Money, money money...

[Wildhound]

Hey guys, I'm in a bit of a dilemma at the moment with regards to the FTO. I was out of work for a while and it went on the back burner, ended up getting treated like a tool rather than my pride and joy and to be honest she's been neglected. Now that I have a full time wage again I'm trying to decide what to do with her.

Basically I'm going to have to sink a whole lot of money into her to get her up to scratch, or just buy a new one. I figure with the market the way it is I should be able to pick up a clean enough manual Mivec for next to nothing, but having had a quick look around there doesn't seem to be many out there at realistic prices.

What's the deal? Have FTOs simply held their value despite the current crisis in the motor trade? If so it will probably be cheaper for me to put the money into my one and get her sorted. Or are there decent FTOs out there for good prices and I just can't find them?

[mivecmad27]

its a buyers market,offer what you want and a lot of places will be happy to take it,especially cash

[gary d]

If your car is structurally sound and your confident the basics are good, i.e shes of the spec you want mivec, manual etc . can be really satisfying bringing a car back from the edge. shame to see another fto broken for parts, starting to get thin on the ground. look what Seb managed with his black one in such a short space of time
(flab to fab in 3 months)

[karlf]

Look to the UK and up north for a car if your buying a new one. There are some really good deals out there. It is exra hassle getting it over and back but its worth it in my opinion. Allow approx €800 extra for VRT but it could still work out cheaper. Alternatively try Seb on here he has a nice GR for sale dont know if that would suit. I think he's looking for about €1600 if I remember correctly.
See this thread.
http://www.fto-ireland.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8948&p=72232#p72232

[Sebastian]

wildhound

as far as i know your driving a tip gpx ( ? ) which went trough an engine change and a crash and repair phase .
it really depends what you wanna do in the future with the car.

lately parts and labor become cheaper and easy to get and it really comes down to personal taste and plans for the car.with my Gr i felt there was nothing i could do more so i went and bought a standard gpx which i started to mold after my taste .

if you feel that the car that you have is unsafe or not worthy to bring it to the normal standard than don't do it.
search for another one to put your money and passion into.there are plenty of FTO's out there at the moment and as somebody said before it's really a buyers market .

but if you feel that the car you have still has plenty of life in it and you're happy with the way that drives and looks than spend a few extra bob and bring it to the pristine condition that was before you lost that job .


you have an entire FTO comunity that you can rely on for advice ,parts and help.


keep us posted and drag your a$$ to a meet .

[Wildhound]

Cheers for the input guys.

She's a manual GPX, which is exactly what I want. I definitely wouldn't go so far as to call it unsafe! I've looked after in that department, four new tyres and pads about 5000 miles ago, serviced recently etc. I'm just trying to figure out if it's more financially viable to get another or bring her up to the condition I want. I must say Seb's GR tempted me quite a bit but I really am in love with Mivec.

I agree I'd hate to break her and that's why I'd tend to lean towards putting the money into her, but there's an awful lot that needs doing. The exhaust is in tatters, I definitely need a cat-back and may even have to fork over for the whole system. The tappets need doing (I know that costs nothing ), and I really should do the timing since I don't know when it was last done on this engine (came out of a tip '97 GPX from the breakers), she's got rusty arches and the roof has a few bubbles on it too. I also need to do the suspension bushes and a few other bits and pieces.

Now apart from the rust I can do all the labour myself (with a friend) so it's not so bad. But that's when the really expensive stuff starts. There's a lot of bodywork issues that need to be sorted. A cyclist ran into the front and dented the bonnet. Twice people have hit the car when it was parked and that's resulted in a dent and some scrapes, all four wheels need to be refurbed (or else I'll have to get some new ones) and the paint job is generally starting to get shabby. It was clearly done on the cheap and I've noticed a few places along the edges of the windows and skirts it's starting to look dodgy.

I've probably made her sound a lot worse than she looks, but all those little things add up to a lot of cash so it's a tough call. I've been planning to go along to a meet for a while Seb but I'd be ashamed to show up with the car in its current condition along side all your shiny examples!

[998cc-keith]

i recantly got a 2000 fto in on northren plates and sold it for €1500 imagine i payed more than that for my 1995 fto last year

[Muad_dib77]

WildHound - sounds like you know exactly what needs doing to her..that's half the battle..

Pretty much any FTO you find out there will need to get a stainless exhaust fitted - unless you know of somebody selling one with it all done that you can pick up for a snip I'd suggest simply getting started..

Once you've done what you've set out to do - you know that you wont have to do them again - and if you're going fixing rust and getting a bit of paintwork done anyways you could consider getting a few cosmetic mods as well should you be so inclined (see sebs flab to fab thread)..

[colm_mcm]

i recantly got a 2000 fto in on northren plates and sold it for €1500 imagine i payed more than that for my 1995 fto last year

did you sell it in Northern Ireland?

[Wildhound]

Having looked at Seb's thread and had a look around at what's available at the moment, I've decided to put the money into her. Starting with a facelift and exhaust. I'll keep you posted!

[gary d]

Good choice, this way you get to put your own mark on it. I was kinda in the same boat, the exhaust on my car went a couple of months after I got her, good excuse as any to get stainless catback. I went for the blueflame off camskill. Next on the agenda is to lower the suspension and refurb the wheels