going to look at a fiat punto today anything i need to look for?

fletcher1985

well i have finally found a car in my price range with a good year on it, im going to look at a black 2001 y reg fiat punto 1.2 today, its from a garage and has no mot but he said he will mot it when its bought or had a deposit put down on it, my dad is coming wih me he knows more about cars then me, so my question is what to look out for on the car (problems) etc

meolver

My daughter has one that year. Check it has has a new cambelt = I think it needs replacing around 70,000 miles. She has just had to have the check straps on the doors replaced as they made a horrible noise when opening. Last year yhe cylinderhead needed doing as it was overheating all the time. Just some of the things that can happen on that age car. It is nonetheless a zippy little car and I find it good to drive. Her boyfriend was impressed with the way it hadles and bought a Fiat himself recently.Hope it helps.

michaels

Check whether it is the 8v or 16v 1.2 - it makes a huge difference to whether it is fun to drive or a struggle to keep up with traffic

Inactive

I would look for something else, Fiat's of that age are usually plagued with problems.

manda1205

I second that, look for another car. Fiats are rubbish, I had 1 for first car, an uno and then a panda a year later, both were money pits and I swore never to get another fiat! How about a ford fiesta, personally I wouldnt touch peugeots either, renault clio may be ok too. Worth a look round though!

Wig

The cam belts on them are replaced at 5 years/ I forget the mileage maybe 70,000 is correct. So double check the service book, it should mention the cam belt being changed around 70K or at some time in 2006. If it does not specifically mention it do not pay the deposit unless they agree to have it changed.

Check the number of keys (before paying the deposit) Fiat use two systems
The first sytem requires two blue and one red key
The second system uses only two blue keys

To find out which system your car uses look at the ignition key - on the metal part of the key you will see a symbol that looks like a triangle emitting radiowaves
kind of like this with a baseline on the triangle

If there is a '2' next to the triangle it is system 2 = 2 blue keys required
If there is no number then it is system 1 = 2 blue and 1 red required.

I suspect yours will be a system 2.

Also check the radio is coded or not and that you have the code supplied in the document folder. If CD player is important to you put a CD in and let it play, it may be a tape player ofcourse, but our Punto has an intermittant fault on the CD player, which we don't care about but you might.

If you're anywhere near South Wales, I know of a 53 Punto 16V active at a good price something like £2.5K

mr_accountant

i would:

1) be concerned that a 6/7 year old car has not mot, any good dealer would put a 12m mot BEFORE placing it for sale.

2) fiat don’t have the best reputation in terms of reliability and built quality, but there are plenty of drivers happy with theirs, a good one could be a bargain as they have low resale values.

3) go to www.fiatforum.com and ask them about this car

pulliptears

Headgaskets blow on Punto's, dont kow if or how you could check that, but worth being aware of.

http://www.ciao.co.uk/Fiat_Punto_1_2__Review_5463804

judderman62

manda1205 wrote: »

I second that, look for another car. Fiats are rubbish, I had 1 for first car, an uno and then a panda a year later, both were money pits and I swore never to get another fiat! How about a ford fiesta, personally I wouldnt touch peugeots either, renault clio may be ok too. Worth a look round though!

I third it - they do have a rep for appalling build quality and reliability.

i did have one as a hire car some time back and it did feel flimsy and crappy. Also a part of the facia was hanging away and the screw that should have held it in place was . plastic !!!!! :eek::eek:

The words touch , bargepole and wouldn't spring to mind

pulliptears

judderman62 wrote: »

I third it - they do have a rep for appalling build quality and reliability.

i did have one as a hire car some time back and it did feel flimsy and crappy. Also a part of the facia was hanging away and the screw that should have held it in place was . plastic !!!!! :eek::eek:

The words touch , bargepole and wouldn't spring to mind

I owned a 94 Punto, it had full service history and only done 34,000 miles. Shortly after the head gasket blew and was really urealistic to repair on car worth £500 at most. After a lot of research I discovered it was common not only to old Punto's, but newer ones as well.

It also suffered with electrical problems so the indicators and brake lights would flash, again, not limited to older models I uderstand.

But yes, I agree with judderman and wouldnt have another if it was given to me. Mine dying so dramatically left me well and truly stuffed. Luckily my dear old Dad bought me a 99 clio to replace it and that has never been a second of trouble.

custardy

mr_accountant wrote: »

i would:

1) be concerned that a 6/7 year old car has not mot, any good dealer would put a 12m mot BEFORE placing it for sale.

2) fiat don’t have the best reputation in terms of reliability and built quality, but there are plenty of drivers happy with theirs, a good one could be a bargain as they have low resale values.

3) go to www.fiatforum.com and ask them about this car

doing it that way gets the buyer a full 12 month MOT