I decided the roads were so bad, the fuel was so expensive and the parking was so awkward that I would save the coupe for regular "treats" i.e. weekend etc.
So I got a cheap £600 Nissan Micra. I love the contrast of the two. The Nissan is so unashamedly functional. It's white as well so wouldnt look amiss next to a fridge or washing machine. Cheap as chips to run too.
Then its a real pleasure to drive the coupe - makes it seem like a limo by comparison.
Do you have a second car? WOUld you go for another Fiat or something diferent. Or even another coupe? One for daily one for best!!

Yep, have just got rid of a C3 as the daily driver for a new diesel Grande Punto.
I once used to have a 2CV as an alternative to the Coupe together with a BX GTi.

Pete

I've got a ZX Diesel estate which cost about as much as your Micra and it gives me pleasure in so many different ways to the coop.

I love getting 50mpg without trying.
I love the fact I can drive into town for a night out and just leave the thing there and pick it up the next day.
I love the fact that I can take it to my other half's house and just drive it to work in the morning (instead of having to walk home first and get the coop).
I love the amount of stuff it can carry.
I love not worrying about garden waste falling out of sacks in the boot on tip runs.

I'm even starting to find that chuggy chuggy noise the engine makes quite therapeutic. I perhaps need some serious help but...

Above all these things make me appreciate the coop even more when I drive it.

52 plate 1.2 Renault Clio while i stil carry on rebuilding the coupe (3 years on )

Y - Plate Fiat Bravo 1.2sx. Functional, with a little bit of style (I like to tell myself). Easy, easy drive, great fuel consumption.

Coupe stays in the garage, and used only for pleasure and weekends, I try to avoid wet conditions as well.

I had a punto Sporting but sold it as I do less than 100 miles most weeks, so hardly that much of a strain on the coupe or wallet Been thinking about another small hatch but more from a parking at work incompetence point of view

I run a 98 Cinq Sporting in the week, fortunate really as it has been run into whilst parked three times as i`m visiting patients and only one of the culprits stayed around to admit it. Ideal town runabout for 600 quid, done 25k this year and it sailed through the mot.

Before I halved my daily mileage (from 100 to 50) I had a 1991 Clio diesel. Had done about 130k and wasn't the best cosmetically but never missed a beat. Bought it for peanuts and sold it for a moderate profit.

When I get the Cerb I'll need to get something else for the commute when it's wet and cold. Autotrader/Ebay will hopefully be kind to me for £250ish.

errr......2003 Alfa GTV 3.0

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h40/montydog1/montydog2/P1000630.jpg

This has to be proof that the Coupe is a classic.

I run another car for the commute & when it rains.

I love the Coupe so much, that I got rid of my second car

When I bought my Coupe, I was running a Mercedes Auto - thinking the Coupe would be more practical - ha! Anyway, I put my sensible trousers on eventually - having sold the Mercedes & my other car (a Porsche) I bought an Audi 80 TDi Avant as a workhorse.

Paid £960 on eBay for it - only had 197k (now 205k - that's 8k saved on the Coupe's clock already) from new! Nice sporty red estate - very practical - loads of space - can park it anywhere without worrying too much about damage - it's comfortable - quite cheap to run - economical - still got some badge kudos (with the private plate on it) & typical German build quality, of course.

OK, I miss the Coupe's performance sometimes, but then I get it out of the garage - admire it's looks (& how clean it is!) and give it a blast to fall back in love with it all over again (plus get blown away with the performance compared to a 90 horse wagon!) & then park it up for another 'special' day!

From the days when Audi quality really was something special. Are you sure it's red though? They all seem to have turned pink these days

A Rover 200SDi (bubble shape) S reg 2.0ltr Diesel is what I had. They are cheap, good mpg and you can easily tune them to 135bhp(with loads of Torque as it's a diesel).

I quite enjoyed owning it actually, nice little cheap motor.

Mark

I am driving a pug 107 at the mo whilst i am waiting for the cambelt/service/radiator etc to be done. and i am now thinking that a second car is the way to go.

i am sure spending under 1k would pay for its self in no time, and preserve the coupe a little longer. and it would save me parking 1/2 a mile away from the shops and work to avoid carpark dents.

I'm thinking of buying a moped (as work is only 5 miles away and I use my pushbike unless the weather is really crappy), do I need shooting?...

I thought about a moped but decided that once I had factored in tax, insurance, portective clothing, helmet and CBT any savings would take several years to recoup so decided to carry on with the Coupé.

Normally, I'd be looking at a Punto but now I've got a car as cool as the Coupe, I don't think I'd mind what I ran as a second car; I might even stoop so low as to consider a VW or a diesel (but never both!). Funny enough Growlingbear, I have been thinking of going down to Bournemouth and finding well loved Micra for under £1k. Like you say, automotive washing machine but will always start and cost nothing to run.

Got a van that I use for my business during the week days a mondeo ghia x 2.5 v6 for the weekends which is less economical around town that the coop which leaves me .............no time for the coop what so ever ... something not quite right there?!!!!!

God bless T-Cut is what I say! It's actually Laser Red (best colour for that shape) which has a hint of Orange in it a la General Lee!

Extra kudos - it's the exact same bodyshape as the Audi RS2 Avant - a turbo monster with Porsche bits & as fast as a Coupe Turb!

I reckon a second car is a false economy - here's why.

Coupe:-

30,000 miles a year = about 100 tanks of fuel @ £55 = £5,500. Essential maintenance (as opposed to non-essential extras like forged rods - lets say £1,000pa.

total Coupe cost p.a = £6,500

Second car

20,000 miles a year @ 50mpg = about 400 gallons @ £4.50 per gallon = £1,800.

Extra tax = £180
Extra insurance = £400
Extra maintenance = £500 (second car will still require some looking after, but the Coupe bill will drop)

So now we're at £3,130 - already half the value of the Coupe expenditure, and I still have to buy the second car - a grand maybe?

For me though, there are three downsides that I struggle to cope with:-

1) I hate being seen in a crappy commuting hack - makes me feel inferior
2) the boredom is terminal - not being able to enjoy the driving, even if it is for only a few minutes of my two-hour a day round trip
3) We already have four cars in the family, we don't have room for a fifth

Nope - I'll spend the little bit extra and enjoy my driving in a proper car.

It depends on what maths you use really. I have a cheap diesel to use for approximately half of my mileage which is ~10kpa. It doesn't save me money as such but breaks even and gives me something with adequate boot space to use when required.

Coop Alone
10,000 miles @ 25mpg @ £4.50/gallon = £1800

Coop + Diesel
5,000 miles @ 25mpg @ £4.50/gallon = £900
5,000 miles @ 50mpg @ £4.50/gallon = £450
Extra tax = £180
Extra insurance = £270
Total = £1800

I haven't included purchase cost for the diesel but it was less than £1000 and I could comfortably get my money on it if required.
I haven't made any allowance figures for maintenance either but given that the diesel is an easy to work on non-turbo worth next to nothing then I'm doing most of the work myself. I have the actual figures for its first six months at home so I could check but they're certainly less than I've saved on van hire in the meantime. I'm also attempting to move house so having an estate will be useful.

Maths aside your take on the three downsides is different to me.

1. I don't feel inferior driving a shed, I just chug along thinking 50mpg and "My other cars a coop". It really doesn't bother me.
2. My commute is more like 30 minutes round trip and I can easily put up with that. I still use the coop 2 working a week and all the good mileage on the weekend. I'd feel different if it was two hours like you.
3. There is only one car in my house so I have room for a second.

Totally agree with you wishy. 'Bangereconomics' makes sense to me - as the initial purchase price is low, this compensates for additional outlay like maintenance, tax, insurance. The way I see it, every mile done in the Audi is a mile spared on the Coupe & it has been much cheaper to run being a (turbo) diesel to boot! I do some fairly long trips with my work (as well as short trips - a killer for the Coupe's exhaust etc) & needed a bigger, cheaper car to run into the ground. With the state of the traffic today - in "real world" situations, I can cover the same ground in not much more time in the Audi without having to think if anything is going to break while I am flooring it - and if it does, no great loss. When it is quiet, the Fiat Coupe comes into it's own i.e. not during rush hour!

The Coupe is now immaculate most of the time (for extra pose value when it comes out & not covered in bird sh*t & road salt etc) & the running costs have dropped i.e. servicing, parts falling apart etc! I do give it a regular weekly run to keep everything working OK & to justify it's place in the garage/tax/insurance etc.

OK - Nigel has raised a few valid points, but it works brilliantly for me - as I have plenty of space to keep the cars, I have good (cheap) contacts for parts & maintenance, I save up for tax every month using PO stamps & my insurance is on direct debit. I also bought a 'nice' banger - sporty, ultra practical, tough, posh badge etc. I wouldn't have any old sh*tbox as a daily driver - this is the secret! I borrowed my brother's old Proton saloon once - oh dear .....

If I had to lose one of the cars, no contest - the Audi goes & I go back to using the Fiat, but in the meantime ...

Mine sits in the garagew most of the time alongside my supermoto. i use my van most of the time & then if the weather is good i want to get the KTM out a blast...

Nice argument brewing
My problem is that my Coupe is "the one" and I'm buggered if I'm going to put 40k miles PA on it and finish it off within 2 years.

It isn't really that good for long, boring motorway drives anyway. Something with soft springs, a plush interior and alternative fuel is infinitely better.

Excellent points there skinflint! My Coupe is also "the one" & I want to keep it in a long term relationship with me - so racking up the miles in a 10 year old car is not good for it! And as I've got it lowered, non-std alloys & am going to invest in a set of Billies, I don't fancy driving it over pot holes/speed bumps etc, whereas my Audi is a virtual armchair (with big alloy casters for grip!).

Let's throw the cat amongst the pigeons - would anyone consider running a non-turbo as an alternative car then? I'd consider it - an old early 20v maybe, non-leather & you get the looks, decent performance & more MPG!? Hhhmmm, let's just have a look on eBay!

I did consider just that, but for me, the big problem with the coupe is its awful turning circle and wide doors when using car parks.
Likewise my coupe is here for the duration, hence it has always been a second car and rarely gets used for the trips to the supermarket.
For motorways I find my Coupe excellent, particularly on the continent where it cruises at the 130kph speed limit in near silence.

The daily driver is currently a diesel Grande Punto which also copes well with motorways despite not yet being run in.

Pete

I had a 20v but it is also a driver's car and not made for long motorway runs (i.e. short gearing).
Maybe an LPG conversion and tall tyres to lengthen the gearing would make it perfect??

OK - another potential cat amongst pidgeon scenario - how about an Alfa as a second car!? If I could afford an Alfa 156JTD sportwagon I'd have one now! My cousin has one - beautiful, cheap & practical - OK, not sure about reliability & build quality, but you'd look stylish waiting for the AA!

Other choices I considered before going for the Audi was an old shape BMW Touring Diesel 3 series or 5 series. If I could stretch the budget I was also looking at an early A4/A6 Avant TDi as well. Any others anyone can suggest?

I've been thinking along the same lines but a 156 is a gorgeous high maintenance depreciating car & not a shed.

An old BMW 3 Touring diesel is starting to plague my thoughts even though I promised myself not to get one.