would just like to add -

i owned 2 20VT's many years ago, back in 1988 and then again in about 2002. I have had a few nice cars since then like Audi's, Hondas etc , but i can tell u i am after another coupe again.

Why ? Look at the state of the car market. I was lucky, i bought a new 57 plate TT convertible last year and it got abused twice ie keyed. I sold out and didnt lose much money before the values plummeted. It rattled, and people gave me the finger wherever i went, it sounded souless compared to the coop and also GTV V6 i owned. It was no quicker. Even getting out when i did, i lost 4k in 6 months, the price of a top class coupe.

For 4-5k, i could buy the best coupe out there, budget £1k a year to maintain it and it would still cost less than any modern car would deprecaite by.

I now run a golf gti, its a great every day fast car but doesnt have much character hence im thinking of buying a top class late coupe because i never really lost the bug.

Oh, and have a glance through the 0-100 times in the back of evo or performance car. See any cars around the 20k bracket, new today that do 0-100 in 14.5 secs ? er no, not many Why? they have all got heavier so despite having 250bhp or more they arent any quicker. The coupe was so ahead of its time performance wise that nothing has moved on since 96-97 when the 20VT came out, i mean that 0-100 time in 96 was nearly as quick as a Honda NSX !!

As someone said, every feature on the coupe has been copied.. Brembo brakes, aluminium filler cap, sloped-in headlights etc etc.

Guess you just need to make sure u get one that has been looked after and dont expect to run it for £50 a year, but modern motoring isnt all its cracked up to be !!

Squeal immediately after startup? Check your alternator belt; probably a touch loose. But if it's tight, it's probably on its way out and you should change it lest it break and in doing so eat the other aux belts and the cambelt.

A lot of sense spoken there.

G

Food for thought, good words and why I am not going to sell my Coupe!

all in all this was a good read for me, i think there are valid points all over this thred

"I love the coupes they just hate me"

yep, i feel your pain but change coupes to cars in general

i have had 3, and i love them.

i think the main issue here is people walking in to coupe ownership and expecting a 230bhp car for 1.5k and for it to have the service requirements of a 3 year old car.
if a coupe is maintained, money spent when it should be, and the last owners have looked after it. your on to a winner if not your in a hole new wold of pain
this can be said about any 10+ year old car

i have driven many many cars. non of them feel as special to me as the coupe. at the end of the day thats my opinion.
lastly buy a car for you needs, i beleve a coupe will cost just as much as any other car in the long run

im looking at another 20vt yellow coupe, it needs some odds and sods and im expecting to pay what i will pay for the car in maintenance and repairs in the first 6 months. But thats just not important to me it will be a well sorted coupe that i enjoy driving. i want a coupe for me, no one else

I've just come from a 15 year old Porsche 911 turbo. Absolute SUPERCAR but what a PITA to maintain! Parts are horrendously expensive eg. wishbones £400 the pair plus another £400 for allignment. Topend rebuilt £6K minimum, etc.

I owned a 20VT when they first came out and ran it for 4 years and 40K miles, only fault at all was the alarm. Amazing car.

Now I have another 20VT, and it brings almost as much excitement as the 911, but what is much more reassuring is the LOW maintenance cost. Hell, if it needs a replacement engine that'll be less expensive than the exhaust system I put on the Porsche!

As for quality and reliability? Whatever the marque, you need to maintain a sports car regularly, or it'll bite you.

Well said

Well... Good answers ladies and gents,

Mild exotica when I bought my first 20vt...

But now they are the quickest way to get from A to B for sub £2000,

Now some one that can ONLY afford a £2k car will never get respect these days,

I have mates with X5's Z4's etc and when in their cars we get respect and look like we have cash to hand...

Yes they dont have a nice house like I have just bought, But im not able to get my house down the nearby DC for a spin on a summers morning..

Il stick to the Megane CC for now, everything works, for now - and it doesnt qualify for classic insurance or black number plates

As for the mention of future classic??? WTF??

In 5-10 years there will probably be no coops alive, If they are available now for £1000 what then...??

Classic car example - 1994 Escort Cosworth £12000.

Near none under £10k, Thats a classic....

Chrissy

'Get respect'? Is that really what its about? Why do you give a toss what other people think about you and whether you have cash to hand or not?

If the only way people think they can 'get respect' is down to what car they drive, then they are well suited to their X5.

I couldn't give a flying sh!t what other road users whom I've never met/never going to meet think of me and I don't want or ask for their 'respect'.

True respect is not about what you drive, but is earned.

Re: Simon J.

Couldn't have put it better myself - it's just desperate.

An old friend of mine now drives round in a brand new Lotus - worthy of said X5 driver's respect. Does he own it? No, it's on HP. Could he afford to buy it? No. Does he have 'cash to hand'? No, he spends all his money on HP and still lives with his mum and dad!

It's all an image thing. It's sad that some people are that lacking in self-belief that they need the imagined respect of other people. With cars like X5's, you'll find more resentment than respect.

Still, to each their own. The Coupe is obviously not the right car for you, Chrissy, anymore. Just remember when you drive by one and think ha, that's all he can afford, it may actually be what he wants to drive, irrespective of cost.

Good post though, you've certainly stirred a hornet's nest

so glad i could'nt care less about what people think of what I drive....or if I have money...what the hell is that about ??? if i ever get that materialistic or shallow then i'll have greater problems than what car I drive !! imagine getting into years of debt for the sake of looking good in a X5.....

"imagine getting into years of debt for the sake of looking good in a X5"

You can look good in an X5?

good luck chrissy, i hope you find the holy grail you're looking for. me? i can afford a z4 or whatever but choose not to as they're pretty faceless really imo.

bottom line too is, respect is earned not bought or assumed to be given because you're sitting in someone else's (probably via a loan) rapidly depreciating, soon to be outdated fashion wagon.

i doubt the coupe will ever attain true classic status, but i know i feel so much better getting into that than i have any other car i've owned - and that's got absolutely nothing to do with value, power or looks, it's the magical combination of everything the coupe gives in spade loads.

all imho of course....

Alas, You are on an ENTHUSIASTS club, you DO care what you drive, If you didnt then you would be saving tonnes of money by driving 5 door astras that return 60mpg, So the lil shite houses pretending they dont give a rats ass are fibbin! You just are retalliating to the fact your cars are worthless in comparison to modern MILD Exotica..


Ive hit a nerve thats all, Doesnt make you bad people...


Chrissy

How does a car get you respect? I mean ANY car?

It doesn't matter what kind of car I saw someone driving in, whether its an X5 or even a car I actually like, they wouldn't get respect from me because of it, they'd get it because you've earned it surely?

I don't even care if they've bought it outright, you can still be a t**t and buy an expensive car for cash.

I don't think so mate. I've got a Coupe because I like the car. Me, not somebody else.

If that was the case I wouldn't have bought a porto, it's not exactly a manly colour!

Respect is a poor use of word by me, So apologies for that -

I mean apreciated in a nice car is nice, You can see that a passer by may smile and think its a smart car, thats a good feeling to know you have a car like that..

A coop is none of the above anymore - They lost their status years ago IMO, When they dropped in price beyond, And yobs started driving them.

When I had my 1st one there were probably 3-4 in my City, Now there are dozens of them around, teens ragging them to death and thats what has finished them for me.......

so why are you on here then Chrissy ?

Well maybe your gay?

I like to see what people are upto - I also have to as I have a 20vt that needs me to keep referring to the Technical advice section..

I cant get the right advice on the Megane Forum

Obtaining finance is still easy if you have a relatively good job, within reason (say under £35k) I could get whatever car I want. Insurance is no longer an issue. I only drive every now and again so petrol and 60mpg is also irrelevant.

Fair point Chrissy, it is an owners club so you probably will get a biased argument :). Some of it does actually make sense, tis all.

I'd rather spend money in other areas of my life. As you say, your friends can't match your nice house because of the cars they drive, it's all down to priorities. Personally, I don't like most new cars.

I want something different, and if you have a look around London you'll find plenty of older cars in A1 condition - the owners aren't poor, that much is evident from the standard of their cars and the areas they live in. Most people want to look good, but it doesn't have to include a big expensive car to achieve it...

maybe not, but whats the best shampoo to use?

Spot on philiplazyjourno

It's blue, not a suzuki vitara!

Strange posts Chrissy. You've had 8 coupes and you've decided they don't have the class you require?

Regardless of the price of Coops nowadays, anyone with a modicom (sp?) of interest in cars will appreciate one as a nice car. Cheap yes, styling yes, fast yes, classic? That's a matter for debate. ok not appreciating classic in £, but the fastest front wheel car in its time, ground-breaking styling by Bangle and Pininfarina (and I heard the rumour that Fiat canned it because it was taking too many customers from the Alfa marque!).

Anyway, back to image. My last car was a 1992 911 turbo (965), the last of the hairy chested rear wheel drive turbos, with curves to die for, and frankly you can't get much better than that.
Here's a pic
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a348/pesty1/RIMG0133.jpg

It was faster than its contemporary Ferrari or Lambo rivals and even today its a true supercar. But, it wasn't NEW, so the no-clues and snobs said "Can't you afford a new one?"
But the petrolheads, kids and absolutely anyone appreciating a beautiful car said "Wow!" I have to say I enjoyed the compliments and the looks I got, as well as the adrenalin rush from actually driving it.

Some of the guys on the forums who own these 965's are very rich (edit: and you need to be with the running costs: horrendous!) and they own lots of other expensive, modern stuff, but they bought the 911 for the hard-core driving experience and the beauty of the lines.

Due to money constraints I recently sold mine, but I still wanted something with soul. I nearly bought a 350Z (great driver's car and pretty cheap now too compared to new) but for the money there was nothing to touch a 20VT. OK its a downward move for me, but I don't feel bad at all. Its cheap (which is a great benefit to me now) but its great to drive and to look at too. Whether people ignore it, or admire it, I know I've great taste in finding a car that's quick, rare, and nicely styled for just a few thou.

Good post Addict and my God, how much do I want your old 911? Beautiful!

What a load of horse sh$t, you don't deserve to own a coupe.
Please leave and go play with your little friends and their small co$ks in their X5s.

Slightly harsh - but I have never, and will never buy a car for what others think of it and me by association.

For example I love Cossies, but there are plenty of people that despite the cost of buying one still think that they look like an old escort / Sierra with a big wing stuck on the back. The same can be said of Evo's and Scoobs.

[/quote]
What a load of horse sh$t, you don't deserve to own a coupe.
Please leave and go play with your little friends and their small co$ks in their X5s.

[/quote]

What all £2000 worth of tired circa 98 Tipo floored Coupe?

Not sure who you are Mr fingerlickinggood, But your posts are wasted on me,

I have a huge penis.

Chrissy