well I bought a 1999 punto from the auctions. Now I know that's a gamble but I'm a gambling man and buying from the auctions has always paid off for me. But this punto is another story......I emmediatley had to change the water pump and thermostat and fan cos it boiled over coming home from the auctions. i did the head gasket and cam belt while i had the engine in bits. The oil pressure switch, and a service, plugs, filters, oil etc. The exhaust down pipe replaced. I still have to do discs and pads. There's a knocking on back, could be suspension or exhaust, the clutch release mechanism is noisy, the oil light is on when ticking over......the list is endless. Howver the bits were cheap and I was able to do the work myself, I'm no mechanic. The car runs nice the gear box is good and it looks great!
I had a 1998 1.2 16V Sporting until some idiot ran into the back of me at traffic lights at 50mph and wrote it off! It was a fantastic fun little car, and i will be looking for another one shortly. It had about £700 spent on it in total in the 5.5 years and 100,000 miles we owned it, 2 new radius arms and the head gasket (it shouldn't have been that much but i drove it around overheating for 6 months as was a student and couldn't afford the work done!). There are good and bad examples of all old cars, sure there are posts on preloved about all the other cars mentioned in peoples reviews too.
Nippy, Fun to Drive, Very Economical
Reviewing a 1998 model.
1.2 16V Sporting
Owned for more than 5 years.
We had the mk 2 2000 model. Lovely nippy car. Only the 1.2 but it had plenty of power! We owned it for 5 years and all we spent on were tyres, exhaust, battery and servicing. It was Hubbys pride and joy until he had a head on collision with a pug estate. Its high rating in the ncap ratings proved correct. We were unhurt except for where the seatbelt saved me but the driver of the other car had head injuries and car was unable to be moved! It was that good that we got another fiat to replace it!
I BOUGHT A PUNTO MK2 SPORTING 6 SPEED GEARBOX AND I DROVE IT NEARLY 200MILES ONE WAY FROM ESSEX TO LEICESTER AND LEEDS.THE CAR WAS GOING NICELY AND SMOOTHLY AS IT SHOULD 2 DAYS AGO I CAME OF WORK AND I PARKED THE CAR IN MY DRIVEWAY AND SWITCHED THE ENGINE OFF AFTER FEW HOURS AGO I WENT IN THE CAR TO STARTED AS I KNEW I HAD TO CHANGE TO A NEW BATTERY AND WHEN I STARTED THE ENGINE ALL THE LIGHTS SUPPOSED TO DISSAPEAR FROM THE SCREEN AND IT DID BUT NOT THE AIRBAG LIGHT. IVE CALLED RAC TWICE TO CHECK ITBUT THEY COULDNT HELP ME AT ALL.I STILL DONT KNOW WHAT COULD BE THE PROBLEM AND WHAT DO I NEED TO SOLVE.BUT MY OPPINION IS IIIFFF YOU ARE A CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR A GOOD CAR ON FINANCE OR CASH WITH FEW GRANDS THEN ITS BETTER TO LOOK FOR A COUNFY CARS VW,AUDI.PEUGEOT THIS CARS ARE QUALITYAND HARDLY GETTING TO ANY FAULTS.
Fiat punto clutch judder, my son had this problem it was infact dangerous and i was considering buying him a different car. If you have this problem and you have a matt in the drivers footwell "then remove it"! The fiat punto clutch arm of the pedal goes right down to the floor and gets fouled by the matt. Doing this improved the problem emmediately and it got better as the clutch wore itself back in. hope this helps! Terry
very fuel efficient without loss of performance for a small car
I have had my Fiat Punto Sporting from new for just over 5 years now, great looking car, joy to drive, never ever let me down, always serviced on time. Everyone who sees it says what a great looking car it is. I have it serviced regularly, and, apart from the usual service costs, have only needed a new battery and the air con topped up in all the time I have owned it. If they are services correctly, then I don't think you get the problems.
Great looks, drive, reliability
Insurance costs
Reviewing a 2002 model.
Fiat Punto Sporting
Owned for more than 5 years.
Bought the Fiat Punto 1.2s 2001. It seemed like very nice car untill now. :( First started when front lights (H7 bulbs) every month or so brakedown (apparently it's electrics problem) but after many replacements of the bulbs the electric problem just vanished on itself. Told by the mechanic that that's the common problem with punto. And then after some time dual servo broke down. And that too is the common problem with punto. Mechanic examined a problem and said that would need to change the whole servo motor. It's rather expensive, so I didn't change it. And guess what, problem vanished like it was never there. So passed a year, and now again servo doesn't work and the lights are braking down. Hurray for Fiat!!!!!
Reviewing a 2001 model.
Punto 1.2s
Owned for more than 5 years.
Firstly I would like to pass on my experience of this car so others do not make the same mistake. I Fell in love with the Punto after having it as a courtesy car. I purchased a Yrg for £4500 back in 2002. I had nothing but problems from the day of purchase.
Airbag light stays on(went to FIAT 13 times about this, they didn't rectify it), Clutch judder which resulted in me having a new clutch, Faulty pistons(new engine fitted), windscreen wipers judder, front brake problems, headlights adjustment fault, engine management problems and other minor problems some of which I cannot remember. Its a lucky thing the car was in warranty or I my pocket would have grossly suffered. The FIAT dealership could not care less, always could never get through by phone, when I went down in person, I was made to feel as if the lemon that they sold me was my fault. After the ESU played up again I sold the car for a mere £1500.
At the time I was an exited 19 year old boy of ignorance. I have learned a valid lesson. When it comes to buying a car, do your homework and research into what you are getting especially if you intend to spend in the thousands!
My overall advice - DO NOT BY THIS CAR! Waste of money and it WILL provide you with a vast amount of stress.
Cheap to run, sharp looks.
Constant problems, abysmal customer care from FIAT
Clutch problems on the fiat punto. Occassional severe judder when pulling of in first gear. Does anyone still have this problem i think there may be a simple solution for many. It certainly was for me. My sons 03 punto developed this judder.
good performance for a small engine, very good fuel economy.
Feels little unsteady on bends. interior not very hard wearing.
BEWARE OF THE FIAT PUNTO. IT IS DECIEVING.... After leaving the dealership; I left thinking i had bought a great looking car, that was a nice and nippy 1.25 2000 Fiat Punto Sporting, 35k miles on clock, nothing could've prepared me for the baggage this car was due to bring with it as i drove it away. Four weeks later and im driving up the M5 and i hear this noise like someone had thrown their keys into my engine bay. As i make a quick exit off the motorway to figure out what it is, i reach the top of the slip road and im accellerating but nothings happening. Call the AA out, as im 120 miles from home to be told that my Head Gasket has blown and it took the water pump with it. I was given a 3 month warranty so i got home and tried to call the dealership i bought it from. 3 days straight and no-one answered. I took a trip up there to speak to them in person, only to find the place empty. I mean, All the cars were gone, the people were gone and there was a To Let sign outside, asked the mechanic next door to the forecourt and he told me that the Inland Revenue had been round a few days before and that after that the dealership had done a runner. So now im left with a useless car on my drive that costs more than i can afford to fix right now and a very bitter taste in my mouth every time i pay my monthly finance for it. So...Just a word of advice, if you're thinking of buying a Fiat Punto - DONT - they're not worth the hassle they bring.
Looks Good, Quick, Sports Interior is very nice
They are renouned for the head gasket to blow at around 50,000 miles
Reviewing a 2000 model.
Sporting
Owned for 3 months.
A Punto in good condition is a real treat. Cheap and easy to run, cheap parts and a great looking car. However the repairs needed to get it to this "good condition" i talk about is far from easy. I have owned my Punto for 4 months and managed to fix all the common problems myself. The main problems being :-
Rear radius arms (causing the knocking from the back of the car) £85
Petrol fuel tank unit (Incorrect fuel gauge) £19
Exhaust downpipe (Major exhaust blow) £32
Performance brake discs and pads £34
New rear drums and shoes (Grinding noise from rear of vehicle) £50
Key barrel set changed £15
Sump (Slight oil leak) £39
Tracking (Pulls to the left) £30
Starter motor (Made a whirring noise when started) £45
New service parts (Oil, air, fuel filter, performance spark plugs) £25
After this endless list was corrected my car now runs like a dream and is a pleasure to drive. And for the sake of just over £300 i have a perfect run around which i paid just over £350 for.
Having waited almost 8 years since pasing my test to buying my first car, I was more than alittle excited when I bought a Fiat Punto. I paid £2795 for this W reg Punto in July 2005, and I have had problems with it ever since, making me wish I'd spent the extra on a better make and model, as it is what I thought I was saving I've spent on repairs, here goes: November 2005 - New brakes £158.30 February 2006 - Replacement sump & exhaust £471.09 October 2006 - Head gasket replaced having broken down on the M6 £438.52 all this on top of the usual tyres, windscreen wipers, an aerial (some shite broke mine off), repairing of scratches, regular servicing etc, this car has cost me well over £1500 in just 2 years, and the problems are still coming, the clutch has been making a horrble grinding sound for the last week and today it was that much more noticable.
All I can say is my garage must be loving me and who ever sold me the car saw me coming. Its not bad enough for Pimp My Ride, but it is bad enough that I've had to take out a second job to pay for the repairs!! Follow my advice and the advice of my garage, stay away from Fiats, they are more trouble than they are worth, unless of course you want to know the guy at the garage a little better!! Its only redeeming feature, they look good!
I have owned my MK1 55 SX 1.1 Punto for 18 months. Its done 95k, and I agree is not the most reliable of cars as far as parts go.
In 18 months I have had the following parts repaired or replaced;
Head Gasket Cam Belt Thermostat Water Pump Pipes and Seals Clutch Slave Cylinder Battery Wish Bones
However, its an old car, bought cheap, and I have a decent garage, parts are readily available, not very expensive, and due to the age of the car, very few labour charges are incurred.
Its always advertised as "an ideal first car" and this I will agree with. I spent £650 on the car, and all of the above repairs and parts have totalled approximately £350. Things will inevitably go wrong with this car, just be careful not to get ripped off.
Roomy, Cheap to Insure, Cheap to Run, Cheap Replacement Parts, Parts Easy to Find and Fit.
Always something to work on.
Reviewing a 1994 model.
55 SX MK1 1.1L
Owned for 1 year.
I have only had this car for a couple of months and unfortunately think i got a bad one of the batch.. the head gasket has gone and now there maybe something wrong with the ecu. i am then hoping that i can have a carefree life and she will run as nice as she used to. She performs well but is not that realiable, i have never had trouble with parts and am hoping that she will be value for money once the probs have been sorted.
Electrical problems occur with punto's mainly because of the poor build quality. Recently lost power to the instrument cluster, which drained the battery. No fuses had ruptured. By simply removing the cluster ( 5 screws & 10 mins ) i discovered a dodgy plastic connecter. This could be the root cause of many punto electrical faults !!
I bought a W Reg 2000 punto, 1.2 3 door, In sept 2005 £3200(which i now think is extortianate). I have had nothing but truble with it. list as follows:
Wiper Motor went in October: £280 Front Breaks needed repairing: unsure of price Clutch replacing, December: £75 Washers have died: £170 Battery died: £60 (the one in it when i bought it was only 18months old) and yesterday I had to call the AA out as my engine started smoking, and the car decided to accelerate on its own! The recovery guy told me that the head gasket is on its way out and this will cost me about £300-£400, But I then foned a garage who advised me that he had just done the exact same repai on the same model and the bill was £560!!!!!!!!! If this car wasnt on finance I would seriously scrap it!!! WARNING, do not buy a FIAT PUNTO, especially second hand!
I have a Punto Selecta 60 R Reg what can I say... this car has kept me busy. Here is a list of the repairs I have undertaken Replaced original discs pads drums shoes brake fluid and replaced rear radius arm 42k miles. Bushes broke up. Replaced the original radio (the copper pathways on the flexiable cabling inside peelled off) Throw it away and get another easy to remove and fit. Replaced battery (orginal died of old age no complaints) Cured leaking rocker cover (This is common and requires a deft hand with the silicone sealant). "Cured sticky automatic gear box" symtoms include poor gear selection, failling to disengage drive when slowing down (this is a real heart stopper) How did I "cure" this well it may be co incidence but when I cured the rocker cover oil leak (the oil was flowing over the joint for the engine to the gear box) the symtoms disappeared. My thoughts on this are the electronics in the gear box were being affected by the oil. The gear box now works sweetly.
Fiat Garage repairs or specialist or (unavoidable mega money payouts) Clynder head gasket replacement this required the clynder head skimmed by engineering company not fiat thank goodness. Cam belt replacement normal maintenance. Replacement of a lot of the brake pipes (that was expensive)
All this and normal maintenance on top thank goodness I learned to do car mechanics when I was younger. Just imagine what it would have cost me to have all this done by a garage. Overall I like this car it is nice to drive ok it is not quick but that does not bother me, just a pity it is let down by some poor quality engineering/design.
in 37000 miles we have had 3 clutches, complete new exhaust system, new batterie, new main ems £370.00! Fiat agree that the ems should not have gone but as its just out of warranty they are not interested.
These are great value cars. Loads of room, economical and reliable.
What's the matter with guys? Most of the faults you describe are due to wear and tear and not being serviced when called for. Tyres, batteries, clutch, brakes all wear with use (abuse). Water problems are most often related to not checking water levels, not changing anti freeze, not checking antifreeze/ water content. When was the last time you checked your antifreeze or had your brake fluid changed? As for corroded sumps, they are made of pressed steel and steel rusts. It's also a problem on other cars as well.
C'mon, sort out what is attributable to servicing/faulty repairs and what is attributable to faulty parts/repairs.
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