Losing the lurrrrrrrve...

I guess it's not relevant to those of you that have a Coop still but did you ever feel like you'd lost the love for it, almost overnight?

I only ask cos y'day, one of my twins - on her inaugural ride on her first bike - crashed. Into the Coop.

Now, after checking the car - sorry, my daughter - was ok, I looked at what had happened. It's got a scratch on the rear bumper, shall probably need a touch up.

It was only afterwards that I realised how un-fussed I was about it. Rewind a year, even a few months/ weeks ago, I'd have been livid. Bear in mind, too, that I've spent nearly 5k on this car in the past 12 months on a respray + re-leather. So, you can see, I kinda love it.

But.....it does about 250 miles a month now, tops. I've got 3 kids and another car to get my kicks from. I always imagined I'd just store it eventually, but y'day shocked me in just little I was bothered about the incident.

I do love it but....

Oh bugger.

Cheers, Hedge

Hedge

I feel the same mate, there have been times when some one has shut the door to hard and i have gone of on one, with the current coupe i noticed a new large dent in it the other day, and just shrugged my shoulders
Im still debating if its time to move on or spend some real money on it bringing it to mint level

Mine is the same, it needs some paintwork attention to bring it to mint condition, but I don't know if I'll do it, I've never felt the love for the car some people on here exhibit. Maybe it's just not the car for me.

Familiarity breeds contempt.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.


This is the case here. Simple.

Absolutely True!

I put my Coupe away in the Garage over the Winter, only have it back on the road now 3weeks and it's up for the MOT test tomorrow and I can't wait to give her a good going over to fix every wee problem there might be.

I had fallen out of lurrrrve briefly last year but the absence has mad all the difference to me.

Try it out - buy an old Mk1 punto to use for a month and the with the coupe all will be different!

Maybe you need to take her for a good spin on your own more often Hedge?

Don't know about you, but if I've got the missus or new born daughter in the car, you can't open it up and enjoy it as much... although, it can be nice just cruising along sometimes

What's this other car you have to entertain you though?

Mmmm... I'm not so sure. I've just got mine back after a month of it being engine-less and I've not really been excited so far. I've haemmoraged cash on my coupe in the last few months.

The car transporter taking the car to the UK broke off part of one of the LE lips, there is a dent in the bonnet which must have happened in transport, so I now need to have the front bumper repaired and the bumper and bonnet resprayed for the 3rd time in 12 months. Today I just spent the guts of £400 on new disks and pads all round and new handbrake cables. I still to have them fittted. Oh and the car has three new problems which has it booked into the garage tomorrow at 5pm.

My MOT is next Monday and if it fails on anything, I'm gonna invest in a litre of V-Power and a box of matches

Yup, I'm not speaking to my coupe until it gets out of its strop!

If my car was a woman I'd have dumped her by now

Threads like this dont help my dilema.

If I get mine resprayed with added LE kit and refurbed alloys will I fall in love with it all over again and become ultra paranoid leaving it anywhere.

Or will i think, John are you mad? you've just spent £2500 on a car that is now worth £2500!!!!! when you could have sorted x y and z around the house and taken yourself and daughter off on a well deserved and long awaited holiday.


Oh god knows what winning the lottery would do to me, if £2500 leaves me feeling guilty...and I haven't even got it yet!!!

Guys, guys. Listen. Set yourself a day, pack the kids off somewhere, send the wife, girlfriend (boyfriend?) dog and cat off somewhere. Start early, put your favourite tunes on your Ipod. Now give your car a thorough clean. top up the fluids, fill her up with the finest fuel. Now, slip your fave CD into the player, pop your shades on and drive. Don't go anywhere, just drive. Find a decent road and open her up. Like all good relationships, you need to spend some time together.

I've always thought of the Coupe as being like Monica Belluci- Italian, a bit old, good looking .

Ah... Monica Belluci... Stunning!!

Yep, wouldn't kick her outta bed for fartin' thats for true!
My Coupe is now Gonna be renamed "Monica"

The other car to "keep me entertained" is an Ariel Atom.

Thats the problems sell the Atom OR the coupe.

You cant have both, the Atom does everything the coupe does better (apart from keeping you dry).

I must admit that during the long winter the coupe just becomes another car and gets very dirty and neglected

However a good spring clean and a healthy meet at AutoItalia soon restores the luuurrrve

Ha ha, like it....
Well, one thing's for sure, the Atom's going nowhere. Especially since the new one is imminent.

The Atom's "not brilliant" at escorting the twins So, yeah, as well as keeping you drier, the Coop's got an advantage there, too....

Cheers, Hedge

Well my LUURRRVVE is now complete and unbounded for my 11yr old Coupe!!

Booked the MOT online yesterday evening @3.30pm for test this morning @8.25am and she flew thru without a single fault to mention.

It's been laid up for 5 months until few weeks ago and has only had an oil change since.
The only thing was the zenons I fitted played up at the start but soon settled once they heated up.

I love my Coupe even more now and very confident in her every time I drive it!!

I'd love a blast in an Atom!!! SO SO Jealous!!

Atom!!!! Girls car!

Joking! nice little toy, but is it practical!

Gareth

I'm in Hertfordshire, you're welcome anytime

I thought I had lost the love of my coupe, so i part-ex'd it for a turbo diesel laguna and said I would never have another one, searched for something else as a project but in the end I have ended up getting another coupe

I don't love any car any more. I take care of them, but I don't have any attachment to them. Once you've pulled a car apart and seen exactly what makes it tick (and then fixed that tick ) the mystery is lost.

A car's a car - though they're much more rewarding than children!

i'm desperately trying to rediscover my love for the coupé since i swapped my well sorted 20vt for this blue plus. where sorting the green one from a low base to a good level was rewarding and educational, i'm trying to convince myself my heart is in doing the same for this battered, previously unloved plus that snapped it's cambelt 10 days ago. after having one fitted just weeks before...

makes you realise there IS a breaking point, i just hope it's a temporary thing

Hmmm... an Ariel Atom's gotta be difficult to compete with for fun factor... unlike a Laguna diesel (sorry coupedave :D)

The coupe has it over looks IMO and obviously practicality... and I bet the Atom doesn't sound as good as the coupe Hedge!

Must admit I've only seen and heard the Atom on TV. Has a 0-60mph record (for production cars?) doesn't it. Would love a spin in one

well i get a massive buzz out of cars and they really are in my heart but i have a problem of wanting a better big faster model all the time. i actully really like the coop and i tend to fall for any car i own and want to do amazing things with it. you get another car and you get attached to that. i think it would have to be a dream car for me to be in love like a ferrari or something.
i got that love thing when i bought my first skyline as it was a dream car but the novolty wears off after a while.
you know when its right to get rid of a car, i can do the 3 year cycle most people do and just buy a bland car then when it gets old replace it. i have to want to drive the car and want to own it and it doesn't matter how old or what it is.
lets face it. if you have had enough and the car gets you down get rid but if there is something inside saying keep the car then its worth restoring the car.

LOL the laguna was for my new job but hindsight is a wonderful thing!!

proccy, just think how rewarding it will be when you have sorted the plus out, gorgeous colour too

hedge....im down that way quite a lot....i would dearly love to be a passenger in one of them at some point

i know its a lot to ask...just can you "jim will fix it" for me

There seems to be a lot of people losing the love at the moment, I reckon it's down to the economic climate. It's hard to love a car that is sapping your already stretched resources. However, if you leave it be when it's working, keep it maintained, give it a loving polish and just check all is well on a regular basis, they needn't be a drain.

However, some people crave constant improvement, modifying is a good way to keep yourself interested in your car, but this will drain your resources and effect your cars reliability (as a rule).

Just drive them, use them as a car, thats what they are! Lots of other cars will keep your interest, but will they be as achingly beautiful as the coop, even my battered looking LE makes me feel great when I look at it.

I read these posts and I don't really know what to suggest for the people losing the love, maybe it's the wrong car for you? Maybe you need something you can drive and forget? I don't know, I hope it gets better for you all, the only thing that would pull me away from my coop is if I just simply couldn't afford to keep it, even stored in a garage.

Gareth

The noise the Atom makes is different entirely to the Coop. But the noise is just part of the whole visceral experience. Which is mental..

Yeah, it does have that record. Does 0-60 in 2.86......if you're a good enough driver!
Cheers, Hedge

Anytime you like! I'm always happy for people to sit in it with me. Just send me a PM.
I've sold the current one, the new one arrives in about 2 months.
Cheers, Hedge

My advice:

Drive a Bravo 1.2 all week. Then you'll REALLY appreciate the Coupe at weekends...

I disagree...be stuck driving a Fiat Seicento like i am at the moment...and only THEN will you appreciate just how fccukin marvellous the coupe is.

I like the sci more than my coupe at the moment

swap swap swap....but only if u pay the insurance

no dice

Not terribly, no.
Having said that, I did use it to move house (flat) recently, so not all bad
Took quite a few trips, mind.
Cheers, Hedge

The more trips the better in an Atom!!

Lamp..... blast to new house & back
Lamp shade..... blast to new house & back
other lamp..... blast to new house & back
other lamp shade..... blast to new house & back
repeat until it rains!!!

Exactly what i'm doing but in a Punto Mk1 60 horse beast
Oh the Coupe never felt so good on a dry Saturday morning!!

Or a xsara Picasso automatic. Its like watching paint dry on the motorway!

This is bang on. However, when they then cost you despite the above it still makes you wince.

I like that thought...



Are you sure it was not seeing me again?

I think there could be a few factors in this, perhaps your love is just altering? No doubt because of the atom in my opinion. The Coupe is taking its place as a classic car now. It does not provide you with the thrills it once did because of the atom. But the same is true of the any classic, your relationship is just altering as time goes on.

I do think perhaps the economic situation and few other things may be playing a factor?

Nick

dammit!!! worth a go...but but but Freddys now valeted to an acceptable standard including under bonnet...now has a 2000watt stereo system...still no swap???

Good advice that.

I can see where you're coming from, Nick, sure. I've had the Atom almost as long as I've had the Coop though. I've never once compared it to the Atom.

Economics-wise, well, not really playing on my mind "that" much. Neither of my cars really depreciates much/ if at all; I don't need the money from a sale of the Coop. As I said though, having 3 cars on the road is just a bit silly.

I love the Coop for it's styling/ individuality/ uniqueness - not for it's performance, sure, but I love both cars - albeit in differing ways.

I'm gonna call a couple of people, see if they want to run it for me.

Cheers, Hedge

Look, it's a long term relationship. Other cars will turn your head and you'll think "Why Am I doing this?" and there is no answer. Think of it this way:

You're married to the coop. You're tempted but you don't stray because if you do, you can't live with yourself in the wee small hours of the morning. It's a test and you're going to pass!!

Good analogy, Alan, like it...

hedge,

You'll have to pop up one saturday in the atom, i need to feel it.

No probs, Rog. I'll be over as soon as the newbie shows up.