just been looking at coupe prices and was a little shocked, They are surely nearing rock bottom for the average coupe needing minor little jobs.

I think looking at prices you could pick one up for 1 - 1.5k
even cars that have upgraded turbo's etc are going for peanuts

anyone else think similar?

Yep - it's been like that for a while now!

I never thought my coupe was worth a huge amount but I was suprised, really suprised when I bought mine a while back I got it pre modded but put a clutch and did a suspension refresh which at the time meant I knew the car was A1
however now you can buy ones near mint for far less.
I was looking at selling but think id struggle to give it away, oh well may as well store it after the summer

Prices do seem to be going up though for the really good ones.

... The majority I see on the roads look like sheds though.

Like said before the coop is a 'money pit'... I've spent a fair bit on mine and having just sold it I'm quid's out of pocket..... But looking at the secon-hand market this applies to mosts cars at the mo....

true, looking at Clio 182 - peugeot 306 gti 6's and one of my favourites Honda accord type R's all are getting really cheap.

I've viewed a few recently and the nicest ones these days are the original ones. Not necessarily the expensive ones.

There's a yellow plus for nearly 6 grand, a red LE for nearly 5 grand, a grey Plus for 6.5 grand... And all the others are a third of that! I can't for the life of me see how anyone could pay that much more for essentially the same car!!! (except an LE maybe for it's collectibilty, but not a Plus, as side skirts and Recaro seats can practically turn any normal 20vt into a Plus).

I would also understand the price jump for a low mileage (and I mean 'collectible' low) but not when they're hovering around 70 - 95k!

I for one am thrilled that £1,500 will buy me an original 60k 20vt that I can then add genuine Fiat LE upgrades to over time. Like the front and side skirts, for example, and maybe Recaro seats.

But on the other hand, I feel for those of you who bought your cars before they depreciated substantially. I think the problem is that there's a limited market for them these days. I for one don't care what the general public think though, as to me it's a beautiful design and the engine sound is phenomenal.

I say you should all be proud, heads held high, and just not think of it as an investment!

There is still the problem of what needs doing on these Coupes. Using your 60k 20VT example, has it had its belts done? If not that's £400+ at a specialist. If the turbo and clutch are on their way out that's another £400+ a piece. If the front suspension components are gone that adds cost too (£400+ not including the shocks and springs). If you are able to do the work yourself you can save a lot of cash on the labour.

I've spent countless hours and many £££'s on mine to get it mechanically sound, but the paintwork lets it down and its got 121k on the clock. So even with FSH, if I tried to sell it, I'd get barely over a grand. There would be loads of other cars which look better with lower miles which are more appealing to new buyers, despite potentially needing a lot of money thrown at them.

Cue, Proccy and all the other owners of LE & Plus' for a fight!

Fight, fight, fight!

I have had my 16 from new, and I've never considered it an investment. It now has 160k miles on it.

Cars are for driving, not investment.

Agreed - unless you want to start collecting really old classics!

Spot on, I bought mine to drive and enjoy, not to sell. No other car has ever given me such a "buzz" even now I still find myself looking at the car as I walkaway from it, and every moment of driving is fun, even the paranoia is something that you don't get with a normal car.

You cannot buy the genuine lips and side skirts new. It would have to be second hand or fibreglass copies.

Practically you have to look at; Insurance (high), Road Tax (high), Economy (low), Maintenance (high), Age (old).

That puts enough people off, therefore demand is low, however that's good it means more for us, for less.

I was so pleased when I got mine, I've wanted one for about 4 years.

I love it.

Insurance = low for what you get.

Road Tax - same as for any 2lr.

Economy - very high for a 2lr turbo on the 20vt

Maintenance - got me there....!

Age - got me there too!

Yep, in the same boat here, and I've been lucky enough for nothing to go wrong with the coop in the 9 years since I've had it.

I'm reluctant to sell because I know I will get nothing for it with the lack of service history (change fluids myself) and the dings all over it, and I know the second I do sell, my other car will pack up and will end up needing another runabout.

And for the money I would get for it, what better car is out there? Even another 20vt with all the major jobs done would be a gamble. May as well hang on to mine for a rainy day (which is actually when I tend to use it :p) because at least I know it's a good 'un...

"Better to burn out then fade away"..mate

Coop has cost me soooooo much, but as i keeping saying in my posts, ripping 80K cars, porsches, M3, Lotus and others makes it all worth while.

High performance cars are not cheap to run or maintain.

Coop is a HEAD-turner, unique styling and I bought to enjoy it, not cry over the on-going depreciation.

Buy an Aston then see what depreciation is, no even better go buy a Porsche 911 Turbo 140k, and let me know how much its worth after 2 years. Ohh lets not forget £1600 to change one nut from Porsche dealership. (then get ragged by a tuned coop running circa 450hp)..

Genuine article is the genuine article not aftermarket copy by sticking bit & bobs..

Quote Piers[

Yep, in the same boat here, and I've been lucky enough for nothing to go wrong with the coop in the 9 years since I've had it. Don't think I've ever had it serviced in that time although get all the advisories done at mots.

I'm reluctant to sell because I know I will get nothing for it with the lack of service history and the dings all over it, and I know the second I do sell, my other car will pack up and will end up needing another runabout.

And for the money I would get for it, what better car is out there? Even another 20vt with all the major jobs done would be a gamble. May as well hang on to mine for a rainy day (which is actually when I tend to use it :p) because at least I know it's a good 'un...
[/quote]


Never had it serviced in 9 years................????

Spot on !!

My new toy (1996 Alfa Spider) is lovely to look at and great in this weather, but the buzz of driving the Coupes is in a different class.

I think it's a bit of a vicious circle - the relative unreliability caused by inadequate maintenance by people with no money leads to a lot of sheds, which results in two things: bad public perception and the factoring in of inevitable maintenance costs into the purchase price.

Here in Malaysia, the cars are about £10-15k, which is a LOT of money for Malaysians (2 years pay for a fresh grad). The thing is that banks here generally only give out car loans for cars that are no more than 10 years old, which means all Coupes are now almost completely loan-ineligible here.

This makes the cars much harder to sell, because not many people here have £15k in cash kicking around to spend on a car, but - and here's the thing - it ensures only people who can actually afford to maintain the cars buy them.

So I expect that over the coming years, the ratio of well looked-after cars versus the sheds over here will improve tremendously.

To be honest, money should not be a determinant of choice, but it pains me to see many people on even FCCUK who have absolutely no money to do even the most basic of maintenance or repairs. The number of posts I have read about people not having money to do this or do that (and we're not talking about advanced stuff here) - it makes me sad, because the cars suffer. They slowly disintegrate, or worse, SORNed in some driveway somewhere, and the vicious cycle of price-depreciation continues. We ALL know the Coupe may be cheap to buy, but it sure as hell isn't cheap to run.

In future, once the remaining ones become classics and begin to appreciate, and are bought only by those who appreciate them and can actually afford to properly own them and attend to whatever needs doing to maintain them in top condition, then we will see a resurgence of these beauties, and long may they stay that way.

All IMHO.

All car prices are really cheap now,especially for performance cars not just the coupe.

Take the Civic type r for instance,2 years ago you couldnt get a bad example for under 6k and you would still pay near 8k for a mint low miler.
Now you can pick up a good one for 3K,and thats for a 2003-2004+model.
Its like it all over the market,.
The only cars that hold silly value for age and mileage are the German cars which hit there lowest at 5 years old then stick there.
If you want a mint coupe youll still pay 4k.
But im seeing rough examples that customers have paid £250 for with tax and mot.
With high running costs and insurance group the coupe was always set to decline heavily in value from new.
That said,running a coupe has never been cheaper so enjoy it whilst you can because in a few years with all the hackers and money saving repairs they wont be many left.

Great post, Deadlock

You say that Coupes are around £10-15k in Malaysia. I'd be interested, for the sake of perspective, to hear a few other examples of used car prices in Malaysia. (Is the Coupe disproportionately expensive, or are all used cars 10 times as expensive as England)?

How much, for example, would the following cost, assuming average mileage:

- 2002 BMW M3
- 1999 Peugeot 406 Coupe V6
- 2000 Alfa Romeo 147 2.0 Lusso

... Only if you have the time to answer! I'm just intrigued!

Sorry, meant proper service at a garage. I do fluid changes myself once a year and get all advisories done at mot time, but that's the only maintanace I do on the car.

Malaysians have to pay a ridiculous amount of tax on foreign models - meaning Proton is the only available car to many of the people, and even the basic proton will cost rm35-40k which is about 2 years worth of a graduate's salary.

Can't remember the exact figures, but I think they can pay up to 400% car tax in some cases.

Got to say, the Coupes I saw when I've been over there are stunning!

Actually, Singapore is just as bad. They've got some rule where you have to scrap 10 year old cars unless you buy some sort of license for them (which is in the region of £15k - so I've been told).

A friend over there has just paid SG$120,000 (£60k) for a 3 year old 2.5 Z4. I think brand new they're nearly SGD$220,000 (£110k). They have to take mortages out on the cars which pretty much pays off the interest plus a bit of the depreciation. When he sold his RX8 before getting the Z4 he had to pay a further £5k to make up the shortfall.

Totally crazy to us, but the Sinaporeans just accept it as the norm.

Your missing my point, I'm comparing it to a modern car with a low tax band/emissions, lower insurance group and better economy.
I know the price range will be different but unfortunately people have this horrible stigma of 'shitty old fiat'. Most people who aren't 'into' cars wouldn't touch the unknown.

I prefer it like that because I wouldn't have one it they reached up to 10k, I'd have a Maserati instead.

There's a massive split in coupes left out on the uk roads you either see sheds or absolute prime well looked after examples.

Personally I think the prices are great to the known they make great enthusiasts project cars that's why I jumped back on the band wagon this year. Yes they're a money pit but its such a satisfying little car to put your time , effort and money into who really cares.

Yes its nice to get a good value for your pride and joy to say you dont care is ridiculous but I'd be ashamed to say I've brought a car for an investment there corking motors that deserve good treatment and are worth sticking with there addictive little cars.

You do get people though that just buy them for the cheap performance and a have a lack of there need for maintenance and as said thats where the bad reputation comes from. But its surprising how different and tired a coupe can look to a good example its a shame I suppose but it makes our examples shine and a unique sight on the roads

But yeah I'm looking at getting a lock up towards the end of the year and I'll be sure to get another one on the go whilst prices are so cheap for a second project it would be rude not to save another coupe haha .... I'm thinking broom or speed for my next flavour 20vt

An E46 M3 will go for anywhere between £30-40k. A 2000 147 sells for around £7-9k.

As Piers pointed out, to protect our local car industry (of which Proton and Perodua are the chief manufacturers), the government imposes extremely high tax on all imported cars. I said in another thread recently that list price for a base spec E90 320 here is £50k - how's that for perspective!

But in absolute terms, Singapore, followed by Hong Kong, are the most expensive countires in the world to buy and run a car (significantly more expensive than in Malaysia). Arguably though, this is a good idea in very densely populated island nations with good public transport links.

Malaysia is far bigger than Singapore and HK, so that justification doesn't apply, but crucially it is worth pointing out that when weighted against income and spending power, Malaysia becomes the most expensive country in the world to own a car (because people in SG and HK earn far more than we do here).

Good thing though is that the majority of the Coops you see on the road here day-to-day are mostly gleaming Pluses. Hardly a "standard" 20VT in sight.

dont worry fokes! look at it this way, like i do.
i paid 155k for my house when house prices was stupid. i'd be lucky if i'd get 125k now. but i ant selling.
got my coupe for close to 4grand this year. it could be worth 10pence next year, but i ant selling....lol

no other car in my world would be as good, there all going to worth 10pence when we use all the petrol....lol

I think coupe prices are pretty rock bottom at the mo, if you have a look at the ones that have sold on here recently, a lot have gone for just over a grand, i withdrew mine from sale as wasn't willing to almost give it away which I would have had to have done

If you don't need to sell at the mo I wouldn't and would instead just enjoy the car, that's what I have decided to do

Sadly as with any car which is getting older now, the main costs are maintenance and it can be galling to be presented with a bill close to what the car is worth if for example it needs a clutch and timing belt needs doing

Having said that if you are handy with a spanner then coupe parts aren't particularly expensive and you always have the plus point of driving an increasing rare and good looking car that even standard is plenty quick enough