Another "barn find"...

OK - just like the LE barn find , this wasn't found in a barn, but unlike the LE, it is definitely a Coupe that has been hidden away off the road for quite a while and has never been known to the forum.

A few weeks ago, I contacted an Ebay seller about a Coupe poster she had advertised. The poster had sold, but the lady mentioned that she had a real Coupe in the garage that hadn't been used in a while. I asked if she wanted to sell it, expecting to find a car suitable for breaking.

To cut a long story short, the lady put me in touch with her ex-husband, who has owned the car from new.

Today, Paul, Svet and I trundled up to a very sunny Durham and bought this (photo taken today as we got back to the Midlands):-



Another photo from the previous owner



Because the owner hasn't ever been on the forum, he wasn't aware that the published 72,000 mile cambelt replacement also applies at 6 years. Seeing as the car has only done 46,000, he's been driving it around under the mistaken assumption that it didn't need doing yet - its still on its original cambelt Paul drove home VERY gently....

So - its a clean, straight low-mileage Plus, with airbag Recaros and a rare sunroof option. It has been off the road for a couple of years so it needs a full service and all the belts. It has a couple of minor bodywork blemishes that will be sorted very soon.

However, despite it being one of the cleanest Coupes I've ever seen (its as good as my own Plus was when I bought it with 24,000 miles on the clock), the most unusual aspect is not immediately apparent from these photos...

Anyone care to speculate why this will be a fairly expensive Coupe when it goes up for sale?

Double glazed? Or a coupe related Registration?

51 or 52 plate perhaps?

LOL - no, its a standard registration

Definitely not

Unobtanium con-rods?

Has the engine been gold plated?

unique paint colour?

Was the previous owner Chuck Norris?

It's the best colour, obviously!

Its got the last chassis number made.

Was it owned by Bangle?

Now THAT would be a scoop worth bragging about.

No - none of you have got it yet, although I must quiz Jimbob on these unobtanium conrods - sounds like they could be good for a few bhp - I want some!

Colour is standard, Chuck has been nowhere near it, engine is the normal red colour (and with only the tiniest amount of crinkle paint flaking off - another rarity)

Unsure about the chassis number - we'll check (its quite a late car)

Automatic gearbox...

Is it the unknown car with the registration W4 NKS, if so consider it sold.
Did I really say that? Sorry I lowered the tone.

It has the cargo net?

I'm not going to spoil it because Nigel has already told me what the special factor is, but wanted to say this looks like it will be a cracking buy and I'm gutted that it's going to be just above my budget.

Unfortunately with all the cash we're spending on the house ATM I just won't be able to get away with putting any more into a new coop, or at least not without divorce proceedings following shortly afterwards lol, but I'll be very interested to see who ends up with this beauty!

Is it the only Coupé ever made with silent Brembos, headlamps you can see behind an Abernethy biscuit and a turning circle less than the earths orbit? If so, you really could name your price...

Actually - no, the cargo net is missing

Autobox would be interesting in a Coupe, but not particularly entertaining

No dubious personal plate either....

It's signed by someone or other?

Early start and great drive "up North" to view this strange example, then about an hour of trying to pick fault with it, as Nigel says a couple of paintwork issues, nothing more than cosmetic, then I enquired how long it had been since the cambelt was replaced.
"NEVER IT'S NOT DUE YET".
Price agreed now how do we get it back to Birmingham on a 13 year old belt............very gently with air con OFF (sorry Svet).
The drive home was like a time warp, going back to a time when all the Coupes I drove were sub 50K.
All this said the strangest thing about this Coupe is .......................

Phew, as I have no money. Car looks very good, a very nice buy for someone. RWD conversion or nothing. I give up!

I could sign the cambelt as we fit it tomorrow if that would help

It's still 100% factory, except oil?

At one point, I thought the rear tyres were original, but they've been replaced with identical P-Zeros. Fronts are Contis

Rest of the car is utterly standard though - even the entire set of Fiat hose clips are intact - they've never been off

It's a plus without errr, push button start?

Is it something like a missprinted stamp? There's a tiny detail that's a bit wrong or are we talking a major thing?

Its a fairly major thing and (in Paul's and my opinion) makes the car quite unusual (apart from it being a good-condition, low-mileage, one-owner Plus with airbag Recaros)

One of the guesses above is on the right track, but not quite there.....

OK - another clue....

The previous owner owned the car from when it had just 20 miles on the clock, but he wasn't technically the first owner. The first owner was an employee of Fiat UK, who bought the car from Fiat and immediately sold it on again (for a sizeable profit, by all accounts)

The reason for this is that Fiat UK couldn't sell the car to the public.....

It must be registered somewhere obscure. Is it one of the infamous Malaysian pearl white ones that's been imported and resprayed?

It's a Plus with all the Plus extra's, including the Recaro air bag seats.
But if you know about Coupe's as soon as you look at it you see the difference..............

another photo....

It like csi this are there any clues In the photos?

Yup

03??? I've seen a 51 plate but an 03???? Wow, high road tax band then!

Is that its real plate? 03?

Yes - its genuine!

A 10 year old coupe!

Does that mean all parts should still be available? (10 year rule?)

This registration was first registered during the period 1st of March 2003 to the 31st of August, 2003.

This registration was first registered in Edinburgh.
It`s no jive -I like the plate.

So is it the last UK coupe or something? Although wouldn't explain why Fiat couldn't sell it

So I was pretty damn close to be fair.....

Just been out looking at my car. The bonnet badge looks offset towards the offside on this car?

Cool find

Just means it been sat about in docks/dealership/compound or the like longer then a correctly registered coupe.

To me it adds no value. Its still a 13 year old car on a 10 year old reg.

Although this surely is the last registered coupe in UK. Nice find though .

Registered 2003 because first owner never registered it on the road
seen a couple of ford rs's like this!

The story is that Fiat UK "mislaid" a handful of Coupes - they stored them in a warehouse and forgot about them for a few years. When they were rediscovered, the Coupe was no longer a current model, so they couldn't sell them to the public.

The cars were then sold to employees - this particular car was bought by a lady in Edinburgh and sold on again straight away with just 20 miles on the clock (to the chap that owned it until today)

I don't know if Fiat UK recommissioned the cars or serviced them before sale - I'd be surprised if they weren't given at least a basic service.

Either way, it drives very nicely - tight and quiet and very smooth. Fuel consumption for the 180 mile return trip was very good - around a quarter of a tank, so our guess is that the engine is very sweet (we'll be compression testing it to be sure)

It definitely isn't the last registered Coupe in the UK - data that I, erm, 'acquired' shows that there were three Coupes registered in 2004 and a couple in 2005. However, when I enquired, it transpired that these may have been unofficial 'grey' imports. We can safely say that this car is amongst the last handful of official UK cars registered.

A Fiat dealer probably wouldn't sell a late registered one like that due to warranty issues.

Very soon after the coupe went out of production and stopped being supplied by dealers Fiat changed their new car warranty from 1 year to 3 years... I doubt that was a coincidence.

Adam, you were very close, you have a credit of £25.00 with Motormech, let me know how you would like to use this. We can send you parts to that value or a credit note against a future invoice.
The Coupe was built in 2000 but was unused for the first 3 years of it's life and for the last 3 years, you can feel this when you drive it!!
The bonnet badge is central, I had to check!!

Will that be affected by Tax changes then Nige for later registered cars? Nice find BTW

Is it the last coupe to come off the production line?it is very nice

Looks like it's got LE coloured headlights

Same tax costs according to DVLA - which is interesting given they have date of manufacture as 2002?!?

Nice find Nigel.

The story is that Fiat UK "mislaid" a handful of Coupes - they stored them in a warehouse and forgot about them for a few years.


So there are more out there!!

A very nice gesture!

Although not needed as I enjoyed the game and that's all the reward I need

But would you believe it I bough 2 coolant tanks off Nigel a few days back for £25 lol, shame you didn't find the coupe sooner

Well done Nigel-lively and entertaining thread.

I agree, feels a bit like years ago. Posting and 3 new posts between what you replied to and yours being finished.

Top man!

Agree, much more entertaining than cash in the attic! That's one special coupe and is going to make somebody very happy I'm sure.

Lucky you, she looks fabulous!

Rofl at many of the comments...

First of all, very nice find!

But do you really believe they just "lost" these cars? I don't buy that.

For whatever reason there are a number of these very late Coupes around first registered well past 2000. We all know about the Malaysian Coupes but New Zealand also got a number of them too. A friend of mine has the exact same model, colour and all, it was first registered in the middle of 2001. Same story, 1 owner 10 years old, 60k miles never had the belt done! There are 6 others I know of that were also registered in 2002, all very late plus models with air bag seats. These cars were sold as new cars by Fiat in NZ, and at a discounted price. I'm sure they were acquired from another market that could not sell them. Maybe Hong Kong or Malaysia although theirs can be a slightly different spec to the UK spec we know.

Alfa Romeo here in Melbourne managed to buy 80 odd 2011 built 159s from South Africa. There is no hiding they got them cheap and they are selling them cheap. Why they had been sitting in South Africa for 2 years, we don't know.

Thanks for the kind comments above - it was just designed as a bit of a tease and a fun way to spend a couple of hours on a Bank Holiday afternoon

Turned out to be modestly entertaining and amusing - still want those unobtanium conrods....

The story above is simply a repetition of what I was told by the previous owner - it makes sense, as I understand that Fiat weren't finding it difficult to sell the cars, so they wouldn't have a good reason to hold them back.

Also, having got quite close to Fiat UK when I was fighting for the 20vt manifold warranty claim, its pretty clear that they weren't the most organised outfit - at the end of the warranty claim saga, Fiat 'discovered' a stockpile of the (in)famous LE jackets ( modelled here by a moody-looking Kayjey), which we sold to forum members, in return for a donation to Fiat's chosen charity

Nice find Nigel, looks immaculate!

My old sprinty wasn't registered on the road until 1999 (T reg), although the car was built in 1997 and came with the oil temp gauge instead of the later volt meter

So for a car built around 2000 and not being registered for 2 to 3 years just makes it a little more special!

Lovely looking car, btw I'm having issues logging onto your webpage Nigel

Yes - the server is down, but the chap that runs it for us is on holiday and not returning calls

We'll get it sorted ASAP

It looks like mine ! I can't see the difference, but then I'm new to these cars. Does that mean mine is special too ?

Has it got 4 wheel drive ?

Sorry about that last post - would help if I'd read to the end of the thread !

Nice find/story Nigel, and close to me too!
Mine was made in May 98 but registered in May 99,previous original owner got a good deal on it as presumably sat in showroom for a while, didnt have the leather seats he wanted but the deal made it for him, though he did get the seats custom re-trimmed in black/grey leather in 2004 so i benefited in getting them!

Update...

Paintwork is now done - car looks fantastic. Just got to detail it and it will be formally advertised next weekend

Ahhhhhhhh now I understand - my other post elsewhere Nigel re- manufacturing dates

A quick question though - does this car qualify for the pre-2001 tax band or is it the higher band because of its date of first registration?

I am curious to find out because although mine is a 2000 (I bought it whilst serving with the Army in Germany and although it is RHD and UK spec it was not registered with DVLA till 2003 - although they backdated it to an X plate.

I am not bothered about the year plate but was miffed to discover when the tax reminder came that it has been placed on the post March 2001 list - ie more expensive. I complained to DVLA and got a fairly predictable response.

So I would be really interested in other folks experiences and yours too Nigel.

Hi Paul

From a comment earlier in this thread, it appears DVLA would regard the 2003 car as a pre-2001 for VED purposes

PS - another Plus coming up soon from Motormech.....

I have a garage find, well I knew it was there - a Beta Coupe and a Volumex engine, but before I try and flog it I thought i`d see if the blower will fit in the air compressor space...

So was the 2003 car you had for sale really a 2001 coupe?

Production ceased in 2000

Nope it is a 2000 model. And the fact that they have refused me an appeal whilst there are other cars that have been dated correctly as far as road tax is concerned is excellent - as it will give me some ammo to go back to DVLA and have another go.

Can anyone give me an example of a coupe that was first registered in UK after the 1 March 2001 cutoff date that is in the pre-march 2001 road tax bracket? It would be really helpful!

Many thanks and fingers crossed....

JimO had a 2001 plus. If that helps.

Run a DVLA check on the 2003 Plus - photos in the For Sale thread

I thought my advert made it quite clear...

Brilliant - thanks

And what a lovely looking car................

I agree - very nearly bought it for myself, but a) couldn't justify two Pluses AND a daily driver and b) Wifey would not be amused at a sixth car in the household....

Ahhh interesting - the DVLA search shows that the year of manufacture is down as 2002....which might explain the lower tax.

I am now loath to use it as an example in case the DVLA bump up the tax bracket for its new owner!

Any other examples (and sorry to hijack this thread a bit...its in a good cause though!)??

Paul - why not check the build number of your car and then get in touch with Fiat UK for a build date

The build number is stamped into a small plate that is attached to the boot floor, inside the driver's side trim hatch

I know exactly when it was built (3rd week in July 2000) because I already have all the Fiat papers but the DVLA tell me that it is the date of first registration that counts as far as the tax is concerned - and in my case that was in 2003.

In my case though they insisted at the time that its registration was backdated to an X plate in line with its age!

But I am now resolved to go back and have another go.

And then I need to get its slave cylinder sorted and get it on the road again!

Surely DVLA can't have it both ways - if they insist its a 2003 car for tax purposes, they should have given it an 03 plate

I thought the 2001 cut off was because the DVLA didn't hold records for C02 emissions for cars pre dating. So how can they hold correct manufacturers data for a car who's production ceased pre data collection?

Exactly the point that I made in my first letter to them. Their reply studiously ignored that question and simply quoted the regulation back at me - adding that they had no choice in the matter (rules is rules....)

So my next letter will be to insist that they answer the exam question whilst giving them an example or two to demonstrate that they obviously do have some discression regarding implementation.

I suppose I should just accept my fate but then again....why should I!!??

No Paul, go for it when it's right!

I enjoyed this thread no end.

Beautiful find. Doubt we will see a better one than this come out of obscurity anytime soon.

Thank god this has finally sold, the temptation to purchase was seriously high. It would have needed to have been used daily and parked on the local golf driving range (aka the Train station car park as the number of small dings running down the sides of my current car grow each day...) For this reason only I decided against buying.
Now would you just sell off the Silver LE please Nigel...

Silver LE is long gone - we just need to find someone to update the website....

However, we will have a very nice Moon Grey Plus coming up soon

Always with the temptation stick...