New Car (well not exactly new)

R

Robb

Member
Right font of knowledge, i was looking at ways to free up some money for a deposit on a bigger house.
I could raise a fair bit by selling my coupe and i was thinking about buying this as my daily drive:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1421411.htm

Can any one see any major problems? i know its a lot older etc but iv wanted to own one since i was a small boy, now iv got the chance to get one and raise a bit of cash?

Most of the research iv done suggests that well maintained ones are really reliable and running cost wont be too much higher than the Z, opinions welcome :driving:
 
Have no idea about reliability of Japanese motors but from press reports they sound pretty good BUT a twin turbo and 14 years old..... . If it has a good provenance, service history etc then may well be worth the risk (any secondhand car is a risk). Agree with Breaker - it does look dated. No doubt a thorough examination and test drive will reveal its true potential. Have been through the car sale/house purchase thing but now the kids have flown the nest......... money in my pocket, it's wonderful. :thumbsup:
 
A bit chest-wig for me.

Look for usual stuff like turbo seals leaking and cracked manifolds. The 4 wheel steer is also very expensive if it goes wrong i believe.

I would suggest a Fiat coupe 20VT in the same price bracket. Just as quick, 5 cylinder quattro growl and loads of carachter. Does have some issues but if you buy right your laughing. I'de say finding a GOOD one would be the biggest problem though.

Looks nice... http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1331695.htm
 
Supposed to be a money pit TBO, read a buying guide a while back that had several four figure failures for things like the active aero spoilers that can fail, electric seat motors etc. Not that many to get scrap parts for so expect it to be quite hard to run as daily transport if something went wrong. Still great performance and can be tuned to silly horsepower.
 
lots of info in here http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=23&t=651473&nmt=RE: PH Zeroes: Mitsubishi 3000GT

What’s a 3000GT like as an ownership proposition? Risky. The Germans have always justified their engineering arrogance by pointing proudly to the longevity of their products. In contrast, the Japanese have only recently started to shift from a position of combining German-style engineering arrogance with built-in obsolescence. No Japanese cars of this, or as far as I can see any, era were ever built with home maintenance in mind.

This is uniquely annoying to anyone who might be interested in a long-term relationship with a complex Japanese vehicle like the 3000GT. When faults occur on any oldish car, as they invariably do, they’re a pain. On a 3000GT they’re awkward, expensive, ruinous, or all three. Suspension struts and steering racks disintegrate, pulleys whirl and whizz off, gaiters perish, belts snap. New clutch, sir? Certainly, that will be One Thousand Pounds.

To some extent this is all to be expected on a performance car. But the biggest bills lurk in the 3000GT’s sparky bits. On this car, ‘ECU’ (of which it has more than a few) stands for Extremely Costly, Unfortunately. A new engine ECU will set you back One Thousand Pounds. Lose the gearbox ECU and, depending on how unlucky you are, the resultant transmission damage might well cost you Two And A Half Thousand Pounds to mend. Either ECU failure could precipitate a total write-off.

Even if you manage to buy a new ECU at a reasonable price, your next problem could be fitting it. The one for the ABS, for example, is located in the front inner wing. To get at it, all you have to do is strip out the wheel, suspension, arch lining and front wing. Hmm.

Those active spoilers weren’t expected to fail – well, not within the warranty period, anyway – but of course they will eventually do exactly that. Fortunately, mending the microswitched, plastic-geared motors is a simple matter of a few hours’ work with a small selection of surgeon’s instruments, some emery paper, an electron microscope and an industrial laser.
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Wouldn't touch one with yours! Too much risk for me, all the electrics, etc - something's just asking to go wrong and when it does it won't be cheap.

Good shout on a Fiat Coupe 20VT - IIRC they're not actually built by Fiat (subcontracted outside) so they're actually reasonably reliable. I love the shape/looks of them, would certainly be looking for an original one like in that link if I was after a cheaper car.
 
fiat coupe was designed by chris bangle which is prob why we all like them!!
As another choice how about
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/ALFA+ROMEO+GTV/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-13-58-240-4294966092-4294966829/advert.action?R=201005351474455&distance=196&postcode=s752ru&channel=CARS&make=ALFA+ROMEO&model=GTV&min_pr=&max_pr=2000&max_mileage=&vehicleYearOfManufacture=1996&vehicleRegLetter=P
or
http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/ALFA+ROMEO+GTV/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-20-57-240-4294966092-4294966829/advert.action?R=200949347752198&distance=195&postcode=s752ru&channel=CARS&make=ALFA+ROMEO&model=GTV&min_pr=&max_pr=6000&max_mileage=&vehicleYearOfManufacture=2000&vehicleRegLetter=X
 
Breaker said:
Always liked those. Nearly bought one once!

Man they look dated now though!

Bet it still goes well mind!
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Yeah I always liked those too, not sure if I would have one now though, the technology behind them must be getting on for 25 years old.
 
An owner actually told me the service cost was not cheap (nearly £1k even by specialist, not dealer). Fuel cost can be expensive.
 
Always thought they looked neat. Don't see many of them around. Not sure if that is due to maintenance issues or not. There's a black one around here and he's usually going hell-for-leather.
 
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