it does to me to or the rear bushes. see i am not sure if i want to start rebuliding the back end as then i might as well do the whole car bit by bit but then what would be a really nice car for sensible money that i won't lose shed loads on. maybe a rx8 or something?

In a word, if you love it, then it's a big YES!

There is just nothing else you could get for the money that is as special, standard or not, the prices have bottomed in my opinion, a well looked after one will now hold it's price. The more that are broken, the more that are left to die, the better things are for those of us that stick with them, if you don't intend keeping it long term then just maintain it as best you can, if you intend keeping it for the long term, then just go for it, it doesn't have to happen overnight and it's still cheaper than buying newer and you can spend what you want, when you want to, no great rush.

Gareth

no offence, but you ask this question far too often for my liking. may be time to move on...

at 5 years old most cars have done the bulk of their deprecation. its the first 3 years that hammer the value.

eg. a 147GTA can be had for £6000 now on a 03/04 reg. The depreciation has slowed now, so it wont lose much value over the next 2 - 3 years.

i had a wonderful drive in the coop tonight and it was a great car :-)
the reason i ask the question so much is i really value getting the most car for my money.

i really like the alfas i really do just worried they would be very expensive to maintain and i do around 300 to 500 miles a week at the moment and petrol is a issue is its very thristy.
also 2 of my bosses have alfas and they have broken down so many times.

also a bit worried that once the reccesion has blown over mr brown will make the cars newer than 02 tax stupid. i know he decided against the £400 tax for now but give i 3-4 years and the tax could be a grand or so!

The tax was based on emmissions for vehicles registered after 2001. Of course tax will go up, so unless you purchase a mincers car with low emmissions then you will get taxed what ever.

Just look at yesterdays telephone tax, where every fixed phone line will get a annual £6 surchage to fund faster broadband for MPs to download more porn!

Just enjoy your car and don't worry about what might/might not happen!

Good luck!

the thing is they will find it very hard to tax cars pre 2001 with stupid sums according to there co2 bracket but buy a high co2 car and if the goverment want they will completely bankrupt you or make you car worthless!

so more reasons for keeping your coupe! obviously the government will find alternative ways, but I personally favour 'pay as you drive tax' so its relative - but we all know they will screw us, whether you drive a coupe or 4X4 (I have both!)

oh don't get me wrong i know they will screw us but its limited on what they can do on pre 2001 cars.

Yup! I also drive a coop and V8 Land Rover, at the moment at least, the tax on both is sub £200. This will almost definitely go up at some point, but the Land Rover for example owes me little, I bought it cash and it's flown through it's last 3 MOTs, it needs brake discs at £50 for 4 for the next MOT in September. However, even if they double it (tax that is) the cost is spread over 12 months in theory, its still not much. The biggest worry for most people running older motors should be the cost of petrol and the proposed increase in tax on second hand car parts I heard discussed some time ago.

New cars are only easier to live with/afford if you can buy them cash. I know several guys who run newer performance cars that pay more on monthly repayments alone than I pay for tax, insurance and maintenance over a month, and other than my mate with the Cayman, none of the cars I'd consider as special as a coop and they ALL, mostly somewhat begrudgingly, admire the coop, warts and all!

Gareth

i do agree with you on that spee. the repair costs are going to be the biggest factor is going to be repair bills and all the cars i look at are the sme or worse on fuel.
the other problem is that most new cars i look at have reliablity problems.

the other main problem is there is hardly anything special out there! not really any newish rare cars and nothing special even thought the coop isn't the most special car i have owned it still is a styling classic and performs well.

i like the rx8 for exapmle but not that reliable and bad on fuel and are everywhere.
alfa 156 gta i again like but running cost are much higher than the coop and not as quick.
focus rs mk1 is a greta car but quite pricey to buy

the coop is a really nice car to drive but somethimes not as lairy or involving as some cars i have had. can this be improved or is it the nature of the coop?

You can make the coop as lairy as you like!

One of the cars I drove while looking was a superb drive, the best driver of all of them, but I decided I couldn't live with the ride on a day to day basis, but it was tight, precise and felt so much faster than the others despite have (only!) about 245bhp.

You're slowly answering your own questions really, sounds like you want to keep it to me, just bare in mind it will be an up and down thing, sometimes you'll love it, other times you'll want to soak it in fuel and set fire to it!

I'd suggest keeping it and having a good run-about, just so you're not left without a car.

i know where you are coming from and when the garage is cleared and fixed it will be nested in the garage and maybe a car to cruise in bought!
every car i have ever owned has been a love hate thing!

if it was a l.e or something then i think i would have made my mind up already but its a base model but sometimes thats a better car. less weight and easier to work on.

if i sold the coop to buy another coop i would end up spendign loads more money on a different car it just what im like lol

the power on my car isn't to bad i must admit although its got some flat spots so need to investigate.

its easy to look at different cars and think the grass is grenner but i know sometimes thats not always the case. its just hard sometimes you get the urge to look for new things. i think its bordem but maybe the a new car isn't the answer maybe making my one very sorted is?
i think i need to see what a decnet coop is all about but there isn't many people who can show me what a 300bhp+ coop is albout in my area.

I will take you out in mine when its all done if you want!

that would be greta thanks mate :-)
wouldn't mind getting another ride in lukes car as its about the power i want and more importantly the suspension setup i would ideally have.

I should have about 320hp and gaz coilovers with about every suspension mod possible for a coop!

sounds ace mate! how do you find the coilovers?
where in surrey are you as my girl friend lives in chertsey so im in surrey alot

I am in Shepperton so only down the road,i have not got coilovers yet!

oh excellent that would be great even just to meet up for something ot eat and a drink now and then!

i have just put 12 months tax on the coop so i think its staying for the moment. main probelm is that now i can't buy anthing else i like without a loan and i have done that before and not doing it again.

the coop fits the bill well and i just think i need to get off my butt and fit the pile of parts i have to go on and also source some decent parts to bring her up to 100% again then think about some tasty parts :-)

just to show you the extent of why i am wondering what to do with the coop.
here is the list of stuff done or need to be done.in the last 6 months its had
wishbones
tca
droplinks
rad
cambelt
water pump
steering gator
exhaust manifold
clutch
cat back exhaust
front and rear discs
front and rear pads
anti squeal shims
front brembo caliper
handbreak cables
new door clips
bonnet strut
bonnet cable
new tyres front
new gtech chip (old one failed)
new dump valve as old one suspect but turned out ok

stil needs
cam cover gasket
pollen filter
fuel filter
oil change
thermostat
rear caliper
abs sensor
down pipe leaking
new shocks maybe
right hand engine mount
stablizer bar
right hand brake line
lots of paint work
some rear bushes and maybe rear wheel bearing
wheels refurbed
headlight refurbed
header tank cap
re under sealing
engine bay unerneath de rusting
under tray
alarm
possible turbo
new center console
interior fan
air bag light turning off
new boot liner ( left side damaged)
drive side seat creaks so new seats


but then i am way way to picky!
the list is endless hence why i am debating getting a new car and not bothering with the coop!
the coop is on a r reg and 78,000 miles on the clock and i got it with most these faults and it had 62,000 miles on the clock!
should i just bite the bullet and get a newer car or get on with it and stop moaning lol
most parts have been bought on the the to do list but not installed yet.

should be done and finished in a afternoon then?

yeah lol sounds about right.
problem is with a whining girl fried i just don't ever get the time to work on the car anymore.

my misses is encouraging me to get a motorbike over another project...i think she is trying to kill me

Yes

And another yes .....

and take some one with you so you dont buy another car with all the faults you state were present when you bought it...

I dont think you actually have that much to do mate. looking at the list, its a lot of fiddly stuff. non of which is that mad, just time consuming

its all about what you want out of life? if its not looking after a 10 year old fiat, move on. for me at the moments its a bit of fun, something to keep me occupied

so as a few posts up, only you can deside

the only reason i bought this coop was to get my little brother out of money bother!i doubt i would have this coop otherwise but i didn't think it was this bad.
sam i actually agree there isn't that much to do and its mainly cheap stuff. things like the turbo and shocks and stuff i feel should near need changing due to the age of the car not because they are shot.
after a nice drive to day the car is begging me to keep it as it was driving so lovely.
the only thing was it tried to lose its oil filter! done the oil change yesterday and torqued the filter but it worked loose.

looked into a brand new s2000 today but to be honest even they would give me a massive discount i still think i would be a fool parting with to much money at this time.
quite fancy a mk1 focus rs but i am actually thinking the coop is a better drivers car!

oh yeah the jack needs replacing to as it makes the car fall off half way through jacking it right up lol

well i have started a bit on the coop now.
changed the oil and its purring like a kitten now :-) even thought i old oil filter was hanging on for dear life! might of had a new car if that fell off on the motorway!
changed the oil to silkolene pro r 10 /50 and i love this oil. i used cheaper oils before but i thought it was about time i treated the coop.

found a small boost leak on the actulator hose which had come pretty much lose.

looking at some new shocks and springs for her to make the handling a bit better and also fit the mountin of parts i have.

i was thinking of a new car but quite simply there is not alot i like and what i do like is well over 20k and i can really afford that.