errm, well with a thread subject like that I'd better just wave and say hello

Today I became a Coupe owner, for how long I'm unsure but I fancied a challenge that is a bit different to my normal hobby of 4x4 off-roading.

So I now have three motors, a Discovery with a few mods, a Seat Ibiza that is the run-around that SWMBO loves and a 1996 2.0l 16v na in blue.

I've now said hello, and thought I'd drop onto here as I'm having a bit of a dilemma. I was hoping that SWMBO would like the Coupe, so we could sell the Seat and I get a fast motor and I get to keep my Discovery as the off-road toy. That's not the case, she doesn't like the driving position, which is fine. So now I'm left with what to do, the Disco or the Coupe.

Both need work, the Coupe has seen very little use in the last year, and today failed MOT needing new brakes all round (pads would just about do on front) and the exhaust is blowing badly. A couple of bulbs have gone as well. Pads and discs I can do, but that exhaust is a bit of an unknown as I can't get the motor high enough to see where the issue is.

So tonight, I get to sleep on which one stays or goes, MOT for the Discovery is May and I know that also requires work and effort to get through and I just can't keep 3 on the road.

Convince me I've read plenty of threads on here and the coupe did put a smile on my face similiar to the V8 Discovery.

What to do .... advice welcome and appreciated.

DT.

Coupes don't do off road well and the 16V na is the slowest, and arguably, the least desirable of all coupes.

I've no idea who or what SWMBO is, but I suggest getting rid of that and keeping all the cars.

Oh and hello and welcome

only amongst those coupe owners who do not have a clue!
Don't listen to coop owners who (like their 20vt's) are all mouth and no trousers - 16v n/a's rule!

And don't listen to coupe owners who take the bait either

Ross

Hi and welcome

I had a 16V NA for 5 years mate and it was the most reliable 1 i've had.

Sorry but it just didn't sound like a very friendly welcome that's all.

SWMBO = "she who must be obeyed"

Ahem... fourteen years with a 16NA, and it's off-road on farm tracks and fields, full of paraglider most weekends!

Actually, I quite like it.

Welcome! And then ask yourself how many discos you see around and how many coupes? So what if you can't drive up a stream-bed in it? If you need to, one weekend, that's what Guy Salmon is for!

Neil

BTW - I have a Coupe and wifey has a V8 Rangie - I wouldn't sell either - they are a completely different drive and both have their plus points and their minus points.

He wasn't asking for a friendly welcome, and I'm an ex coupe owner just stating the facts.

I'm not convinced anyone given the choice between a seat ibiza and a coop, would pick the seat.

I'm even more convinced, on reflection, that my intial suggestion is the way to go

Still, not exactly "Hi, welcome to the forum" was it! And also your opinion, the 16v N/A is a great car, and plenty desirable to plenty of people on this forum.

Anyway, Hi, welcome to the forum DoubleTop!

I also have three cars, a Coupe, an Ibiza and a V8 Disco, spooky!

Gareth

What is it with this forum.

I didn't say it wasn't a great car, I didn't say it wasn't desirable, just that it's 'arguably' the least desirable of the coupes, which it is.

Nothing wrong with 16v nas at all, other than whats already been said. Do you have any history with it? If not a cam belt change would be recommended at circa £400, that could be a deciding factor for you maybe.

thanks for all the welcomes, and as per all car forums a little inter model rivalry is always there.

My V8 Disco is a money point, the coop is looking like a potential money pit and costs more to insure, although less to actually use and run. I'm swaying towards getting 12months MOT on the coop and selling my Disco to fund it, I can marshal at off-road events without a 4x4 at most sites, and there is nearly always the chance to go for a ride.

The coop is already pretty low mileage at 64,000 yet the Disco has 115 on it. It's obvious to me that all forum members in here would shout that the coop is great though

Decisions, decision ....

DT.

Cambelt is £270 fitted plus VAT at Motormech. Probably much the same as the other specialists you'll see mentioned on the forum.

I wouldn't get rid of my Disco DoubleTop, I've had it 3 years and it's cost me 2 MOT's which it passed easily (it's a 98 R) and a battery! It just goes and goes, mine is LPG converted however which does half the cost of fueling the thirsty bugger! Still, makes a fabulous sound, people look around looking for something meaty and can't see anything but an old Disco, much fun!

The Ibiza is a good motor too, mine is a 1999 Cupra 16v, always been faultless although has been laid up for a fair while now.

Gareth

Gareth

Ah Thanks Nigel...It's no wonder I didn't recognise it. ...there's that thumb again

My case is getting stronger and stronger the further I come to comprehending Doubletops dilema

Sell the coop before it breaks your heart

it's my second Disco, I still love the V8 burble but this new one hasn't turned out as well as hoped. It's got the Disco rot bigtime.

I'm still wavering - if only I had the space for a summer coop and a winter 4x4

DT.

Yep, that's really how it is with me, I keep the Disco because it's been so cheap to own so far, no rot, sailing through MOT's and it's a great winter car as well as a good load shifter. 7 seats, minimal running costs, fab noise, faultlessly reliable over the last 3 years, I can't fault it. But you watch, as soon as I have a problem with it, it'll probably be down the road!

Still, when they start to rot, it does become an expensive hobby! Although how cheap are they now!? Parts are also amazingly cheap for them.

Gareth

Since you're an ex coupe owner - why do you even care? Surely a person doesn't have to ask for a friendly welcome? It's called common courtesy?

that's the major difference that's niggling at me now, the Disco is a lot cheaper to maintain with parts considerably cheaper than the coop.

I've got the sensible head on financially, and the coop is more to insure and more on parts for most things, but I do know what needs doing on both and I think over the next 12 months it wouldn't be far off matching.

If only the missus liked the coupe, I've already had offers for the Seat.

DT.

Why do you care that I don't care?

Shall we go on, or would you rather not sully the thread with posts that have no relevance to it? Up to you.

Seriously - whats up with you? Somebody new comes on to the forum and the first thing you can think to say is that their car is rubbish? Did your wife leave you for a 16v n/a owner or something?

well, I don't care at all.

Put the energy into helping me decide what to do or offer advice on what is about to go wrong on a coop of this mileage and expected costs.

DT.

Lets not argue people!

It doesn't matter if a Coupe is a 16v or a 20v.

Neither does it matter if its red or yellow.

We all know that the best Coupe is a 20vt in portofino blue.

Lol seriously though, quoting Shakespeare here, 'a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.' Or in Coupe terms, a Coupe in any colour or engine size will make you equally paranoid.

I didn't see anything wrong with tbirds post to be honest...I'm more offended at DT's mrs prefering an Ibiza over a coop...unless of course its a nice new seat, in which case then thats just typically girlie thinking

Try and keep the topic on thread for the original posters benefit please.

MrsL and Tbirdx - Please take this to pm.

Thanks.

Back on topic, I think coupe ownership isn't a logical decision its an emotional one. View it as a sick animal. Treat it right, give it what it needs then enjoy it for the pleasure that is the coupe.

For what its worth, the 16v N/A was classed as the most unreliable by Carlt, who broke more coupes than anyone else and seemed to know what he was talking about.

However, I'm yet to be convinced that any model is more reliable/unreliable as it seems to be down to care and history than engine design. To quote Rabbie Burns - "A coupe's a coupe for a' that"

Ross

TbirdX - try again when you can do it without the personal sexist abuse.

Neil <moderator>

i would sell both...and get a TDI disco (one with out the rot) a dam solid car cheep to run, cheep to insure and fix
and very good off road

the stories on unreliable coops are rife, that is true but is it really any more than other cars?

I've read many a time about the cams, the electrics and mysterious oil leaks that require the engine out. That's why I'm in this situation, I know the owner who had it from new, and the guy who has had it the past two years. The only issue that I've had to help them with was a stuck bonnet release, as it never had any problems up to the point that the release had jammed!

That's the kicker for me, I know it's been looked after by the first owner and then hardly used by the second, hence me now having ownership as a potential toy and all it's faults for being sat unused.

Time to sleep on it for a night, and for the moment time to keep well away from Ebay, Autotrader etc etc


errm, scared now - that was what the wife said, in a manner of speaking, sell both your cars you have with all there faults and get one with 12 months MOT this time!

DT.

im your wife, i have been posting on here for some time behind your back, i also have a coupe project on the go that you don't know about

now get off that computer and finish the washing up

(oh and buy that disco!)

Hi Double Top and welcome.

To state the obvious, have you tried altering the driving position for SWMBO by adjusting the seat and/or steering column? Unfortunately, like other Fiats I have owned/own, the driver's seat is not height adjustable.

my penny's worth?

keep the coupe and sell the seat - you already have offers and the coupe may be hard to shift at a decent price right now.

secondly, the coupe when sorted will give you more on-road pleasure then either of the others and if it's the only car your missus drives she'll get used to it and similarly love it.

welcome to the dilemma, but you know the answer ...

What I want to know is, 'Why the hell didn't you just bring the Mrs along to see if she wanted the car before you bought it?'

@samsite999 - you shoudl therefore know you'll never see my hands in washing up water when there is a perfectly good dishwasher in the house

@Possum - it's more about her driving confidence, she prefers small cars, she understands why I like the coop, but it is longer and wider than the Seat.

@proccy - that's the answer I wanted, but happy wife = easy life

A nights sleep and although the coop really is a nice drivers car, I think the idea of sell both and get, in the words of Monty Python, something totally different

My problem will be, that after washing and cleaning up the coop for photos, I'll start to waver again as I do really like the styling.

DT.

DT

You're looking at this from the wrong perspective. Instead of trying to justify having 3 vehs to Mrs DT, prove to her how sensible you are only having 3 vehs. There are some with more, just quote them to her!

As for Coupé reliability issues, any car still on the road after 10-14 years can't be doing that badly IMO, you have to expect some problems regardless of make.

Good luck with the Coupé and Mrs DT!

impulse purchase on my part, and when I asked her after she had seen photos of the car she did say that she liked the styling, but I'm sure most know that with women it's down to size in the end It was a gamble, and it looks to have not paid off greatly with what the MOT picked up, if it had got through with a few new bulbs then it would have been a completely different dilemma.

DT.

You bought a coop on impulse ...now that is brave, or stupid or stupidly brave.

Sell both and get a good 20VT

@samsite999 - you should therefore know you'll never see my hands in washing up water when there is a perfectly good WIFE in the house

DT I have corrected your post for you

so were does your nights sleep leave you?

is it possible the misses just doesn't want to let go of the Seat Ibiza and any action you take that waves bye to that is going to be meet with some resistance? (not that there is anything wrong with her protecting her interests)

it would be the sensible idea for me and the misses to sell both our cars and get something that we can both use...i don't really need a car bar on occasion and we could both do with out the expense of two cars, two sets of tax, mot, insurance, maintenance. what adds to the pain is there both fiat's so that last one is a bit of a expense!

to be honest, give me a day with your car on my own and i would get it though its MOT for well under £100 (thats not a offer!) point is that the faults you list with it are miner at best and a days work at worsted to rectify for any average DIY person.

the disco, thats another question, my dads had a couple and the ass end of them really does rot quite badly. if you have a friend that can weld, or you can..then its not to bad
if not its going to work out a lot more expensive then the coupe to fix

it sounds like selling them both in there current condition, both with out or nearing the end of there MOT, your going to get nothing for them
as some one pointed out, the 16v coupe is the less desirable version for a good percentage of people looking for a coupe, there is nothing wrong with them, just not as wide market. a v8 disco is also going to be a little hard to shift because they eat fuel like there is no tomorrow!

if i was you, spend what little it needs to get them both though a MOT, get rid, get another disco with less rot and perhaps the tdi. let you missis have the cake and keep "her" car....you will never here the end of it otherwise

well, the cycle into work today has given me some thoughts - sell all three and see what I can get then, then wifey can choose exactly what she wants and whatever is left in the pot is what I get to spend. The brownie points of doing it that way far outweight the financial loss


Indeed, I've priced up the parts and could do the brakes in a day, changing a few bulbs is no issue either. I'm being badgered to spend family time, I'm working on two jobs, 7days a week at the moment so any spare time I do gather has to be spent with family - not under a motor. That was made pretty clear to me last night


Very true, I might just have to chalk that up to experience, and try to keep my eyes off pretty looking cars or interesting toys


By selling all three, she gets a bigger cake and I get to pick either 4x4 or summer sports motor, having had the coupe sat on the driveway, summer sports is winning in that battle.

Cheers to all for advice, it's been very helpful to get a larger view on things from other petrolheads.

DT.

Front picture

It looks that good without a wash and wax, not that I'm indecisive at all - but it really is a pretty car and not many of them about. Time to make a few phone calls about getting it an MOT, a couple of mates are full time mechanics .....

DT.