Posted By: Anonymous
To buy or not to buy a coupe.. Thats the question - 26/01/2006 04:17
Hi All,
New member to the site, spent the last week feverishly looking around the forum hoovering up snippets of information where posible as I am considering buying a coupe.
Until June last year I owned a Seat Cordoba 16v, a very nice (though not beautifully styled) car with 150hp that made a great run around day on day. having owned it for over two years I had thoughts of selling it and upgrading to something a bit more special and most definatley more powerful. Events overtook me and I was offered a job with a company car.... The job was what I had been looking for since leaving College and I accepted despite the fact that the company car was a Ford KA... Somewhat of a step down I'm sure you'll agree (although it is quite fun to drive at times). The Cordoba soon fell surplus to requirements and with finance outstanding on her I did the sensible thing and sold her on.
However, after almost seven months of driving around in a Ford KA I am starting to get seriously bored. I am a petrolhead at heart a KA with the engine from a sewing machine doesnt really tick the box. My other halves car is now on its last legs (making funky noises and generally getting old) and we began discussing its iminent replacement the other day. I suggested she get something sporty that I could drive, she wanted to get something she could afford. So we decided to reach a compromise, I look to find us a car that I would be happy to drive and look after at the weekends (and help pay for it) and she uses it during the weeks. We have spengt ages over the last ferw weeks looking a possible replacments (200SX, Clio 172, Scooby, BMW, VRg etc) but my missus is very taken with the 20VT, as am I. I've lusted after one for years (I once drove one about 8 years ago) and remember thinking that it was quite insanley fast.
However, the coupe has somewhat of a bad rap as a fragile car that really needs a lot of looking after and has a tendency to go wrong. When it does out comes the wallet...
The 20vt ticks all the boxes as far as we are concerned regarding styling, comfort, speed, agility etc but the one thing that concerns me is the reliability and the lottery of finding a good one....
I really need some honest and impartial advice on these cars, I appreciate that this is a forum about them and that most people own one or lust after them (alike to me) but we're buying near the top end of our budget and I need to get some trully impartial advice... My heart defiantley says yes but my head is a bit concerned... HELP ????
New member to the site, spent the last week feverishly looking around the forum hoovering up snippets of information where posible as I am considering buying a coupe.
Until June last year I owned a Seat Cordoba 16v, a very nice (though not beautifully styled) car with 150hp that made a great run around day on day. having owned it for over two years I had thoughts of selling it and upgrading to something a bit more special and most definatley more powerful. Events overtook me and I was offered a job with a company car.... The job was what I had been looking for since leaving College and I accepted despite the fact that the company car was a Ford KA... Somewhat of a step down I'm sure you'll agree (although it is quite fun to drive at times). The Cordoba soon fell surplus to requirements and with finance outstanding on her I did the sensible thing and sold her on.
However, after almost seven months of driving around in a Ford KA I am starting to get seriously bored. I am a petrolhead at heart a KA with the engine from a sewing machine doesnt really tick the box. My other halves car is now on its last legs (making funky noises and generally getting old) and we began discussing its iminent replacement the other day. I suggested she get something sporty that I could drive, she wanted to get something she could afford. So we decided to reach a compromise, I look to find us a car that I would be happy to drive and look after at the weekends (and help pay for it) and she uses it during the weeks. We have spengt ages over the last ferw weeks looking a possible replacments (200SX, Clio 172, Scooby, BMW, VRg etc) but my missus is very taken with the 20VT, as am I. I've lusted after one for years (I once drove one about 8 years ago) and remember thinking that it was quite insanley fast.
However, the coupe has somewhat of a bad rap as a fragile car that really needs a lot of looking after and has a tendency to go wrong. When it does out comes the wallet...
The 20vt ticks all the boxes as far as we are concerned regarding styling, comfort, speed, agility etc but the one thing that concerns me is the reliability and the lottery of finding a good one....
I really need some honest and impartial advice on these cars, I appreciate that this is a forum about them and that most people own one or lust after them (alike to me) but we're buying near the top end of our budget and I need to get some trully impartial advice... My heart defiantley says yes but my head is a bit concerned... HELP ????