Fiat Punto problem

Poppie68

Maybe a long shot but any advice welcome.


Daughter has a 2006 Fiat Pinto Grande, she noticed smoke coming from under the bonnet and a burning smell through the vents the excess radiator fluid temp warning has come on, this all happened this morning but she said the warning came on for a very brief time a few weeks ago without any smoke but nothing else until today.

Is this going to be costly?
She paid £1350 for the car 4 months ago, unfortunately the warranty was only for 3 months.

Thanks

foxy-stoat

Yes, this is likely to cost something to put right.

Poppie68

foxy-stoat wrote: »

Yes, this is likely to cost something to put right.

I'm aware it's going to cost money, I was just hoping someone might have an idea of the scale of the problem and if it was a costly repair on a 9 year old car that cost £1350.

150940

I'd find out what the problem is first. There maybe some comeback on the dealer.

bigjl

Sale of goods act trumps any dealer "warranty"

Though the fact the issue has only occurred one time previously with no action taken then it worsened I doubt the fault was there at the time of sale

Cars break down, electrical faults happen

The first occasion was a warning and the problem could have been fixed cheaper then

For the price of the car Inwould get rid and buy something else unless you can get it diagnosed and repaired fairly cheaply

I don't think you will get anything from the selling dealer to be honest

It could be something as simple as a seized radiator fan which would explain the burning smell and the lack of a fan would explain the temperature warning

Poppie68

bigjl wrote: »

Sale of goods act trumps any dealer "warranty"

Though the fact the issue has only occurred one time previously with no action taken then it worsened I doubt the fault was there at the time of sale

Cars break down, electrical faults happen

The first occasion was a warning and the problem could have been fixed cheaper then

For the price of the car Inwould get rid and buy something else unless you can get it diagnosed and repaired fairly cheaply

I don't think you will get anything from the selling dealer to be honest

It could be something as simple as a seized radiator fan which would explain the burning smell and the lack of a fan would explain the temperature warning

Thanks

My daughter has just told me that she made the dealer aware of it after the first time the warning came on. It went back for a minor cosmetic problem 10 days after she bought it, apparently it happened a few days after she got it. The dealer didn't make a deal out of it and she stupidly hadn't followed up with it or mentioned it to me or her dad. I'm going to get my husband to give them a call before we let someone else touch it.

arcon5

A 9 year old car.
Fault didn't develop for 4 months.
highly unlikely the dealer is liable! They are not responsible for everything that wears out. The fault doesn't sound inherent and the component at fault may have lasted a whopping 9 years (depending on service history) so unlikely to not have lasted a reasonable time

Poppie68

arcon5 wrote: »

A 9 year old car.
Fault didn't develop for 4 months.
highly unlikely the dealer is liable! They are not responsible for everything that wears out. The fault doesn't sound inherent and the component at fault may have lasted a whopping 9 years (depending on service history) so unlikely to not have lasted a reasonable time

I totally agree, we knew a car this old would come with some issues so we are just going to sort it ourselves. I've got Somone to look at it tomorrow they think it may just be a radiator fan problem and luckily one can be picked up cheaply from eBay and my husband can fit that, she has decided to cut her losses though if it looks like it's going to be a money pit.
Thanks everyone.

bigjl

One significant problem in 4months doesn't make it a money pit

Cooling fans seize, it happens more often than people might think

I personally think the worse cars for those kind of problems are those used for short local runs as the fan rarely kicks in which leads to them seizing up

The part that seized is likely to be fitted to lots of different cars

It could even be as a consequence of the engine under tray not being refitted after an oil change letting more dirt and crud enter the engine bay than originally intended

A £1350 car is bangernomics. If she sells the next car could also have problems, maybe bigger ones.

I would be tempted to price up the part that has failed new as if it is a fault that affects the model then the replacement could be just as bad.

That decision is price driven.

Had a quick look on EuroCarParts

The rad fan is £81 for AC cars and £84 for non AC cars

That is based on the guess that it is the 1.2 petrol (part is the same for the 1.4 petrol, but the 1.3 and 1.9 diesels have a different part which costs £175)

Unless the used part is £10 and comes with a guarantee I would go for new every time.

bsod

smoke or steam

what's the level on the radiator filler, if it has water inside, is it clean

oil filler cap clean inside and exhaust gas looks normal?

was she stationary/in traffic at the time

forgotmyname

The money pit comes in when you neglect warning signs.

The warning light flashed up weeks ago but didnt get it checked out.

There is now a risk that the bill could be much larger than it would have been weeks ago.