Your Opinions On The Coupe 20v Turbos

Hello all,

Ive seen a coupe i like and am planning on visiting it. Ive seen a couple of dogs but this one seems in very good condition. 60k mile LE.

Basically ive read your buyers guide(massive thankyou for this as it helped find some faults on previous cars). But i'd like to know what you think of the Coupes as a daily car.

My aim is to buy an LE from a member on here as i know it has, 99% of time been well maintained.

Are they unreliable? Are electrics bad? Ive read reports over the internet and most are good but i find some bad ones (id expect not all cars can be perfect)

Please can i have views on ownership from members.

Appreciate your time

i've had 2 of these and a bit of searching will reveal the monster issues i've had with the second one - however, i didn't follow either my head or the buyers guide and have paid the price.

my first one never missed a beat and i heard it needed some work for the first time in 2 years last month - a new battery!!

if maintained properly they are generally very reliable in my experience and are good daily drivers provided you're going far enough to get the engine and oil warmed up. if mine blew up today (which is possible ) i'd get another, no question

with regard to the electrics i've had no problems in either of my 2 cars. you have to remember most of these are 10 - 12 years old, and on any car that age there will be the odd hiccup. choose wisely, and you'll be fine ( no that's not a promise )

Cheers. Sort of answer im after

I've got 2. That way, if one fails, I've a backup. After that, doesn't bare thinking about

Never had any real issues with mine. It's been daily transport for past 3 1/2 years and it doesn't get the above mentioned time for the engine to warm up. 8 mile round trip to work in light town traffic.

Nor does it get lavished with top grade oils or any of that nonsense. Cheapest semi syn I can get.

Sound advice given already. I would just like to add, problems can arise if you go down the modding road. Heavily modded Coops tend to go pop when pushed. No doubt some one will be along & say that's not so, but reading between the lines on here, this does happen from time to time. Obviously when modded properly there is less risk of this happening, but sometimes the modding isnt up to the job.

I did 110 miles a day in mine for 6 months. Not a single problem. Past many a 'reliable' German car sitting at the side of the road on my commute too.

Thanks for advice.

Im at present not planning to mod to much. the car i like has a stage 1 chip and different turbo. i may get in live mapped in future.

Ive just come from a heavily modded car and had nothing but issues so i just want to be happy.

I think the main question left is............do you still smile everytime you get in it?

It can still make me smile, but then I go a spoil things by glancing at the petrol guage

lol

How thirsty are they?

Never had a major issue and I've had 4 now. Look after them and they are literally bullet proof. As for smiles per mile - depends on the mods. My favourite was definitely my 290bhp (mapped) Plus. With a fitted welded front subframe it was the bee's knee's to drive.

Had two - nuff said really, if I hadn't rated the first I wouldn't have bought the second.

Did about 70k in them in five or so years. Nothing went wrong, apart from the so called hose of death. There are a few bad ones out there but that's the case with any car.

Buy the best you can and as long as you check the oil regularly (at least once a week) and don't thrash them from cold you should enjoy ownership.

If you're doing alot of motorway driving they are pretty reasonable 30mpg. Mine is mostly short town driving and a full tank gets me about 270 - 280 miles.

Great cars imo, not the sharpest handling as standard but a good turn of speed and a lovely tourer in standard form. Suspension mods, uprated arbs and braces can make it a very different car in this sense though.

Reliability depends on servicing and not running low on oil. Sensible buyers buy on service history - that said I didn't, twice, and got lucky twice, not everyone can be lucky all the time though

I'd suggest asking the seller to check the oil when you view (say you don't know how), if he doesn't know how it's not a good sign. That said my last car never used a drop - oil never dropped service to service. Not many like that though.

I'd expect to replace a few things, it'd be good if the turbo and clutch had been done as they're not cheap and a lot of cars will need them doing in short time, even low milers.

Cheers Dave.

The owner is a member on here and it used to be Rogers car

Lots of service history etc including all big jobs.

What fuel does it need? is standard 95 ron ok? im used to having to use V-Power on old car. 270-300miles a tank is huge

Bear in mind that you are asking the question on a coupe forum.

They are italian - and electrics are poor IMO. Airbag light fault is very common, and I had several issue with the electrics on mine. They were niggles rather than major, but still there!

Modded ones will chew through consumables faster (suspension, clutch etc.)

They are not low maintenance cars, though they do not require as much as others of similar performance, and MPG is great on a run for the type of car. Just dont buy a turbo and expect it to be mondeo / astra money to keep.

I know the car that you are looking at - and it was very nice when I saw it in Roger's ownership.

Thanks,

I am aware that people on a Coupe forum would be biased but everyone seems to have been honest.

The car is being bought for weekends really and occasional commute. I live 3 miles from my Airbase so its only 15 mins on a bike, but winter is on us and its already cold lol

What sort of electrical niggles?

On mine over the space of 5 years:

1. Fuel pump connections corroded - would not start.
2. Airbag light - not an MOT fail, so most just leave this alone
3. random fuse used to go pop after washing the car (no lights and dash dials would not work - 2 mins to fix once I knew which one it was)
4. MAF - would hunt at idle on warm start
5. A few dash bulbs - no biggy on a car over 5 years old
6. Seatbelt warning light would blink when I bought the car - 20 mins to fix and then never did it again (loose connection)
7. Wireing to the coil packs - replaced before issues as was old and brittle.
8. Central locking out of sync when using the key fob a few times (would leave the car unlocked). Unlocked and locked a few times with the key both times to fix.

Thats quite a bit lol

Are the MAFs expensive?

I dont know - I used to clean it which helped, otherwise i just lived with it as it was on warm start only.

Ahhhh, no.6 the seat belt warning light, how did you fix it? Mine been on the blink for a few weeks now.

This car is real pleasure. I have 16v before like it. inside is classic. Now have 20vt it's much better car. Very fast car, brakes are adeqate but not perfect, souds like jetplane on full throttle, but this car is love. Sometimes thing are not cheap, you must be very carefull on buying this don't jump in first you see, it's first meet love. Go for Plus or le. If ask me Plus is more balanced in colors inside Recaro seats are much much comfortable than standart and better looking. There are some writes that 6 speed have some problems, and all says 5 is better, but there is no full happiness

Thanks mate.

All booked ready to see it tomorrow now.

Ive seen some horrible ones so far so hoping this ticks all the boxes

There are plenty of dogs out there but a good Coupe has something special about it. The x factor. It satisfies an urge you didnt know you had until you owned it. Driving it is an experience you can indulge yourself in and savour every moment. It's the act that is almost impossible to follow on from, it burns a searing image in your mind and the longer you go without it the more you want it back. It takes centre stage in your life and actually becomes a part of who you are. You wouldnt be quite the same person without it, you cant imagine what path you would have chosen if it had never existed. It's wellbeing takes precedence over everything else in the world. It's allure is too strong to resist. You submit to it and it completely owns you. You are it's eternal slave.

Or is that just me?

connection for this is under driver seat

that may be the best quote i've seen about what the coop does/means. i spent too many years driving very dull company car diesels, stepping into the coop was mindblowing, stunning, breath-taking revelation

I think I maybe picking it up this morning

Here, here to the above eulogies! Matt should try writing a novel .

Bought mine with my heart rather than my head, and it has cost me a lot of money but still love her to bits . You are always going to have issues with a car of this age, and I think I have had more than most. Keep her well maintained, check fluid levels religiously, join the AA and enjoy the ride

Im another person who has had 2 20VTs, so like someone else said above must of been good to buy a second one.

smile!...the first time i drove mine , i heard a strange "Clunk" !....i had actually laughed my c**k off !!!!

I've owned 3 coupes, 16v na, 20v na and 20v turbo, 20v turbo was by far my favourite, very quick, effortless engine, especially in this cold dense winter air. Interior is classy and stunning, still looks fresh unlike many other cars of it's era, colour coded dash strip is a fantastic idea and always get commented on when you give somebody a lift. All coupes sound fantastic but hard to beat the quirky warble of the 5 pot engine and the turbo whistle/paper tearing sound you get when you give it the beans . Styling is stunning especially on the LE/Plus models, real head turners, kids wave and give you the thumbs up, random people say 'nice car' when you park up and you often get let out at junctions, very special cars. Mpg is good for the age, engine size etc, especially off boost. I rarely had any problems with my coupes, they were all pretty much standard. Just a slight oil leak which turned out to be an ill-fitting sump plug, sorted for 2 quid a tear in a coolant-to-turbo pipe, replaced for free as i got a replcement pipe from my old coupe and just general wear and tear, never once let me down and always a pleasure/occasion to drive. At the mo i drive a brand new punto evo which is a cracking stylish wee car with lots of nice modern features such as stop/start, bluetooth, ipod connection etc, really like it but it will never have the 'special' feeling of the rare, hand built Coupe Fiat i will definitely get another one in the near future and regularly look for them on pistonheads, fccuk and autotrader. Make sure you're very thorough in your search and look at a few and take your time, have fun!