My girlfriend is obsessed with wanting one, I found this on ebay, it sounds excellent and Im considering bidding without viewing !

Anyone offer any useful opinions, I expect it'll go for around £800 ish. Looked at some at the weekend for around £1000, they were rubbish compared to this one, very badly looked after, little history, smashed fog light, missing badges missing rear wiper arm, lots scratches and dents, just a bit crappy, this sounds too good to be true.

What do you guys reckon ?!?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4554115419&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

Cheers

James

don't know a lot about punto's, but there doesn't seem a lot wrong with that one does there.

I was goingto tell you to check the rear trailing arm bushes as they wear and they're a bastard to do!
The brake pedal bends which isn't quite as bad as it sounds, it just limits travel, and has cost some people a lot of money changing disk/drums and pads/shoes all round to get the brakes back! See if the brake pedal is sat lower than the clutch. But don't worry, they all do it.

Saying that I had one for years, did loads of miles in it and it never let me down once.

Oh, and they understear a bit, especially with cheap tires on the front!

Forgot to say, is Bridlington a bit far for you!

my wife had a punto from new. we sold it just before it was 3 years old because they still couldn't fix all the faults. It was a nice car generally but electrically it was awful. The 1.2 engine was gutless beyond belief. My brother in law has a stilo and that is worse than the punto ever was. We have a multipla at work and that has electrical faults as well. After 3 years of dealing with Fiat, we will never buy another one.

The 1.2 engines have a horrific reputation for head gaskets that makes the K series look like a paragon of reliability.

Only problem with mine has been dodgy electrics, that appeared to be down to poor contacts in the end (some rear lights weren't working, switching around of the bulbs fixed it). Apparantly a common fault is something to do with the clutch, my friends parents one has had a good deal spent on it recently and its a fairly common problem supposedly.

Having said that, mine has been well looked after before I got hold of it in the summer so i haven't had any real problems with it.


Edit: Should have paid more attention, because they've done the clutch already.

[Edited on 9/6/05 by Phil K]

Thanks for responses, will check pedal and all electrics etc, I think this is a 1.1 and Ive heard that HG's can be an issue on Puntos.

Yes Bridlington is a good drive, but this one sounds excellent, Ive been to see a few with my girlfriend nearer to us, has to be 5 door, SX level and the right colour :rolleyes: etc etc they were nearly £1k and they were rubbish so now looking further affield, as much like me, she is very impatient...

Thanks

James

The 1.1 in the fiat FIRE engine which for a 1.1 is suprisingly pokey!

Andy

quote:

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Originally posted by NS Dev
don't know a lot about punto's, but there doesn't seem a lot wrong with that one does there.

---

MY wife's Punto was nice - when it went.
The cam belt broke at 30k and bent several valves. A gearbox fault punctured the casing causing it to leak all over the clutch. I replaced the column switchgear bothe rear lamp asemblies and the Lambda sensor. It was always breaking down, even though it was pampered like a baby. Don't be seduced by the price or the style. Or the full Fiat service history!

Mark

one thing which is AWFUL with Fiat's is the dealers, but that won't be an issue in this case I think!

fiat,s are good cars,pity about the dodgy electrics,saves you getting bored tho
ive looked after loads of them and currently run one,as a driver they are good,bad reputation means they are cheap,i wouldnt buy anything else now
head gaskets are common on cat cars,gearboxes are weak on mk3 punto,s

[Edited on 9/6/05 by theconrodkid]

FIAT= Fix It Again Tomorrow.

But seriously, good small runabout cars puntos. Its had the trailing arms and rear shoes and cylinders replaced which is good. Also good that it has the red key this is important if you ever need a spare key.
Make sure cam belt has been done, should have been replaced at the 72,000mile service.

Right I didnt bid on that one in the end as common sense got the better of me and I REALLY would like to see before I bid (although I didnt for my kitcar ) found another one, bit newer doesnt say whats been done, I will be able to view it before the auction ends. Its the 1.2 so the HG may be a potential problem, but thats just a chance Ill have to take, cant be that hard on a NA car.

What exactly goes wrong with the trailing arms ? what am I looking for ?

The bushes wear and when viewed from the back there will be loads of negative camber (top of wheel leaning in) on a bad one.

If you can jack it up, hold the wheel top and bottom, and see if there's any movement.

Cheers