Fiat Punto

Mayflower10cat

I once had a Punto as a courtesy car - I hated it! I was about to pull off the garage forecourt just as a nutter going way too fast whizzed around the corner - I braked, nothing happened....slammed them on some more.....and finally the car stopped! I did mention that the brakes needed looking at as I handed the keys back with great relief to be told 'Oh, all Punto's are like that.....' (??!!) About a year later my outlaws rang up to say they were just about to pick up their new car - it was a Punto. I bit my lip but said nothing, as it was too late anyway. They normally keep a car for two years, or even three. The Punto was traded in that same year.

custardy

Mayflower10cat wrote: »

I once had a Punto as a courtesy car - I hated it! I was about to pull off the garage forecourt just as a nutter going way too whizzed around the corner - I braked, nothing happened....slammed them on some more.....and finally the car stopped! I did mention that the brakes needed looking at as I handed the keys back with great relief to be told 'Oh, all Punto's are like that.....' (??!!) About a year later my outlaws rang up to say they were just about to pick up their new car - it was a Punto. I bit my lip but said nothing, as it was too late anyway. They normally keep a car for two years, or even three. The Punto was traded in that same year.

none that i have driven have no brakes......

jd82

I can confirm the Panda certainly has breaks. Some idiot pulled out in front of me and I had to slam on. I ended up nearly falling through the windscreen and the car stopped a good few meters before I expected it to.

I really hate all this FIAT bashing, some cars are trouble cars, they can have any badge on them yet it is fashionable to always moan about a bad FIAT.

I once went in a Punto MK1 55SX which had 300,000 miles on the clock. Apparantly it had an oil change every 5000 miles but was still on the original engine and HG.

EnnahojB

I had a 51 plate from new and got rid of it a couple of years ago as needed a bigger car. It was very economical and had very few problems until just before I got rid of it. If I was turning the steering wheel on hard lock, for example to go back on myself round a small roundabout I lost all of the power steering and it was really hard to drive. I found through experience if I turned the engine off and then restarted it the problem corrected itself. I have since found out through a dealer this is a common problem on them. To be honest if you are buying any older car you will have some problems. My mum and sister both bought Puntos new (I used to work for a company that gave good discounts so we all got them) and they never had any major issues, my mum still has hers and hasnt had any problems at all. I think they are a nice nippy little car. Good luck with whatever you buy

exup

i would check out fiat forum UK or Torque Italia _ They will have good advice on the particular model and any weak points it may have.
Head Gasket failure on Puntos can happen, but is usually a case of something else wrong with the cooling system which otherwise would be a very easy fix - such as sticking thermostat.

cardinalbiggles

I had a 1.9JTD 2003. Bought it new for 5.5k. I did 130k in that car and not once did it break down on me. Before that I had a 1.1 Panda which lasted the same mileage before blowing the cyclinder head gasket. The problem is the design of the core plugs which rust then fail, its the same with all the Fire engines, and there are a lot of them about!

When the Punto went last year I got a Bravo, its been very good so far, albeit expensive on the old tyres....

jd82

The new Panda dosn't seem to suffer from the heasgasket issue even though it uses the same FIRE engine. Mine is also the 1.1. The coolent is now the long life pink stuff, I wonder if the core plugs rusted because the coolent was left in too long and thus lost its rust prevention properties?

Apricot

i had a punto a few years ago W reg - there is a well known problem with the steering columns on that reg, I could drive for days as normal but try to do a manouver and the steering would just lock - im sure it's only a problem with W registrations though. When you test drive it though be sure to try and do a manouver that involves turning the steering wheel right around - mine used to instantly lock and you then had to restart the engine to get power steering back.

I had numerous problems with my punto to be honest, brakes, exhaust, head gasket twice, radiator came loose - but I think it was more a case that the car had previously been owned by a boy racer who obviously didn't take very good care of it.

Apart from that it was a brilliantly economical car and did excellent mpg.

jd82

As said above if the head gasket goes twice then there is obviously a cause which hasn't been fixed. Mind you the main reason I got rid of the Corsa when the HG went is that I didn't trust it wouldn't go again.

Brakes and exhaust will go on any car. However if your car has been spitting out old coolent via the exhaust due to the faulty HG it would eat exhausts much quicker. Short journets also cause exhausts go to a lot. Come to think of it my dads Punto did eat back boxes.

sleepystar1975

Mayflower10cat wrote: »

I once had a Punto as a courtesy car - I hated it! I was about to pull off the garage forecourt just as a nutter going way too fast whizzed around the corner - I braked, nothing happened....slammed them on some more.....and finally the car stopped! I did mention that the brakes needed looking at as I handed the keys back with great relief to be told 'Oh, all Punto's are like that.....' (??!!) About a year later my outlaws rang up to say they were just about to pick up their new car - it was a Punto. I bit my lip but said nothing, as it was too late anyway. They normally keep a car for two years, or even three. The Punto was traded in that same year.

I had an old M-plate punto, and never had a problem with my brakes, not that I remember anyway. I loved that old car. (I bought it when it was 4 yrs old) The head gasket went after 2 years, but apart from that, it didn't really cost much above the basic maintenence. I had to get rid of it after my (boy racer) brother borrowed it for a few months, and trashed the gearbox!
I would happily own another similar Punto.
I'm looking at a Stilo now (well, Dh is) and I am hoping it'll be the same in terms of reliability.