Hi guys,

Im looking to get a new car.
the two cars ive boiled it down to is a coupe 20vt or an e38 740i.

heres my problem my hearts telling me to buy the coupe (cause im in love with them) and my heads telling me im gonna have loads of probs and to get the beemer.

i want a car thats not gonna always break down, i dont mind the cost of servicing etc i just dont want probs all the time.

can anyone tell me if the coupe is unreliable? and what to expect etc..

thanks
joe

Crikey you couldn't get two more different cars.
One luxobarge, one budget GT.

I've had both. I'd be more scared of things going wrong on the BMW tbh, especially if it's an earlier 4.0.

Both lovely cars if you're lucky and hands-on. Had my coupe for 6 years, and I only sold the lovely 740 to buy a boring house.

In a nutshell, the BMW is the best bargain barge comfy mileater you can get. The coupe is the most characterful Italian modern sporty car you can get at this low price point.

Comfort or character, that's the choice imo.

i think it has to be the coupe, every bit of my heart tells me the to buy one.

id rather spend time and money on a coupe than i would on the bmw.

thanks for the advice mate, best arrange to have a look at a few

A Coupe will be more reliable than a 740. It will also do more than 14mpg. I was a BMW technician for 10 years. I would avoid the 740.

thanks, great advice AP1!
i have spoken to a few people who have said this, even better coming from a bmw technician.

im on a tight budget for the coupe, which things should i look out for im looking around the 2k mark?

I would only ever buy a car off a known member on here. Seriously.

Start here:
http://www.fiatcoupeclub.org/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=931827#Post931827

Have fun searching!

Neither the coupe or an old 7 series BMW is going to be cheap to keep.

I hope you dont mind my asking - but if you have a tight 2K budget for buying the car how much have you budgeted for maintenance per year?

The only advice I can give if you go for a coupe would be go for one that is the best out there - which means around 3K for a non-LE or Plus.

the budget has been set by what i got from a total loss from my last car, as for maintainance i was thinking 500-800 per year??

500-800 per year for general maintenance.........if you get a good un......it won't be anywhere near that.
Spend more initially to spend less in the long run.

thanks for the advice, if i buy one for say 1800, should i expect to end up in a cloud of smoke on the m25 or is it just that i would need to spend time and money servicing initially?

I just paid 2000 for an 00 plate mate off ebay.....my second coop and it's a corker.
Just don't be in a rush to buy the first one you see.
Look at these sites as well
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/?atcidk=kb80

http://www.pistonheads.com/

and good old fleabay too....lol

If you get a good one,they don't normally go wrong with servicing.
They are good cars.....that is why I am on my second.
Nothing will touch them for the money.
Also,if you you do get an older one with high mileage,SH is a must....cambelt change etc.

Assuming you buy a straight one, with recent belt change (all of them) and a recent oil cooler and wishbones droplinks & track rod ends. Say you're doing up to 10k mpa, then £500pa should buy:
2 front tyres
A specialist full annual service
Front disks & pads.

You can get a full belt change for £300 now, I'd do this every 3yrs on a 20VT so that's another £100pa. You may want to do the aux belts every 2 years, so a tad more perhaps.

Then rear pads & disks & tyres, again every 3 years I reckon so another £100pa

Wishbones will probably need doing within another 3 years again so another £100pa

There's £800pa if you plan to keep long term and assuming nothing goes wrong and you don't start down the modding path.

Oh, don't forget another £200 a year on oil and cleaning products

wishbones are about £65 +vat etc from alt autos currently

Plus delivery, plus fitting.

There is money to be saved doing things yourself of course

How about an e39 5 series? My brothers 523i manual is pretty quick, spacious, economical, reliable and very comfortable.

cheers everyone, i can do most of the work myself so it shouldnt be too bad..

spit you make me very jealous!!

right, ive decided. it has to be the coupe!

everything else is boring compared to them! lol

I bought mine for £1500 off a forum member and ive been extremely impressed with the reliability and low maintenance costs considering the age of the car and the performance on offer, go for it, you wont regret it, just make sure you're thorough in your search, look at a few first, perhaps take a forum member local to you if you go to a viewing.

Sorry to make this worse but it is a 2001 plate....unheard of in coupe land...
Just keep your eyes open and don't buy the first one you see.
I was looking for a while before I spotted this.
Check out every site as well......you do get good ones poppoing up now and agin.....just have to be patient mate.

tight budget..........................................................................................coupe

sorry but I don't think they fit well on the same page.
You might get away on a budget for a while but sooner or later some unexpected bills will come your way.
For 2k you're taking about a car about 10 to 12 years old and ,no matter how well it's been maintained,worn out parts are going to need replacing.

have you costed insurance and fuel costs ?

Only go ahead with the coupe (or the BMW) if you don't mind spending good money on your passion.

Sorry if I sound off-putting but many have been tempted by the low purchase price and ended up blaming the car for letting them down.



Oh go on then, buy one, you know you have to do it

thanks spit, make it worse lol

i know, i know, to be honest i really dont mind spending money on a coupe, they are well worth it

im just find the best one i can for my budget and if things need changing or servicing i will do it!

Maybe save a coupe from an early grave!!

Don't go that way or you are asking for trouble.....and a lot of expense.
Like I said,keep your eyes open,try and buy one from here if you can and spend as much as you can initially on the coupe to get a good one.It will save you a packet in the long run.
There are always people here to help if you see a good deal on one of the other sites I mentioned too.
They really are that good.....always brings a smile to my face and also.....anybody can drive them.....even my Mrs. who loves it now.
The coupe is basically a normal sports car...easy to drive....until you boot it that is....then it it does become a beast.....very,very fast
Paul

im defo going to just go for the best one for my budget

i saved a mr2 rev1 tubby from an early grave once, cost me about 3k in the end, dont regret it though!

good, good i can see this being the start of a 20vt love affair!

on that note i wouldnt have let my misses in a shopping trolley, let alone my pride and joy! still trust is the key to a healthy relationship and all that

What I meant was that the coupe is a very easy car to drive at safe speed...even at the limit with a bit of practice.......unlike the skyline which I did not like driving myself,let alone the Mrs......lol.....wanted to kill you every time you put your boot down.....unless it was going in a straight line.
I smashed my last rev 2 up BTW...the coupe is just as fast and much more forgiving in my opinion.

A big beemer will cost considerably more to run in fuel and servicing than a Coupe. Dont know where you got 14mpg from though AP1, I get almost 18 from my 750!

Life with a Coupe has more ups and downs than a beemer, one day you love it more than anything in the world, the next day it does your head in, and every now and then you'll have a dilemma about whether you should sell it or not, then realise you cant bring yourself to.

With a beemer, your very first impression will pretty much stay unchanged for the entire ownership, and it's almost always a very good one. Mine is awesome... and utterly indestructible.

Hi mate

I've brought my first coop in august, i've always wanted one. Really great cars.
I'd just say take your time and find a nice one.
I brough mine for £1900 after months of looking, it was a 20vt with ffs, 00 plate, mint interior, 6 speed, push button start etc etc

There are some good ones out there just gotta hunt

Somehow I always get upset when folk say this and that can go wrong!!

Every car is the same anything can go wrong with any car!!

It's feels like sometimes people put new buyers off!!

I understand that theres a few things to look out for, and we advise what to look for but sometimes it seems we put more emphasis on the negative than the posative!!(I'm not that educated so give me a break on the spelling)

If I had listend years ago I'd have never bought a coupe

To me having owned 2 coupes now (yes I am still a virgin) but having read prevfious posts I have learned that owning a coupe is about the car and what the car brings.

A great forum, knowing you are only 1 of 5k left in the uk, if you are lucky you will see another coupe once in a blue moon and that will probably belong to a fccuk'er)

And by no means least as I experience everyday (what is that car daddy? that looks cool! sorry son I don't know)

Remarks like that and the fact that everday wrx's and astra vxr nuremburgs which have more power and cost twice as much have no chance whatsoever, I have on private roads beaten them both!!

Make the coupe a complete bargain

Had my coupe from new. Now on 63k.
normal maintenance, just had the belts and discs/pads all round changed.
Had to replace visco seals at £35k, the exhaust at 50K, boot lock last week.
Changed the Head unit just so i can dock my Ipod.
I discussed the cost of owner ship with my wife and thats all we can remember (apart from purchase cost).

The other costs have been front damage when an idiot didn't put his hand brake on in a petrol station, rolled back onto the coupé and the wife dinged the front end parking when she was pregnant, neither of these were the coops fault.
Now have to fix lhs door seal as some **** pulled it off trying to break in.

great reason to own one....

im certainly not put off, i really cant wait to own one.

i think that hours of work and expensive bills are all part of owning a performance car with history and rarity.

i dont know about everyone else but i think its a small price to pay for a for a car this fun and unique.