Swap for a Fiat?

[crazymarcel 0]

Yesterday i was talking to the girl next door, shes a bit of a dealer, always in a nice car.

 

Her latest car is a Fiat Coupe 20v turbo on a R plate in sprint blue with full leather interia and 79k on the clock and in very good condition. She doesent want to sell it but she has offered me a straight swap for my C, which she has always loved, as do all of her family.

 

After laughin, i started to think about it, a quick drive can confirm its pritty lively and did get me thinking most of the night. My head returned to normal today, and have gone off it a bit due to it being a fiat and not as nice on the eye as the C, probley rustin, costin more the the C to repair etc etc.

 

What would others do?, bearin in mind i am about to spend lots on my C, a kind of no turning back approach, as i would then lose too much. , and this car is gotta be worth more then mine, but will it in 2/4/6 years time?.

 

I know most people will obviosly say stick with the vw, but turbo does tempt me. but gettin my C to perfection interests me too, Has anyone had one of these Fiats with this engine and would care to comment on the running costs?

 

I think i have kinda made my mind up on keepin with the C, guess this is just a has anyone had/drove a 20v turbo fiat and what u think kinda question,.???

[PhatVR6 0]

my sister has a bravo with the 20v 5 cylinder engine.....it does about 18mpg......she's thinking of selling it after only 2 months of ownership......

 

never been a fan of fiats myself, I think you'd be insane to have one instead of a corrado.

 

now, if you said an alfa GTV V6, maybe

[randal 0]

F ix

It

Again

Tony!

[Guest]

The Fiat is a nice car - always fancied one myself but parts are expensive (even when compared to the C) and when the cambelt needs changing (every 60k I think) apparently the engine has to come out - heard stories of it being a 15 hour job.

[crazymarcel 0]

18mpg :lol: Thats rough. Dint know they did a bravo with that engine in it. Bet that surprises a few people.

 

Yeah i think by the time i had written the post I had made my mind up, The fiat marque puts me off too.

[PhatVR6 0]

it's a special one with a daft name and a 155 20v ie badgeor something daft like that on the wings.

[Guest]

Bravo was available with the five cylinder n/a engine for virtually all of its life in the UK, very understated and not that quick but fantastic engine note. Don't really know who Fiat were targetting with it - it's a Fiat so it would be crazy to target it at those moving down to a smaller car but didn't want to lose the refinement of a big car and too plain for the GTi types.

 

PhatVR6 is spot on, badge on the front wing did say 155 20V, 155 being the BHP figure

[Kevin Bacon 5]

That's the power, 155bhp. FIAT usually put the engine power on the wings, like Punto 90 for example. Your Sister's might be the Abarth version, which would explain the 18mpg. They are to FIAT what AMG are to Mercedes.

 

As for Gareth's direct swap dilema...... absolutely not. There would be only one reason I would go for it, and that would be if my C was a complete dog and she was too blind to see it. Then I'd have the FIAT for a week, give it death, then sell it.

 

It's a 5 cylinder turbo mate...... you think the C is heavy on Juice.....Ask the old bird next door what it consumes when ragging it!

[crazymarcel 0]

Yeah i'm sure i read somewhere before about the cambelt being a major job on them,

 

Sorry i misread phat's comments i thought he ment the 20v turbo engine was in the Bravo's. That makes 18mpg look even worse, i dread to think what the turbo must be.

 

Guess to many negatives and the Corrados looks win everytime, guess i was just a bit Impressed that she offer me a newer, low mileage car for mine and that got me thinking.

 

Does anyone think the Fiat Coupe turbo residual will be as good as the Corrado's?

[kangaroo 0]

I see more Fiat Coupes on the road than Corrados. So that's one good reason.

 

That and 5 years down the line you'd come out one morning and see nothing more than the leather-skins sitting in a large pile of rust on your driveway.

[chubbybrown 0]

I wouldnt,not even for a 16 valver,

I dont think its the reason why people have corrados

no harm in checking the neighbours bottom end though :wink:

[kvwloon 0]

Say youl'l do a swap if she sleeps with you....then keep the Corrado! :wink: :lol:

[pablo_vr6 0]

right a few things need setting straight here ;)

 

cambelt is NOT an engine out job - £500 inc bits will do it

these cars are FAST I mean would embarrass most corrados on the road. good for over 160 mph

interior is 10 times nicer than the corrados

exterior styling is w@nk std but with a few mods looks very well (Azevs and colour coded)

Parts arent too bad from a company called Alternative Autos (Gen and Pattern stuff)

 

saying all that when they go by god they go. aux belt tensioner is the main culprit as it wrecks the timing belt which wrecks the head. say goodbyr to a grand+

 

Unless the coop was something very special Id say dont do it.

[vr6storm 0]

right a few things need setting straight here ;)

 

cambelt is NOT an engine out job - £500 inc bits will do it

these cars are FAST I mean would embarrass most corrados on the road. good for over 160 mph

interior is 10 times nicer than the corrados

exterior styling is w@nk std but with a few mods looks very well (Azevs and colour coded)

Parts arent too bad from a company called Alternative Autos (Gen and Pattern stuff)

 

saying all that when they go by god they go. aux belt tensioner is the main culprit as it wrecks the timing belt which wrecks the head. say goodbyr to a grand+

 

Unless the coop was something very special Id say dont do it.

 

 

however its a case of finding a Fiat-specialist/garage who wouuld manage to do it for that..........if you go to a FIAT dealer THEY will charge and take the engine out to change the cambelt :wink:

[pablo_vr6 0]

fiat dealers are to be avoided like the plague. half of them dont know what a fiat coupe is :roll:

[vr6storm 0]

fiat dealers are to be avoided like the plague. half of them dont know what a fiat coupe is :roll:

 

 

just like most dealers.......... but my point was whichever garage your quoting to do the cambelt change for £500 isn't going to be exactly the most local for most people so they'll more than likely have to resort to main-dealers.........i'm not even sure if there is a Fiat Specialist up aberdeen way for instance

[MikeVR6 0]

Before I bought my VR6 I had a good look at the 20V Turbo Coupe.

 

Very similar to the Corrado in that all the car magazines gave them great write ups.

They handle as well as a Corrado and are very fast.

Often referred to as the common man's Ferrari, they are not the usual Fiat rubbish.

Of course the Corrado is the common man's Porsche

 

They've even got a Forum too.... :D

http://www.fccuk.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php

 

Gotta agree with Pablo on all the points above.

Believe me, it was a close run thing but I opted for the VR6 in the end.

8) 8)

[pablo_vr6 0]

my mechanic done it and he had never seen a coupe before. It isnt difficult with half decent instructions.

 

you remove the drivers side enine mounts then jiggle it about a brave bit ;)

[vr6storm 0]

my mechanic done it and he had never seen a coupe before. It isnt difficult with half decent instructions.

 

you remove the drivers side enine mounts then jiggle it about a brave bit ;)

 

 

so was it done as a casher type idea????? or did you have a proper bill to pay????

[pablo_vr6 0]

casher?

[vr6storm 0]

casher?

 

 

sorry we also call them homers up here think they're maybe called foreigners down your way :lol: :lol: :lol: ..................ie a nice cheap....*cough*.ahem non-VAT bill type idea :wink:

[pablo_vr6 0]

if you mean cash in hand then its all done cash in hand lol.

[vr6storm 0]

if you mean cash in hand then its all done cash in hand lol.

 

thats the one! :wink:

 

now sorry if this seems like i'm having a go at you etc please believe me i'm not :wink:

 

anyway back to the fiat coupe cam-belt change.....if it was my motor i would rather have the comeback of a receipted and guarranteed bill........especially when the potential for F***ing up can cost an arm and a leg+...........

[pablo_vr6 0]

well it did fcuk up actually and wrecked the head but it wasnt my mechanics fault it was the dealers fault for telling us that the tensioner never went and never needed replacing. :roll: 2 weeks later - BANG

 

£500 vs £1500 is a lot of difference tho.

[vr6storm 0]

well it did fcuk up actually and wrecked the head but it wasnt my mechanics fault it was the dealers fault for telling us that the tensioner never went and never needed replacing. :roll: 2 weeks later - BANG

 

£500 vs £1500 is a lot of difference tho.

 

 

i think the cheapest ive heard quoted by a garage was £1000 :wink: