Hi, im new to the forum, im looking for advice on what to look for when buying a coupe, which one is the better 16vt or 20vt, any info would be much appreciated. thanks

Hi and welcome, if your first Coupe is a 16vt then you will always believe that 16's are the original and best, if it's a 20vt then you'll look down your nose at the 16 valve paupers.

Choice is yours!

how old are you?

what's your budget for purchasing, and what are you able to spend on repairs/maintenance annually?

welcome to a great forum by the way

The 20VT is better Welcome

Just buy one good one of each. Smiles a plenty are yours

Is there really a difference nowadays between the 2...

Cars are cheap which ever model you buy

Parts are available which ever model you buy, although 20s are more in supply than 16s due to more cars being broken, thus parts should be cheaper for the 20s

Maintenance should be similar, both cars are fragile and need full and proper servicing, again if anything the 20s is better here due to the likes of Rog servicing it, where as he doesn't the 16s

Insurance neither are cheap

Petrol consumption not much difference

20vts are newer, but they are stll 10 year old cars and are suffering their age a little, as is the 16

I just can't really see a difference any more, so in that respect try them both, get the best your budget can afford.

16VT is thirstier and has noticeably more turbo lag (which can actually make it feel just as quick as the more powerful 20vt, as the power comes in with a bit of a thump)

16vt is slightly better handling, due to the lighter engine, although the 20vt can catch up with some well judged handling mods

20vt sounds nicer, especially with a nice exhaust - very characterful exhaust note from the five-pot

16vt will reach classic status sooner than the 20vt for two reasons - age and rarity (its older and there are far less of them around)

OK - here's a contentious opinion

If you want one purely to own and polish and take out for occasional drives on sunny weekends, the 16vt is probably the one to have (in fact I'd prefer the 16v N/A for purity)

However, if you want a Coupe to use as a daily driver and reliable workhorse, a five-pot variant is the best solution, due to its more modern engine (and engine management) AND its notably lower gearing, which makes for a pretty relaxed mile-muncher

Either way, you need to buy on condition and history - age and mileage are almost irrelevant now

Cambelt, Clutch and Turbo are the big three, expensive jobs for both so make sure they have been done recently.

I think you mean higher gearing

20vt, sounds better than the 16vt. Shop around, take as many as possible for test drives. There are soooo many about at the moment so take you time and pick a good one that has been looked after, don't buy one from someone who knows nothing about the car.

As just posted in another thread, spent £1.5K on my 20VT in May, fully aware that I would need to at least double that on making sure that everything was working. In fact spent considerably more already (although not all was needed to keep the car going).

Worth every penny, but do not be fooled by any cheap purchase prices. This is NOT performance motoring on the cheap; this is performance motoring which requires wallet damage (same as any other performance motoring), with a fairly low starting price.

Worth every penny though , so good luck,

Tim

Oil Cooler pipes, Radiator .. also likely will be need replacing given the cars age.

a big thank you to everyone who has replied,i've been looking around for about a month now and your advice will come in very handy when buying one, it wont be used as an everyday car so i need to pick the right one because i intend to keep it for a long time. cheers again

hi, im 48 why do you ask?

because it would appear that most new people of late are relativity young, there is a big insurance gap between the 20vt and the 16vt not to mention that most youngsters (did I just say that) often fall in to the trap of cheep to buy VERY expensive to run and then slate it when it expires in a shower of pistons and valves

Welcome to the forum and good luck in your purchase. Have a look through the FAQ section. You will find there is a wealth of knowledge on this forum

Hi Gary and welcome

Have a read through the buyers guide: http://www.fiatcoupeclub.org/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=7718#Post7718

Take it with you when viewing a Coupe if need be.

Otherwise, just be aware of some prices for things like cambelts, etc., keep some spare cash back and buy one that takes your fancy

Hi Garry,welcome to the forum! Its a must be place if your buying a coupe! Please listen to the advice given from the old and wise on here,oh and Stan too!
Its a cracking little car ,go for the 20vt and smile smile smile! Well until it goes pop!
Good Luck,Paul

hi everyone, just want to let you all know that i've just purchased my first coupe,all the info that everyone posted to me came to good use so a big thank you to you all.Its a standard 16vt in mint condition, everything checked and worked as it should. Im collecting it in 2 weeks time as im working away, so i cant wait.

Congrats, hope you enjoy it and the next 2 weeks don't drag on for tooooo long

Dunno why you never bought a 20VT though

Pics and details of your new acquisition?!

will post some pic's on when i can work out how to do it lol, got some on computor but trying to transfer them to forum

Open a photobucket account, free and simple.

Did you buy a car from the forum, or got a link to the ad?

Gary,
welcome to the community . As a new owner myself I cannot overemphasise how much help this forum can be. Join the club, come to some meets and soak up all the available knowledge readily on tap. Whatever you need to know will be available; if you cannot DIY, then you will be able to find someone that can do it for you.. don't EVER take the Coupe to a FIAT franchise (unless you have inside info), as they are too rare for anyone used to sorting out Puntos and Mareas to give the spot-on advice required to keep your machine in tip-top nick,

good luck and happy driving

Tim

thanks for advise tim42, will be attending some meets to get some knowledge and info on car, i would never take a car to dealer for work done anyway but cheers anyway

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Is that a sneaky yellow Integrale sitting on your drive too?

i wish, its an awesome motor, no thats where i bought it from, haven't had time to go and pick the coupe up yet due to work commitments, picking it up on 9th

Hi everyone, picking up my 16vt coupe on saturday and one of the first jobs on my to-do list is to give an oil and filter change. Can any one let me know the best oil to use or do i use whats recommended in handbook. Thanks