When I took my non-turbo 20v coupe to Solo Italia for its most recent service, the manager there said that non-turbo coupes are "not worth anything" and "the only coupes which will ever be worth anything are the turbo-plus and the LE". I was wondering if you agree with this statement? I love my non-turbo coupe and I hope to keep it for a very long time. But I also hoped that in 10 years or so it would be a rare and valuable classic car. I don't think a 6-speed turbo is really my style anyway, but is it true my standard non-turbo is "worthless"?

Not worthless just not worth much.
£500-£800 nowadays,depending on who's looking.


Abroad in Europe they fetch strong money still.
Here in disposable Britain nothing's worth much second hand.

He's wrong. Very wrong. Whilst the top/popular models may increase in value first, eventually the entire range will go up. Also there's the rarity value to consider. One day there will only be a handful of N//A models left so their value will increase anyway.

My only concern with the current disparity in values is the risk of someone buying an N/A for £7.50 and making it into a Turbo, just like people have done with Minis from the 1960s, making a Cooper into a Cooper S.

I do hope you were cheeky with the manager perhaps paying an amount commensurate with the alleged value of you car!!

Mmm.

Took my first coupe (20v VIS) to SOLO for cambelt when they where at the old place.

The mechanic was really good but said I'd paid too much for it.

True but how do you define value?

I'd just left my daughter at uni in Brighton and realised that nothing would be quite the same again.Not a happy bunny. Stuck in traffic and saw a steel grey bonnet on a forecourt. Went to have a look and saw a car that I knew was too good to be there. Had a look, etc, saw the the service book and mentioned cambelt (oops)so the guy went off on one in his best south eastern accent and said you had to take the engine out to change the cambelt which was more than the car was worth. I got a bit confused by this selling point but negotiated a 500 gbp discount for a belt change and bought the car there and then. I swear that car smiled at me.....

Its now very happy with a turbo sprinty and a red VT6 (thanks JBT)....well one thing leads to another.

Yes most people want the turbo version and in a depressed market the LE or Pus will get a higher price but so what?

If you enjoy your car and it makes you smile when you drive it then good for you.

Value is whatever you choose it to be

As much as I love my porto 20vt, you can't knock the 20v NA's for what they are.

As soon as I've done everything I planned to get done on my turbo I'll certainly be on the look out for a good one.

Still have memories of my old vis (first coop I owned) drove 200 mile to pick it up, on the way back I discovered the stereo was, shall we say completely goosed!! Windows down half an inch......problem solved

Simple, reliable, still fun and cheaper to run (if you can resist the sound) I'd have another in a heart beat!

Plan is to take the porto off the road october-ish and avoid as much winter driving as possible, can't think of a car (whithin reason) I'd prefer to fill the slot...

And I would be willing to spend 'good' money for the right car.

See picture below: eighteen years, from new.

The value differs depending whether you're buying or selling, and in either case is always subjective: by the book, because mine has been a cat C write-off in its time, mine has a value of effectively zero.

But you wouldn't get it out of my hands until you put a lot more money on the table...

My NA is 18yrs old still turns heads and sounds like no other car I've driven

Perhaps they aren't worth much to others but everytime I pull into a garage and fill up and catch all the passing glances it's worth a fortune to me

I use to like the 2nd generation Rx-7 non turbo because it didn't have the bonnet scoop and is was a little different to all the turbo ones around. I hated to see a non turbo wasted by converting it to a turbo. Why not just buy a turbo? Fiat 131R 2 doors are appreciating in value a lot recently. A lot hate to see them wasted by being converted into some sort of Group 4 Abarth replica too.

The lesser models of just about any car will never be worth as much money as the better models. If Fiat changed the Coupe body somehow, gave it a facelift etc or introduced a replacement model sort of like Mk1 and Mk2 Uno, the early ones would stand out better as the original shape and would maybe be better regarded but that didn't happen.

And that ladies and gentlemen, perfectly sums up what Coop ownership, or indeed even enthusiast car ownership, is all about.

The N/A's are still an amazing car, you don't get the outright performance but there is a lot of useable power, and the exhaust note doesn't get muffled by the turbo charger.
I think that Coupe's will be "discovered" soon, there have already been a few articles about them in the classic car magazines.
I owned a VIS, (K2OUP) and she was a cracker, part of me still wishes i had bought her back when HoveDan sold her.

Worthless? I think the sound is priceless. Don't care what there worth the noise and the head turning more than makes up for the low price

My NA stands head and shoulders above my plus in reliability expense and economy - it's a vis and practically indestructible.
The noise is better than my plus - and I always thought an NA coupe with about 180bhp would have been a perfect car for me.

I love em both
But if I had to choose one to live with daily it's the NA hands down.

The turbo models (and particularly the 20VT) are the ones which 'elevated' the car. The press went ga-ga over them, because the performance the blower added simply completed the package.

The turbo will always be more sought-after and valuable than the N/A, but calling the N/A 'worthless' is harsh. At the moment (in the UK at least) all Coupes are effectively worthless anyway - nobody is going to split hairs over a grand or less in price difference.

If prices ever increase, they will happen across the board, but the quantum for price increase among the turbo models (and perhaps particularly the LE and Plus) is probably greater I believe than the N/A ones.

I would personally never buy an N/A, but I do appreciate that they are more "pure" (mechanically simpler, with less packaging compromises).

One of those things, and I suspect very personal. I tried both the NA and the VT when I bought my 16; the performance difference was nothing like that between the 16NA and the 20VT and the turbo lag was something I didn't want to live with (I'd come from a turbo car which I didn't particularly like).

Since then I've owned a 20vt for a couple of years - and basically, found it better suited for long trips. For a drive in the country, I preferred - and still prefer - the 16NA. And of course I have the 20vt engine in the kit... go figure!

It's a shame they do suffer in the market place. I believe the na motor is far better suited to the coupé than the turbo. However it's the go the turbo has that the majority want. I think Joe has the right idea with his 2.4 na though.

Quite honestly who cares?

If you / we like them what does it matter if they are "Worthless"

It matters when insurance companies try to wriggle out of paying you a fair amount or when someone dinks your car in Tesco's car park and doesn't even apologise because they thinks its 'worthless' compared to the 59 plate Chevrolet they bought on 29% APR....

Why do houses go up in value and cars go down? They are both getting older with more and more money needed each year to keep them in good order!

If i could afford the time i would have every coupe model out there.

But i have to be realistic.

Shame really,as i would love a 16v.

I just thought that saying the NA coupes would "never be worth anything" was a strange comment for a coupe specialist to make! I felt as though he was looking down on me because I only paid £510 for my coupe! Or maybe he thinks a middle-aged woman should stick to Nissan micras? I would like to buy another one too. I like the Portos. And yes, it really is fun when you fill up and everyone is thinking "what is THAT?" and then you start it up and it sounds like a Ferrari! The other day a Ferrari parked next to me at the supermarket, but do you know what, I think I actually prefer my coupe!

What is a "vis"?

Variable
Intake
System

Basically just the later non turbo models, with a touch of added witchcraft.

Careful Annie, give the Forum an opening...

I'm on record as saying I don't think the Coupe will ever be a real collectors car. But then I look at the prices on some of the 70s garbage I can remember..We need the early 90s ten year olds to reach their 40s and hit their mid life crisis!

Out of the 3 coupes i've had, selling my 20v N/A is actually my biggest regret. It was the most trouble free car i've had and was a perfect daily driver!

@Roadking - ha ha ha!
I have seen so many Coupe for sale adverts where the seller says, "my wife can't drive it" or "bought this for my wife but she says it's too fast"! Who are these wimpy women who can't handle a coupe? "She doesn't like it" Paaaaah! Keep the coupe and sell the wife!

My mother loves mine, I just don't like her driving it as shes so used to automatics she has a tendency to forget to use the clutch.....

I love mine but then again I haven't actually driven a Turbo yet!

My (ex) missus now drives a CL63 (owned by her new partner). She certainly doesn't spare the horses. I'd never let her drive my Coupes though, as she wouldn't be able to see over the steering wheel - lack of seat height adjustment, and she is only 4' 11". Speed would not be a problem; I let her drive my car (1.8 Cavalier company job) back down the A1 from York, and I had to point out at one point she was doing 115mph. Excuse? I couldn't see the speedo

Ms RK drives faster than I usually do (her 1.1 Getz probably covers ground faster than my Coupe. But then she doesn't need her licence as much as I do..)

worthless! I don't think so.....you paid a good price for one of the most stylish and well rounded cars ever produced. That has to be an absolute bargain, so you've enjoyed the buyer side of 'worthless'.

The cars value whilst you own and drive it is irrelevant really, apart for insurance. Providing you enjoy the car does it matter what it is worth? .....and when you do come to sell, providing you get a fair price at the time, then it will have been a good investment.

As far as the na becoming a collectors car, yes it will, as the numbers decline through natural wastage. Value is set by demand, condition and rarity although desirability is usually higher in the top models, hence the higher pricing.

I love all coupes, I started with a 16v, moved to a vis and then to a 20VT....all had their merits, but I'm now getting my original 16v fit for the road as that's my favourite model.

By the time I've finished I will be spending three times more than the market value, but the driving pleasure will be worth every penny.

BY the way, my wife has suffered my 'hobby' over the years and has had to drive everything from Sunbeam Stillettos through various Porsce's, multiple Alfa's and Fiats and even the odd Aston and Merc.....but one of her favourite cars is the little 16v coupe which she says is one of the nicest cars she's ever driven......praise indeed from a Mini Cooper S owner.

I wish I could get a 16v for my son, but he is only 18 and the insurance would be huge. I saw a lovely yellow one the other day. I would like them all, to be honest, and I have never really been a car enthusiast before - what is it about these cars? I used to hate having to spend money on car maintenance, but spending money on a coupe is strangely satisfying.