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Those of you with no oppinions and want to quote rust and electrical problems from the 80's 90's are welcome to contribute too, but....
Anyone owned one?
Inside looks pretty huge, it does 62mpg, the 6-speed is suppsed to be a big improvement in terms of quietness on the motorway, and there's not much else that ticks all the boxes and can be found under £5k with 20k on the clocks! Reviews say it's fun to drive, and 1.4petrol should be adequate for most things.
Power steering failiure seems common, but parts look cheep (£260 on ebay).
Parents have one and appart from a leeky radiator (warrenty) and missing main beam lenses/reflectors (split 33/33/33, dealer/Fiat/them as no one could say when they went missing) it's been fine.
Anyone else have/had one?
Don't own one but my father in law currently has a 500,and had a Stilo before that and has had ZERO problems with either.
Both cars are pretty well screwed together (less rattles than the Merc A-class that I own).
Also a friend that has had numerous fast cars ie.BMW,Impreza,Sierra Cosworth now has one of the higher powered ones and loves it.
Warranty Direct rate them pretty good for reliability too
[url= http://www.reliabilityindex.com/reliability/search/47 ]LINKY[/url]
New Punto is a pretty safe bet- way more reliable than the previous generation. Fiat have raised their game substantially.
Nice car to drive too apparently.
I hired a left hand drive Punto in Spain last month and thought it was a lovely car apart from the gear shift which was pants. I own a Chrysler Voyager, that I love, a Vito van which isn't as nice to drive as the old one and Mrs. SM has a Nissan Almera which is reliabilty personified. Made that point to show no bias.
SO has a 57 plate. Its had a new gear box under warranty, 4 fuel breather pipes which keep splitting. Some dodgy electrics e.g. temp sensor which affects it starting in cold and really annoying tick from fan. Also has the most uncomfortable seat for long journeys which leave me crippled. Fuel economy is good but closer to 50-55mpg (1.4 petrol). I prefer her sisters Suzuki Swift which is similar size/price.
had one as a rental car this week. certainly not well screwed together in the plastic dept.
Panel on the dash with the fog lamp switches and ashtray kept falling out. The whole panel that is. Left dangling by the switch harness. The most cack piece of plastic ever imho. Daft design too. Stupid rear boot release too.
Oh yea, forgot about the boot release, that is pure stupidity. The designer should be put in the boot of a pensioner's Punto and made to wait for said pensioner to work out how to open the boot
I think they look nice, and my wife's Panda, which has the Punto's 1.4 16v engine is a right hoot. That seems well built to me, for a little car.
I've had three fiats and have always been impressed with them. they do great small cars.
They rusted a lot and had electrical problems from the 70s to the 90s 😛
We had FIATs from 86 to 97. Rust? Electrical problems? No, none. More like brakes not working after crossing a creek.
Serial Fiat owner here, last one being a Panda 100hp which will be the same engine block, great cars for the money, friend has a 1.4 GP, and does best part of 60miles a day commuting, has only ever seen the garage for servicing.
Smart looking, nice driving, cheap to run... sounds good to me.
Don't bother, you want an MG! 40mpg, which is nearly 60mpg! And listen to that sound!
(sorry, couldn't resist 🙂 )
another serial fiat owner here as well.
I've got a 07 plate 1.3 diesel, and the girlfriend has a 56 1.2 petrol version, both engines woefully under powered, the petrol one does have an electrical problem, and the gear selector cable in mine has snapped once already and the seals around the injectors are leaking.
You say they look big on the inside, that is very deceptive its easier to put my bike on the back seat than it is to put the seats down and put it in the boot the boot opening could be bigger.
The only good thing I can think of about mine is its only £35 tax a year, fuel economy isn't much better than my old 2.3 diesel marea I get about 50 - 55 mpg
I wouldn't say it was fun to drive (unless you get the sportier model) and there is no lumbar support in my seat so long journeys are a pain.
the 3door version has very poor rear visibility and the 5door isn't much better I've seen blind people with a smaller blind spot than that car.
really should get rid of it at some point.