Buyer beware

I've got a couple of FIAT PF 1500 Cabrios and spotted a 16v Coupe on Ebay.It looked absolutely mint Rosso Speed Red in the pics and the attached blurb read like the spec sheet for a new car. I just had to have it. So going against all my own common sense I bid on it unseen and won it! I drove 150 miles to get it and when I saw it it looked absolutely stunning from 10ft. The interior was good for the mileage, 125,000. Cloth seats changed to leather.
Now the bad bits! Most of the black external trim and the wing mirrors were tatty. I lifted the bonnet and saw a filthy mess. Loose wires, Leaking cam box cover, no belly plate and I could not see any original FIAT Fasteners anywhere, most with rounded flats. Various fasteners missing, The battery was shot, had to change it to get it out of Gt Yarmouth. I noticed 1 chip in the screen, but then found 2 more when I got home. Two ignition coils (?) were fitted, with roofing bolts.
Still it got me home with good oil pressure, but I've got a mountain to climb to get this car anywhere near what I paid for it, but what the heck it will keep me out of the pub for a while!!

You don't have to go ahead with an eBay purchase if it's significantly "not as described".

Sounds like a lot of work ahead of you, if you need any original bolts etc let me know and I'll send you some.

Shame it wasn't as described but it's great to hear you are planning on keeping her. If you have any technical questions the forum has a wealth of knowledge, good luck!

Of absolutely no help to you whats so ever, but no real surprises there. Then again as said you could go down as the described description. I've never bought an unseen car in my life, things are a tad different these days. Just my thoughts

Is it m578nac?

Yes Mate to my shame!
Regards
Smithy

Thanks. I know, but the car is worth saving. Where it was it was doomed!!

There's a first time for every thing. I can't believe I did it!

Cheers. If I need stuff I'll get back to you. Nothing will happen until spring next year except a general tidy. Can't believe that any one who was fastidious with external appearance was so lacking in basic mechanical knowledge!

Your car was owned by a forum member local to me for 14 years (frary) . He sold it in June to who I'm guessing you bought it from. although I never saw the car It seemed to be a very well maintained example from his various pics and posts. It did seem strange the new owner flipped it so quickly.

Spot on Sharman. The car looked awesome on the outside, and the work described as done was considerable., However the engine bay and interior of the boot looks as if it was assembled by a guy with no mechanical knowledge or sympathy whatsoever, using fasteners etc from a bankrupt Victorian iron mongers. Obviously I don't know who did this and really don't care, but would like to find out more about the car. I have tried to contact Frary, on this forum,but to no avail. My biggest worriesare the cam and auxiliary belts, Supposed to have been changed, about 6000 miles ago,but no real proof.
There is no rust, and the paintwork is 95% so far as that I can find, so I will get this car into proper mechanical condition, which includes ditching an expensive exhaust system that would be more suitable on a Group 5 rally car.
Any help I can get from you or others on this forum will be greatly appreciated.

Tell the truth if you got it for the right price it doesn't sound too bad really. Sounds untidy more than anything. I spent a week polishing my new acquisition and whole night cleaning the sahara desert out of my boot - made it look lovely, shortly before the engine threw it's dummy out - no doubt over my new lover

That I would say is the pot of gold. No rust. These days it seems a rust free coupe with good paint is the better buy. Out of curiosity which fasteners in the boot are you talking about?

I have no idea whether I paid the right price, but not really too worried as in it for the long hall. It's basically tidy up time to start with until i have learnt more about the car. definitely the exhaust has got to go. Shame cos it looks brand new!
I've got 2 other Fiats but they are off another planet, com;pared to the Coupe so I have a lot to learn with this car. One of these was an ex desert racer from California and came with wasps nest in the sub frame and a store of nuts for a squirrel in the seat squab. It has taken 16 years of my time, so far, and hope to get it on the road about Christmas.

Boot that's a story! Well there are no fasteners in this boot! All was loose and flapping about. Amazingly all the linings are as new. I would say a previous owner acquired a complete set from another car and simply threw all the fasteners away. Not only that but the side panels were not even clamped under the edge trim.
The missing fasteners are a row at the front holding in the floor and and a couple more securing the boot roof lining. I guess these were plastic screw rivets or similar. There is a hard plastic cover at the rear which should be held with 3 screws. Only the central screw was nearly in, the other 2 were missing.
Not a big job to sort out and ordered a load of Plastic rivets off E bay today and sorted out the side panels and hard back panel to day.
Bonus is clear Waxoyle every where!

First time for me jimboy and I was in Malta when I did it so am not complaining about the car, but rather my stupidity!

I bought my last 3 cars - two Coupes and an Alfa - on eBay auctions without prior viewing. Both Coupes needed quite a bit of work in spite of having MOTs. The Alfa is a great car but it has under body rust. Can't grumble for £430 though!

More Horrors.
Started to really look underneath now. Car has got new flex brake pipes But they are at least twice as long as required and looped up with tie wraps to the springs here and there , Don't know how it ever got an MOT. Then had a look at Fluid Res. No Float !! Front Discs next. Only about 50% of surface usable. Oh and near side rear wheel bearing worn.
I guess there must still be places where a friendly MOT can be obtained!!
So has any body got a used Brake fluid level float I can Buy and any clues as to where I can find brake pipe flexis will be very welcome.
Good News at last ! Not a sign of corrosion new rad arms, top mounts, springs, Various? shocks and engine mounts fitted

Jo at FCSS has full brake lines and flexis available and most certainly the float.

www.fiatcoupespecialist.co.uk/
Give him a call

http://i64.tinypic.com/x3zqm1.jpg
What is this. Should it be solid?

Thanks. I will give them a call

Wow!! A cowboy lasso! That should be a flexi but not that long.
You say about "friendly MOTs". Your car lived in Norfolk most its life! It's the wild West here when it comes to MOTs. Ive only lived here 3 years and I could tell some real horror stories.

I have been working on doing the work for the MOT on my 16v for months now, some welding and rear brakes.
Maybe I should not have bothered as I am doing the work in garage in Norfolk (Caston) and taking it to a local MOT station tomorrow.

o dear they have used the front braided hoses on the back

please please please remove them and get a proper set of the OE hoses form FCSS

Many people have fitted these and many have failed. Jo can provide the hard pipes and the proper rubber flexies

That's how I felt after my last MOT. I spent 9 days doing a huge amount of work beforehand, welding in a new floor, flexi's , hard brake lines, steering rack.. big stuff.
Dropped it into a place across from my work who I had no prior dealing with. But I could see his yard from mine and when he took it in I walked across the road to watch ( nervous about my welding) He ran the emmisions test and spent the rest of the time next to the terminal on his phone. It didn't go up on a ramp or on the brake rollers.
And he didn't open the bonnet cause the cable snapped years ago.
But it passed.

What do you mean by that?

As I recall there was a spate of failures from a group buy where the front 20vt hose didn't fit correctly and would rub. Ultimately they would then burst. Again, best I remember, it was a design issue rather than a quality issue.

If it doesn't pass- let me know. Have a coupe fan MOT tester near me....there are a lot of benefits of living in the wild east ;-)

http://i68.tinypic.com/2vj4ehu.jpg
http://i65.tinypic.com/1fe2ci.jpg

Here are a couple more!

Oh and next little thing Air Bag light won't go off! Just been informed that an Air Bag impact has been detected which cannot be reset on the ECU so advised to find another!
Is this possible?

I think that's correct, errors can be cleared but after an impact that activated the airbags the ECU has to be replaced.

The airbag ECU is the yellow (or silver?, but either way it has yellow cables going to it) box behind centre console under the carpet flap, there are a few different ones so remove it and confirm exact number then post in "Parts wanted" on here.

Thanks Graham.
Bit weird though. No sign whatsover of any damage to the car except it has an aftermarket front on it and bonnet is respayed. So guess a little frontal in the past!

The third party braided hoses never fit properly

They typically rub on the shock and over time burst or they leak. In my opinion they add very little value over the OE ones

Those were the Goodridge ones ISTR? I think I had a set but didn't have a problem. I just replaced the front hoses with HEL ones since the old Goodridge ones had cracked on the outside after many years and the deterioration was picked up as an MoT advisory. I was pleased that the HEL ones came with a rubber fitting to go in the bracket on the strut to allow the hose to slide in/out (had to improvise before), with extra protection also on the first part of the hose after the connection with the main brake pipes, but you still need to add some protection to stop rubbing on the inner wheel arch liner or gearbox end.

I got stung on a Fiat Coupe 20v turbo a few years back that I no longer own it's since been broken and parted out. At the time it was a choice between a Fiat or an FTO Version R, wish I'd bought the FTO but the coupes are so unique.

At first it looked great in the pictures and had been owned by others on these forums. Reg was R949 BYA.

However the guy I bought from in London clearly hadn't spent any money on it and it became apparent as time went on. He had hidden this well on the listing and when he sold it to me a really good polish and clean of the engine bay hid faults.

His comments matched up with what others on the forums had said before buying. It was about a month after getting it back to Bristol from London I realised I'd been had. Boost pipes kept blowing off and the radio kept cutting out.

I took the car to FC Performance and the London guy had replaced the intercooler with a cheap eBay job and awful piping, the brake lines were corroded. The manifold had been patched up but well hidden with expensive aftermarket heatwrap.

The turbo then developed the dreaded blue smoke on start up.

I had Leighton at FC Performance rebuild the turbo and get it back on the road but even he commented it was nothing like the car he'd worked on in the past. The car sat for a couple of months waiting for work to be done but rain got into the fuel tank. I had it repaired/injectors cleaned up but the car lacked power and the brakes finally gave up. Needing rust work done and a new manifold I decided rather than spend the £1000+ to get it working I'd cut my loses. In just under 3 years of ownership I got about 9 months driving out of the car but it was never 100%.

I tried for a month to sell the car as a complete car on eBay but the best offer I got was £700.

Anyway the rebuilt turbo went into a track car in Ireland and most of the good body parts went to a fellow owner in Bristol who was restoring cars. It had a very expensive unqiue bodykit from Poland. Most the interior bits went off to various eBay buyers. I think I made about £1750 parting out. I paid £2500 for the car.

I loved the car it was fast, unique and a head turner but boy it's put my off Italian cars for life I'm bag in the Jap cars. I literally MOT check via the DVLA site before I buy any car now and I inspect literally everything instead of diving into a purchase.