Fiat Grande Punto's

Giggs_11

Hi guys,

Looking at buying an 06/07 plate Grande Punto, just wanted to know if there's any glaring issues with them that Grande Punto owners know about? I.E electrics, performance etc

Like for example I've had an old Clio which is known to have immobilizer problems (wish I knew this before I bought the car!) and what do you know I get the problem after 2 years.

Oh and if you've owned one what price did you pay?

Tilt

I have heard that early models were susceptible to 'power' steering issues but this was resolved when the Evo was launched. The power steering is in fact an electric motor on the steering column.

I have a Mk2 HGT which is 13 years old and has the same 'power' steering technology. I have had no probs with mine at all. In fact it is probably the most reliable car I have owned so far when you take the age into consideration (i've owned it from new).

chrisw

Have a look on Fiat Forum. There is a sticky under the Grande Punto section on known faults.

http://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto/

Somebody has also recently started a thread on what to look for when buying.

Tigerprint

I would steer well clear of the Automatic.....

I have also known of power steering issues.....

Also do not buy an 8V unless you only want to potter about, pretty gutless in my personal opinion

atrixblue.-MFR-.

Tigerprint wrote: »

I would steer well clear of the Automatic.....

I have also known of power steering issues.....

Also do not buy an 8V unless you only want to potter about, pretty gutless in my personal opinion

power steering issues were the older type model.

the model here is the grande punto 2006 onwards i think were talking about wich has Electronic Power Steering with city button to make lighter like previous models.

i have seen the drivers door drop upon opening and then hard to close upon closing in ones ive looked at, its just the king pins or ill fitted doors at factory and widely known problem thats easily fixable. look out for the ABS light on the dash, abs sensors are common problems on these.

suspension ride is stiff by comparison to a clio.

i'd go for a 1.4 16v.

Strider590

Giggs_11 wrote: »

just wanted to know if there's any glaring issues with them that Grande Punto owners know about?

They're Italian.

They're designed with the same arrogance as French cars, they bodge a LH drive car into a RH drive car, instead of designing the damn thing properly.

jase1

Strider590 wrote: »

They're Italian.

They're designed with the same arrogance as French cars, they bodge a LH drive car into a RH drive car, instead of designing the damn thing properly.

I wouldn't call it arrogance as such.

They're parochial manufacturers (like the British Rover of old) and their cars are under-engineered in the areas where the domestic market has no need for a given feature (like electronics -- French/Italian buyers tend to go for basic cars).

If you go in with your eyes open, there's no problem. But I certainly wouldn't expect the same levels of solidity as you get from the more serious global manufacturers from the USA/Japan/Germany/Korea.

Tigerprint

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

power steering issues were the older type model.

the model here is the grande punto 2006 onwards i think were talking about wich has Electronic Power Steering with city button to make lighter like previous models.

The PAS issue was on a 2009 Grand Punto 1.4 8v Elegance. Luckily the fault was fixed under warranty....

rca779

I've owned a 56 plate 1.2 Punto for the last three years and it's been fine without any problems. It's a bit under-powered, but if it's just for driving around town then it's OK.

Tilt

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

power steering issues were the older type model.

the model here is the grande punto 2006 onwards i think were talking about wich has Electronic Power Steering with city button to make lighter like previous models.

The same technology was in the Mk 2 Punto (from 1999) which also has the 'city button'.

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

i have seen the drivers door drop upon opening and then hard to close upon closing in ones ive looked at, its just the king pins or ill fitted doors at factory and widely known problem thats easily fixable. look out for the ABS light on the dash, abs sensors are common problems on these.

Not heard of these issues.

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

suspension ride is stiff by comparison to a clio.

Of course it is in the sport versions. It's a completely different animal to a Clio.

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

i'd go for a 1.4 16v.

Me too although I would probably go the full hog and go for the Abarth version

Tilt

Strider590 wrote: »

They're Italian.

They're designed with the same arrogance as French cars, they bodge a LH drive car into a RH drive car, instead of designing the damn thing properly.

Rubbish. I've owned 13 Fiats and only had an issue with 2 of them. One was a corrosion problem (1979 Fiat Mirafiori which was pre-6 year anti corrosion scheme) which Fiat authorised repairs on even though it was out of warranty, the other was a seized Turbo which was rectified under warranty.