Tell me about Diahatsu Copens...
Discussion
One of my work colleagues wants to buy a small, sub £4k runabout.
She's absolutely not a petrolhead, but wants reliability, and car must be small and cute.
I've tried to steer her to MX5s, but she saw and loved a Nissan Figaro.
Having discovered they cost far too much, I saw a Diahatsu Copen today on the road and thought it would be perfect. She liked it too.
Anyone know anything about them?
This one, for example:
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/d...
She's absolutely not a petrolhead, but wants reliability, and car must be small and cute.
I've tried to steer her to MX5s, but she saw and loved a Nissan Figaro.
Having discovered they cost far too much, I saw a Diahatsu Copen today on the road and thought it would be perfect. She liked it too.
Anyone know anything about them?
This one, for example:
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/d...
From the same dealer, this is so much nicer and £1k cheaper?
http://www.bournemouthandpoolecarsales.co.uk/used/...
http://www.bournemouthandpoolecarsales.co.uk/used/...
Johnnytheboy said:
Johnnytheboy said:
I've tried to steer her to MX5s...
If I put my helpful hat on..
http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/used/daihatsu/c...
We've got one in pearl white, 659cc turbo! Excellent little car, I look a bit of a tool driving it but don't care! Definitely a birds car....especially our colour!
The only issues we've had in 2 years is the plugs threw a cel so swapped them over, the roof got stuck when I forgot to take my tool kit out (sent her f
king loopy that one!) 
and we've got some rust on both rear arches which need sorting.
To be fair it hasn't missed a beat, I had my doubts when she bought it but it's been great!
Only thing now is she's got used to it and wants more power but remaps are non existent in the uk, they're available in Germany but you have to take the car to them...so that's out. If you want one to mod there's not that much available tbh other than the usual exhaust/filter & IC & handling mods. It could really do with a remap though, its nippy enough, very short geared so feels quicker than it is going up the gears.
I'm trying to coax her into a Boxter or TT but it's not happening! She loves it!
The only issues we've had in 2 years is the plugs threw a cel so swapped them over, the roof got stuck when I forgot to take my tool kit out (sent her f
king loopy that one!) and we've got some rust on both rear arches which need sorting.To be fair it hasn't missed a beat, I had my doubts when she bought it but it's been great!
Only thing now is she's got used to it and wants more power but remaps are non existent in the uk, they're available in Germany but you have to take the car to them...so that's out. If you want one to mod there's not that much available tbh other than the usual exhaust/filter & IC & handling mods. It could really do with a remap though, its nippy enough, very short geared so feels quicker than it is going up the gears.
I'm trying to coax her into a Boxter or TT but it's not happening! She loves it!
Forgot to mention the boot, for such a small car its MASSIVE! With the roof down you can just get 2 or 3 tesco shopping bags in there, roof folds into the boot then here's a small shelf, roof up and you can get loads in. We had a KA before and the Copen's boot is bigger but then again here's no rear seats!
Nice interior as well, red leather, bits of chrome....stereos crap though...
Nice interior as well, red leather, bits of chrome....stereos crap though...
I'm sure these have a terrible reputation for rusting. The rear arches and the boot floor are supposed to be the most susceptible parts. I suspect your friend would be more bothered about some cosmetic rust on the arches, but it's the structural damage caused by the rusting boot floor I'd worry about.
A neighbor has one, & loves it. He is retired, is about 6'2" & a large man, but has no trouble with it for space or entry. His lady is also large & likes it.
He has a new Holden V8, & a Kia Rio for his wife, but they usually drive the Copen. When he recently bought the V8 I expected the Copen to gather dust, then be sold, but it is the new V8 not getting out much.
He is an ex service manager, & a bit of a rev head, so they can't be bad to drive, at least out on our country roads.
He has a new Holden V8, & a Kia Rio for his wife, but they usually drive the Copen. When he recently bought the V8 I expected the Copen to gather dust, then be sold, but it is the new V8 not getting out much.
He is an ex service manager, & a bit of a rev head, so they can't be bad to drive, at least out on our country roads.
Baryonyx said:
I'm sure these have a terrible reputation for rusting. The rear arches and the boot floor are supposed to be the most susceptible parts. I suspect your friend would be more bothered about some cosmetic rust on the arches, but it's the structural damage caused by the rusting boot floor I'd worry about.
This is spot on, my mum had a copen when they were first launched and within the 5/6 years she owned it had gone through a set or rear quarter panels, both replaced under warrenty. Only reason she sold it was because the warrenty had run out and it would have only happened again, shame really as it was a nice car otherwise. The 660 turbo engine although low powered had a nice spread of power and loved to rev (8000+ rpm limiter).My OH has one, in full 660cc Turbo Kei car guise. She loves it, and its actually pretty fun to drive especially as it wooshes along. Perfect town car really. They also came in a 1.3 engine later on, from the Yaris but it's not technically a Kei with that engine.
If your colleague really wants one then its worth knowing that they are quite rust prone, the weather proofing/undersealing was not upgraded for the British market and first thing she should get done is undersealing otherwise the arches will start to go front and rear, like whats currently happening to my OH's.
3000 mile oil changes on the 660cc turbo engines are vital! I have also drummed it into my OH that after a run she should wait for the turbo to cool before turning off the engine - so many Turbo Copens have turbo failure because of 'careful lady owner' type lack of servicing and turn engine off straight after a drive. The turbo is hard to come by and by all accounts cannot be refurbed. The offical Daihatsu oil filter is tiny, and can be reached through a gap through an engine mount with most hands. You'll be wasting your time trying to get at it with tools. Many aftermarket filters are too large to fit through the gap and therefore bumper and intercooler has to come off. Other than that, its pretty easy to service, I do all of it myself for her, she's having an issue with a check engine light coming on but I believe its due to the spark plugs - I think the car is quite fussy on having the right Iridium plugs. I also suspect that her choice of using the cheapest ste petrol she can find does not help. My OH had to get the clutch replaced at 58k as well but I found a clutch kit for 80 quid.
Service parts like brakes etc are fine to get, if occasionally a little expensive. Bodywork and other non service parts are often expensive or almost non existent so cars at breakers get stripped rather quickly. My OH had a very small bump in hers breaking the fog light and I had to get a second hand fog light from a breakers in Japan at a cost of around £100 including postage.
The electric roof is generally reliable, however the boot is prone to leaks, lift the carpet at the very rear where the tools and electric roof motors live - chances are they will be, or have signs of previously being in a puddle. It either comes in through the LED brake light (from a MK3 MR2) or a bad boot seal.
My OH is a bit of a lead foot and wishes that it had a bit more power, from what I have read, a less restrictive downpipe from the Turbo, Boost Controller, induction kit and larger bore exhaust will really help it to shift as the Kei engines are very restricted to comply with Kei BHP laws. As much as we would like to do this, I feel the rust will eat it up soon and we are saving for a house deposit anyway.
Hope that helps, remember in short, underseal a non rusty car and make sure the oils changed every 3k!
If your colleague really wants one then its worth knowing that they are quite rust prone, the weather proofing/undersealing was not upgraded for the British market and first thing she should get done is undersealing otherwise the arches will start to go front and rear, like whats currently happening to my OH's.
3000 mile oil changes on the 660cc turbo engines are vital! I have also drummed it into my OH that after a run she should wait for the turbo to cool before turning off the engine - so many Turbo Copens have turbo failure because of 'careful lady owner' type lack of servicing and turn engine off straight after a drive. The turbo is hard to come by and by all accounts cannot be refurbed. The offical Daihatsu oil filter is tiny, and can be reached through a gap through an engine mount with most hands. You'll be wasting your time trying to get at it with tools. Many aftermarket filters are too large to fit through the gap and therefore bumper and intercooler has to come off. Other than that, its pretty easy to service, I do all of it myself for her, she's having an issue with a check engine light coming on but I believe its due to the spark plugs - I think the car is quite fussy on having the right Iridium plugs. I also suspect that her choice of using the cheapest s
te petrol she can find does not help. My OH had to get the clutch replaced at 58k as well but I found a clutch kit for 80 quid.Service parts like brakes etc are fine to get, if occasionally a little expensive. Bodywork and other non service parts are often expensive or almost non existent so cars at breakers get stripped rather quickly. My OH had a very small bump in hers breaking the fog light and I had to get a second hand fog light from a breakers in Japan at a cost of around £100 including postage.
The electric roof is generally reliable, however the boot is prone to leaks, lift the carpet at the very rear where the tools and electric roof motors live - chances are they will be, or have signs of previously being in a puddle. It either comes in through the LED brake light (from a MK3 MR2) or a bad boot seal.
My OH is a bit of a lead foot and wishes that it had a bit more power, from what I have read, a less restrictive downpipe from the Turbo, Boost Controller, induction kit and larger bore exhaust will really help it to shift as the Kei engines are very restricted to comply with Kei BHP laws. As much as we would like to do this, I feel the rust will eat it up soon and we are saving for a house deposit anyway.
Hope that helps, remember in short, underseal a non rusty car and make sure the oils changed every 3k!
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