Hi there guys, off to look at a 20vt tomorrow. It's in ink black and if the man's word is good it is in great shape inside and out. It does however need a manifold.

Looking around 1000 open to offers. It has no mot.

The reg of the car is Fxz 2038, anyone know anything about it at all?

Any advice. Thanks in advance.

Previously owned a very nice stilo abarth black with cream leather. Was my favourite ever car.

Link.
http://www.gumtree.com/p/fiat/1998-fiat-coupe-2-litre-20v-turbo/1111644945

Hi and Welcome , good luck with the viewing tomorrow

Hi and welcome looks good but the walnut centre console and fiat badge on the steering wheel not for me

Also to be fair mate £1000 is aliittle steep in my eyes ,low mileage is good , no mention of cambelt change there's about £400 to start also what does it need for mot is unknown , when you view tomorrow lift boot carpet up and check for rust, mainly around the rear arches inside the boot , and let it run Upto temp and let fans kick in get oil nice and warm and see what oil pressure is ideally 1.5bar and above .

Try and offer £800 worth a try good look fella .

I would personally agree on both points buddy, these cars are few and far between on this island however.
I did also have an ink black bravo years ago and absolutely love that colour.

Just the main things to look for as mentioned above mate rust, and oil pressure , and nasty bangs and knocks good look

Yea was thinking of offering around 800. The guy told me cambers was changed at 50k and the clutch, discs and pads were changed a year ago. He told me on the phone there is service history to prove all this so hopefully he is good to his word. I've met a fair few jokers

I think £1,000 is not a bad price when others are going for over £2,000 on eBay with higher miles.

Yes but the others have service history, mots, ect mileage not really a issue service history ect is !you could buy coop for £500 with 70k on the clock and no service history or pay £1500 for one with 120k on the clock with full service history.

A car with out a mot is not much more than scrap value in my eyes .

I've learned this the hard way

I suppose it is a bit of a worry when it's not MOT'd, because it would not be much effort for them to get that done. Makes you wonder if there's something very wrong like needs welding.

It's just a gamble I'm afraid lots of genuine honest sellers out there but many not aswell let's see the verdict tomorrow

Apparently cambelt done at 50k, new brumby discs and new pads, also new clutch were all done last yr. Apparently service history to prove this. Hope it's all truth as I have a good drive ahead to go see it. I've met a few clowns in my time

Mine just sold for £2500 with 130k, no jobs outstanding however with 12 months ticket.

Ok so an update. Went to see the car. Initial reaction Is was impressed. The paint work was very very good. Interior was also in fantastic nick, far better than it looks in the pictures. No rust to be found around arches and sills, under boot carpet was as clean and dry as a car of no age.

Now is where it gets a waaay out of my knowledge zone.

Car sounded ok on startup actually, after ticking over for around 5 minutes quite a lot of puffs of white smoke started coming out of the exhaust. No noticeable issue of reps at idle. After 10 mins or so of ticking over still random clouds of white smoke every 20 secs were coming out of the exhaust. I didn't drive the car as it is not somewhere I know and I was not insured to drive it so for me it's not worth the risk.

The fan in the car only works on number 4 all other electrics were working 100pcnt.

All 3 keys with the car.

There was lots of service history, a folder full. I saw receipts for lots of work done including suspension parts in the last 10k, clutch, cambelt, brakes, water pump, etc

If I was just going to buy this car on appearance alone I would be home with it now.

Oh yeah another thing is, the oil pressure gauge still read 3 bar after idling for 10-15 mins if that means anything.

Anybody any thoughts out there?

1 thing I agreed to was booking an mot for the car and paying for it myself, getting insured on it for the day and taking it to the mot centre 15 mins from him with him as a passenger. He agreed and said he would have no issue with that... I thought this was a good thing as it possibly showed he wasn't trying to hide anything.

He says he hasn't put through mot as he hasn't been insured on it since it has been off road ( hasn't been driven since last summer, kept in a large garage, he has about 5 cars and a huuuge house)

sounds like the turbo is on its way out so will need replacing causing the smoke , apart from that it sounds like a good car .

What sort of money talking for sorting the turbo and would I need to take to a specialist? How safe would it be to drive as is? How urgent a job?

So guessing it will fail on emissions if the turbo is knackered?

Looks like there is a big dent in the sill behind drivers door

You really need to check the boot floor to arches joint have a good prod not just a look! They almost all go there!

"when" was the Cambelt done they have an age shelf life too, i think fiat recommend 6 years but others recommend a bit less

Oil pressure normally drops slightly when hot, check it drops to zero when engine stops but ignition on and rises when cranking and should always rise to 3 bar when revved

Other than that by going on what you have said sounds good looks nice but not worth a grand with a turbo to replace and no mot

Hope it turns out to be a good one and worth your time and money

Best of luck

Depends if you want new or used turbo and if you can do it yourself or have to pay somebody to do it

Used turbos are around £100 but no garantee on how long they will last!

New turbos are about £500-600ish or a bit less for a core plus fitting

Well H_R (and everyone else) thanks for taking the time to comment. I think that's just a camera trick of some variety I didn't notice that in the pic and definitely didn't notice it in the flesh.
Under the carpet in the boot I had a real good poke in there at the join of arch and floor and it really was in good nick, the slightest bit of bubbling and definitely nothing that looked a problem.

Yes I would guess it would fail anyway as there is a crack in the manifold.

Wish I could check that with the oil pressure gauge now that you ask.

As for the turbo, I just about know how to change a sparkplug mate unfortunately. It is such a disadvantage as the wool is easily pulled over my eyes.

On balance, if it needs a new turbo, cracked manifold sorting and other bits yet to be done, you are taking a real flier if you buy it.
I'd offer £500 and be prepared to walk........

Sounds like Good advice. I was actually thinking on my drive home of forgetting the mot deal and just offering him 650-700 and being prepared to walk at that.

My favourite bit is it is 100% driveable to me looks wise off the bat and I wouldn't constantly have the thought of fixing dents/respraying etc on my mind.

You guys know a hell of a lot better than me though about the likely costs down the line.

If I had any trust in a local mechanic I would probably be in a better position.

Just on a side note, I have wanted to own a Fiat coupe for around 5 years now.

Oh yeah just another question sorry. Is the smoke thing pretty much nailed on to be a turbo needing replaced or is that worst case and it 'could' be something else

The MOT deal sounds like a good idea, it'll give you
a) leeway in what you offer if it fails
b) a driver if it passes and, at a relatively low mileage together with your inspection of potential rust areas, a fair buy.

You'll always expect to shell out on a 17 yr old car but in the hands of someone that knows these cars it could be well sorted.

The fan speed you refer to is an easy fix, you find it in the how-to section.

Thanks Edinburgh. All comments are being used in the internal battle in my head. Ha, I'm going to sleep on it and see how much my day is affected tomorrow

All the talk that happens regarding the Coupes prices to be so low, yet it's often the people on here that drive the prices down!

That Coupe, with the low miles and all previous history is worth £1,000.

If it needs a turbo, then yes, maybe it'll cost another £500, but it's something less to worry about in the future. As the car has been stood around for a year, the 'smoke' could just be condensation/vapour or even something to do with the cracked manifold, depending how bad it is.

It's a 17 year old car, it will need work done eventually. If it's going to be a keeper, then spend the money.

If it passes the MOT, then I'd say it was definitely worth the £1000. If not, then see what it's failed on, have a good think about it and whether you can afford anything it needs doing to it before walking away.

You could wait and buy a Coupe for £2,000/£3,000 with everything done to it and something like the turbo or engine could still fail within a few months of your ownership. This one is only £1,000 and you could spend the money on it gradually.

Go for the MOT and see what happens.

Good luck with it and I hope it turns out well for you

Hi there folks. So after a couple of days of thinking of nothing else but getting my hands on that car, I went ahead and booked it an mot. We will see what comes of it but the way I feel it will probably take some going to put me off buying.

This leads me onto my next question... Does anyone know where in northern Ireland I will be able to find someone that I can rely on to help me get this car sorted. It is obviously going to need the manifold sorting and a high probability of needing a turbo sorted. Along with hopefully not much more.

Any ideas?

Have a chat with daithi28 on the forum, he used to have a really nice coupe over in NI and is a thoroughly good bloke.

He lives near Downpatrick if I remember correctly, so can probably point you in the right direction for a knowledgeable coupe mechanic.

Join the club and barnacle will send you a holder for your new MOT disc!

I will certainly be joining the club mate. I will send that user a pm and hopefully hear something from him thanks for that.

As for mot disc holder, we don't display mot discs here anymore

So I should keep my October 2013 NI one from the X1/9 as a last of its kind then?

I guess it would be yea. In northern Ireland we don't display mot discs or tax discs anymore.

I also love the fact you have an x1/9. Very cool. My list of fiats unfortunately is not too impressive (my stilo abarth was awesome though).
Punto 55, bravo elx in ink black was lovely and then the black stilo with every possible extra and tan leather. Dream to drive. A guy actually bought it off me when I sold it to put the 2.4 engine in his coupe. I wonder was it anyone from here?!

I will buy a 500l in future if there is an abarth released for my family car

You might not display them any more, but you'll damn well get a holder and like it!

Damned if I want them all cluttering up my house!

Haha 😂

Errrr you can send me another... I'll find a use for it - the wife's car? 8-)

Right guys, update. Have agreed a price for the car, it's booked in for mot at end of July. I agreed a price at a good bit below asking price (almost half). Kinda offered it thinking he would say no but he said he yes.

My thinking was that if by chance it went through mot there would be no room for negotiation on asking price.

My question is this, would people here advise me taking the car to a guy recommended to me on here by Daithi and get him to look over it and have her ready to pass at the end of July or should I just throw it through mot and see what happens.

Consider the fact that it's likely manifold and turbo needs addressing but due to service history I seen of track rod ends, drop links, brakes etc I'm hoping there might not be a problem with those things. Are brake pipes a common issue on these cars?

One last thing, do you guys reckon it's safe to drive 30 miles with the white smoke issue?

Hi driving with white smoke you may be able to blag it if its all legal mot'd taxed and insured but you are going to attract plenty of attention so best avoid really!

Would be better to get somebody that knows these cars to look them over and if Daithi is recommending somebody im assuming he knows the cars, so could hopefully spot something that needs attention, but may not fail an mot!

Yes Brake lines may need attention if they have not been done already, mine were done in 2013 and were very brittle, also my 02 mondeo has just got an advisory for brake pipe corrosion! best get them at least checked!

Best of luck

Yea I will have the car insured anyway, I sorted that out today, providing I am just driving to the mot centre there shouldn't be a problem. I meant for the safety of the car not my license

Update

Coupe purchased, mot passed and a nice price paid. The car really is in fantastic nick inside and out. There is not a hint of lacquer peel anywhere and no rust around the car of any note.
Driving well and boosting well.

The manifold does however need to be welded as I already knew. The other issue is there is an oil leak coming from the sump. I took it straight from mot centre to a fiat/alfa specialist and have it booked in on the 27th to reseal the sump as the sealer had deteriorated and sort the manifold out. He is also going to change the oil cooler pipes aswell as they looked a bit worn

For £630 ( plus £30 price of an mot) I got a lovely looking ink black motor with a years mot and only a few issues to sort out.

The guy who sold me it also threw a brand new unpainted set of le sideskirts and front bumper lips because he had not got around to putting them on and had no use for them anymore.

Well pleased

Oh yes, the white smoke appears not to be an issue as I have seen no more whatsoever since test driving, to buying, to driving over 100 miles in a stop start manner and also letting her idle for 10 mins 3 or 4 times during the day. Mechanic believes probably just a by product of not being in use for 9 months

Glad it turned out ok! Sounds like your initial judgement was a good one!
You are going spend on most coupes doesn't mean they are not any good just old!
Enjoy it!

Great news, sounds like you've found yourself a reasonable garage too

Thanks guys. Over the moon and a very fun first 100 miles it has been too

Good stuff! Welcome to the club
Now get yourself an avatar

I would def tell myself the turbo is dead:) its a great excuse to get yourself a nice large one and a proper map