mine was up for 2750,in a tvr/lotus garage,he reduced it to 2000.I took it out and bought there and then,new discs,pads tyres and cambelt change.I love it and i think i got a bargin,fsh 44,000 miles and it cost 26,000 when new,tan leather and all in mint inside outside a bit tatty,but what a car money well spent i reckon.It is my weekend car so running costs are low,When i drove it back home to france i reckon i got about 35 to the gallon.All in all i wana keep it forever.

Here's a shocker. A client of mine bought a 6 month old 3 series a couple of years back - a 330 coupe I think, so similar in performance to our Coupes.

12 months later, fuel costs, etc are getting a bit steep and he decides to trade it in for a diesel model. Now here's the shocking bit - he got 9 grand less at trade in than he paid for it 12 months before!

That works out at £750 a month just in depreciation.

The small amount of depreciation on our Coupe's might suffer every month is almost insignificant when you compare it to something newer. In fact because the values of Coupe's have now reached rock bottom, then its probable that they are now completely depreciation free!

Idiot. He'll *never* save that amount on fuel; I don't think I've spent twenty grand (current prices) in the last thirteen years.

Hmmm, quick fag packet calculation..........


12,000 miles/annum average

30mpg average

400 gallons/annum

Assume today's average price per litre is £1.00

Total equals......OMG! ......... £23,608

The reason i'm selling the 16v is because i've got a 20v na vis

As I was saying, only probably put better!

G

Well here we are nearly 10 months since I started this thread and I still feel the price for these cars is too low in comparison to everywhere else, ebay doesn't count as it's a great place to sell a shed imo, that doesn't mean that they're all sheds, it just means most are.

So, when will the fourm start helping the resale value and start pushing prices back up to where they should really be

Surely anyone who's selling a car sells it for as much as they can get for it? If it doesnt sell then they reduce it til it does.
Apart from the odd person who doesnt know or care, if the price for a certain car nowadays is low then it's just what they're worth.
I could put mine up for sale and ask 20 grand but it would never sell. They're only worth what people are prepared to pay and that isn't that much. Pushing the prices up is simply not going to happen, as cars get older they only get cheaper. If you don't care what its worth and are planning on keeping the car then it doesnt really matter though.

You hear about the Coupe gaining 'modern classic' status and we all know that they are rarer than the dodo.

So what is the maximum price tag a 'top of the range, superb condition, lowest mileage in the country' Coupe is ever going to attract as a second hand car?

Only because there are so many cheap coupes at the moment that people honestly believe that thats all they are worth! We're not helping the situation by pricing our coops ridiculously low! We're starting to believe ourselves that coops are worthless - you've seen the post where fellow forumsters were astonished that someone was asking £5k for a coop

In France coupes are not cheap! Check this out
http://cgi.ebay.fr/Occasion-FIAT-COUPE-ESSENCE-1999-Chambourcy-78_W0QQitemZ360157998491QQcmdZViewItemQQptZFR_JG_Auto_Pi%C3%A8ces_Automobiles_Test?hash=item53db16ed9b&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A10|66%3A2|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

Its a fickle market for the better looked after coupes, with a minimal possible client base to advertise to.

The only way is to take the good ones off the market for the moment.
Let the dross get bought, sold, modified badly, thrashed and trashed for the minute.

Sit on your precious one and wait. For a long time no doubt.......................

But then, when the demand finally appears, would you really want to lose what you have?.

Totally agree with you Mrs L.

paul, which coop are you selling?

Hear hear!

We're the only car club that I've ever been in or heard of that actively devalues their own cars' worth by selling them ridiculously low!

Not selling mate but if you want to make me an offer over £4000 I could be tempted.

haha im sure you could!

I will tell you the problem, no-one wants to spend 2 grand on a car that can go a 155 mph....

The only people who want a car like that, can't afford the insurance or the up keep, so they don't buy them.

Other people who have 3 or 4 grand to spend on a car don't want a 12 year old Fiat that has a reputation of breaking down.

And then other people who have more than £8k to spend on a fast car, spend £8k on a fast car, it may not be as fast as the fiat, but then they don't want a car that is preceived to breakdown and be expensive to run.

So thats it in a nutshell, the car was a niche car, and I reckon unfortunately that niche has now disappeared and the car pretty much has no market, hence they really drag out to sell.

Its a real shame, as there is nothing else out there like it, and for real car nuts it can be a great buy, but they are few and far between, and we are all on here as well

JimO has hit the nail squarely on the head. There's no point in talking about coop owners dragging down the price themselves. That's simply not the case.The case is pretty much as JimO says it is and there is nothing coop owners can do about it.

When someone posts a 'Whats it worth' and people come back with £3K and £4k estimates, it's not going to affect the market value one bit.

When people say budget £1500 a year on maintance however, that probably will.

If you really want to create interest, and show people they can be run on a reasonable budget to a decent standard then you need to do more to promote (as I try to do) the fact you can buy decent Delphi Lookheed pads for the Brembos for less than £25. Rear pads for £16. You can buy wishbones for approx £40. You can buy track rod ends for under £15 etc etc etc. Wherever there is a bargain in parts to be had they should be promoted. Mine has run on budget Lucas Semi Syn oil for over two yrs and rarely ever needs topped up. But for so many on here I get the feeling the idea of budget anything connected to the coop is blasphemy...It's not, its common sense when running a car with limited appeal and a reputation for problems...many of which are down to a lack of care IMO.

Spend your time rubbishing the likes of budget tyres (mine have been fine)and quoting big maintance bills and everyone but the dedicated few are going to overlook them in favour of celicas and preludes and the likes every single time.

Absolutely no point blaming owners who need to sell, selling for peanuts..its hardly their choice to do so...

My coupe cost less to maintain this last year than my mates old s reg fiesta zetec thingy.
parts arent that expensive really
£1500 a year is silly.
i pay less than 500 on insurance, and its cost about 600 on maintenance, but thats including things that arent gunna need replacing for a while.
iv got to service it, which im gunna buy the bits myself, fit, and then get a garage to do what i cant.
after that it wont need much spending on it this year,
(touch wood) apart from some minor bodywork.

Both these statements are very true, the car will only be worth what someone is willing to pay, but why do 1.5k coupes sell that need work yet well sorted and maintained models at 2.5k sit and stagnate

I know the answer, it just baffles me that's all

"Owners believe their coupe are worthless" Spot on, exactly what I was saying 10 months ago and I'd wish this mind set would change, if it's a nice example it'll sell, sellers just need some patients and if they don't get a bite in the first coupe of days don't just lower the price until someone shows interest otherwise potential buyers will recognise this and think sod it I'll wait a week as it'll be £500 cheaper. I appreciate that sometimes coupes need to be sold quick to raise funds and the like, but if this is the case move it onto PistonHeads or Autotrader as this style of persistent selling is causing all the damage imo.


As for £1500 a year on maintenance, I think that's more for the first year of ownership iirc, after then I'd say costs would be more around the £750 pa mark, that's if you had to have somebody to do the work, £400'ish if you're ok on the spanners yourself.

Here is a tip for selling a Coupe- keep increasing the price week after week.

Potential buyers will think ' quick! let's get it before it becomes more expensive!'

Nice one, I like your thinking

for sale

fiat coupe 20vt
1998
sprint blue
previously owned by Colin Mcrae!

£offers

JimO is spot on. And if Joe reckons that £1500 is a not-unreasonable estimate for first year maintenance, who am I to argue? Mines been a lot cheaper than that, but I bought a good 'un. If I'd bought a £1500 car and spent on it, I'd be in about the same place.

They are not common cars, but I do think that supply is ahead of demand. Most people would not even consider it as a daily driver, and there are only so many enthusiasts. Only when that changes will prices firm up.

I do, however, agree that when you sell you should set a price and stick to it, even if it takes a while.

So 6 years on from my OP and how many people are pleased they kept their Coupe?

Well most of the posters on this page dont seem to post much anymore!

What does that tell us?

Still here and loving it. Worthless?.....Priceless!! ...and Photobucket still sucks!!

Cheers Barnacle... there aren't many coop spots up your way, are there??

It's all quiet down here!