I BOUGHT A CHEAP FIAT COUPÉ FOR £2,500!

[Music] all right guys how's it going welcome back well I've just bought something very rare and very interesting you just don't see these cars on the roads anymore what I've bought is a 1996 fat Coupe you might be wondering why I've bought a 27y old fat Coupe and that's a very good question um yeah I'm still asking myself the same thing joking apart I'm always looking for interesting cars to feature the channel I'm always looking on Facebook Marketplace eBay always looking for something interesting to feature just last week I was trying to find the cheapest

Porsche 911 but I just bottled it in the end I worry that the repair costs are just going to be astronomical and on top of that my accountants told me to stop massively overspending so we'll have to show that idea for now and that's why I've been looking at the fat Coupe I think it's quite interesting and also quite affordable I've been looking at fat coupes for a few weeks now and every time I look an auto trader the cheapest ones I can find start at around £5,000 and they go up to about £10,000 that

just seems like an awful lot of money for an theat anyway I found this one on eBay a couple of days ago and it's fairly local and it looks quite nice so I made a bid and um sure enough I won it it's a 1996 Fiat Coupe 2 L 5 cylinder it's only done 73,000 Mi and it had a buy now price of £335,000 but the bidding started at 2 and a half so I thought I know what I'll do I'll make a bid of 2750 and just see I'll just test my luck anyway I

won it for 2 and a half Grand so it seems like quite a bar in this as the timer ticked down I was expecting a bit of a bidding war but there wasn't it was just just me that it was just me that wanted it which uh speaks volumes about its desirability doesn't it but I don't know maybe it's I don't know maybe it's the time of year maybe there aren't that many people out there who want a a speed red Fiat Coupe from the '90s but that frankly is their loss let me read you

the description then so this F Coupe 2 L 20 valve is a stunning vehicle in a vibrant red exterior with a black interior this description looks like it's been uh written by uh chat GPT it has a manual transmission and a front wheel Drive drivetrain with a 1998 oh 1,998 cc engine and 5 cylinders the car has a mileage of 7368 and comes with features such as air conditioning leather seats CD multi changer power assisted steering sport seats tilt steering wheel wow leather interior and alloy wheels the car has had two previous zers this is

what I liked about the car actually so only two previous owners it's a 1996 with the V5 registration document available safety features include an immobilizer driver air bag fog lights passenger airbag it has anot until next year the car is right hand drive with a mileage of 73,000 this F Coupe 2 L 20 valve is a mus have for car enthusiasts looking for a stylish and comfortable ride it just sounded really honest and when you look through the pictures it just looked really nice it even got as well this is a bit geeky but it's

even got its original fat number plates from 1996 I just quite like little touches like that it looks completely unmodified which I liked and that leather interior looks beautiful now there are only six photographs so it's not the most detailed description but on the bright side it's only in cheser so it's only about 25 miles from here so it's a nice local car so today we're going to go and collect it I'm going to call my brother in a minute and see if he's around see if he'll give me a lift for it but before

we do let me just show you the car vertical report on it cuz it's all quite good now it's really important that you do one of these vehicle history checks before you hand over any cash and it's really easy to do so all you do is go to car vertical. comom and type in the reg or the VIN now in this case it is Papa 8 8 whiskey uniform alpha and then check vehicle it doesn't take long and it isn't expensive and it's cheaper still if you use my promo code high peak that's high peak

all one word h g h p a k and you save yourself 20% off each and every check that you do it's just doing the check now this won't take long and the good thing about car vertical is it isn't just a UK thing it works in 35 different countries so if it's had a bump in Brugge or a crash in Colchester this will tell us any minute now it will tell us whether it's ever been stolen written off had a mileage rollback or has outstanding Finance on it in addition to that it shows you

theot history the ownership changes the spec of the car all that sorts of stuff it provides a whole thorough timeline so it is a really valuable tool right reports ready it's a fat Coupe it's never been clocked no outstanding Finance no recorded damage and it's never been stolen so that's good the last no mileage was TW uh 23 73,8 and it's only done well it's only done 150 miles in the last year 1,000 miles the year before that 2,000 the year before that so it is nice and steady very steady actually that's all genuine no

damage now the spec this is a front-wheel drive manual Petrol in red two ownership records so it changed to owner in February 97 and then again in March 2012 that'll be when the last owner bought it then that's good news so it's registered in Feb 97 then inspected then inspected then inspected then it's failed failed failed failed the thing to watch out for with these cars because it's well just because of its age really is rust so if we scroll down to its most recent mot I'm expecting quite a few advisory items but we'll we'll

see oh there we go didn't disappoint did it uh right so we've got some minor defects here battery insecure that's an easy fix offside front suspension arm ball joint dust cover severely severely deteriorated that's an easy job Hazard warning light switch faulty again that's an easy fix so we've got some advisory items rear coil spring corroded that's not a big job integral bodyo body integral body structure is corroded but not significantly reduced okay we'll see how bad that is we need to get it up on a ramp I think really hydraulic leak but not excessive

front suspension on pin or bush warm but not resulting in excessive movement fuel tank slightly loose tank strap corroded okay rear suspension arm corroded uh front brake disc worn but not seriously weakened well that isn't the end of the world is it for a uh for a 27 28y old car that's not too bad so yeah like I said make sure you do a vehicle history check before you hand over any cash right now then I need to call my brother and arrange a lift and also I need to go to the bank I spoke

to the guy that was selling the theat this morning and he wants some cash no one has any cash anymore so I'm going to have to go to a uh to a local bank bear with me I said let me call my brother see how far off he is hi hi pal you're right yeah good to you yeah not to bad not to bad um I've won a I say won I need to I need to pay for it I've won a fear Coupe on eBay do you remember do you remember those do you like

do you like them not a fan okay um well I've won one and I need to go and collect it it's in chesher somewhere North witch or nwit or somewhere it's only like 25 miles from here could you give me a lift yeah yeah no problem all right pal wor could you do me a favor could you swing by the garage and pick up my trade plates yeah yeah all right cheers pal see you in a bit see you soon bye bye bye right lift sorted next stop the bank this lad is always late spend

half my life where here he is here he is hello pal why have you got so much rubbish in your car don't mean to start off nagging but clean your car right first thing then I need to swing by the bank um he wanted cash there it's one now actually I need there's one in hide one in Hazel Grove but I need to go to dsb actually if you don't mind um being my little be a little PA for the day that's fine so if we Dart over to Didsbury first I'll nip into the bank

get the cash out and then we'll head over to North witch or is it North witch n switch one of the one of the one of the witches Flats of witches speaking of speak speaking of flat as of witches the paintwork on this fat does look a little flat um so I'm thinking a good old buff will bring it back I'm hoping so anyway like typical typical old red paint which has gone dull like an old Royal Mail van it's gone very uh very dusty pink I'm quite excited to go and pick this up you

know I've never had one of these cars so what's rattling around in the back is that McDonald's r no is that McDonald's that's Christmas gift oh is it what quar band with cheese yeah yeah I'm quite excited to get this car because I've never had a F Coupe before and that's nice F tyer I haven't seen a f coup for years no one of my teachers at school had one in yellow and I think that was the turbo actually I always quite like that why have you bought it because I think it's interesting you don't

see many of them out there had a quick look on aut trade and the cheapest one was £5,000 and I've won this one for two and a half that Sunshine is how you make money no I think if I spend maybe I always say this if I spend maybe ,500 on it it'll owe me four certainly then it'll be worth five six seven even possibly depends how nice it is this one's only had two previous owners the last guy's had it for years and what else can I tell you about it's only done 73,000 Mi

he's had itot so he's got a fresh ticket on it there are loads of advisory items which does worry me a little bit mainly concerning rust and stuff like a 20 27-year-old theat so it will yeah it will be a bit ripe I'm just thinking it looks all right if I can give it a fresh service get it up on a ramp and see how bad the rust is if it needs welding or you know any sort of sealing or protecting or whatever we can sort that out and um I'll just go over it and

make sure everything's all right but they just to answer your question why did I buy it I don't really know apart from the fact it is quite an interesting car and I think there's some profit in it so there there are two reasons for you yeah that's good enough is it yeah I think these cars have a timing belt as well so I'm going to have to get that replaced honestly we're going to have to stop by a bin first because I'm just sat on empty bottles and stuff here I'll be honest it's um it's

winding me up a little bit okay then next stop the national Westminster bank I'll see you in a bit 5 minutes later well we didn't time this well we've just gotten the M60 at Stockport and they've completely closed off the motorway have a look at this so there are two Volvo xc90s there from the highways agency that have closed the road off and there's an ambulance I hope they're all right but there's a some sort of white Volvo that's smashed up into the central reservation so we could be here for some time we've literally only

got to go one Junction as well how annoying might go out and walk I'm not sure how long this is going to take to be honest oh what is that can you see what the car that is is it yarus they're pushing the they're pushing they're pushing the damaged car out of the way now so actually this might be cleared up relatively quickly didn't even look that bad actually so I think whoever's smashed that is probably all right they might just have minor women's Whiplash don't laugh letting you broken your neck well quick update for

you then we seem to be uh seem to be moving they packed away the traffic cones motorcycl thinks he's nipping through as does this E-Class Mercedes wonder if this yarus is for sale could do something with that get a new Bonnet off eBay come on then I don't tell everyone just move the [Music] cones why is he just opening his door don't I think his window doesn't work well this is all exciting isn't it right we're on the Move we're on the road again so the ambulance is still there what's the other car what did

it hit so it was a Yaris oh oh wow oh yeah okay it's not too bad an Alexis oh okay that was quite bad anyway next upop uh didb right quick update for you we are now in which witch are we in which witch North witch n switch I've been to the bank we got some um got some money some ready some cash some cheddar some Wonga whatever you you call it we still haven't emptied the rubbish out of this car which two and a half Grand hold out your end so we're going to go

and see the theat now and um yeah I hav't had any cash for ages you know no one ever pays in cash the woman at the bank was like you buying anything interesting with it like yeah an old feat like oh is it someone's Christmas present no it's not actually so yes Christmas present someone that I hate why are you against this fear idea I'm really excited I want to let you drive it back yeah I'm not driving it back you got no taste the appeal at all in a little Italian sports car anyway we're

not far away so I'll give you a quick tour as soon as we get there okay well I bought it I'm in my 1997 fat Coupe I'm really happy actually it's in far better condition than I was expecting brakes are a little bit grindy but I think it might just be because it's been sitting for some some time my fuel lights on so I'm going to have to stop for some uh some juice it's in really good condition the paint works good I thought it looked a little bit flat on the photos but it actually

doesn't I just need to say a quick thank you to Carlo as well the previous owner of this because he was a really nice guy actually told me all about it very in mind this is the 27 year old car it was initially registered to Fiat for a few months then it went to a a solicitor I believe who had it for years and years and Carlo bought it eight or nine years ago and as soon as he got it he immediately spent hundreds of pounds on it having a new camp B water pump done

full service all that sorts of stuff so I don't think there's an awful lot for me to do to this car weirdly he bought it eight or nine years ago and it had done 63,000 Mi now of course it's only done 73 so he's just barely used it I know everyone says this but he did say it was a very reluctant sale it just been part of the family he was as you worked out with the name like car though Italian so obviously stuck with an Italian car he also had a nice Alpha Julia on

the driveway really pretty cars those as I say I've never driven one of these before and of course it is a pin andina design I'm not sure if they built it as well so up front we've got a 2 L 20 valve engine which sounds really nice Carlo was telling me as well one time he went out in it and the exhaust fell off it was just completely rotten so we replaced it with this I think it's stainless steel whatever it is it makes a nice noise goes well too you know I guess that shouldn't

be a surprise because it won't weigh an awful lot one thing that has surprised me straight away is how nice this interior is you've got these lovely soft Sumptuous leather seats it's a really nice place this the ride is a little bit firm and crashy but then it is a uh sporty car the Italians just know how to make a sexy car don't they I mean I'm looking here at this interior you got this ribbon of red that runs all the way around the dash it's just all very stylish now I'm over the moon with

this really pleased there are a few things we need to do to it so Carlo was telling me he's lost the front of the stereo so it should have a I think there's a a six or 10 dis blow Punk CD changer but he's lost the fascia for the stereo so need's try and find one of those if I can't I'm going to have to replace it I'll sort that out he was saying he had it serviced about 2 weeks ago and it was mot just yesterday so that's all good I don't think mechanically there's

an awful lot for me to do I'm going to get it up on a ramp and see how bad the rust is and just speak to my mechanic and see if we can tidde it up for example there are a few advisory items like battery insecure and things like that we can deal with all that kind of stuff so I'd like to get that sorted he told me the air conditioning stopped working as well which I to be honest I didn't even know it had airon so that was no problem we've got electric windows they

work electric mirrors it's all very nice this when I've looked through the paperwork there's stacks of previous mots and receipts and all that sorts of stuff but more importantly now I forgot to ask this we've got three keys now this red master key is very important if you lose that it can be quite a headache we've also got a a spare alarm fob as well it's just a really nice nice example I was going to say it's a nice genuine car but I think genuine is a bit overused isn't it stop saying genuine one thing

I will say straight away though it smells old I mean I know it's only a 1997 car which doesn't seem like that long ago does it really but it does smell quite old I've got about a half an hour drive now back to the office so it'll give me um a bit of time to get to know this car won't it so far so good sounds very meaty actually the heater works nicely it's a very cold day today up in the Northwest my clutch is good gearbox is fine yeah I like this I mean the

fat coup's already hit classic status but I'm fairly certain in a few years time these will be very desirable you just don't see them anymore you're very rare we've even got the original carpet mats the back seats and this is a bit of a car dealer cliche but they don't look like they've ever been satin I like the little stylish door mirrors like a pair of women's sunglasses or something no I'm properly impressed with this don't know if I've mentioned that to you already I think I'll get those brakes checked out I'm pretty sure they're

just grinding because it's been sitting for weeks and weeks Carlo said that he doesn't think he's used it this year at all so he was just sitting there under a car cover at his previous address it was always garaged but at his new place it's just been under a cover so he said it just seemed like a waste really somebody ought to be using it and enjoying it so I thought well I'm your man we've got a 5-speed manual gearbox steering feels nice the steering wheel feels good has it ever been smoked tint nope right

I'm going to go and get some fuel then and I shall see you back in rumbley I'll give you a full walk around tour and I'll tell you my plans with it go on then oh it sounds [Music] nice I've been driving this now for about 20 minutes and I'm getting more and more familiar with it it's a really nice car to drive you know it feels quite sporty the engine feels quite py sort of encourages you to uh go faster and faster it sort of encourages you to just keep keep flooring it oh that

sounds nice you ready for this oh yeah sounds really good that this actually feels like it feels like I'm in a very old classic Italian car can you imagine these when they were new they must have been very desirable this would be a really good car to take to shows you know if I could just find somewhere to keep it I think it's certainly interested enough to say to car shows I just realized it's got climate control so you can just set the temperature and then switch over to Auto must been quite ahead of its

time in 1997 wasn't it headlining is all right it's not sagging by pure fluke I think I've got a decent car here You' have thought it my little 2 and a half Grand bid on eBay one night come up trumps doesn't it right we're nearly at the petrol station then because I'm desperately low here on fumes for a fe you know everything actually feels surprisingly don't laugh now but well built indicator stalk and everything feels really really solid usually you're get in a fear and everything feels like it's going to fall off in your hand

but not with this right I need some premium fuel cuz we're in an old car pre 2001 should always use premium now you got a nice little stainless steel key well I'm back in Stockport on the M60 in rush hour traffic which isn't great however the car has been spot on I've been driving it now for about 45 minutes and it hasn't missed a beat I genuinely didn't know with this it's a 27-year-old Italian car I thought perhaps well you just don't know dear I thought maybe the temp gauge would start creeping up or have

some sort of warning light on but um or it' start to smell very hot or something but no it's absolutely Flawless just like Perfection Flawless as the song goes no I'm quite impressed with this I'm already trying to get oh there's my brother I'm already trying to get a little jist together in my head we need to get the wheels refurbished the paintwork needs a buff now Carlo told me that he had a full respray on this car when he bought it there are a few scratches and marks all the way around it so he

just decided to have the whole thing repainted he said at the time that cost him 225,000 which is the price I've just paid for it it looks all right but when you get up close there are a few little swirl marks in it and it does look a little bit flat in some areas so I'm going to get that buffed professionally have a full valet done I might treat it to a new set of regge plates as well but before I do any of that I need to get it down to my mechanic and have

them check it all over I'd like to do some of those advisory items off the previous mot if I'm going to ask top money for this car then it needs to be as right as I can possibly get it a lot of those advisory items on the last mot might have just been a an overzealous mot tester they might have just been very thorough and very fussy I think perhaps I'll run it through a fresh one and see what my mechanic picks up on I'll try and get it as clear as I possibly can then

of course I'll wax oil or Schulz the UND side of it just to prevent it rusting anymore and hopefully we've got a nice solid example that's my plan I also need to buy a new stereo for it I'll have a look for the fa shell I'll try and get the model number I'm thinking worst case that'll be Beyond obsolete now won't it it might be easier just to go to hord and buy a new stereo for it and fit it myself think I could do that I've noticed on the motorway this car could do with

a sixth gear sitting at 70 M hour in fifth gear we're doing about 3 and 1 half th000 RPM and it's screaming so it could do with the six ratio really think I'll get those brakes checked as well but I'm properly impressed with this car I'm really pleased I had the idea of buying one of these cars in the first place all by myself really pleased should give myself a p on the back look at stated traffic we're not far from the office now so I'm just hoping I can get there before it goes dark

and I'll give you a thorough tour if not we may have to reconvene tomorrow mamos yeah the brakes are a bit grindy got those checked out I think there's a beautiful green 9911 Target here I think it's like a Heritage Edition or something they call it I used to see it every morning in all the edge when i' stopped for my coffee have a look at this you see it or is it sport classic I I never know in 911s they just make them up in case you 35 of premium fuel bought me half tank

it's not even like it's expensive to brim is it it's been quite a good afternoon out this really isn't it my little Italian sports car somebody in a Honda Jazz is refusing to let me in I'm just going to barge my way in like a proper Italian there we go have a load of that right I shall see you back at the office hopefully before it goes dark well we made it back to romley and I sounding like a broken record here but I am really impressed with this hoping you can see this really The

Body Works really tidy I think with a good old um buff up it will look even better there's nothing really negative to tell you about the body work I believe this was called speed speed red I think the wheels could do the refurb just because they're original I think and they're starting to to flake on the inside there got a locking wheel no I need to double check that that's there um but yeah with a with a a fresh powder coat that'll look pretty good Carlo told me that he replaced the front tires about 2,000

200 miles ago I think so they're fine on the back the back tires are fine as well they're all roadex which is a brand that I'm not familiar with but not the end of the world little bit of rust bubbling here on the wheel Arch but that's to be expected by no means bad it's very straight and the panels no DSE or anything I'm not a big fan of this big exhaust to be honest but I'm not going to start replacing it it's all right we've got the original sunwind Halifax fat plates which I think

I'll replace I'll speak to Nick at uh retro plates and get some some fresh ones made if we have a look in the boots quite sure how you get how you get in the boot to be honest is there another key for that but right well that's annoying I oh there we go there we go I was doing it wrong so if we look in the boots had a quick look under the um under the carb here just to check for corrosion and there isn't any it's all pretty good the spare looks like it's never

been on either it's just a really clean example couldn't believe my look really so that's all good they come with a bit of a clean it's pretty good this will clean up really well it doesn't need an awful lot [Music] moving down this side again it's really tidy sort those Wheels out that's that and yeah that's the interior look at those leather seats and the other three seats the two back seats in the passenger are very well they've still got a matte finish nice little grab handle though yeah they've still got a matte finish so

you just tell they've never been Saed the driver's one is a bit more sort of shiny where it's had several bottoms but um it's pretty good so just a really nice stylish interior down here this is where we're uh we're missing the fascia got a little ash tray there and cigarette lighter the front of that's gone sticky as as they often do but we've got electric windows electric mirrors it's all in very good order Ah that's my locking wheel not in the glove compartment that's perfect what we even got look at this the old uh

the old tax disc holder from sunwin Fiat people who care I love seeing all that yes it's a really nice example this he did tell me actually the the Bonnet cable is a bit stiff I think I need to lubricate that I'm pretty sure I've got some profit there I think that could be a £5,000 car I've got a few jobs to do but it's not that long a list really so I think that's about it then I think that's all I can show you I'm going to start the work on this and I'll do

that in a separate video so if you got any uh any suggestions anything you'd like to see me do with it let me know in the comments below but thank you once again for watching make sure you give the video a thumbs up if you enjoyed it make sure you subscribe if you haven't done already you can follow me on Facebook Instagram Twitter and Tik Tok I'll leave the links below and yeah cheers guys I'll see you in part two [Music]