Hi all,

I'm currently on the hunt for a 20VT and have spied the following 4 maybe's on eBay:

1. "1997 FIAT COUPE 20V TURBO BLACK only 45k miles" £2000 ono

2. "1999 FIAT COUPE 20V TURBO BLUE" £1750

3. "1998 FIAT COUPE 20V TURBO BLUE RECENT CAMBELT&WATERPUMP" £1495 ono

4. "Fiat Coupe 20v TURBO 1998 Green Metallic Coupe Petrol" £1950

*edit... added another from Autotrader*

5. "1998 FIAT COUPE 20V Turbo 2dr Coupe"

I would very much value your opinion and input on these as I want to make the best possible purchase. Should I consider any of these ? If so what questions should I be asking the sellers ?

Many thanks in advance oh wise and kind people *rubs the collective ego*

Cheers,

Glen

They all look decent cars. I'd go and look at them all mate you can't really tell much from pictures. Go and look at as many as you can, there are plenty out there at decent money.

Number 1 looks tidy but needs the belts doing so you'd need to budget for that.

A couple of the others mention the mileage that the belts were changed at but not the dates, I'd email and ask them.

Also none of them mention the clutch being changed so ask some questions about that too, it's an expensive job.

Here is a great post that lists a lot of things to look for ...
Buyers Guide

there are some more buyers information in this section (at the top as they are sticky threads), giving you an idea of the work that might (or probably will) need doing for cars that are being sold at around £1000 ish

If you look at PowerItalia's (www.poweritalia.com) website, you can see the cost of doing things ie.

cambelt, clutch, oil cooler pipes, all the big jobs and service costs etc

look ok, never know what you're getting off te 'bay....why not consider buying from a forum member known to many of us, giving great peace of mind as to has and has not been done to it?

me, i'd be going for this one which says it's provisionally sold but i'm not sure...

http://www.fiatcoupeclub.org/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1022569#Post1022569

if i was buying one i would go for the first low millage one!

Its defiantly sold Proccy

Hiya Proccy, that one has now been sold :-( I've been keeping in touch with Paul in case the original buyer pulled out.

Added a 5th ad, this time from autotrader

not always the best advice, i'd say condition/servicing/history is more important

I *think* the logic behind this is sound but... my only concern with going for the lower mileage car is that because it's lower mileage it's not needed as much work done to it so far so will potentially need more done to it in the near future. That is vs one with say 90k miles that's already needed the work done. Make sense or am I talking out of my ? Actually... don't answer that !

You are talking complete sense. However, once you have thrown the money at the low miler, it will be easier to sell on in future should you wish to

I'd go for number one and spend the money getting the belts done and the clutch when it needs doing . Number two I'd avoid as it says it's driven like a taxi; 5th gear at 30MPH all day, a sure way to knacker the bottom end up.

The rest have had the belts done but they all seem to be 20-30K ago, which, in my opinion, unless done say last year will be needing doing soon anyway.

Number 1 does appear to have had the belts done, unless I'm being dense ?!

"Mileage 36245 17/06/2003:- Full Service included the all important Cambelt change along with the pre-tensioners"

The owner is going to go through the logs and give me a breakdown of the service history in more detail. I've already been sent higher-res pictures of the cosmetic issues. He does seem genuinely helpful.

The belts need done again based on age, not mileage: after the first belt change you need to do them at 50k miles/5yrs to be safe.

So given they were last changed approx 10k miles / 7 years ago would I be advised to budget this in straight away or would it be something to look into over the next few months / 6 months / year ?

I'd get it to a specialist to inspect and service the car immediately upon buying it: in your location I'd suggest Joe at FCCS or Paul at Motormech, both are listed in our Trader's Area.

I would *definitely* get the auxiliary belts changed if they haven't been done since that date: they should be inspected every six to twelve months and replaced every two years. If they fail or derail they can and do take out the cam belt, and trust me, from personal experience, that is a painful and expensive experience

oh yes - my car has just had it's 4th set in 13 months....don't ask, it's a long and expensive story i don't feel like relating...nothing personal

Agreed I'd go for a Forum members car from here if possible - Enthusiast owned has got to be better. As Stan mentions - Paul Gilbert at MotorMech in Birmingham is top-notch. Better still - buy one he may own like I did !!!

Ok... anyone have any thoughts on this one on the forum ?
"99 T 20v Turbo Steel Grey"

i like it

Ok, so re: the forum car...

We know it's due a service, the aircon needs regassing and there's a potential issue with the exhaust manifold.

Here's the original thread about the rasp / black smoke issue:
Puff of Black smoke and rasp on boost !!

Few questions then...

What are the odds that the manifold isn't to blame and what therefore is the alternative worst case scenario ?

How much to sort all the above ?

Are there any other things you would recommend getting sorted straight away on purchase ?

Is this right? Why would driving in 5th gear at 30mph damage your bottom end?