buy a coupe it'll be fun they said

After no listening to everyone's advice I went and found my self one only 800 pounds now the parts Bill is mounting
Gear box clutch timing belt kit drive belt water pump New discs and pads New wheels second hand turbo dump valve so in two weeks the engine is out with the box
Hopefully it won't smoke any more the I need to find a body kit exhaust and see what can be done with the paint work fun hmm

That sounds about wright!

Better check your oil as we'll whilst your at it

Did you read this? http://www.fiatcoupeclub.org/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=931827#Post931827

Did they teach you punctuation at school ?

£800 is what an average coupe costs - IF it needs some work doing. If you wanted a sorted one, you'd be looking at £1500 - £2500 +

Keep the faith bro. These cars are special.

As the saying goes buy cheap buy twice.

For £800 I'd expect it needing a shed load of work

Totally agree with this ^. However it looks like most of the list is service items. That's the trouble with these cars; they're performance vehicles so the bills come with them.

The cost of ownership is very reasonable considering though. I don't know of any 800 quid car that'll not need money spending.

Crack on, make a nice car, then enjoy it.

To be honest I thought I would save it from the scrap yard anyway

A scholar and a gentleman, with exactly the right attitude to coupe ownership. Welcome!

To be Fair you could just as easily spend £1500 or more on a car and still end up needing to spend money to bring it round!

Virtually every coupe unless its been pampered will require a re-spray unless its already had one, not many people will bother to do the belts if they are going to sell it etc.etc.

Its not always a false economy, provided you are starting from a good solid base! and are in it for the long term!
Have fun and patience, it will reward you
Enjoy

I should of listened to my wife and not bought another coop. Had it 2 weeks now and already got issues. Got grinding from rear which is rear pads down to the metal, sunroof not working, air con not working,interior heating fan doesnt work for first 2mins after starting car,knocking from front suspension,and boot wet due to boot seal. I desperately need a wiring diagram for heater system for a VIS if anyone can help.

Sunroof- brushes in motor? It's quite easy to take out.

Air con - at a guess might be a leaky rad at this age of car.

One day at a time mate!

It will be in the workshop manual linked in the member's section Shaun.

It's not - I have been unable to find any wiring diagrams specifically for the VIS.

Buy cheap and this is what you could be letting yourself in for click near 5k doing the work myself and still spending.

The thing is my coupe is my second car and a project/hobby three years and ongoing,
no matter how much money i throw at it i know i will not get it back,
if you take the 5k as in my case and divide that into three years=£1666=£32 a week,excluding running costs
a lot of people spend more than that on a night out down the pub or golf,fishing,football,ect.

All the stuff you want to do on your coupe can be found on this fantastic forum.

So if you want a fast Italian sports car be prepared,save your money and try to do the work yourself.


JG

The air con not working is some how linked to this strange heating / wiring fault i have which is why i need a wiring diagram.
How easy are the rear pads to change? Is it something i could do one handed i ask this because i have torn my rotator cuff in my right shoulder so have to do everything one handed at the moment.

It's an easy job, if the sliders aren't seized, but I think you'll have difficulty doing it one handed.

yeah as said really, cant expect to pay that for a car of this caliber and have trouble free motoring,

ive just bought my first coupe paid a grand myself knowing it needed work, but the people on here are great and very helpful. ill be keeping mine for quite a while (i hope)

cant wait to get the fingers dirty

Mine was 600 quid, so I took it to JBT and asked him if it was worth keeping. He said yes and so far I'm 3000 in debit but at least I know it will be done the way I want it and it'll be a sound car at the end of it. I asked about a smart LE advertised at the time for about 3500 and he said it looked OK but there's no telling that the same amount of under carriage work wouldn't need to have been done also.
I think "Bravo" to anyone buying vehicles for small money - they're keeping another Coop on the road and will be contributing ( in a roundabout way) to the Forum.
Good luck to you Sir!

Alternatively, take up golf and spend 5 large ones a year with no return from your graft at all?

I agree with all that is said above. Any old performance car costing 800 quid is going to need TLC and cash.

Having said that, I believe there are still cars out there that are under-valued and have been generally cared for, representing value and having fewer faults to rectify.

I can't say for sure that mine is one of those, but, I paid 489 quid for it from eBay with 109k miles, it came with a folder full of receipts including a new set of belts and idlers 10k miles and 18 months in the past. The previous owner had owned it for a short period only, and claimed it was making an undiagnosed top end rattle and had recently had a refurbed turbo.

Top end rattle turned out to be a loose exhaust manifold, but alas the refurbed turbo seemed to be incorrect as seals went after a short while. Having said that, the car drove well and was clean and tidy. Only bodywork issues were 15 years of chips and dings, and a slightly milky patch in the lacquer on the roof.

So far it has cost me (all work done by myself):
- new core turbo cartridge
- new exhaust gasket

What it still needs doing is:
- Handbrake console tidy up
- Radio aerial sorted out
- New front disks and pads (disks appear to be warped)
- Rear compensator adjusted properly
- Rear calipers stripped, cleaned and adjusted

What it has had/will have that does not strictly need doing:
- Centre dash stripped and colour coded
- Stack boost gauge in clock location
- Set of grooved disks front and back
- Used but good eibachs and adjustable shocks
- Zendor skirts and front bumper

Most of the 'tidy up' and body bits are off a Cat C Coupe I bought for 400 quid. Lower mileage, better condition leather, and lots of other bits.

So per the other posts, I will end up with a well sorted Coupe, possibly worth 1500+ which will have cost in total, well, about 1500!!!

I reckon the real issues with ownership costs do come if you are paying for parts and the labour to be done by others.

I class mine as a usable project. It needs lots doing. But by the end of it I know it will be fit for another 15 years+
Old cars of this age are constantly going to need stuff doing and routine maintenance just won't cut it to keep an old car up to scratch.
It really has to be a passion that you have a good monthly budget to splash out on it.

I think most coupes are usable projects I spend about £100 a month on mine.You just have to look on it as a hobby and forget the money

Spot on there, pal.

Yeah im about the same, i will aim to get something done or buy something each month or put money aside to get something more costly done in a few months time!
I also see mine as a hobby and not an asset so what i spend on it, i dont care really!!

One problem with this hobby it is terribly addictive