Help!

[gav022]

Mite be getting the FTO soon if the quote stands on the 1.8 ..

want to get one in the region of 7 - 9 grand..

what will i have to look out for and which year is best..seems to be alot of 95 for sale...

and tips on what to look out for appreciated

[CJ]

Gav, seriously consider getting a GR or a GPX (2L V6), at least get a few insurance quotes, you might be surprised to find that some insurers qoutes are not that much more for the extra horsepower (+55hp for a GR and +75hp for a GPX).

You'll find that most FTOs out there are either 94 or 95, you should be paying anywhere between 6.5k for a stock GS to 9k for a mint GPX.
Look out for the usual things, see if there is any service history, if buying from a dealer, make sure he undertakes a full service and find out when the cambelt was last changed (should be done every 60k mls). This is a personal preference, but try and get a manual over a tiptronic, the manual is much quicker thru the gears. If you get a GS, go for a manual if possible as the Tip model is a bit sluggish (NOI to tip GS drivers )

Things such as anti-roll bar bushes and other minor suspension componants may need to be changed if the ride is hard but this is not too costly. Try and get a car that has a few mods ie. full SS exhaust, induction kit, decent alloys. Let us know how you get on and if you need any more info. Finally, heres a link to FTO's in the Buy and Sell:

http://www.buyandsell.ie/scripts/lootsite.dll?Search&Offset=15&Location=15&Query=fto

BTW, theres a guy called Shane who advertised his GS on here not so long ago, heres the link to his post:

http://www.fto-ireland.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=26

Ciaran

[gav022]

Thats a nice gs alrite. i still have to sell my car though

ill find out what the extra is on 2L... ill def go for it if i can get away with it..

besides all that i havent even driven an FTO yet, what are they like to drive?. is the 1.8 quick?.

[gav022]

by the way CJ do ya notice the diff exhaust on the first pic, then theres 4 on the other

[CJ]

besides all that i havent even driven an FTO yet, what are they like to drive?. is the 1.8 quick?.

Its depends on what you're definition of quick is, if you're moving up from a lower litre engine, yes its quick (125bhp). I drove a GS for a year and a half and I thought it was pretty responsive, when I bought the GPX (197bhp), I was initially shocked by the amount of extra power on tap.
That said, the GS is still a great car and 0-60 times shouldn't put you off buying one. You didn't mention where you are from, but you might as well be driving a Mirca around the place at the best of times with the traffic situation we have in Dublin. I would give Shane a shout if you're interested; he's obviously a enthusiast and the car appears to have been well looked after. I'm sure he would be happy to organise a test drive if the cars still up for sale.

Ciaran

[gav022]

cheers,

have to sort out the insurance first got a quote for 3,116 but dont know if its going to stand, did it over the net so dont know if all the info was correct.

im from lucan by the way..plenty of traffic for me!

[Ivan E]

First and foremost, manuals tend to be a bit harder to get so if you are going for one it might take longer to find one than it would say to find a tip.

The cambelt seems to be the main concern when looking, also people trying to pass off non-Mivecs as Mivecs but a look at the engine should tell you exactly what it is. I think the GS 1.8 will clearly indicate 16V on it, where the 2.0L will have 2.0L V6 and the GPX Mivec will have Mivec on it.

But check the general condition of the car and you should have a good idea of how well it was kept. You should do your research also as they are common problems associated with the FTO's such as rattle in the windows and different noises like that as well as weak central locking on the driver's side which are faults of the FTO in general as opposed to the car itself that you might be looking at.

I have never test driven a tip but have tried out both 1.8 GS and 2.0 GR manuals before buying the GR. There is a difference in power obviously with the GR but if your budget is tight you still be very happy with the 1.8 GS but the most important thing is to try out as many as you can and you'll know what you want once you drive it.

I think you need to check the ATF (Auto Transmission Fluid) on the tips also, as if the car is not regularly serviced this can leads to problems with the gear boxes and they are expensive to replace. They tend to be harder on fuel also.

Most fto's here are '94 or '95 models but I see an odd '96 and a few '97 models appearing. The '97 models have a facelift which is a lower front bumper on them and I have recently seen a tip go on sale for €11,995 (think it has been sold) and a manual for €15,000.

Lastly it is worth your while posting what you have come across and any concerns you have as there should be someone here to point your in the right direction.

I don't think Shane is selling his anymore.

[soc]

Hey gav,

I haven't advertised the car for sale over the past few weeks cause I had too many bloody phone calls from the car buyers guide trying to get me to take an add out - it got really annoying also I had a fair few people who came out without checking insurance and hence just wasted my time. I'll mail you off list with details on the car.

That said I am still interested in selling as I am currently trying to source either a manual face lifted GPX ('97+) or a subaru impreza sti. I was planning on trading in against either of these two cars but would also make a private sale it would also give me the option of buying private.

by the way CJ do ya notice the diff exhaust on the first pic, then theres 4 on the other

I had a new exhaust built at Powerflow in Mullingar - its a quad exit box and is guaranteed for life. Probably first FTO in ireland with this type of exhaust

Cheers
Shane

[soc]

Hey Gav,

Just noticed you have no email address listed - here is some details on the car.

Car History
===========
I've owned the car for 2.5 years now and it has run faultlessly since I bought it. I bought it from a garage called Kelly's in Lusk - they sold it for one of their customers and had been servicing the car for about 2 years before I bought it. I have been getting cars serviced at Kelly's for about 5 years now (I had 2 205 gti's before the FTO) so knew they are reliable. They have been sevicing the car since I bought it. I get the car seviced every 12000 kms or every 6 months. It was last serviced 4,000kms ago (about 3 months ago) is due the next service in 6,000 kms. It only runs Mobel-1 engine oil and Camskills gearbox oil.

I did run the rear quarter panel along a gate post shortly after buying the car (wasnt used to the lack of vision) and had to get this repaired - got this done at Kelly's - the job is perfect.

It's currently NCT'd but this runs out in Dec this year.

Apart from the standard services I have had the following work done:

- replaced rear arb bushes
- replaced front drop links
- replaced front arb bushes
- Camskill front adjustable camber bolts (lets camber be set to minus 1deg to give a sharper turn in when cornering)
- Strut brace front and rear
- Lowered with Camskills Apex springs (45mm front and 25mm rear)
- Quikshift stainless steel cone filter (similar to Blitz)
- Powerflow custom quad exit exhaust
- Decat pipe
- Toyo Proxes T1-S tyres (very, very grippy)
- Moved cd changer from boot to arm rest in car (still need to tidy this up)
- FTOOC white dials
- Type-F alu dash surround (check out www.type-f.co.uk)
- Type-F alu dial rings
- Type-F alu handbrake sleeve
- Type-F alu pedals
- OMP 310mm steering wheel
- Red FTO badge on rear

As I said the front bumper is stone-chipped and the drivers seat is fraying a bit but apart from that it is mint. I'm looking for in the region of 7.5K for it and any inspection is welcome.


Driving an FTO
==============
As for driving an FTO - best handling fwd car ever! There is no better handling fwd car than the FTO and I am not just saying that! I had a 1.9 205 gti which was lowered on adjustable konis and had 205 section tyres. This car was like a train on rails but was pretty uncomfortable and didnt like the wet - the FTO makes this car look like a Jeep!!! The FTO will go around any corner faster than all other cars in the dry (ok except an STI or EV0) and in the wet it will drift sideways before breaking into understeer. I've lost count of the number of times guys tailgating me into a roundabout have crapped themselves when they realise that they are going way too fast to make it and they end up crossing lanes while hard on the brakes. You can take most roundabouts easy at 40mph+ in the dry and I once went round the bend at the end of the M50 heading towards the airport at just on a 3 figure speed and the car felt like it would take it way quicker.

In addition to this you will get stares like there is no tomorrow - even 2.5 years on I cannot believe how many people will stop and stare and the FTO. Middle aged men in 5 series BM's and much, much more expensive machinery will try to race you, tailgate you and generally try to assert their manhood - all because you are driving the best looking car on the roads this side of 50K!

The 1.8 is nippy enough - it suffers from a lack of low down torque but when you get it to 2.5K rpm it takes off pretty quick! The tip box is great for traffic and there is nothing better than cruising at 40/50mph and then suddenly dropping from 4th to 2nd in a split second (using tip mode) for some very violent acceleration - great for overtaking! All in all a bloody great car!

If you do buy an FTO (no matter where or from who) you will have a lot of fun!

Cheers
Shane

[gav022]

Thats grand shane.. ill let ya know as soon as i get the insurance sorted and obviously sell my own car.

So do you have that exhaust fitted?.. if ya got ne pics of it send em on..

the pics that were posted before had 2 different types of exhausts in the pics for sum reason i dont know..

[gav022]

the pics that were posted before had 2 different types of exhausts in the pics for sum reason i dont know.. <<<<< DONT MIND THAT LOL

[soc]

if ya got ne pics of it send em on..

the pics that were posted before had 2 different types of exhausts in the pics for sum reason i dont know..

i originally fitted a Mozart jap style exhaust but it was too loud and just didn't look right - I changed this for the powerflow system about 4 weeks ago as i reckon subtle suits the car better and i really liked the merc sl55 amg's exhaust. i have other pics (i think) - what's your email?

[gav022]

pm'ed it