Fiat Coupe
Registered from 1995 to 2000.
About this model
The Fiat Coupé, officially also known as Coupé Fiat, is a car that was manufactured by Fiat between 1993 and 2000. The two-door, four-seater coupé was introduced at the Bologna Motor Show in December 1993 and features an exterior design by Chris Bangle at Centro Stile Fiat and an interior designed by Pininfarina.
From the Wikipedia article Fiat Coupé, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
What fails its inspection
Great Britain's MOT record for the 1998 2.0 petrol. 82 of 323 tests failed, 25%.
Better than 50% of 1998 cars. The typical one fails 25%, across 269 models with enough tests behind them to say.
| Where | Share of failures | Failed tests |
|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 67% | 55 |
| Lights and electrics | 30% | 25 |
| Body and structure | 29% | 24 |
| Visibility | 27% | 22 |
| Suspension | 26% | 21 |
| Exhaust and emissions | 20% | 16 |
The defects inspectors cite
- Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement
- Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement
- Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen
- Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen
- Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle.
- Emissions levels exceed the manufacturer's specified limits
Where it stands out against its peers
- Brakes: failed more often than 98% of 1998 cars — 67% of its 82 failed tests, where an ordinary 1998 car has 38%.
- Visibility: failed more often than 90% of 1998 cars — 27% of its 82 failed tests, where an ordinary 1998 car has 11%.
Same model year only, at least 30 peer cars, zeros included. Every car has a worst part; this shows which, and how far from ordinary it is. A high share means more to check, not a verdict.
NHTSA's investigations are American; no European regulator publishes an equivalent record, so this section has nothing to draw on for a European car. There is no European equivalent of the service-bulletin register either.
Before you buy one
Built from what this car fails on, not from general knowledge of the model.
- Brakes — 67% of its failures
- Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement
- Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement
- Suspension — 26% of its failures
- The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired
- Exhaust and emissions — 20% of its failures
- Emissions levels exceed the manufacturer's specified limits
- Emissions levels exceed default limits
- Lights and electrics — 30% of its failures
- Body and structure — 29% of its failures
- The strength or continuity of the load bearing structure within 30cm of any sub-frame, spring or suspension component mounting (a 'prescribed area') is significantly reduced or inadequately repaired
- Visibility — 27% of its failures
- Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen
- Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen
When it starts failing
At 120–140k miles this one fails 26% of its inspections, against the 27% an ordinary car of the same age fails.
| Odometer | Failure rate | Rate | Its age | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60–80k miles | 21% | 23% | 62 | |
| 80–100k miles | 25% | 25% | 73 | |
| 100–120k miles | 34% | 26% | 74 | |
| 120–140k miles | 26% | 27% | 46 |
255 British inspections, grouped by the odometer reading recorded at the test.
Half of these have more than 80k miles on them. That is how far people drive this car, not how long it lasts.