Fiat Punto....Would ya???

nellocon

Hey,
im currently a 3rd year college student and will be looking to buy a car in march 08...
Now im on a budget so was thinking of spending 3000 - 3500...

To me Fiat puntos on carzone look perfect for what i need, as i reckon ill only have it for about a year. And because theres so many for sale i really can get a decent 2002 model with low mileage within my budget.

And yes i know iknow its a fiat but really, no cars are made that poorly nowadays right!!!???

demanufactured

nellocon wrote: »

no cars are made that poorly nowadays right!!!???

LOL , dont bet on it lad.

Running Bing

nellocon wrote: »

Hey,
im currently a 3rd year college student and will be looking to buy a car in march 08...
Now im on a budget so was thinking of spending 3000 - 3500...

To me Fiat puntos on carzone look perfect for what i need, as i reckon ill only have it for about a year. And because theres so many for sale i really can get a decent 2002 model with low mileage within my budget.

And yes i know iknow its a fiat but really, no cars are made that poorly nowadays right!!!???

Yep your right.


Ive had a Punto since 01 and its still running perfectly and thats with two learner drivers knocking it to bits . I really llove it too, really nippy around town, good to drive and it is gorgeous imo. Looks very cool with the sharp lines, much better looking than the new one imo.

This is the exact one I have.


http://www.autointell.com/News-1999/august-1999/FIAT_Punto.jpg

As you say cars dont cause trouble nowadays, you might as well go for something with a bit of character.:)

2stageturbo

And yes i know iknow its a fiat but really, no cars are made that poorly nowadays right!!!???[/QUOTE]



Yup.
Fiat are top class motors:D

Masada

your bound to get a load of people putting you off a fiat with the usuall excuses., truth is their a great little car and are simple to work on if anything breaks, reason theres still so many of them around today., the ones your talking about is a mk2, they do have some comon problems (like a lot of cars though), the electric power steering rack is one of them and it can be expencive if it breaks., the electrics have been known to give a few problems aswell,. if you do go for one try to get one with as many receipts to show how well its been looked after,. there was a few recalls on the MK2 if i remember correctly so some issuses might be covered by the dealers..,

Earth Worm Jim

Mk 2 fiat punto's are prone to a few problems mainly electrical, immobilizer/ecu problems - not cheap or easy to fix - trade in prices on punto's are very low - unless your trading in off a fiat.

But in saying that they are nice to drive and can be picked up fairly cheap.

hopalong_ie

Once the head gasket and timming belt are done then you won't have any probs with a punto. Nice car, im a mechanic and i have one myself.

Barlow07

nellocon wrote: »

Hey,
im currently a 3rd year college student and will be looking to buy a car in march 08...
Now im on a budget so was thinking of spending 3000 - 3500...

To me Fiat puntos on carzone look perfect for what i need, as i reckon ill only have it for about a year.

If you can find one that will offer you a 6-month guarantee then maybe worth the risk if you only keep it for a year. I would suggest you check out Seat Ibiza, VW Polo as well, you want to get some return on your investment if you trade it in after or decide to sell it later.

Esel

You say there are loads on carzone. Is this because there are loads of Puntos on the road or because there are a load of people selling them?

What happens next year when you decide to sell it? It will be on carzone with loads of other Puntos. You might have difficulty selling it, or you might have to reduce your asking price a lot to sell it.

Personally, I wouldn't buy a Punto for that money if I planned to sell it a year later.

Look at other marques (i.e brands of car). I have seen a lot of recommendations here for the Ford Fiesta in response to 'what car' threads from people like you planning to buy their first car.

Saruman

For that money its worth more as a trade in than in a private sale... Im thinking about getting a cheap old diesel for under 3k, I can afford to pay it straight out. since i have to drive my own car in my new job the cost of petrol is about €60 or so every 4 days....

Punto's are cheap to buy, cheap to service and repair etc.

Max_Damage

Just buy a Micra or Fiesta or something else.

Punto's have an appetite for head gaskets, and not only that, they are one of the most blandest cars to drive as well.

Masada

hopalong_ie wrote: »

Once the head gasket and timming belt are done then you won't have any probs with a punto. Nice car, im a mechanic and i have one myself.

yeah me too, and ive had about 5 of them so far.,

Barlow07 wrote: »

If you can find one that will offer you a 6-month guarantee then maybe worth the risk if you only keep it for a year. I would suggest you check out Seat Ibiza, VW Polo as well, you want to get some return on your investment if you trade it in after or decide to sell it later.

this is what gets me, people always compare them to polo's and ibiza's. where they get the thought that these are any more reliable ill never know. the seat for instance, changing the clutch cable (yes that a cable, not fluid) in that is like performing open heart surgery.,

Max_Damage wrote: »

Just buy a Micra or Fiesta or something else.

Punto's have an appetite for head gaskets, and not only that, they are one of the most blandest cars to drive as well.

the micra id agree with, cant beat the jap cars for build quality and reliability but a fiesta? err, no.,lol cant belive a punto was discribed as bland and a fiesta was reccomended.,:p

martinr5232

Used to be a service manager in a fiat dealer and we used to pull brand new puntos off the transporter with headgaskets gone on them.
Wouldnt advise anyone to buy one pure sh!t.
Some people can be lucky.
But most are very unlucky with fiats.
Fix It Again Tomorrow and its true.

green123

how much would a head gasket cost ?

S.I.R

puntos are s*** FACT.


anyone who drives is a fool regardless of how far the heads located up there bottom.

Masada

i knew the usuall "ah fiats are cr*p" crowd would be around before long.,

Used to be a service manager in a fiat dealer and we used to pull brand new puntos off the transporter with headgaskets gone on them.
Wouldnt advise anyone to buy one pure sh!t.
Some people can be lucky.
But most are very unlucky with fiats.
Fix It Again Tomorrow and its true.

that saounds VERY unlikely to me., ive never heard of it once., and as most head gasket problems with fiat engines are caused by wear on cooling system parts, the chances are even more unlikely on a car with a brand new cooling system.,

LuckyStar

Go for it!!! I posted here a while ago about a Punto I wanted to buy. The amount of people that told me not to, but at the end of the day it was the car I wanted and I bought it for €1100. I love it! So much nicer to look at than your Micra/Starlet/Clio (notice the amount of cars around these days with the vertical lights at the back!). For a small car it is spacious and the air con on it is great!!! Power steering is fab. I have driven this car through a 8ft metal gate, a wheelie bin full of paper and been rear ended and there are no marks on it .

I would suggest you go for a MK1, the ones before 1999. I bought mine from a mechanic, his daughter has one too, he says the newer model is not as reliable. Make sure the timing belt is done, the head gasket on mine was a bit gone but it passed the NCT despite this and then it got a new head gasket.

I asked so many people's advice and in the end went with that of our company's Health & Safety officer, he organises the company fleet and basically said, everyone has a car they don't like, no matter what car you pick there will ALWAYS be someone who will tell you not to.

At the end of the day a reputation is just that- a reputation. Mud sticks. You could talk to 10,000 Punto owners, most of them might be happy but the ones that aren't will talk the loudest!!! Unfortunately bad things stick in our minds much more than good things!

Masada

yeah id agree with the obove poster., although its not the end of the world if the timing belt isnt done on the one you buy, the majority or them are 8valves and are simple to change the belt on., should take about 20mins to do or a garage could do it for about 100-150ish, compared to most cars around 250 upwards., the Mk1 is definately more reliable and i think it looks better than the mk2.,
the whole reputation thing comes from years ago when fiats used to be made with steal that was sorced from russia, the content in the steal meant it was a lot more prone to rusting than the japs were., its not like that now and the cars are pretty decent, no car is break proof., but if you want the best reliability buy a honda.,

L1011

On the MkII: the 1.2 8v FIRE engine eats head gaskets; the ECU has a strange habit of going in unusual ways - leaving you with an engine light on and a car thats reluctant to start but still runs fine. And people break in to them a lot.

Had three of them in the family, one got written off by a learner driving straight out of a petrol station in to it; and the other two are still driving. One has had two head gasket replacements and two new door skins due to having the radio swiped; and the other has the ECU problem, but both have done insane mileages.

Also had a Mark 1 that had a head gasket failure, same 1.2 FIRE engine, and then eventually died on the side of the road terminally of the same fault - both times it was being driven by someone who didn't know what the temperature gauge meant... but that was after 150,000 miles or so.

green123 wrote: »

how much would a head gasket cost ?

Gasket - about 50c. Skimming the engine block and fitting the new one after the old one has carbonised itself - about 600 quid I seem to remember. And it can't be done very often.

Masada

MYOB wrote: »

On the MkII: the 1.2 8v FIRE engine eats head gaskets; the ECU has a strange habit of going in unusual ways - leaving you with an engine light on and a car thats reluctant to start but still runs fine. And people break in to them a lot.

Had three of them in the family, one got written off by a learner driving straight out of a petrol station in to it; and the other two are still driving. One has had two head gasket replacements and two new door skins due to having the radio swiped; and the other has the ECU problem, but both have done insane mileages.

Also had a Mark 1 that had a head gasket failure, same 1.2 FIRE engine, and then eventually died on the side of the road terminally of the same fault - both times it was being driven by someone who didn't know what the temperature gauge meant... but that was after 150,000 miles or so.



Gasket - about 50c. Skimming the engine block and fitting the new one after the old one has carbonised itself - about 600 quid I seem to remember. And it can't be done very often.

yeah the trouble with the mk1 was the cheaper models had a "its too late light" instead of a temp gauge,., the water pump, core plugs and thermostat are the usuall causes of head gasket failure but a lot of times ive seen the head gasket repaired and they dont do anything with the cause of it., then its gonna happen again at some time., the ECU on the mk2 can have issues aswell, but thats just a matter of disconnecting the battery over night and it resets,(unless there an actual fault which will turn the light on again if its not checked) some cars need to go on diag to clear the fault codes even after the problem is fixed.,
the head gasket is €24.86 in the fiat dealers and skimming is between 60-80 euro depending on where you go, altogether it sould be about 250-300 from a mechanic (not the main dealer, there always way over priced) to have the whole job done.,

Seth Brundle

S.I.R wrote: »

puntos are s*** FACT.


anyone who drives is a fool regardless of how far the heads located up there bottom.

Without providing a source or indeed some reasoning behind your post, you come across as the one with your head tucked away!

L1011

vtec wrote: »

the head gasket is €24.86 in the fiat dealers and skimming is between 60-80 euro depending on where you go, altogether it sould be about 250-300 from a mechanic (not the main dealer, there always way over priced) to have the whole job done.,

the members of my family that have got it done have gone to the stealers, that'd be why it was more. The 50c gasket price was being facetious though

Masada

MYOB wrote: »

the members of my family that have got it done have gone to the stealers, that'd be why it was more. The 50c gasket price was being facetious though

lol., to be honest i thoughtyou were talking about buying that gasket paper and making your own.,lol, ive seen it done.,:D

L1011

vtec wrote: »

lol., to be honest i thoughtyou were talking about buying that gasket paper and making your own.,lol, ive seen it done.,:D

I do maintain my Panda myself but not to that level! Yet....

Its being dumped on another member of the family in the new year and I'm going to a Grande. Nobody is going to buy a crash damaged, no dealers service history since 2005, 3 year old car with enough mileage for a ten year old one even if it runs perfectly

martinr5232

vtec wrote: »

i knew the usuall "ah fiats are cr*p" crowd would be around before long.,



that saounds VERY unlikely to me., ive never heard of it once., and as most head gasket problems with fiat engines are caused by wear on cooling system parts, the chances are even more unlikely on a car with a brand new cooling system.,

I know exactly what im talkin about seen it done it.
There was a problem with punto cooling fans not cutting in when the engines were being tested so dont try and tell me im wrong.
So what makes you think there so great.

RobAMerc

the wife has a punto for the last year and its been a fab little car.
I bought it cheap and spent some money on it but when I think what a sh*t box
Micra or Yaris would have cost me I am still way up, plus it is ten times nicer a car to drive.
People think I am nuts but I would rather take the Punto into Dublin city any day than my BMW.

BTW It's funny to notice having read this thread all of the posters whos names I never have seen before coming out of the woodwork to sh*t on the punto.

Pay less than you would a Jap crap - expect to pay for a bit or two to keep it going and you'll have a way nicer car than most of the opposition. And f*ck the idiots who know no better.

Noelie

MY girlfriend has a 05 Punto, the only issue we've had with it is that the earth wire from the battery wasn't connected to the body work correctly, We ended up having to scrape a bit of paint off where the contact was being made and that sorted it out. Other than that not one problem.

Padraig Mor

Wouldn't touch one with a bargepole. The wife had one - nice enough inside etc but heap of junk. Two head gaskets. Exhaust fell off (also a common problem apparently). Bulbs always blowing. Get a Fiesta 1.25 instead.

Run_to_da_hills

green123 wrote: »

how much would a head gasket cost ?

Head Gasket would cost you about €75 putting it in may cost you €700.

LuckyStar

people say a Micra is a really reliable car, my friend has one and it gives her nothing but grief, same as my colleague's Peugeot 206- ok they're not recommended as often as Micras but they're a popular car- she has spent €1000 on it in the past 3 weeks.

I love my Punto, my parents had a MK1 they bought new, they had it for 6 years, never any trouble.

r3nu4l

My brother has a punto and hasn't had any problems with it so far.

The Punto was at one time, the best-selling car in its class in Europe so with more of them around than other cars in its class it is obvious that you are going to see more Puntos with problems.

When I was in college a guy I knew refused to buy a bargain used Punto instead opting for a used Polo "because it's more reliable". Two months later he had to replace the exhaust. A month after that the electrics quit on the car, two weeks after the electrics were fixed the gearbox went. Now, if I was a clueless wonder like some people on this thread I would simply say "Oh, based on that, then it stands to reason that all Polos are crap!" I know that's not true. There are lemons across all brands.

OP, in that class of car, an old Punto will get you from A to B without much hassle. None of the cars in that class are exactly the height of luxury. When you are buying it make sure the car has a full service history and that it has had any car recall problems fixed. Check it out for signs of crashes, clocked mileage etc. Do your homework and you'll be alright.

ninty9er

The main things that I noticed recurring Puntos coming in with over a few month when I was on work work experience with a main dealer were

a) Timing Belt - make sure it's done twice if theres more than 65k on the clock
b) the dicky CD player of all the FIAT/Alfa range of the time which spewed out CDs when the weater was hot (It was November).
c) Immobiliser....numerous Puntos were towed to the garage for immob work. This requires you to have the red key....if the car doesn't have the red key don't buy it!
d) Wiper motor is prone to burnout.

They drive very well, but they are the main issues...even the service receptionist said if she drove one she couldn't guarantee she'd get to work every morning so she drove a Corolla.

For that money you could have a Corolla privately, a Mazda 323 or a Nissan Almera.

It's worth the extra if you cna get a good insurance quote.

I'm in the same position...3rd year student, year to go and I'm changing the Corsa I bought just over 18 months ago, because I feel I've outgrown it as a car.

You might as well get something you can hang onto for a while, because unless you're studying pharmaceuticals you're grad salary ain't gonna be all it was cracked up to be when you started college!

E92

ninty9er's post reminded me of something... the Mk2 had diabolical; wipers, they never worked(the amount of times I've seen a Mk2 Punto with onlu one wiper beggars belief) and the Punto was obviously designed for countrys with no bumps on their roads becaue the ride quality is appaling in both the Mk1 and Mk2 Punto.

Masada

martinr5232 wrote: »

I know exactly what im talkin about seen it done it.
There was a problem with punto cooling fans not cutting in when the engines were being tested so dont try and tell me im wrong.
So what makes you think there so great.

Ooo, someone got up on the wrong side this morning huh.,
well as you say, they were like that from new yeah? well that would mean they are classed under the recall and that NONE of the affected cars would have been left with the problem as fiat posted a letter to all buyers to inform them that certain things had to be rectified which they will cover the cost of.,
Hicups happen, when the BMW mini was first launched it had a problem with the fuel tank that meant it was aparently in danger of exploding in a rear end accident., this problem was recalled by BMW. an awful lot of cars have recalls.,

Esel

vtec wrote: »

..NONE of the affected cars would have been left with the problem as fiat posted a letter to all buyers to inform them that certain things had to be rectified which they will cover the cost of...

Fiat might have learned their lesson from the non-recall of the Mirafiori, which had a known electrical problem which could cause to burst into flames. Fiat denied there was a problem, while people died horribly. They eventually put their hands up.

nytraveller

nellocon wrote: »

Hey,
im currently a 3rd year college student and will be looking to buy a car in march 08...
Now im on a budget so was thinking of spending 3000 - 3500...

To me Fiat puntos on carzone look perfect for what i need, as i reckon ill only have it for about a year. And because theres so many for sale i really can get a decent 2002 model with low mileage within my budget.

And yes i know iknow its a fiat but really, no cars are made that poorly nowadays right!!!???

NO
I believe when you turn your car on,
it should return the favour!!:D

nads

Max_Damage wrote: »

Just buy a Micra or Fiesta or something else.

Punto's have an appetite for head gaskets, and not only that, they are one of the most blandest cars to drive as well.

really have to disagree with that. have driven various sized engines on toyotas and hyundais - their first gears are like their 5th gears

no problems with my punto - bar driver induced accidents - oh and replacing the odd rear light now and again

alias no.9

vtec wrote: »

Hicups happen, when the BMW mini was first launched it had a problem with the fuel tank that meant it was aparently in danger of exploding in a rear end accident., this problem was recalled by BMW. an awful lot of cars have recalls.,

I'm afraid it was much worse than that, there was a static charge that would build up in the neck of the fuel tank that could have caused the whole thing to go up while you were standing there filling it up:eek:. Most people never get rear ended. Everybody refuels their car.

martinr5232

vtec wrote: »

Ooo, someone got up on the wrong side this morning huh.,
well as you say, they were like that from new yeah? well that would mean they are classed under the recall and that NONE of the affected cars would have been left with the problem as fiat posted a letter to all buyers to inform them that certain things had to be rectified which they will cover the cost of.,
Hicups happen, when the BMW mini was first launched it had a problem with the fuel tank that meant it was aparently in danger of exploding in a rear end accident., this problem was recalled by BMW. an awful lot of cars have recalls.,

There was never a recall on puntos for cooling fans.
You havent said whats so great about puntos as far as i can see the only thing they have going for them is they are cheap.
You buy cheap thats what you get A CHEAP CAR.

LuckyStar

martinr5232 wrote: »

There was never a recall on puntos for cooling fans.
You havent said whats so great about puntos as far as i can see the only thing they have going for them is they are cheap.
You buy cheap thats what you get A CHEAP CAR.

Jesus no need to be so aggressive, what do you drive anyway??

I love my lil Punto, doesn't mean I go around trashing everyone else's cars.

martinr5232

LuckyStar wrote: »

Jesus no need to be so aggressive, what do you drive anyway??

I love my lil Punto, doesn't mean I go around trashing everyone else's cars.

Im not trying to be aggressive if i come across like that im sorry im trying to get my point across i have first hand experiance of fiats in general i was a service manager in a main fiat dealers so i think im entitled to my opinion on puntos i know better than most people on here what trouble they give.
If you like your punto fair play to ya some people are lucky most arnt.
I dont drive one particular car im in the motor trade so i drive differant cars all the time.
Needless to say never a punto.:D:D

r3nu4l

martinr5232 wrote: »

fair play to ya some people are lucky most arnt.

If it's the case that most people aren't so lucky then how come the majority of Punto owners that have posted here have said they are very happy and haven't had a problem.

This is a chance for all aggrieved owners to come out and say "I've had nothing but trouble with mine, head gasket belw 50 times in one month and one even blew as the garage were replacing it!!!!1!!"
Instead we've seen the majority say "Hey, mine has been grand, no probs, thanks"

So far the "most aren't lucky" bit isn't holding up, ex-FIAT service Manager or not!

LuckyStar

I agree with the above. At the end of the day, especially in Ireland, we will complain about something a lot sooner than we will write something nice about it.

How many times have you been really thrilled about something you've bought and thought "I'm so happy with this, I'm going to make a thread on Boards raving about how much I love it" or "I'm going to ring the manufacturer and tell them how great that product is"

Compared to

How many times have you been really angry about something you've bought and thought "This is a pile of rubbish, I'm going to make a thread on Boards ranting about how much I hate it", or "I'm going to ring the manufacturer and tell them how crap that product is".

At the end of the day, look how many Puntos are on the road. They're everywhere. If they were really that bad surely they would have faded into obscurity Lada-style by now..

freewing

My first car was a 97 punto I had it for a year of Mullingar to Dub commuting and then I traded it for a 02 punto which I managed to put 70k miles on and I just serviced it regularly and drove it like I owned it rather than like I stole it.Traded it in for a multipla ( Fiat) and other than a clutch I had none of the typical associated problems I am presently on the lookout for a Punto for the missus and would have no hesitation in reccomending them.:)

ninty9er

One thing I noticed though, don't know wheteher it was anything to do with the miniscule numbers sold, but the Punto Dynamic and Emotion/ HLX seem a lot less likely to go wrong and have a more quality feel to them.

The run of the mill Acitve / ELX seemed to be in for a broken this that or the other in massive numbers

RobAMerc

I think the big problem here is people who know jack about cars feel safe posting comments that sh*t on certain cars and saying other cars are great.

eg - Fiats are crap - you will get near universal agreement from like minded folk on boards ( those who think a car is good because it never breaks down and heard a rumour about a fiat that broke down once )

Skoda Octavias are great - yea they are but ffs they are not the answer to all motoring related q's.

I also notice a lot of the posters who write this sort of tripe dont hang around here long - I presume their new found motoring interest wanes once they have to wash the new car.

Masada

martinr5232 wrote: »

There was never a recall on puntos for cooling fans.
You havent said whats so great about puntos as far as i can see the only thing they have going for them is they are cheap.
You buy cheap thats what you get A CHEAP CAR.

i wasnt going to reply to your trolling but you seem so full of crap i feel i have to., firstly ill answer your question then, Ive owned so far,
97 punto 55SX 8v
98 Punto 60S 8v
99 ELX 16v
another 99 ELX,
01 ELX mk2
98 Bravo and god know how many other ones, thats just a quick run down of them and i still have 2 puntos outside now so i think that gives me a valid opinion .,
Im mainly a Honda fan (had more hondas than any other car) and mechanic so i know all about reliability and what goes wrong on what cars etc.,
so far every negative comment has been the "i know a fella who had one" type, truth is i propably forgot more than you know about engines and calling yourself the service manager weather its true or not means nothing when you are talking crap.,
There has been loads of positive comments from actual fiat owners and thats what matters,., the rest is just bangwagon jumping, stereotyping etc etc.,

LuckyStar

Seems Puntos are treated the same way as Staffie/Pitbull type dogs- you hear of one biting someone somewhere and suddenly they're ALL bad!!!

Masada

LuckyStar wrote: »

Seems Puntos are treated the same way as Staffie/Pitbull type dogs- you hear of one biting someone somewhere and suddenly they're ALL bad!!!

yeah thats another thing., i used to have a pitbull and he was an oversized teddybear.,lol

jmayo

I can't see how anyone can say a Punto is a good drive.
I had the misfortune of having one for a couple of days while my own Honda Accord car was in getting door replaced.
I know big difference in car engine size but there were other huge differences.
I had to drive to/from Galway and it had to be the worse drive of my life.
Apart form having shag all power, it was very uncomfortable and a dog to drive generally.
The only fun I had was tearing around a multi story car park becuase it was small.

Now Fiat may have improved their relaibility over the last number of years and they don't get holes in the doors anymore, but they and their Italian cousins Alfa and Lancia gained a terrible reputation over the years and it affects resales to this day.
And yes I do have experience since parents owned Fiat and uncle owned a couple so it is not some hear say bull about how bad Fiats were.

My advise is buy Japanese, they hold their value better and are usually very reliable.
Get an old Corolla or Sunny, it will go forever and you can flog it onto some old farmer in 5 years time.
If you want smaller get old Starlet or the worse looking car in the world, the micra.

r3nu4l

jmayo wrote: »

I can't see how anyone can say a Punto is a good drive.
I had the misfortune of having one for a couple of days while my own Honda Accord car was in getting door replaced.

Not just a bigger engine, a completely different class of car, comparing apples with oranges aren't we? To the owner of a Maybach I'm sure your accord is a heap of junk!

I know big difference in car engine size but there were other huge differences.
I had to drive to/from Galway and it had to be the worse drive of my life.
Apart form having shag all power, it was very uncomfortable and a dog to drive generally.
The only fun I had was tearing around a multi story car park becuase it was small.

The superminis aren't built to be comfortable for long-distance journeys, they are made to be cheap runabouts and short-commute cars. I've been in Puntos, corsas, clios, Polos and Micras on long-distance drives and they are one and all crap for that kind of drive, again you compare the Punto with what you are used to...pointless comparison.

Now Fiat may have improved their relaibility over the last number of years and they don't get holes in the doors anymore, but they and their Italian cousins Alfa and Lancia gained a terrible reputation over the years and it affects resales to this day.
And yes I do have experience since parents owned Fiat and uncle owned a couple so it is not some hear say bull about how bad Fiats were.

I highlighted the most important word in that bit for you, past tense. FIATs were absolutely diabolical in the past but they are improving every year!

My advise is buy Japanese, they hold their value better and are usually very reliable.
Get an old Corolla or Sunny, it will go forever and you can flog it onto some old farmer in 5 years time.
If you want smaller get old Starlet or the worse looking car in the world, the micra.

No doubt that the Japanese cars are more reliable than European counterparts for the most part. I would say that the OP has a limited budget though and wants to buy the newest car that he can with that budget (as many people do). Within his budget a Punto is likely to be newer than anything else simply because of their poor residuals.

EDIT: I apologise if I'm coming across as an ***hole, I don't mean to! I've taken out the rolleyes emoticon I used earlier, not really fair. New years resolution, stop using rolleyes as often