Welcome

The time has come to (reluctantly) part with my beautiful Fiat Coupe. As a web developer by trade, I thought I would take the time to create this page with a thorough description of the car and plenty of images. You can click on each image for an enlargement, or you can follow the links under the image to download super high-res versions of the image. It can be very difficult to accurately portray a car in AutoTrader sized images, but with these you can get a very good idea of the condition of the car, before making the journey to view it.

If you have any questions, please give me a call or text message on the number above. I can be very flexible with viewing times - just let me know what suits you best.

This really is a very nice car, that brings a smile to my face every time I drive it. Click to enlarge or download Image (right click, Save As): [1024x768] [1280x960] [2048x1536]

Statistics

Year:	1999 ('T' registration)	MoT Expiry:	July 2009
Taxed Until:	31 December 2008	Mileage:	87862
Engine Displacement:	1998 CC	Power:	220 BHP
Top Speed:	155 MPH	0 - 60:	6.2 seconds

Click to enlarge or download Image (right click, Save As): [1024x768] [1280x960] [2048x1536]

Service History & Recent Work

This Fiat Coupe has had the expensive 75,000 mile cambelt and clutch done already - don't be fooled by a lower mileage car that will cost you as soon as you buy it! My mileage is still below average and there is no major scheduled work coming up. I have a list of main dealer services carried out from new and the receipts from before I bought the car in January 2007. I personally phoned the main dealers and verified the work had been completed at the stated mileages. I still have this information if you want to do the same.

I had a basic service done on the car in January 2007, and shortly after had the cambelt and timing belt changed by a Ferrari/Alfa/Fiat specialist in Somerton. This will not need to be done again until 2012 or 120k - 130k miles.

Mid-2007 I replaced the clutch, again at an Italian performance car specialist, this time in Exeter. This should not need to be done again until 140k - 150k miles. The car had a full service at the same time.

The car has just had another full service, and new discs on the front along with new pads for a total cost of almost £600. It went through its MoT at the same time with no problems. As you can see, I have not spared expense in keeping the car well maintained, and ongoing maintenance costs will be much lower over the next few years, thanks to these major jobs being completed. Click to enlarge or download Image (right click, Save As): [1024x768] [1280x960] [2048x1536]

Bodywork

I paid over £900 in January 2008 to have this Coupe professionally refurbished and, as you can see from the pictures, the bodywork is sweet. The colour was matched by Fiat reps, so it does look spot on. There are no dinks or scratches on any of the body panels.

This is one of the nicest looking cars ever made. With styling by Pininfarina, it really turns heads. And it's very rare to find an unmarked example like this.

The car is only just outside of Fiat's anti-corrosion warranty, and the bodywork is rust free.

(The small amount of smearing you can see in the photo below is because the bonnet was wet after my wife wiped off some dead flies before taking the photo - she hasn't learned about chamois leather yet..., anyway the bonnet looks great like the rest of the car. The black dots on the bumper are also flies.) Click to enlarge or download Image (right click, Save As): [1024x768] [1280x960] [2048x1536]

Wheels, Brakes & Tyres

You'll be hard pushed to find a Fiat Coupe without kerbed alloys. Mine have been professionally refurbished and are the (desirable and valuable) original Fiat alloys, correct for the model. The only deviation from original looks that I allowed myself, was to darken these down from silver, to glossy gun metal grey, and I think they look amazing. They're also unique.

The brakes on the front are vented discs with Brembo calipers, and it has standard disc brakes to the rear. The car has ABS, so you can stomp on the pedal and stop on a dime, but they're not so aggressive as to make everyday driving uncomfortable.

I don't believe in riding cheap or worn rubber, so this car has four good tyres - Continental on the back and Bridgestone on the front. They hold the road really well - very important in a car like this. Click to enlarge or download Image (right click, Save As): [1024x768] [1280x960] [2048x1536]

Performance & Economy

This is a very fast car indeed. It can see off even the latest hot hatches and coupes, with a low 0 - 60 time, and incredible acceleration from 60 onwards thanks to the turbocharger. Overtaking in this car is a breeze. The turbo is in perfect working order and delivers real kick-in-the-pants performance whilst allowing you to drive economically when you want. Speaking of economy, this car is surprisingly good. It is better than my previous cars (Saab 900 2.0i, Saab 9000 2.0i, Honda Accord 1.8i) by some way, and if you drive it gently will deliver class leading fuel economy. I typically get 2 or 3 MPG better than the published figures. This is largely thanks to the extra cylinder and the turbocharger. And those 5 cylinders make a very pleasant growl when you give it the beans. Reportedly, the car will pull like a train all the way up to 155MPH.

All that said, I do not thrash this car. It needs to be opened up every now and again to keep it smooth, which I do, but I drive it carefully and use the power just for overtaking. Once you've seen off a few Type Rs, the novelty subsides a little... ;-) Click to enlarge or download Image (right click, Save As): [1024x768] [1280x960] [2048x1536]

Practicality, Interior Comfort & Features

You can't have a sports car and practicality, right? Wrong!

Smaller adults will be perfectly comfortable on the rear sears - the interior space is quite deceptive. I have two young children, and their car seats fit in the back just fine. They love to ride in "Daddy's Yellow Car"! Even the boot space is surprising - room for a pushchair and some shopping. It's no estate car, but for a coupe, it has every day practicality to go along with the killer performance and looks.

The interior is full leather - mmmmmmmmm. It has a lovely driving position and I find the seats very comfortable indeed. The yellow dashboard and door trim matches the external colour, and Veglia Borletti clocks finish the dash off perfectly.

You get electric windows with solar glass, electric door mirrors, electric tilt and slide sunroof with shade cover, and central locking. The car has an alarm and remote central locking, although the siren has been disconnected by somebody. I never bothered to reconnect it because no-one pays any attention to alarms, but it can be done. It is a Meta alarm system - Hickley Valtone in Taunton are a dealer for Meta. I do have the very important red master key.

Safety features include seatbelt pre-tensioners, side-impact bars, twin airbags (switchable on the passenger side to allow use of a baby seat), and of course ABS.

The sound system is really very good, with a 6 speaker setup. Excellent bass and treble response and plenty of volume, if that's your thing. I have installed a Sony head unit with CD and front AUX jack for your iPod. Click to enlarge or download Image (right click, Save As): [1024x768] [1280x960] [2048x1536]

Running Costs

Well, I've done the big stuff, so all it will need is a service each year. If you look after these cars and keep the oil topped up, they will munch through big miles - there are plenty around with much higher mileage than this one. It has in fact been the most reliable car I've ever owned. It has never once refused to start and it has never broken down on me. There is an active and helpful Internet forum community who help out with any issues you might experience, but this car has been well looked after and is on below average miles, so it should see many more trouble free miles yet. Click to enlarge or download Image (right click, Save As): [1024x768] [1280x960] [2048x1536]

Sale Terms, Reason for Sale & Test Drives

I'm selling the car due to passing my motorcycle test earlier this year. I now have two bikes, and have a new Fiat lease car arriving on 1 September. So, my beloved Coupe has to go. Please excuse me if I blubber like a baby as you drive it away...!

Given the nature of the car, any test drives will be with me behind the wheel, unless you bring proof of insurance and leave the cost of the car as a deposit. Sorry, but experience teaches bitter lessons! I will take you on a variety of roads and demonstrate the car's abilities.

I'm not interested in visits from test pilots or tyre kickers, or anybody who expects a 9 year old car to be in 100% perfect showroom condition.

The car is fairly priced at £2,995 and I may consider sensible offers. I saw an equivalent, but slightly newer (6 months), model in a showroom last week priced at 6 grand! There's been no change in price in the 20 months I have owned the car, so depreciation is not an issue. Click to enlarge or download Image (right click, Save As): [1024x768] [1280x960] [2048x1536]

More Images

Click to enlarge or download Image (right click, Save As): [1024x768] [1280x960] [2048x1536] Click to enlarge or download Image (right click, Save As): [1024x768] [1280x960] [2048x1536] Click to enlarge or download Image (right click, Save As): [1024x768] [1280x960] [2048x1536] Click to enlarge or download Image (right click, Save As): [1024x768] [1280x960] [2048x1536] Click to enlarge or download Image (right click, Save As): [1024x768] [1280x960] [2048x1536]



©2008 David Hurst