Well, i've pretty much 99.9% decided that the coupe 20v turbo will now be my next car... i've fallen in love with them. I started another thread a couple of days ago asking on running costs/reliability etc and got a few different answers, so thought i'd start a little survey to see how long you've had the car, what's gone wrong with it in that time, and how much it's set you back as a result. Feel free to do it for as many vehicles as you wish if you've owned a couple/few in the last years.

So here we go... please try and leave spacing between the questions/answers or format them a little (like Akeme/Wishy did) to make them more readable.

*What model/spec coupe do you have?

*What age is the car?

*What mileage is the car, and how many do you cover per year?

*How much did the car cost you to buy?

*How long have you personally owned the vehicle?

*What condition was the car in when you bought it?

What modifications, if any, have you had done to the car, and at what cost?

Have these modifications affected reliability in any significant and noticeable way?

*What mechanical faults have occurred with the car and what costs have amounted as a result? If possible please provide a rough breakdown of the more major faults and details of costs of parts/replacements.

*How much have you spent per year on repairs/maintenance due to natural wear and tear?

*How many mpg do you roughly average over 3-5 tanks?

That should be enough to get a good idea, but if you can think of anything to add then please let me know. Hope you don't mind me asking for the info.

Rich.

*What model/spec coupe do you have? 20VT

*What age is the car? 1998 "R"

*How much did the car cost you to buy? £2900

*How long have you personally owned the vehicle? 22 months

*What condition was the car in when you bought it? very good

*What mechanical faults have occurred with the car and what costs have amounted as a result? If possible please provide a rough breakdown of the more major faults and details of costs of parts/replacements. seized brake piston-approx £60 to refurb the caliper with new seals and repaint.
dodgy temp. seonsor-not fixed it yet!! will be fixed when my new thermostat (£35) goes in.

*How much have you spent per year on repairs/maintenance due to natural wear and tear? £200-£300

*How many mpg do you roughly average over 3-5 tanks? depending on drive between 20-30mpg

I take it you only want the figures for standard cars?

Very reliable once you sort out previous owners neglect which can often be expensive.Now that its right I'm delighted.
Wish I'd been able to afford a new one when they were available.
Don't worry about mpg........if you do you can't afford it

What model/spec coupe do you have? : 1998 "R" Coupe 20v Turbo

What age is the car? : See above

How much did the car cost you to buy? : £4000

How long have you personally owned the vehicle? : 2 years 9 months

What condition was the car in when you bought it? : Near perfect, one pin dent on the boot lid and the alarm did not work, FSH

What mechanical faults have occurred with the car and what costs have amounted as a result? If possible please provide a rough breakdown of the more major faults and details of costs of parts/replacements :

• Unichip TDC Rom Failure, cost to fix: Free
• Insufficient voltage to Walbro 255, cost to fix: wiring mod - £50
• Throttle cable snapped, cost to fix: £10

How much have you spent per year on repairs/maintenance due to natural wear and tear? : £500

How many mpg do you roughly average over 3-5 tanks? : 21-22

*What model/spec coupe do you have? 20VT

*What age is the car? 1998 "S"

*How much did the car cost you to buy? £11,000 (in 2001)

*How long have you personally owned the vehicle? 6.5 years months

*What condition was the car in when you bought it? very good

*What mechanical faults have occurred with the car and what costs have amounted as a result? If possible please provide a rough breakdown of the more major faults and details of costs of parts/replacements.

Over that time - too much to list, but its never broken down! (touches wood)

*How much have you spent per year on repairs/maintenance due to natural wear and tear?

Sometimes only the cost of a service (£200) or up to £1,500 in other years (cambelt, clutch and a turbo in the same year :o)

*How many mpg do you roughly average over 3-5 tanks? usually around 30mpg (lots of motorway)

*What model/spec coupe do you have?
20VT

*What age is the car?
1998 – 9 yrs old
*How much did the car cost you to buy?
£3800
*How long have you personally owned the vehicle?
2 years
*What condition was the car in when you bought it?
Excellent except for stone chips to front bumper
*What mechanical faults have occurred with the car and what costs have amounted as a result? If possible please provide a rough breakdown of the more major faults and details of costs of parts/replacements.
Thermostat £40 and wishbones drop links etc £100 But upgrades and fettling have cost me the earth

*How much have you spent per year on repairs/maintenance due to natural wear and tear?
Just servicing costs and brake pads every two years
*How many mpg do you roughly average over 3-5 tanks?
28mpg reliable but can get in the 30s


Go drive one, then all the above is irrelevant IMHO

Hmm ok i'll add a section for mods too, certainly nothing asgainst seeing them listed.

*What model/spec coupe do you have? 20VT[6]

*What age is the car? 2000W

*How much did the car cost you to buy? Enough

*How long have you personally owned the vehicle? 18 months

*What condition was the car in when you bought it? Pretty damn good

*What mechanical faults have occurred with the car and what costs have amounted as a result? If possible please provide a rough breakdown of the more major faults and details of costs of parts/replacements. Previous owners replaced manifold/oil cooler+pipes/wishbones etc.
Since I've had it (ignoring non essential suspension upgrade, alloy refurb etc), temperature sensor and bump stops (£40 IIRC). About to get brake pipes replaced this week (~£200??).

*How much have you spent per year on repairs/maintenance due to natural wear and tear? Previous owners had already done belts/clutch/brake discs/exhaust. I've needed 4 new tyres (£250) and about to get brake pipes replaced this week (~£200??), two services in 18 months so about £600/year.

*How many mpg do you roughly average over 3-5 tanks? Probably about 25 (20~23 if I use my right foot 28~30 if I don't).

At home I have the exact costs of everything that's been done if you want but it'll be next Thursday before I'm there with enough time to dig out the info and also bear in mind that some of the prices may be out of date now.

Maybe a section for milage too, and annual milage.

For you r survey mine has 111000 and covers about 6000 a year.
It is modified with stainless exhaust with de-cat, gtec1 chip, bmc panel filter with modded airbox, blitz dd blow off valve, eibach springs and I think that's it.

*What model/spec coupe do you have?

20vt

*What age is the car?

97R

*How much did the car cost you to buy?

£4200(?)

*How long have you personally owned the vehicle?

3 years

*What condition was the car in when you bought it?

Leather was raped by a Rhino, manifold cracked, some light cosmetic blemishes.

What modifications, if any, have you had done to the car, and at what cost?

Replaced leather (£200), DV26 (£40)) Dents via polish lorry (free), 3G discs (£100?) Decent pads (£60)

Have these modifications affected reliability in any significant and noticeable way?

Nope

*What mechanical faults have occurred with the car and what costs have amounted as a result? If possible please provide a rough breakdown of the more major faults and details of costs of parts/replacements.

None other than servicing, tyres and brakes, clutch still going somehow, manifold still cracked etc.

*How much have you spent per year on repairs/maintenance due to natural wear and tear?

Few hundread, service then jus tyres etc.

*How many mpg do you roughly average over 3-5 tanks?

NO idea as I barely drive, 4k miles a year approx.



In summary its been very reliable and with powerfiat its cheap to run.

Here goes.

*What model/spec coupe do you have? 20vt

*What age is the car? 1998

*How much did the car cost you to buy? £3800

*How long have you personally owned the vehicle?
2 years today!!!

*What condition was the car in when you bought it? Average.

What modifications, if any, have you had done to the car, and at what cost?

Loads including engine and turbo replacement. Total cost - £15000

Have these modifications affected reliability in any significant and noticeable way?

With any changes to engine and turbo etc fuelling is the main issue to reliability and the fact that with increased power there is increased stress on parts like suspension, brakes etc.

*What mechanical faults have occurred with the car and what costs have amounted as a result? If possible please provide a rough breakdown of the more major faults and details of costs of parts/replacements.

Nuthin major apart from engine loss. Most things have been routine like wishbones, suspension etc.

*How much have you spent per year on repairs/maintenance due to natural wear and tear?

Probably about £1.5k a year. But there was £1k needed done when i got it.

*How many mpg do you roughly average over 3-5 tanks?

Usually get around 23/24 mpg but before modding it, was getting around 28, and i dont have a problem using the loud pedal.

Ross

You've spent £15,000 on it!!!!!!!

Richdog - if you want to know which mods get what power/torque try looking at the hall of fame.
http://www.online-presence.co.uk/_coupe/

Basics are that if you keep the car standard, maintain it and don't buy a lemon, you'll have a fast reliable car for many years. Once you begin to modify it, she'll turn into a money pit. (A loveable money pit, but a money pit nevertheless).

In terms of value for money, I doubt you'll find anything which costs so little but is so fast. This is the reason I own one. When i was looking to buy, it was a toss up between a 200sx or the 20VT. I found a 20VT in good nick first.

*What model/spec coupe do you have?
20VT

*What age is the car?
11 years

*How much did the car cost you to buy?
5k ish for one - this one about £800 (the engine in the boot one)

*How long have you personally owned the vehicle?
3 years

*What condition was the car in when you bought it?
SHED

What modifications, if any, have you had done to the car, and at what cost?
None. Total rebuild and 3 engines. New paint, panels etc. Now showroom condition. Musta spent 8k ish

Have these modifications affected reliability in any significant and noticeable way?
Nope - all new…still breaks

*What mechanical faults have occurred with the car and what costs have amounted as a result? If possible please provide a rough breakdown of the more major faults and details of costs of parts/replacements.
3 engines, 1 gearbox, 2 turbo's, 1 crank, the odd piston, wishbone - ahh you name it!

*How much have you spent per year on repairs/maintenance due to natural wear and tear?
Natural - none. Do less than 2k a year

*How many mpg do you roughly average over 3-5 tanks?
Mid to late 20's

Added. And thanks for the replies people this, this is
better than I could have hoped for... a very useful overview.



Thanks man, very useful.

Yeah engines from barbz aint cheap, but defo worth it.

Ross

*What model/spec coupe do you have?
20vt
*What age is the car?
10 years
*What mileage is the car, and how many do you cover per year?
90k around 8k
*How much did the car cost you to buy?
£1400
*How long have you personally owned the vehicle?
10 months
*What condition was the car in when you bought it?
Decent just dent in rear and new clutch needed
What modifications, if any, have you had done to the car, and at what cost?
Strut brace,hids,leather £300 in total for that lot
Have these modifications affected reliability in any significant and noticeable way?
None mechanical mods
*What mechanical faults have occurred with the car and what costs have amounted as a result? If possible please provide a rough breakdown of the more major faults and details of costs of parts/replacements.
Clutch £470,rear hub £55,rear supension repair kit £100 fitted,thermostat£60 fitted
*How much have you spent per year on repairs/maintenance due to natural wear and tear?
as above
*How many mpg do you roughly average over 3-5 tanks?
about 22

*What model/spec coupe do you have? 20VT

*What age is the car? 1999

*What mileage is the car, and how many do you cover per year? 81OOO with average 8000 pa

*How much did the car cost you to buy? - enough

*How long have you personally owned the vehicle? Just over 3 years

*What condition was the car in when you bought it? Very Good

What modifications, if any, have you had done to the car, and at what cost? Very little - Strut Brace (£90), Powerflow S/S Exhaust (£260), HID Headlights (£120) Almost forgot - DV26 (£60) to replace the worn out standard dump valve

Have these modifications affected reliability in any significant and noticeable way? No

*What mechanical faults have occurred with the car and what costs have amounted as a result? If possible please provide a rough breakdown of the more major faults and details of costs of parts/replacements. Clutch Slave Cylinder failed (£15)

*How much have you spent per year on repairs/maintenance due to natural wear and tear? By choice I replaced the front suspension (struts, wishbones, top mounts, track rod ends approx £400) I also changed all the brake disks (£100) and have just had new front brake hoses and auxillary belts / tensioner (about £90). Apart from those I have spent no more than £200 pa on servicing etc. if you don't count cost of oil

*How many mpg do you roughly average over 3-5 tanks? Since I have owned the car the average is 27.98 mpg - you will find that around town it will do 22 - 23 and on the open road anything up to 30 - 32

The car has been completely reliable and there's nothing quite like it out there to compare.

Like others say - just drive one and you'll know if it's what you want!

*What model/spec coupe do you have?
20 Valve Turbo

*What age is the car?
1998 R Reg but on private plate now

*What mileage is the car, and how many do you cover per year?
58,000 and do about 6k a year on average

*How much did the car cost you to buy?
£3800

*How long have you personally owned the vehicle?

Since Feb 14th 2005

*What condition was the car in when you bought it?

It hadn't been used for a while so had to get new discs/pads/calipers/tyres/belts and a few other things too.

What modifications, if any, have you had done to the car, and at what cost?

LE Lips, Side Skirts, Grill and other remedial bodywork £800
Blueflame Catback Exhaust £200
PRV £20
GTEC £30
Baileys DV26 £30ish I think
Strut Brace £50
Apexi Induction £60ish I think
Alloys £400ish
HID's £120

Few other things but can't remember how much these were.


Have these modifications affected reliability in any significant and noticeable way?

Well who knows but my car is currently at Motormech getting it's engine looked at

*What mechanical faults have occurred with the car and what costs have amounted as a result? If possible please provide a rough breakdown of the more major faults and details of costs of parts/replacements.

New Clutch = £400ish
Wheel Bearings x 2 = £200
Suspected Big End Bearing = £Unknown


*How much have you spent per year on repairs/maintenance due to natural wear and tear?

Hard to say as I replace things before they become safety critical ie (New 3g Discs, red dot pads, radiator and changing thermostat, phase sensor, oil cooler and pipes (these are well past there best!) now incase they fail later) but guess £800 odd? Are we including standard services, oil etc?

*How many mpg do you roughly average over 3-5 tanks?

late 20's

*What model/spec coupe do you have? 20VT

*What age is the car? 'R' 1997

*What mileage is the car, and how many do you cover per year? 113K, about 8-10K a year

*How much did the car cost you to buy? £2,000

*How long have you personally owned the vehicle? 1 Year

*What condition was the car in when you bought it? Not great, but expected it for the money I paid and had a spare £1500 to bring it up to scratch

What modifications, if any, have you had done to the car, and at what cost? Zender bodykit, Forge DV006, Induction kit, lowered 40mm, strut brace and just had a stainless cat back fitted. Lost count on cost.

Have these modifications affected reliability in any significant and noticeable way? No

*What mechanical faults have occurred with the car and what costs have amounted as a result? If possible please provide a rough breakdown of the more major faults and details of costs of parts/replacements. None really

*How much have you spent per year on repairs/maintenance due to natural wear and tear? About £1,200 when I first bought it, on all the usual things, cambelt, bottom arms, etc.

*How many mpg do you roughly average over 3-5 tanks? No idea

*What model/spec coupe do you have? 20vt

*What age is the car? 10 years

*What mileage is the car, and how many do you cover per year? 60450 / 4000 per year

*How much did the car cost you to buy? £2500

*How long have you personally owned the vehicle? 8 months

*What condition was the car in when you bought it? Good

What modifications, if any, have you had done to the car, and at what cost?: none

Have these modifications affected reliability in any significant and noticeable way?: NA

*What mechanical faults have occurred with the car and what costs have amounted as a result? If possible please provide a rough breakdown of the more major faults and details of costs of parts/replacements.
1) Turbo replacement £600
2) Oil Cooler pipes £360 (booked in 10th July)
3) Front Lower arms £170 (also booked in for 10th July)


*How much have you spent per year on repairs/maintenance due to natural wear and tear? £1797

*How many mpg do you roughly average over 3-5 tanks? Errrr

At the end of it I realised that I bought a dog even though she was shiney, now I've paid out (or yet to pay out) for the last of what needs repairing on her and she be as good as new. Saying that I scuff the back wheel arch so its a never ending saga.
I was seduced by low miles and shiney paintwork, my next car will be high miles and a ton of Power Fiat recipts if I can find one like that.

BUT what a car!!

I would add mine to it but it has cost me around £50 in wear and tear been reliable for the 8 months I have had it. But I have spent circa 5k having the beauty restored to her glory!

I also get 400+ miles per tank

I have run and drove 3 20vt's in total
Bravo Green20vt blue 20vt so i will average the 3

*What model/spec coupe do you have?
all20vt's without a,c but everything else


*What age is the car?
98R
*What mileage is the car, and how many do you cover per year?
12k a year and ranged from 60k to 120k

*How much did the car cost you to buy?
from £600 to 5K

*How long have you personally owned the vehicle?
3 years longest
*What condition was the car in when you bought it?
All sweet other than the green which had a ding on the rear 1/4
What modifications, if any, have you had done to the car, and at what cost?
modded just the bravo,too much to list but spent best part of 10k
Have these modifications affected reliability in any significant and noticeable way?
Not at all,seems to run pull and idle much smoother

*What mechanical faults have occurred with the car and what costs have amounted as a result? If possible please provide a rough breakdown of the more major faults and details of costs of parts/replacements.
Never once let me down

*How much have you spent per year on repairs/maintenance due to natural wear and tear?
About £1000 a year on tyres,servicing,brakes and suspension components

*How many mpg do you roughly average over 3-5 tanks?
about 20 but have had 375 miles on a long run with all the mods

What model/spec coupe do you have? 16v turbo

*What age is the car? 1996 N

*What mileage is the car, and how many do you cover per year? 85k 10/15k per year.

*How much did the car cost you to buy? £1700

*How long have you personally owned the vehicle? 7 Months

*What condition was the car in when you bought it? Good

What modifications, if any, have you had done to the car, and at what cost? None

Have these modifications affected reliability in any significant and noticeable way? NA

*What mechanical faults have occurred with the car and what costs have amounted as a result? If possible please provide a rough breakdown of the more major faults and details of costs of parts/replacements.

Engine replacement after 1st month (under warranty)*phew*
Spark plugs causing misfire £16
New coil pack £30 (second hand)
Relay for wipers and fans £6

*How much have you spent per year on repairs/maintenance due to natural wear and tear? 2 new tires £220

*How many mpg do you roughly average over 3-5 tanks?
350 miles to a tank

*What model/spec coupe do you have?

20VT LE

*What age is the car?

8 years

*What mileage is the car, and how many do you cover per year?

55k 8k

*How much did the car cost you to buy?
£7500

*How long have you personally owned the vehicle?
2 months
*What condition was the car in when you bought it?
Excellent
What modifications, if any, have you had done to the car, and at what cost?
None - had cambelt, wishbones, clutch, handbrake cables etc done when buying....
Have these modifications affected reliability in any significant and noticeable way?
N/A
*What mechanical faults have occurred with the car and what costs have amounted as a result? If possible please provide a rough breakdown of the more major faults and details of costs of parts/replacements.
Speedo went - being fixed tomorrow in L&M
*How much have you spent per year on repairs/maintenance due to natural wear and tear?
N/A
*How many mpg do you roughly average over 3-5 tanks?
25ish

Not.

Even.

Going.

To.

Bother.

I can't justify the money I've spent on my rusty Tipo.

*What model/spec coupe do you have? - 20VT

*What age is the car? - 98 'R'

*What mileage is the car, and how many do you cover per year? - 163,900 - 30,000+ per year

*How much did the car cost you to buy? - £5k

*How long have you personally owned the vehicle? 3 1/2 years

*What condition was the car in when you bought it? - very good

What modifications, if any, have you had done to the car, and at what cost? - Lots and lots and lots of mods - lots and lots and lots of money

Have these modifications affected reliability in any significant and noticeable way? - Yes, it was difficult to live with while trying to get it to run right, but once set up properly, its now very reliable.

*What mechanical faults have occurred with the car and what costs have amounted as a result? If possible please provide a rough breakdown of the more major faults and details of costs of parts/replacements. - Actual failures are few and far between - most replacements are because of upgrades. The main failure was worn rings, due to all the coolant escaping from a leaky expansion tank cap - my fault for not replacing it. Otherside, its been down to consumables - wishbones, bearings, oil cooler etc.

*How much have you spent per year on repairs/maintenance due to natural wear and tear? - Sub £1,000

*How many mpg do you roughly average over 3-5 tanks? - 25+ mpg

Richdog

No amount of survey data will actually predict how much a coop will cost to run or the likelihood of it going bang.

Buy one with good history, that looks well cared for and is standard, not that well modded cars are a no no. Just my view thats all. Never skimp on needed work, servicing and maintain a weekly routine of checking topping up fluids.

Eg mine is standard, had it 5 years, done 114k, I have every bit of documentation from day one. Bought for a very fair price knowing i would spend £2k in the first week getting every job done that it needed. If I hadn`t spent that initial £2k there were a number of potential disasters awaiting and it might have gone bang. Last year cost £175 in servicing/maintenance, this year over £2k already.

If you looked at the car today, you might think Hmmm MrF`s car could looks a bit better - tis only cosmetics as I need another wheel refurb and paintwork doing.

Neighbour drove mine, then bought one last year, cosmetically looked gorgeous, ok documentation. The car was dead within 5 months and is scrap.

You just can`t predict the future, just don`t thrash the arse off your coop all the time.

MrF