Are Fiats any good these days?

[Panic Button]

...or is it still 'Fix It Again Tomorrow'?

[paddiez]

Nope, now it's First In All Troubles.

[cazzz1975]

no

[phillipa.d]

I thought it stood for F***ing Italian Auto Trash! :)

[SpikieMikie]

LOL @ y'all...

A friend of mine has had an X reg Punto, 53 reg Punto, 54 reg Stilo, 06 Reg Stilo and an 08 reg Grande Punto... all bought brand new, and has never had any problem with any of them apart from minor build quality issues, like glovebox lids that aren't that well fitting, or rear view mirrors that ocassionally fell off.

However, hes just bought a brand new Fiesta Titanium and says its the best car hes ever had.

I've driven all his cars, and the X reg 1.2 Punto Mia was probably the best... very nippy but they'll all be old by now. The new Grande Punto 1.2 and 1.4 petrols are very slow, but if you buy brand new, drive a hard bargain with a dealer - you want at least 15% off list price, if not 20%, and you go for a 1.4 16v or bigger, or one of the larger diesel engines you should be absolutely fine. Just dont pay over the odds, as you'll never get any of your money back when you try to come and sell it.

The other option, and I dont know how they do it so cheap ( see my own question ), is you could lease one. You'd get a Grande Punto1.4 16V T-Jet Sporting, great looking and high spec for just £218 a month if you shop around.

Remember too, a new car will be covered by 3 year warranty.

[Panic Button]

I'm not about to buy a car, but I amuse myself by constantly pondering what I would buy if I were.

You can currently get a basic Punto 1.4 for under £7400, no scrappage.

http://www.autofindersbakewell.co.uk/car_detail.php?openID=3&uniqueID=3368

[simonruss]

my missus had an x reg 1.2 punto elx for 3 years for which I was chief mechanic. I found it to be the easiest car to work on, only had regular servicing and wear and tear to attend to. We finally had to sell it though as at 113,000 miles the electric power steering motor failed, and it wasnt financially viable to spend £800 odd quid on a new one!!

[montecatini]

I've owned 3 fiats over last 15 years or so. Previously had 2 Punto GT's ( cracking wee car) and still run a nearly 10 year old Marea Weekend (Bravo/Brava based estate car) now, had it since it was a year old. Not a fashionable car, but peoples tastes differ, very paractical and owes me nothing now, and it's taken some punishment. Contemplated trading it in for years now but come the time I've always just ended up MOTing it again and keeping another year. Not going to last forever, but will be sad to see it go. Don't reckon there's another car I would have kept this long.

[Mobius1]

My partner has a 54 Plate Stilo 1.8 Activ Sport. When it is clean, it's a nice car to look at and it's pretty nippy when you put your foot down, although the clutch and gear change are as soggy as you like.

It runs pretty well, but there are build quality issues. 2 of the 4 alloy wheel Fiat inserts have fallen out. The high mounted brake light has failed and been replaced twice. The carpet fitting in the car, especially in the front is very poor, with gigantic cut-outs and the brakes squeak even after numerous trips to an authorised Fiat dealer to try and rectify it. Their answer now being "they're known to squeak on Stilos". Apparently ownership of this model is something you either love, or absolutely hate.

[David Black]

Fiat Panda's are great. We have a two year old one which does 50mpg and never lets you down.
Beautiful to park.

All for £4,000 secondhand with 9,000 miles and ity was onlty 18 months old at the time.