fiat puntos

darling.x

what fiat puntos like. was told that 00 and 01 puntos are unreliable due to something that i don't know. I'm a learner driver and i hope to get a 02, 03 or 04 punto. Are they good cars. are they reliable.

I've also been told not to go too mad for my first car because as a learner i might drive it into a wall or something and i might be sorry if i do. Should i take this advice.

chris85

Stay away, gf got 00 one and know few people with ones a few years later. They are rubbish. Would recommend getting a japanese car as they are so easy for learners. Maybe a 00 Yaris would be good. Great cars to learn on.

colm_mcm

00 will be the same as 02 and 03! this sort of wisdom amuses me!

Katie_Kiss

my sister is a L driver and she bought a 01 punto and its a wee dream. its really easy to drive and she has had no trouble with it. we bought it the day it passed the nct tho.

nice wee car for a learner - heard good and bad reports but think u hear good and bad about every kinda car. sometimes u just gotta take a chance. id recommend it anyway - perfect beginner car and really easy to drive.

colm_mcm

Puntos have their good points, reasonably wel equipped, easy to drive, stylish. build quality and reliability are known to be patchy though. I bought one new back in the day in case anyone thinks I'm biassed!

Katie_Kiss

give it a go girlie the worst case is you'l have to sell it on. no1 else can be the judge of the car only u.

colm_mcm

I'd be looking for something else, unless you can get a ridiculously tidy and low mileage model with a full service history for small money.

I'd be looking at Fiesta and Yaris.

earlyevening

I'm not a car person at all - have an 01 Punto and its grand. Have been driving it since 02 and see no reason to change.

Captain Slow IRL

They're not the worst cars - you can buy a lot worse actually! Go for a 00/01 - don't spend too much money on it, cause depreciation isn't kind to them!

dudara

They're great cars for learners. Easy to manouver, small but nippy in the city.

The problem that you are referring to is probably the head gasket. They have a tendancy to fail in older Puntos. (I have a 1999 old-body model and the head gasket went last August). These can be quite expensive to repair compared to the value of the car. (Thankfully my Dad is a mechanic, so I only paid for parts and a chinese meal).

I would recommend a Punto for a learner, but do try to find out if the head gasket has been done on any car that you're interested in purchasing. Other than the head gasket, my Punto has been 100% reliable, great starter in cold mornings etc.

Barlow07

darling.x wrote: »

what fiat puntos like. was told that 00 and 01 puntos are unreliable due to something that i don't know. I'm a learner driver and i hope to get a 02, 03 or 04 punto. Are they good cars. are they reliable.

Reliabilty? No, a lot of board members can you tell that. i'm sure you could get a Toyota yaris, Ford Fiesta or Seat Ibiza all for around the same price. I would recommed the yaris myself if i had choose.

RoundyMooney

00 or 01 Puntos can be had for silly money, like a grand up.

You'll have to kiss a lot of frogs to find the prince though, as many of them were in the poverty trap from day one.

I picked up a 00 recently for the OH with the gasket and belt done and literally unmarked bodywork, but looking around, I see a lot of rough ones...

colm_mcm

If you must get a Punto, try and get a 16v HLX model, or if 8 valves is unavoidable, aim for ELX spec (or at the very least, Elegance), black bumpers and windey windows are so 1980's, so the basic first run models are to be avoided.

Just thinking back, New FIAT smell is lovely, much nicer than new Japanese car smell....

bazz26

8 valve engine has the head gasket issue. The 16 valve unit is generally reliable.

If your buying one cheap then put some money you saved away in the event of needing repairs. Be fussy as to which one you want to buy as there are lots and lots of Puntos on the second hand market. Elegance or Sporting models are the best and come with a 6 speed gear box afaik.

unkel

RoundyMooney wrote: »

00 or 01 Puntos can be had for silly money, like a grand up.

You'll have to kiss a lot of frogs to find the prince though, as many of them were in the poverty trap from day one.

Nail + head. A family member bought a brand new cinquecento in '95. She had it for several years and the oil was never checked, or anything else for that matter. The car was never serviced. Occasionaly she had to browse the house to gather up a bag of loose change to buy a couple of litres of petrol. I kid you not. It was a miracle that the car was still ok when she sold it on

Masada

id choose the mk1 over the later mk2 to be honest, there are issues with the car as there are will almost every car, the 8v is the one that suffers from the headgasket problems but its also the easier one to repair., you could get the head gasket done on one of them for very little money compared to a lot of other cars., have a look for a mk1 ELX 85, that will be a 16v one but they have all the extras from proper seats, elec windows, sunroof etc., you can pick onf of them up for around 1000squid these days., the 03-04 models are mk2b's and are pretty much the same as the 99 and up model.,

DamoDLK

I wouldn't touch one with a 40ft barge pole! i'd sooner go for a Rover 200, 1.1. before touching an Italian small car. never heard or read a good report on those cars. But then i'm an awful chap for a challenge! Advice on this thread recommended jap cars and i would have to agree... despite i hate those "soleless" cars with a passion! Go for Suzuki or Toyota, Mitsubishi colt - small engines available in all ranges, check for boy racer damage and wear and tear!!!

legs11

you need to use your common sense here young lady and buy a nice fiesta 1.25 zetec, superior car... ask anyone!

forget the puntos, the slight chance of getting an actualy decent one are slim.....

Hanson

I have an 01 Punto Sporting 16v, and it is a very good car. It is easy to drive, but so is any car when u get used to it. The head gasket seems to be a big problem in Puntos, but it dosent usually go until around 50k miles.
Some people say that Fiats arent good cars, but that is about as far from the truth as you can get. They are cheap to insure aswell, take it form an 18 year old lad with a provisional license!
Go for the Punto, I love mine and I'm sure u will love yours!

Jrad

land9 wrote: »

They're not the worst cars - you can buy a lot worse actually! Go for a 00/01 - don't spend too much money on it, cause depreciation isn't kind to them!

This statement is incorrect. They ARE in fact the worst car on the road. Anyone i know who had one has had something serious go wrong with it. I would lean more in favour of a bicycle than a punto.

Masada

Jrad wrote: »

This statement is incorrect. They ARE in fact the worst car on the road.

care to back that up with any sort of proof?

Jrad wrote:

Anyone i know who had one has had something serious go wrong with it. I would lean more in favour of a bicycle than a punto.

this my fellow boardsies is a classic example of the famous "i know a fella" hearsay sh*t talk,.;)
I wouldnt judge a car by the bad things some people say about them without having good reason to do so., A punto isnt the best car in the world but you could do far worse. So far ive lost count of the amount of them ive had from the 55sx, 60s, 85ELX etc etc., in fact i just got another cinquecento a couple of weeks ago from another boardsie., the mk2 did have some electrical problems and i much prefer the look of the mk1 myself. there are some jap cars that you could go for like the starlet, yaris etc but they will be a fair bit more expencive than the punto and might not have as good a spec.,

Jrad

Chr!st, i totally forgot about the cinquecento. They are the worst car on the road with the punto coming in a close second.
My mate from college had a punto and had to walk regularly due to the head gasket blowing the whole time, i know this not due to "i know a fella" hearsay sh*t talk,. but rather because he told me and i witnessed such. Same with my good mates punto who i regularly gave lifts to.
"i know a fella" hearsay sh*t talk,. is usually reserved for stories about people masterbating and opening their eyes to find their mother left a cup of tea on their bedside locker for them.
When so many people say fiats are absolutley terrible cars why would you even consider buying one.

dr.bollocko

I am not a Punto fan but I can see why many people pick them up. They are cheap, and when free from problems they are a nice small car to drive.
An excellent learner car in terms of spec, but in terms of reality, the real test of a driver is situations where something in the car is failing, and can you navigate your way through the situatio without blocking or causing any damage. Now I am not saying that the Punto in general is more unreliable than cars in that price / size bracket, but the perception in general is that they are amongst the worst on the road.
I mean for the money, there are more reliable cars. Its true, if you buy an Italian car and you are into driving then go ahead, but just be savvy enough to get it checked out first, make sure you keep up to date with servicing it, and don't get too mad when you end up stranded on the side of the road a few times. (Just like with the Alfas!) It is definitely a case of that there are many frogs before you find the punto prince. Personally, if I were you, I would probably go bigger, older and japanese.

congo_90

as pointed out by other posters, go jap. I know too many puntos from late 90's up to somewhere around 03 that have broken down. Also not brill in accidents. I know two cases where puntos nearly killed the driver and it was proven to be Fiats fault. Can't say much more because it was a big legal issue....
back on topic....
jap - yes
Fiat- no

groupb

Whatever other failings it has , the punto is not an unsafe car. I would much rather be in a 00 punto in a smash than a polo or a yaris of the same year.

meathstevie

A Punto wouldn't be the worst but wallet allowing I'd go for a Polo, Ibiza, Fabia, Fiesta or Micra or even a relatively old Clio before I'd buy a Punto.

Punchesnpeaches

I learned how to drive in a Corsa; still have it and still love it. It's a '97 and have only had a small bit of trouble with it; had to replace the rear wheel bearings. I suppose that you will always remember your first car.

alias no.9

congo_90 wrote: »

Also not brill in accidents.

The mkII punto got a 4 star ncap rating IIRC, as good as the best superminis of its era, and better than most.

congo_90 wrote:

I know two cases where puntos nearly killed the driver and it was proven to be Fiats fault. Can't say much more because it was a big legal issue....

If it was proven, then there is no legal issue, it would be fact and could be discussed. It sounds like a load of bull**** to me, that would explain why you can't elaborate.

Biro

Between family and friends, in the past few years they've owned about 5 Fiats between them, all hassle free, 7 VW's, each one had problems, 4 Audi's, all but one had problems, and significant problems at that, 5 Toyota's, 2 or 3 problems, not too much, 2 Hondas, no problems.
So it depends on who you ask.

L1011

colm_mcm wrote: »

Just thinking back, New FIAT smell is lovely, much nicer than new Japanese car smell....

Its also so impregnated that 4 years on I can still get it back by vacuuming the seats!

LuckyStar

Darling.x- go for the car YOU want. I was here a few months back asking about Puntos and had similar responses- most people said to go for it but there's always 1 or 2 people that tell you they know LOADS of people who had a crap Punto... people hear of ONE person who had trouble with a Punto and suddenly all Puntos are terrible.. it's human nature to focus on the bad things. Listen to the people who have actually had one!

I have a Punto (1997) and it is fine. Had a small bit of trouble with the fanbelt recently which I think was my own fault. Mechanic was able to fix it straight away.

Don't spend a lot of money on your first car. Mine was €1100. The first time I ever tried to start it myself I screwed up (had only had 2 lessons) and drove it through an 8ft metal gate and 2 wheelie bins full of paper! But no harm done. I love my car, as small cars go it's pretty spacious, nice to look at too and nice to drive. I was never going to get a Clio or a Micra, way too small and ugly too! We had a Punto years ago as well when they first came out, we had it for years, bought from new, never had any trouble with it.

liljenny

i learned to drive in a punto and loved it, it was my bfs and the only problems he had was stuff he caused himself, i think its the luck of the draw

mikemac

congo_90 wrote: »

I know two cases where puntos nearly killed the driver and it was proven to be Fiats fault. Can't say much more because it was a big legal issue....

I'm not saying you're making this up but if it was a big legal issue and possibly a recall issued by Fiat then it's public information and you can discuss it.
Until then like alias no.9, sounds like make believe to me.

I passed my test in Punto which was hired from the instructor. Very easy and fun to drive. I was impressed.
At the same time, my housemate in college was a mechanic for a Fiat dealership and spent a lot of time telling me horror stories.

I know on boards lots of posters tell you a friend of a friend advises to avoid X brand, so disregard my post if you want OP. Just adding my 2c.

Maybe have a look at a Yaris. And as others stated, don't spend big money on your first car as odds are, you'll manage to scratch or damage it.
Or buy a motorbike :cool:

javaboy

Jrad wrote: »

"i know a fella" hearsay sh*t talk,. is usually reserved for stories about people masterbating and opening their eyes to find their mother left a cup of tea on their bedside locker for them.

Personally I'd be a lot more embarrassed about being seen in a Fiat Punto or ****-to-get-into.

littlebug

Jrad wrote: »

This statement is incorrect. They ARE in fact the worst car on the road. Anyone i know who had one has had something serious go wrong with it. I would lean more in favour of a bicycle than a punto.

I agree with this completely and I should know I've been driving one since I bought it new in 02. In the past 2-3 years I've spent an absolute fortune on it and anything that can go wrong has gone wrong :mad: Things like the "brain" computer whatever you call it thingy dying was pretty devasting and cost nearly a grand to fix. I'd say in the past 2 1/2 years I've spent at least €2500 on it... possibly closer to 3000... and it's still a big pile of tin ****e. I'm just hoping to get it through the nct next month and I'll just drive it to it's death after that as I cant afford a new car at the minute.

Biro

javaboy wrote: »

Personally I'd be a lot more embarrassed about being seen in a Fiat Punto or ****-to-get-into.

As opposed to the alternative? A Micra - Noddy, or a Starlet - the blue rinse brigade!

Biro

littlebug wrote: »

I agree with this completely and I should know I've been driving one since I bought it new in 02. In the past 2-3 years I've spent an absolute fortune on it and anything that can go wrong has gone wrong :mad: Things like the "brain" computer whatever you call it thingy dying was pretty devasting and cost nearly a grand to fix. I'd say in the past 2 1/2 years I've spent at least €2500 on it... possibly closer to 3000... and it's still a big pile of tin ****e. I'm just hoping to get it through the nct next month and I'll just drive it to it's death after that as I cant afford a new car at the minute.

That's happening every make of car now a days sure. ECU's going all over the shop, and no garage or main dealer seems to know how to fix them.
The big problem is that if something goes on a Fiat, every one tells everyone and never buys another one again. If it happens an Audi, or VW, or something like that everyone says "ah t'was just bad luck, sure I'll trade it in for a new one next week" and tells no one.
I know a guy who parked up his fairly new Beemer coupe, went out next morning to find the firrebrigade after quenching it. Electrical fault burnt half the car to a crisp. He's now buying another beemer.

littlebug

Biro wrote: »

That's happening every make of car now a days sure. ECU's going all over the shop, and no garage or main dealer seems to know how to fix them.
The big problem is that if something goes on a Fiat, every one tells everyone and never buys another one again. If it happens an Audi, or VW, or something like that everyone says "ah t'was just bad luck, sure I'll trade it in for a new one next week" and tells no one.
I know a guy who parked up his fairly new Beemer coupe, went out next morning to find the firrebrigade after quenching it. Electrical fault burnt half the car to a crisp. He's now buying another beemer.

True Biro each individual thing that has gone wrong is just bad luck and can happen to any car but when they start to pile up you'd wonder about the quality of the car. The ECU was just one example. I now take my other half's 00 focus when I'm going on long journeys because I don't trust the punto. Surely that shouldn't be the case with an 02 car.

groupb

They must build puntos that are particularly unrelabile for the Irish market because in most relability and warranty surveys in the UK , fiat are way ahead of Audi & VW. By the way congo are you telling me that if it came down to it in a head on collision between a punto and a polo you would rather be in the polo? The people in that NCAP place should know that the outcome of their tests where a car gets crashed into a large concrete block are imaterial. All they had to do is check the badge on the car. BTW , my father had a Tipo for ten years and it only had the alternator replaced.

javaboy

Biro wrote: »

As opposed to the alternative? A Micra - Noddy, or a Starlet - the blue rinse brigade!

Sorry I forgot those two are the only other alternative cars.

Orange69

If you are learning to drive i would buy a old banger for 1000 Euro. By the time you are fully competent at driving the clutch will probably be shot. Then you can get a decent car.

LuckyStar

OP while Yaris' are gorgeous, don't buy one yet- they are way too expensive for a learning car. I am buying myself a second hand Yaris or a Focus hatchback for Christmas. By then I will have been driving over a year and won't mind spending a few grand on a car.

annie19

im driving a '98 punto since 2005 and its the sweetest ting ever!
Peugot is the worst make ever. I would recommened any other make

TestTransmission

The girlfriend has a 98 Punto and it is nothing but a money pit.She's had it for 2 years and i sware to god,something goes wrong every 2 months

j@utis

my sister got her punto '00 3 years ago. she has put 2.5k euro into it so far. two engines went in that time and some others bits. there's always something in need to replace (front shock seals are gone now).
I would take fiat if somebody gave me one for free. brand new one, of course

groupb

LuckyStar wrote: »

OP while Yaris' are gorgeous, don't buy one yet- they are way too expensive for a learning car. I am buying myself a second hand Yaris or a Focus hatchback for Christmas. By then I will have been driving over a year and won't mind spending a few grand on a car.

"The yaris is gorgeous" Are you a nun?
You can't compare one with a focus. they're not in the same class and there is a massive difference in the way they drive.

Wossack

groupb wrote: »

"The yaris is gorgeous" Are you a nun?
You can't compare one with a focus. they're not in the same class and there is a massive difference in the way they drive.

how are they massively different in how they drive?

LuckyStar

groupb wrote: »

"The yaris is gorgeous" Are you a nun?

Not as far as I am aware. I just think they are a nice looking car. It's mostly girls that drive them and they are very popular so my opinion is not that unusual.

groupb

Wossack wrote: »

how are they massively different in how they drive?

The focus is probably the finest handling family hatchback ever built.
The yaris suceeded the starlet.

alias no.9

Wossack wrote: »

how are they massively different in how they drive?

Understeer, the yaris has it in spades like most toyotas, the focus is relatively neutral.
Ride, the focus is much more composed on the open road and much more relaxed on a long drive.
Size, the focus is much bigger inside and out.

DamoDLK

Jrad wrote: »

This statement is incorrect. They ARE in fact the worst car on the road. Anyone i know who had one has had something serious go wrong with it. I would lean more in favour of a bicycle than a punto.

I agree, from clutches going after 40,000miles to power steering failure to suspension problems to its poor heating and cooling system(hg probs), yes it is one of the most unreliable cars on the roads today!