A new car for Mrs_cav - decision finally made!

[Jon]

Well, the MOT's looming on her Saab and I'm trying to steer her towards a different car, should all go wrong. Unusually, she thinks this is a great idea! But only if she can have something interesting for about £1000. Simple!So, from what I've gathered, it's a coupe she wants. Just going by what was on Ebay last night, there's a fair few she doesn't like, so here's the ones out of the running:Volvo C70 (think I was being a bit optimistic with the price anyway)Honda Accord CoupeMazda MX6Honda CRXPeugeot 406 coupeThing is, a mate had a couple of Fiat Coupes a while back and she's set her heart on one of those! Either that, or a Ford Puma. Obviously the Puma is cheaper to buy and run but it seems that most in the price range are 1.7s which are supposed to be a bit unreliable engine-wise? I'd rather not get a 1.4 for obvious reasons. I think Fiat Coupes are great cars, just great for some other bugger to worry about. An early 16v one would be plenty fast enough though.So can anyone offer any ideas? Are Pumas any good and Fiat Coupes all potential nightmares? Or any other wild card motors to play? I've a feeling the likes of Mercs and BMWs will be seen as a little too 'normal', which is a bit of a shame really. For some reason I don't actually mind those weirdly facelifted Hyundai Coupes (especially in frog green ) but not sure about her reaction .Oh yeah, and please lets assume that they're all just as safe/dangerous as each other....

[Cavcraft]

Calibra? 16V red top best of the lot but 8V engines are ace and the 2.0 Ecotec not as bad as they're painted.Plenty of parts still about, easy to work on and good economy plus reliabilty.

[Jon]

Mmmm, Calibra.Personally, I'd love a really early one in Silver, like the first one I saw. Such a clean looking car. Are there any good ones left though? Most I see seem to have those 'tattoo' graphics and other questionable accessories added. will try and find a nice example and see if it passes muster.

[Cheggers]

Any love for a Celica??

[Cavcraft]

Mmmm, Calibra.Personally, I'd love a really early one in Silver, like the first one I saw. Such a clean looking car. Are there any good ones left though? Most I see seem to have those 'tattoo' graphics and other questionable accessories added. will try and find a nice example and see if it passes muster.

Definately still some unmolested ones about. Luckily, like the Nova, a lot of people are realising 'less is more' so the days of stupid snow plough bodykits seems to be dwindling.

[Jon]

The problem I have with Calibras though is that I always felt that the later ones were let down by really bad wheels. They look too small and look like they've come off an Astra or something (especially late pov spec whheltrim ones!). The Cav GSI type ones were much nicer but I suppose they can always be swapped.She might take some convincing on a Cav Coupe but the heated seats on some models might sway her.As for Celicas, I quite like the late 80's/early 90's ones but didn't feel much for their replacement, so I've not suggested those!

[Cavcraft]

Agreed. Cav slabs are the winners but seem to fetch daft money as the OMG Corsa C20(toi)LET boys love them.

[darkfour]

Aren't cam belt changes a royal PITA on Fiat Coupes? I seem to remember that it was supposed to be an engine out job.

[Cheggers]

Not sure what your age limit is, but what about the Rover 200 "Tomcat" Coupe? - I had a 220 a few years ago that was a great little car.

[155V6]

Aren't cam belt changes a royal PITA on Fiat Coupes? I seem to remember that it was supposed to be an engine out job.

On the 5-pots,yes.It can be done without taking the engine out though.Non-turbo Fiat Coupes are probably much less thrashed,don't see many 4-pots around now though

[155V6]

Not sure what your age limit is, but what about the Rover 200 "Tomcat" Coupe? - I had a 220 a few years ago that was a great little car.

Always liked these too,you can get the T-top & the later ones come with the VVC K-series

[nigel bickle]

We will shortly be selling my Mrs 16v na Fiat Coupe- but only cos we've bought an identical 20v turbo one!She absolutely loves it -had it several years now & added about 70k to it-taking it up to 170,000ish miles.Cam belt went recently, so we've had the whole top end done by a local Fiat mechanic-now running sweet as a nut.Cos her daily mileage (80+) will shortly drop-we've bought an identical yellow replacement.Its in (same Fiat mechanic moonlighting) for a cam belt (£225) & service, swop the personal plate over & the 16 will be up for sale.New Mot-5months tax- slightly less than 1k. Interested? Could deliver....

[155V6]

Ford Cougar?

[warren t claim]

Prelude?

[Claypole]

VW Corrado. (If you can find one where the last owner thought it better to service it and change the belts etc. instead of fitting a lowering kit and other pointless tat)

[Parky]

Saw a nice "T" plate Alfa GTV at the shops this evening which caught my eye. They must be seriously cheap by now?

[Jon]

We will shortly be selling my Mrs 16v na Fiat Coupe- but only cos we've bought an identical 20v turbo one!She absolutely loves it -had it several years now & added about 70k to it-taking it up to 170,000ish miles.Cam belt went recently, so we've had the whole top end done by a local Fiat mechanic-now running sweet as a nut.Cos her daily mileage (80+) will shortly drop-we've bought an identical yellow replacement.Its in (same Fiat mechanic moonlighting) for a cam belt (£225) & service, swop the personal plate over & the 16 will be up for sale.New Mot-5months tax- slightly less than 1k. Interested? Could deliver....

Mmmm. That certainly seems to tick many of her boxes. She has expressed a like for the yellow, blue and green ones (seperately) but not the red ones. FFS! Moon on a stick! The MOT runs out at the end of the month and I'm sure we could go down to being a 2 car family temporarily, so we have some time yet.

Saw a nice "T" plate Alfa GTV at the shops this evening which caught my eye. They must be seriously cheap by now?

Yeah, I was trying to avert her eyes from these! The knowledge of one potentially troublesome Italian coupe she could afford is enough!The list has been further dwindled:Corrado = No (another mate had one and she wasn't impressed, despite it being a VR6....)Prelude = No, don't know why, but if I had to ask etc etc.Had forgotten about the Cougar. Food for thought. Cheers everyone!

[Josh_Cohen]

Hi Cav What saab has she got then if its for sale give me a PM

[Jon]

PM sent Josh.

[Betaphile]

If it's going to be a Fiat Coupe - and I think they're fantastic in general - I would be trying very hard to make it a facelift model (five-pot). The naturally-aspirated 20V is unfashionable in comparison to the Turbo, but perhaps also less likely to have been abused by 'POWERRRRR' types - something to think about. Personally, I would avoid the earlier (pre-1997) four-cylinder cars, unless the deal was truly unbelievable, as I don't think Fiat ever really sorted out the cambelts on the 16V Lampredis. With very minor differences, the engine in an early Coupe Turbo is pretty much identical to that in a late integrale, with the same cambelt that isn't wide enough due to a lack of space - hence they have been known to let go prior to their recommended replacement intervals. 20Vs don't suffer from this - if nothing else, it's one less thing to worry about. The other thing to watch for is that - quite unusually for a '90s Fiat - Coupes do suffer from rust, especially under the bonnet. It's usually fairly easy to spot but do be mindful of that fact. Otherwise though I reckon they're cool. A lot have fallen into the hands of 'tunerz', but if you can find a straight, unmolested example (admittedly easier said than done), there's no fundamental reason it shouldn't continue to work well.

[Tayne]

.

[Guest]

FWIW, I love Fiat Coupes. They're the only Bangle designed car that manages to look weird and coherant at the time. Unlike the 7 Series, which is a jowly pile of bollocks.

[Cavcraft]

Pistonheads shed of the week is a 2.0 dtm Calibra, t&t for £595

That's ace that is. Fact.Driver at work has some sort of Fiat 5 cylinder thing and says cam belts can be changed without taking engine out.

[Jon]

Righto, she now knows what she wants - a Puma.We toyed with the idea of an MX-5 but we won't get much for our budget (now £1500 tops) - unless anyone knows better? So, what to look for? Rust on the rear arches seems to be almost a given, but what about the 1.7 engines? I'm sure I heard that they have issues similar to some 90's BMWs (bore linings or something), so should they be avoided? We'd rather not go for a 1.4, which don't seem common anyway, rather like the 1.6 ones in our budget.Oh yeah, and it has to have long test (pref 12 months) and not be red All opinions welcome (though the lady's not for turning).

[Volksy]

I think they're quite cool, supposed to handle well, and are basically a Fiesta underneath. They do look like the have serious rot problems though!

[CIH]

I think you'll get a better MX5 for 1.5k than a Puma.

[trigger]

I sold my wife's V reg Puma 1.4 late last year, it was a nice car to drive, very nippy for a 1400 zetec, handled like it was on rails and cheap to run as well.The gearbox is also very nice and tight with a short shift change made it feel like a rally car, ours was that dark Manila blue which is a nice colour.The rear leg room is pretty dire though and you have to double over due to the low roof line, the A post is also very low meaning you will bang your head alot and it gets in the way when coming up to roundabouts and water always runs into the boot when you open it after It's been rainning, plus they do rust, especially the rear arches so check them out.I don't know much about the 1.7 yamaha made engines but have heard the cambelts can be a PITA to do and are not cheap.I would recommend taking a few out and do try a 1.4 as you may be suprised like i was.I ended up selling my 92k one with full history a bit cheap really at £1150, Check out the pumapeople forum for more advise on them.

[Jon]

Cheers Trig, that's some great info there! Nice to hear from someone who's owned one. I read out your reply and she said she often bumps her head on th A-post of my Sierra!! Will consider a 1.4 but really don't see many of them. There is a 1.6 one locally which we'll hopefully be looking at on Sunday:

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270570646496&_trksid=p2759.l1259

 

Unfortunately, Mrs_cav then took hold of the computer and found this, after seeing one at her work the other day:

 

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201015356871429

 

It all looks a bit dodgy to me, like the wrong year, lack of info etc. but if it's a Ralliart, then it's a UK model and so quite rare. Anyway, I still think a Puma will win the day.