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

cgc5483

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

FIAT= Fix It Again Tomorrow.

thetyreman

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

IMHO none of them are great,depends on the year to decide how ad one is compared to another.what are you looking at?

Guy:Incognito

cgc5483 wrote: »

FIAT= Fix It Again Tomorrow.

Has the motors forum gone back to the 70's again? I hate it when that happens.

BTW, humour has moved on a lot in 30 years.

Max_Damage

Not really, they tend to eat head gaskets.

Hotwheels

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

Had both Manual & Auto...loved the Auto, it was excellent in town, you could leave it in Drive or use the gear lever like a sequential box..had fun with them without any major problems....

If they are looked after well (like any car) they are a cheap motor to run...full service history vital...early models were prone to Head gasket failure, so you need to keep that in mind...

L1011

Mark 1's - No
Mark 2's - Don't get an 8 valve - head gaskets for breakfast. Also can have problems with the coil drivers and the ECU. They're cheap to get and cheap to repair, though.
Mark 2B's - see above.

Grande Punto - bar slightly dodgy door locks I've not heard any issues; fathers had one for quite some time now and other than the wear and tear 85000km would do to any car (shocks, tyres) nothing has gone wrong at all.

The last 2B's should be in warranty with Fiat still. All Grande's are.

As goes the gearbox - never driven an auto, driven Mk1, Mk2 and Grande's with the 5 speed and the 6 speed; the 6 is a nicer gearbox but nothing wrong with the 5 speed either.

Wishbone Ash

djt0607 wrote: »

are these a good car

You'd want to set the parameters. Good in relation to what? Good small car? Good budget car? etc. Otherwise I'm sure I could safely say that the BMW M5 is a better car!

bladebrew

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

You'd want to set the parameters. Good in relation to what? Good small car? Good budget car? etc. Otherwise I'm sure I could safely say that the BMW M5 is a better car!

:D:D

thetyreman

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

You'd want to set the parameters. Good in relation to what? Good small car? Good budget car? etc. Otherwise I'm sure I could safely say that the BMW M5 is a better car!

He means reliable...

djt0607

thanks for all your replies. the punto i was looking at is a 2001 1.2litre manual 55k miles on the clock already €1,500. think its worth it? . i was also wondering about the automatic because i have been told before to stay away from punto automatics. why?..i dont know..thats what im here to find out.

colm_mcm

go to www.fiatforum.com for better info. bear in mind that these guys are Fiat fans and can be biassed towards the brand, in the same way that non-owners on here will only see the negatives.

Hotwheels

€1500 is not bad, but try to haggle...I had no issues with the 2002 Auto I had, just serviced it as per Fiat service book...
Again get a good mech to check it over before you buy...

best of luck in the hunt

Run_to_da_hills

If you are considering a Fiat Punto you must allow an extra e600 on to the price of the car to cover the price of the head gasket job which will be inevitable if you intend hanging on to the car for any length of time.

cantdecide

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED they're not as bad as people will tell you. I've had 2 FIATs and neither were 'reliable' but I still wouldn't write the brand off. I wouldn't even say I wouldn't own one again.

Comparatively speaking, Irish people bawk at maintanence and repairs so you'll never get a totally objective view.

Ask yourself if a mini car like the Punto really suits your needs. Most people who own them are blind to the compromises IMO. Real blissful ignorance.

cantdecide

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

If you are considering a Fiat Punto you must allow an extra e600 on to the price of the car to cover the price of the head gasket job which will be inevitable if you intend hanging on to the car for any length of time.

You can't come out with blanket statements like that, RTTH. What if it's already had it's headgasket done:D

Run_to_da_hills

cantdecide wrote: »

You can't come out with blanket statements like that, RTTH. What if it's already had it's headgasket done:D

More than likely it will have to be done again :pac::pac::pac:

Wishbone Ash

cantdecide wrote: »

Irish people bawk at maintanence and repairs so you'll never get a totally objective view

Indeed, I always find it odd that many people will pay €2,000 more for a car of comparable age/milage etc. to avoid a possible €500 repair bill!

(CH3)2CHOH

The Early 8 valves can be prone to head gasket failure, but it's so easy to change it's not really that big a deal.

Took me 4hrs to do one for a friend, on my drive way. Cost about 50euro for the parts. That was a 00 mark2. Any decent mechanic should be able to to in less time, it's not like they won't have done it before.......



All in all they a nice little car, safe for the size, nice to drive and well spec'd.

Run_to_da_hills

(CH3)2CHOH wrote: »

The Early 8 valves can be prone to head gasket failure, but it's so easy to change it's not really that big a deal.

Took me 4hrs to do one for a friend, on my drive way. Cost about 50euro for the parts. That was a 00 mark2. Any decent mechanic should be able to to in less time, it's not like they won't have done it before.......



All in all they a nice little car, safe for the size, nice to drive and well spec'd.

Not necessarily, could cost well in excess of €600 and take days. The head may need skimming, worst scenario would be a warped or cracked cylinder head gone beyond repair requiring a replacement.

Depended on how much the engine had overheated and how many times the head had been skimmed in the past. The car could be off the road for several days waiting for a replacement head.

Mailman

late mark 1s from mid 97 to mid 99 aren't bad. the facelift from mid 99 was more troublesome and things didn't improve until the mark 2 was facelifted.
16V engines are better than 8V but are rarer.

Run_to_da_hills

Mailman wrote: »

late mark 1s from mid 97 to mid 99 aren't bad. the facelift from mid 99 was more troublesome and things didn't improve until the mark 2 was facelifted.
16V engines are better than 8V but are rarer.

Best of look trying to locate a decent 16v Punto cylinder head in a scrap yard. :eek:

Cheese Princess

I've been driving a 95 Punto for the last 3 years and it's been absolutely fine. The gasket had been done just before I bought it but have had no trouble with it since.
I've had to replace the exhaust and the clutch so that cost a total of about €400.
Not bad going for a car I paid €1500 for.
I think the Punto gets an undeserved bad rep.

L1011

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Best of look trying to locate a decent 16v Punto cylinder head in a scrap yard. :eek:

Have you considered the reason there isn't many is that a: Theres very few of them and b: The don't die of engine problems - most of the Punto's in my local scrap yard are uncrashed, mainly from people not wanting to pay to get a repairable gasket problem fixed due to the age/value of the car.

The advantage of the 16v is that the head gasket doesn't go ANYWHERE near as often as the 1.2 8v does.

Its also not like the 1242 16v Fiat engine is unique to the Punto, by the way. The old Bravo, the Stilo and a few others have had it.

DirkVoodoo

I've had an 03 Punto Sporting (1.2 16valve jobbie) since new. Its relatively low mileage (about 25k, I know I don't drive much and even less now that I cycle) so prob not enough time for the head gasket to rupture, but the only problem I have had is a failed power steering unit (had to replace the entire steering unit, 200 euro sourced part). Other than that its been great, good fun to drive, fairly economical and it looks pretty nice.

Having said that, I went for a spin in a friend's GTi and I'm now hooked! I'm not comparing my sporting to a GTi mind you :rolleyes:

(CH3)2CHOH

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Not necessarily, could cost well in excess of €600 and take days. The head may need skimming, worst scenario would be a warped or cracked cylinder head gone beyond repair requiring a replacement.

Depended on how much the engine had overheated and how many times the head had been skimmed in the past. The car could be off the road for several days waiting for a replacement head.

You weren't run over by a Fiat Punto as a child by any chance were you.:D

Yes worst case senario is a cracked head, but that can happen on any car.

Like my wife's friends Mk4 Golf which was in and out of the garage for 3 head gaskets.... Or my best mans Beemer 520 that cracked it's cylinder head when he kept driving it once it overheated.

If you see the car over heating stop. Thats why they have temperature guages.

eringobragh

(CH3)2CHOH wrote: »

If you see the car over heating stop. Thats why they have temperature guages.

Actually I don't think (correct me if I'm wrong!) Puntos have a temperature gauge (well mk1's) just a light

(CH3)2CHOH

eringobragh wrote: »

Actually I don't think (correct me if I'm wrong!) Puntos have a temperature gauge (well mk1's) just a light

Yep, I'll correct you, the Mk2's have a guage. Suppose they need it......:p

eringobragh

(CH3)2CHOH wrote: »

Yep, I'll correct you, the Mk2's have a guage. Suppose they need it......:p

Must be just MK1s then.

Keith186

If I was a mod I'd move this to the humour thread!

In saying that they're good value if you get a half decent one but they're ****e to drive.

Keith186

If you see the car over heating stop. Thats why they have temperature guages.

And turn on the heat full blast to take some heat out from the engine.

L1011

(CH3)2CHOH wrote: »

Yep, I'll correct you, the Mk2's have a guage. Suppose they need it......:p

British spec base models Mark 2's do not have a gauge... they also have windy windows, a tape deck and more plastic than the lego factory, though.

cantdecide

MYOB wrote: »

British spec base models Mark 2's do not have a gauge... they also have windy windows, a tape deck and more plastic than the lego factory, though.

I suppose that's the VRT effect in action- in the UK, they're expendable cheapos, in Ireland ANY new car is something to be proud of...

Lenny

working in fiat parts, things that are prone to the 00ish model are,
steering motor(part of colum) 579plus vat for part
head gasket(can be expensive time wise) 300ish
wiper linkage/motor 150 plus vat
other than that they may have the odd thing here and there that can go in many car,
every car has there problems in different areas, although they have got better in time with the more recent model of cars people don't seem to be buying them..

L1011

cantdecide wrote: »

I suppose that's the VRT effect in action- in the UK, they're expendable cheapos, in Ireland ANY new car is something to be proud of...

Would suspect so. Its weird, luxury makes the Paddy Specials have no extras and tiny engines; Fiat the Irish models are higher spec than the UK - always have been. My car had a trim kit that costs a few hundred in the UK included by default for instance.