Coupe models

All posts tagged Coupe models

So, I bought a Corrado

Posted by carsalesblog on May 29, 2018
Posted in: Driving, Motorsport, Reviews, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

So, I bought a Corrado.

For those of you that follow my Instagram page (carsalesblog) then you will already know that I regret selling my MK3 Golf GTi. This was a standard 3-door in Dragon Green that I had all the work done and was just lovely, then I stupidly saw the pound signs and sold it. Doh!

Within the week I regretted taking the cashout option and so set out to find another… which was a lot harder than expected. Maybe as I am a little picky! Must be a 3-door, under 100k miles, have a sunroof, plenty of service history and be a decent colour.

I spent months hunting and then suddenly I got sucked in by an advert for a silver Corrado.

This fit the same buying rules I had set out for the Golf other than the mileage – all sensibly priced Corrados are over the 100k miles mark, so put this to the back of my mind.

On the plus side, the car was only about a 20 minute drive from where I live so I agreed with the seller to go and view it.

Bit of a farce when I got there as the battery was flat, it was just starting to rain, and it was parked in a garage that seemed to be half the size of the car! So, I couldn’t drive it, couldn’t hear it start and couldn’t even see it! Tried to have a look around the car in the garage but really struggled. Not the best way to try and buy a car. I was assured by the seller that it drove spot on but was in need of the bodywork looking at.

I liked the car but still had the Golf in the back of my mind, so went with the principle that this needs to be cheap! Do any repairs on the car and get it painted and then just wait for the prices to rise. I think that within the next 3-5 years the prices will rocket on these useable modern classics.

So, I bid him – I’m not going to tell you the figures but I don’t think he could breathe properly and had to swallow a few times to put everything back in its rightful place! 😉

Obviously, I arrived back home without the car, but emailed saying the offer still stood if he changed his mind. For the next month or so, I kept seeing the car appear on different websites at all different prices which was really entertaining.

Then, out of the blue, I had a call saying if I could get over that same day then the car would be mine.

So, I bought a Corrado!

I was now the owner of a 1990 1.8 16v that had done 143,000 miles, with a stack of service history to die for. I haven’t seen many silver ones around so I was happy with my purchase. Straight over to my mate for his mechanical hands and eyes to spy and repair any potential issues and carry out a full service. A few days later, all done with a full MOT, just an advisory for a bit of rust on the underside of the sill (happy with that as next stop, paint shop.)

The paint shop bit has never happened though! Got a rough quote of £1,000 to put it right but just never got around to it! Why, you might be asking… the reason may surprise you, as it did me: I just don’t enjoy driving it…

Don’t get me wrong, it drives spot on and looks amazing – got a great reception on the road from other drivers but I just can’t get on with it which saddens me.

In my mind I think this now needs to be an asset rather than a fun car which as I’ve said before will take off in value very soon but I’m not that kind of guy, a car needs to be driven not hidden away from the road. After a day cleaning, polishing, touching in and vaccuuming – the Corrado is for sale!

Ebay is the place for this car and I’m shocked how many views and watchers this has had… yes I have had quite a few idiots that say that they will collect today for £500 cash! (you fookin won’t!) And an offer of a swop for a VW Bora that We Buy Any Car value at £275! You will be pleased to know that there are some sensible people that live on this planet that have offered realistic bids and a few viewings. The strange thing is that all the sensible offers are the same! £1,600 from 6 different people… so have told them all the same, £1,800 takes it – see what happens.

I don’t need to sell so happy to tuck it away for a bit longer, but we shall see what happens – will keep you posted. Then the hunt for a new investment will begin. 😊

Well, what can I say, as I am just proofreading this blog this has just happened:

So, I sold a Corrado.

R.I.P. Coupe

Posted by carsalesblog on December 15, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Shock horror – The Coupe is dead!!

Now let me explain:

With other models, such as hatchback, saloon, MPV etc., the design of the car is pretty much the same. If someone said to you that they have an estate, you have a pretty good idea what the car looks like. The Coupe models however are different, they are split into categories. Right at the top of the pecking order are the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin. These aren’t Coupes, they are just automotive porn for a handful to have and the rest of us to drool over.

Next up in the Coupe categories are your track day cars: Lotus Elise/Exige, Ginetta, Caterham and the Aerial Atom. Great cars to throw around a track, but not really fitting for real life driving.

Then there’s the ‘Controversial Coupe,’ the car that the manufacturers class as a Coupe but the rest of us would say is a 3 door version of either the 4 or 5 door model, just like the BMW 3 Series. BMW call their 3 door version a Coupe and have done for years but look at it next to the 4 door variant and its defiantly a BMW 3 Series 3 door. VW have done the same really, but been a bit cleverer with it: the Scirocco is basically a Golf with a very pretty dress on. Also in this category are the Coupes which are 5 doors – WHAT!? For example, the VW Passat CC, (not to be confused with a cabriolet,) is a really nice car, but surely this is a Passat 5 door?

I’m not a big fan of this section but it seems to be very popular: the electric folding hard-top roof Coupe Cabriolets. All tend to be aptly called nearly the same: CC, C+C, CLC, CZC and Twin Top. These don’t seem to work very well as a Coupe and equally don’t seem to work very well as a Cabriolet either – pointless!

This seems to be the way the Coupe is being formed now, either by a 3 door variant of a good car or making a stupidly complicated and complex folding roof system that will always leak and when out of warranty will cost more than CAP’s valuation in winter months to fix every year.

Think back a good few years, there were loads of proper Coupes. Japan tended to produce the most – Toyota had 4! Paseo, MR2, Celica and Supra. Honda produced the CRX and Prelude and later the brilliant Integra. Nissan chucked a few in the pot too: 100NX, 200SX and 300ZX. A bit closer to home, Vauxhall had the Tigra and then the Calibra, (technically a Cavalier though.) Ford had the superb Puma and then the not so superb Probe which was closely followed by the Cougar. Renualt had its strangely styled Alpine. Even Hyundai had its own Coupe.

blue red silver

So discounting the Exoctic Porn Coupe, the hair-raising thrill-seeking Coupe, the Coupe that really isn’t a Coupe and the Cabriolet versions, what have we got left? I’m sat here now racking my brains to think of Coupes that are truly a Coupe and for the real world. All I can come up with is the Toyota GT86 (and of course Subaru’s version of the same car,) and the Audi TT. I may have missed a few but this shows that manufacturers are not investing money into this category anymore which is a real shame and that the true Coupe has now been laid to rest. Sad times.

You may be wondering why this is. I know the answer and even though I am saddened by the death of the Coupe, I am overjoyed with the reason for it.

The real killer of the Coupe is: The Hot Hatch!!!! (And yes, you have guessed it – there will be a post about it soon.)