next one will be better.

You know what the mileage is and presumably it's running ok with decent pressures?, and even though you have no history, once you've done the belt you're good till the clutch dies or fifty thousand miles, whichever is sooner.

Myself, I'd service and keep it.

You may sell it for £700-£1000 and find one with the clutch and belts done for £1500 but it may also be a complete dog in comparison to what you have already. So keep it, fix it, and make it your own

the grass always looks better on the other side!

I would say better the devil you know, my coupe may well look like a shed, But i would be happily with a shed with work that i have had done to it by some one i trust a lot more than a nice looking coop with a history that may not be as squeeky clean as you think

To be honest I think it's criminal that you would consider breaking a coupe just becasue it's due belts and a clutch and doesn't have any current history.

Why do people and this isn't directly at you Nathan, but why do people do this

If the car is straight, sound and runs well why break it? Any car will need servicing and parts through out it's life, it's the norm and not having any history isn't unusual, especially as some of these are coming up to being 15 years old and then there's the bargain buys from auctions which are normally bought back as Cat D an C write off's.

Keep it, service it and then sell it with new known history. Breaking it would only leave you with a front garden that looks like down down Iraq.

Heres a couple of options matey

If you dont do any advanced DIY ...
See if someone will give you a discount for both jobs, perhaps £100 or £75 off.
Roger at PowerItalia might.
Paying for it. Only if you're into credit cards already,
and im not saying i'd recommend getting lots of cards ( street), but this is what i
currently do ...
Pay with Barclaycard and a few weeks later balance
transfer the amount to Leeds Life Of Balance card (5.9% only)
and pay it off that way. The Leeds card is is only one i've had
were the balance goes down reasonably quickly.

If you done some intermediate DIY ...
If it was me on the cambelt and i was tight
for cash I'd prob try to
have a look at it first by moving or unbolting
the cover. If it looked shiney and worn then its
a bit urgent. If you have a spare car AND you do diy
you could read the how-to and consider changing
the belt yourself. It will be difficult though
and you'll needs a variety of tools.

i'd keep it and get it done.

then you KNOW its been done, and you'll feel comfortable in it. I just had clutch and cambelt done at motormech (i supplied the clutch) it was financially painful but soooo worth it (and good value for the work done), feels like a new car, and i'm confident in it, and the fact its had a professional eye over it means I know the rest of it is pretty kosher too.

another coop will surely just start all the worries off again?

I know exactly what you are saying cc but its not that simple. The last thing I want to do is break my car as ive already put hours in under the bonnet sorting my turbo, pipe work, intercooler, servicing etc but, and its a big but..If I go spend all these £££ whats to say my engine wont pop in 10k miles? then ive spent god knows how much on belts clutch brakes etc and left with nothing? Before you all say you dont know that it wont happen to any car, surely my risks are much higher given the spec above? Also, my car is going to be worth next to nothing even if I do all this expensive work on her

Agreed paulioski, I supose I just wish I had brought a better base car in the first place

Thanks for the advise andy. Dont believe in cards (dont spend what I dont have) but thanks for the tips anyway

Ye pressures are spot on always 2 and half on idle unless really really hot then its at 2.
Runs perfectly (could do with new brakes all round soon) Its so much £££ im just panicing if its the right thing to do really

to be fair these cars are quite old now,you know your car as youve put the effort it.You could purchase another and still have the engine go in 10k mile or even less.

I heard of people driving home from the sale and bottom end starts knocking.
As per conversation with another fccuker,dont really drives these cars as there cheaper than another other,its because of the passion we have for them. Money sense it doesnt fit as why would you spend all this cash on a car work 1-1.5k,but we do because we love the cars.

Id hold on to what you have,start building the service history.Or wait alittle longer and test its reliabilty before spending but as above it goes hand in hand with manitenance

Im still going to have mine back on the road eventually after the cars traveled 163k miles,need new turbo,manifold,cam belt next year maybe and loads other stuff.

Well said. 163k on the same engine? Thats impressive! You are helping me with ure comments, Ive had a really bad experience where I spent £1200 on a fitted engine and it was nackered and lost everything (thats another story) but you are starting to relieve the worry some what so thanks

If you think about it your talking about spending pennies, and for that you get a beautiful coupe, don't think about the money because if we all did that no one would drive these cars.
If it makes you feel any better i had an MG BGT with 20K in it and sold it for less than what a good paint job on my coupe cost, now that's loosing money, stick with what you have and enjoy.

The engine is the heart of the car, if a compression test shows no issues and the oil pressure is good then it'll keep going as long as you keep servicing it and treating it with respect.

Brakes, clutch, and belts are service parts so these will always need changing at some point. Get the most important done first and then work your way through the list. Not having any current history isn't an issue as you'd be starting from a fresh, but once these jobs have been done you'll be able to prove this works been done when and if you come to sell.

Try and stick with her Nathan, passion over pennies

Unsure if same engine to be fair as i bought it that way,mot failure but drove very well despite smoking.

why not take the car to a local specialist the for an all over health check?Compression test and service.

Well if you needed another engine at some point you would end up proberbly buying another coupe in the end eitherway at that cost.

sure ive heard that somewhere this week<

Samsite has it right.Get the work done you can afford and plan for the upcomming stuff. Even the most perfect of coupes is probably gonna need something. You'll also learn to live with a few niggles which isn't such a bad thing in my opinion.

Thanks for all your comments and support!! You have made me breath easy about my penny pounding It was never about not affording it, it was me trying to be 'sensible' and do the 'right' thing as ive thrown money at things in the past and they have stung me.

"it was me trying to be 'sensible' and do the 'right' thing"

Shouldn't of bought a coupe then

Haha should of seen that one coming