[e1usive]

Looking at fiat puntos for my first car, test on Friday, would you say there a good runnaround for a 17year old? Only needs to last a year or 2.

Thanks

[tomrw]

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/show....php?t=2075636

Good thread to read.

Be wary. I'm 21 in a C postcode and my insurance is 3 grand nearly (with a 16v 1.2l)

[Emma:-)]

Id be wary of having one. They are well built, good on petrol etc, and i also found they are decent insurance wise.
Id be wary of them though, due to reliability issues. I had one and only had it for 6 months. Loads of things went wrong with it, and it was always big stuff that went wrong (like electrical stuff). Id only have one again if it had loads of history showing it had been looked after etc. Ive known of a couple of other people having problems with them as well.

[LETSJaM]

Terrible cars.

Break down constantly. Super expensive over the duration of having one. They hold true about the reliability of italian cars.

<3 x

[snufkin_]

I've had one for about 18 months now. If you pick wisely you should be fine.

I've had next to no troubles with mine, and when I have it's been a small issue or an issue unrelated to the make of the car (being broken into...)

The good thing about them is if something goes wrong parts are easily and cheaply picked up from the scrap yard and if you know a mechanic you should be alright.

Make no mistake, not every fiat punto is alright. Some people say they are really unreliable and have had bad experiences with them, but some people swear by fiat. It is all down to previous history/the way it's been driven or looked after in the past and the way you drive it now.

However, I found my insurance spiked up a LOT with it. So you may be better looking at different models or you may find it difficult to insure. Take a couple out for a test drive and see what you think with them.

[jumpingjesusholycow]

There's a reason why second hand puntos are so cheap, and it's not a good one.

[CaptainEllis]

They seem to be really popular cars, get decent mph and cheap to buy. Can't comment on reliability.

I have a fiat panda and it's very inexpensive to run, bought mine second hand earlier this year for about £2000, insurance is £500 and with careful (not boy racer) driving I can sqeeze 300+ miles out of a £35 tank of petrol

[lilabs]

Don't see why not, as a runaround My mum had one for a while and, though it did have a lot going wrong with it (she seems to have a habit of choosing cars that are prone to breaking!), it worked as a runaround. She just drives around town and things because she's quite a nervous driver she thought it was good for that, so.

[Herr]

It was a fairly good car when new, it was a car Fiat set out to build to change it's reputation. It did work but only when the cars were new. After a few years things do go wrong with the big one being the Electric Power Steering system, cost around £800 to replace if it goes south. Other electrical problems do happen usually due to some sensors giving problems or due to connector failures which are among the crappiest in the automotive industry. Supposedly they were made to be "biodegradable" any engineer will tell you heat and biodegradable don't mix especially in an engine bay.......but that's how it goes.

The good side to it is, very few things if it goes wrong will leave you stranded by the side of the road, it is just more of an annoyance until you have the time and money to fix it, if anything other than the EPS motor goes wrong, for the most part most of the parts are very cheap to buy from one of the many carparts websites.

[blahblah772]

you know what they say about puntos, they're driven by right *****s

edit

**** YOU CENSORSHIP

[1992LP]

To add some balance, my flat mate has a 2004 1.2 Active Sport model which he will have had for around 3 years now with no problems at all besides normal wear and tear.

It gets abused too - thrashed from cold, and not been serviced since he has had it

If you can get a good one, there is nothing wrong with them. My money would go on a 1.25 Fiesta if I was buying a small car though!

[DazA]

FIAT

F ix

I t

A gain

T omorrow

[1992LP]

(Original post by DazA)
FIAT

F ix

I t

A gain

T omorrow

I thought it was Fix It Again Tony?