Over the years, I have bought many coupes (and other cars) and it makes me wonder?

What is it that you guys are looking for when buying a car? What do you think it is that makes 'you' decide 'yes' this is the one.

- Calculation of what needs doing and what's been done
- You decide in the first 30 seconds of looking
- You've seen so many bad ones that ... if this one is half decent''ll take it'

I could say more, but what do you think? What is/are the deciding factor(s) They say that when people buy a house it's decided in the first few minutes...

Thoughts anyone?

My heart rules my head everytime. I'd say that half of the cars I've owned, I should have walked away from. All 3 coupes come under the 'Should have walked' section.

Probably the same as me.... mine needed belts and a new clutch as soon as I bought it... ooops.

I definitely make my mind [heart] up within a few seconds.

Nowadays, with a sensible head on, I would be after a Coupe based on:

1. Price. I'm after a bargain before they get silly money.
2. Condition. I'd like a nice one which I can pamper and keep for posterity.
3. Originality. I wouldn't want any major mods (exhausts and minor remap is ok). If it's a classic, then originality will become important.
4. A plus. I'm not a hugh fans of LE's due to the interior colour scheme. Just my personal opinion [cue the abuse ]
5. An NA. Yes, I'd like a Turbo, but in my stable of cars, I'd have an NA for a daily driver... like my VIS.
6. While the VIS is great, including the bespoke wheels and later trim levels, the original NA was more rorty and fun to drive IMO.
7. Lowish mileage.
8. Good service history.

I must admit I first saw a 16vt coupe in a scrap yard 7years ago ,I got inside and looked at the interior and the dash strip ect i loved it , then knowing it was a turbo was a no brainier for me . I'd always liked alfas ect I owned a Alfa 145 at the time I loved that car too.

Hello. My name is Patch. I buy Coupes, but it's not an addiction.

After all, I can stop any time.

Can't I?

A seller who is clearly more than an average enthusiast; passionate and uncompromising. Someone who has spent obscene amounts of time, money and effort on maintenance. A person obsessed with quality who loves their car beyond reason and is obviously reluctant to sell.

I agree with you Gripped, points 1,2,3.

Originally, I liked seeing coops with body kits and modded. But these days I prefer seeing them as they were from factory. I think I got this after owning the Porsche. It was completely original and I really liked that considering its age. it was like I was buying it as it was when new.

For coops, I even like the black sills, and black lower front and rear bumpers more these days! For me, now at least, I only like kits that came with the car, LE, Plus. Other types don't do it for me.

A big part is definitely, what's been done. because I know, it'll just end up needing to be done eventually or I worry - It's gonna fail on me now when driving.

Knowing what has been done and what will need doing is a huge part of the buying process - how many 'what should I look for' threads have there been!

I've never really bought a dog of a car. But there was one coop, that I bought and sold ... a week later, the buyer informed me that the bottom end went. That, was unfortunate.

Yes! and also knowing the cars history before - here the club helps.

Barney, are you in Baku now? If you are, if you want some tickets for you and your mates to see the Gabala / Krasnodar game message me. I won't be there as I am working (the match is at the Bakcell Arena as our stadium is under-construction). Anyway, message me if you want some mate

Why? Good question!
For me the reason I obtained my coupe is because I always found the styling attractive.
Others vehicles for various reasons, some practical, some just for fun, some because I want to restore them. Might explain my eclectic collention of cars....

Phil that's extremely kind of you! Very much appreciated.
I am in Az at the moment. Sadly there is a curfew to prevent late arrivals returning to the prison camp I reside in. It's most effective at preventing us from venturing out to have fun.

No problem Barney, we Az guys must stick together .... Only we understand what the hell it's like out here!! If you ever want to visit a home match up Gabala with some guys let me know and I will sort out a VIP room to watch the match. Take care mate!

I bought mine off a mate who would lend it to me over a weekend to convince me it wasn't a hairdressers car!
Being a Porto I have never really liked the colour too much, but certainly loved the 5 cylinder engine noise, their relative rarity in my neck of the woods, the turbo surge etc and the fact they seemed to be worth saving from the scrap yard in the sky.

Plus, as a bit of a petrol-head, it was my first Italian car in over 30 years of driving!
When telling me he was selling it, he promised everything that needed doing was done, but in reality (as my good condition standard was higher than his), it never would be (££££ as I have since found out)!

Knowing what I now know, I guess I would more selective, but it's been an interesting journey.
It's unlikely I would have paid for a £5k+ car at the start, but it for anyone who knows they want a coupe, I'd say it's the better way to go, than spending say £1k and having to spend many times that on bringing it up to scratch...

My buying priorities would be:-

Bodywork Condition
Colour
Mileage
Service History
Number of previous owners

Still, I have improved mine so much (from where I started), I would be reluctant to start all over again....

I mopped (detailed the paint) on a Porto once (Chalkys), it had the full LE kit on it. Porto has never really done it for me, but after mopping, it looked fantastic in the sun, really, really nice!

And you are right, there is something about italian cars .... well, certain, Italian cars

In this case it was love at first sight, bought all 3 of my Coupés from enthousiasts, so that's a major plus! And since I had already an 1.8 16v and a "normal" 2.0 20vt, I knew I had to look for an LE or a Plus. And with the rarity of a sunroof, I knew I must want one of those... searched long for it, now I have it. Time to love it!

It seems so Neil

When I was buying the VIS, the thing that immediately put me off was the colour.
In red and with only 65k on it, it was stunning- just a 'bit too' overt for my tastes. The spoiler didn't help either, but I knew I could take that off.

The more I looked at it- I spent an hour going round as much as I could see with a torch, the less I could find wrong.

The service history was non existent and it obviously need all the serious maintenance right away, but the more I looked, the more I could see it hadn't been owned for the wrong reasons (whatever they might be).

It had just been ignored, by some old boy who had owned it. And that started to appeal to me. It didn't have a 'performance exhaust', it had the standard air filter, standard wheels, standard suspension.
Plus- my ideal spec of no sunroof plus A/C.

After another half hour, I couldn't avoid it.

Plus, I didn't have the train tickets to get back from Bradford!

A stunning euphemistic description of a rash purchase

I remember when patch changed a silver LE Coop's looks by taking the LE bits off and spraying the roof grey...




But this doesn't even look like a Fiat Coupe at all now!

Vey good JKD This is a LE - GS300 Sport. Very hard to get these days (a decent one anyway).

Surely all former owners qualify as enthusiasts????

Hey patch, when I have had time I have always tried to read the restoration/project thread you and others put up as there is so much step-by-step info on how to repair/improve a coop. Thank you from me and many other owners.

Now a very blunt question: Seeing how you have now had a good few of these and many other cars it makes me wonder how much money have you made or lost??

I would love an honest answer but understand the many reasons why you would not say and also understand fun, friends and knowledge gained in any aspect of life is worth more than the cost involved. It may help me (and others) weight up the for-and-against.

Thanks in advance Tom.

To be honest I bought my Coupe because I liked the colour.

Be very careful, patch may charge you heavily for that information

No problem at all; Overall it's a loss t0m0. I've won on a few, but even then it's a case of winning by a few pennies rather than making a huge profit, It's never been about let's see how much money I can make. If it were, I'd of stopped long ago. Luckily for me, I am able to make money from my profession and this pays for the obsession

When I sell a coupe, or any car. I get satisfaction .... "Yep, that's a good car" I think, I can sell it confident that I did what was best for that car, I am proud to see them go, and that's the thing ...... I don't want to keep them. I want the next project. Let's move on. I learn a few things from all and I am the type of guy who likes 'change' so it always sits well with me when they leave.

I think that is clear from reading the threads and seeing the amount of 'stuff' that is bought be it products or labour. That the expenditure usually far exceeds the sale price.

But saying this, there are also the cars (coupes) I bought and did something with like I gave one to my Dad after spending a significant amount getting it to a state when I thought - yep, this will be reliable for a few years now.

I tend to buy good cars from the get-go, which helped. Cars with the right history and ripe for fettling; the loss could of been higher if I had not. Buy wisely when it comes to coupes, luckily, I have been able to do this.

Yes, it's a hobby for me, certainly not a business venture, but I am hoping to change that. More about this another day though. I think there is a market these days for a car that have been 'patch'd' (so to speak). It seems to me that I know what buyers want and I draw this conclusion because the coupes I do don't sit around for long once offered for sale.

The coupe, for me stirs emotions that no other car has - maybe I need to drive more cars There is something about the car, the noise and the occasion in this particular marque that I really like, it's not too big, it's not a show-off car like a ferrari, or Lambo, but it gets lots of attention. it's a left-field choice, it's right up my street, so to speak! It's very capable and very under-rated in-my-opinion; again, this is something I like about the car.

Things may change, the average price of a coupe is changing and I'd say, that now, is the best time to buy and invest in a coupe. At last!

As my old friend Joe would say "Long live the coupe"

NOTE - If you are thinking WOW, he's posting early this morning! Nope, I am not. I am 4 hours ahead of the UK

Well there we are

Wise words and a fascinating philosophical insight...

The choice of car is most often a heart thing, but not always. With the Fiat Coupé it was the 5 cylinder engine and the Coupé body style. I will be totally honest here and say that I did find the Coupé a little awkward looking at first. The lower black elements on the car looked so 80's and is one reason why I chose a dark colour.

When buying I am totally led by the head. I research the car before I even look at one. I then try and go to traders to look at high and low mileage examples to get an idea of how they look. The heart only gets another look in after I take ownership.

So buying is very calculated. Condition, History and Work required Vs Price. I generally buy privately and have a price in my head before I view. If I don't get the car for the price I have in my head I walk. My recent car purchase is the first time I've bought from a trader since a Quattro in 1990, and it's the first time I think I've paid over the odds since then! Don't get me wrong I knocked the price down quite a bit but I feel I should have got it £200 - £500 cheaper.

Because it's a Fiat, anything that's remotely good about it seems even more impressive and anything that's bad, tends to get a free pass, because, well, it's only a Fiat.

If it had an Alfa badge on it, it would be nowhere near as special.

A nice sounding, good looking, fast Alfa is expected. But a nice sounding, good looking, fast Fiat is not.

I like anything thats different and slightly unusual....And for the money the Coupe is the most exotic looking and sounding (and performing!) thing going. My Dad bought an almost new Type 116 Alfa Giulietta in 1981 which I learnt to drive in so it stems from that for me.... I thought it was the coolest thing going especially with Chocolate velour!

For the money, it's unbeatable. That's been the case ever since it was new and it has remained the same as it slipped (quickly) into ever more obtainable price brackets. For me, I start at 5am most days and I watch sunrise out of the office window and I see the Coupe sitting pretty amongst the myriad BMW 3 series and family hatches and I think what a pretty car she is. I'll keep her until I cannot afford the upkeep and when that day comes and Im driving something else, something more reliable or faster, I'll still miss her.