Are Fiat Puntos Good Cars?

djt0607

hi,

im wondering if anyone has had a fiat punto automatic or manual? If so, are these a good car or are they prone to breakdowns?


cheers

dan

2 Espressi

Depends on a few things Dan, I've heard both good and bad things about them. A few years ago (2001 ish) I would have told you to avoid them like the plague, they had a very bad reputation for reliability. But since then I've noticed most of them only give trouble if they haven't been serviced and maintained properly. Many of the cars that failed were driven by first time owners and were mostly girls, whom I'm afraid didn't have much in the way of mechanical sympathy or interest in servicing the car regularly, then complained when the head gaskets blew up. I've also heard tales of Puntos that were able to withstand terrible abuse and keep on going ("Couldn't kill the thing" was a popular phrase )

To be honest I don't thin they are any worse than a Polo or Starlet.

So if you are interested in one, make sure it has a decent service history, and if there are any questions or doubts about it, walk away, the market is full of them at the moment, so you'l have no trouble finding a good one for not a lot of money.

Regarding the the auto v manual, for God's sake, learn to drive a manual! If you do your test in an automatic, you're only licenced to drive an automatic. Most of the cars in the country are still a manual, and getting an auto-only licence will severely limit your choices of cars later on. Most automatic boxes are pretty terrible to drive, delivering poorer mileage and performance over a stick shift.

Most of the small engined auto cars on the second hand market are ex-rental company leases, so instead of one previous owner, you could have had hundreds of people driving the crap out it before you get it...

FOGOFUNK

More importantly, Are Fiat Puntos Modified Cars?

Buzzin

Seth Brundle

good question FOGOFUNK - thread moved.

I drove a mates punto from Athlone to Dublin last Saturday. Grand drive and his car whilst well maintained is in PWO. Even the electrics all work!

Biro

There's one of these threads every few days at this stage. Need to close this thread quick before the Fiat haters come along, the OP got the info he needs.

deceit

I've had 6 punto's. I look after them properly and 5 havent given me an ounce of trouble. The only one that gave me trouble was because it was put together with bit and pieces from everywhere from someone that just wanted to make a quick buck. If you bring a mechanic with you and get one thats been looked after proper it should never let you down. I've 2 turbo charged ones and a 1.8 hgt and all are driven hard and dont give an ounce of trouble as looked after proper.

deceit

I'd try look for the 16valve models as they are really good engines, have decent power and insurance friendly mk1 elx and mk2 hlx models are probably a better bet than the sportings.

Run_to_da_hills

They eat head gaskets for breakfast

deceit

None of mine have ever had problems with head gaskets and 3 of them have full service history and are at 80-98k.

Run_to_da_hills

deceit wrote: »

None of mine have ever had problems with head gaskets and 3 of them have full service history and are at 80-98k.

You must keep a lump of wood beside you when you are driving

macroman

djt0607 wrote: »

hi,

im wondering if anyone has had a fiat punto automatic or manual? If so, are these a good car or are they prone to breakdowns?


cheers

dan

They're a good reliable car once they're looked after and serviced regularly. Exceptional value for money, and offer plenty of space for a 5 door hatchback (more room than Polo or Yaris). Known problems are:

Rocker Cover/Cam Cover Gasket failure - a simple job (remove airbox, 4 bolts on cover, replace gasket, renew sealer to prevent further failure and job done). Only a few euro for the Gasket.

Head Gasket Failure - They've been known for this, generally through overheating from Water pump failure, and sometimes if the Head Gasket has been recently done but Rad not bled properly. Lower spec Puntos are notorious as they haven't a Temp Gaug.

Lost Red Key - if buying a Mk1 Punto (1994-1999) it should come with a Red Key (for resetting immobiliser and coding additional keys), if it doesn't use to your advantage as seldomly its used and blue keys can be copied for €40 a piece at Timpsons. Mk2's (1999-2005) don't have red keys, instead they have a rolling code key, which means that additional keys can only be ordered from the dealer and have to be directly coded to the car - can cost upto €150 per key (another bargaining tool!)

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

They eat head gaskets for breakfast

Generally when they've overheated or else when a dodgy mechanic bleeds the radiator wrong or doesn't skim the head. Still, it's an easy job to do :cool:

woop

I think if youre buying a punto you have to be prepared that things can go bad but be warned it happens with vw's etc(except toyota) but the good thing is they are good to work on(1.1) with cheap parts although they do eat headgaskets but its due to bad maintenence in some cases

If I was going to buy something cheap that Id work on myself Id choose a punto

weirdest ride characteristics of any car I have been in