that looks pretty cheap, although i know nothing about them
sw20,
Apr 18, 5:32am
Holy depreciation batman.
Ten years old and going for $3k.
saxman99,
Apr 18, 5:39am
Oi. Hands off. I saw it first.
zephyrheaven,
Apr 18, 5:41am
Its 100,000Km over its 'best before' mileage
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 18, 6:59am
Yes its good value for one of those. To be straight up though I am not quite as excited about the Stilo as I am the Punto.
The Stilo is the better car to travel in and has a bit more equpment, fundamentally the engine's are real crackers and the 1.8 should be a really good choice for economy/power. The Engine/Transmission/Bodysheell- will all last the distance just fine.
However. the Stilo does seem to have occasional annoying niggly problems. The interior could be more hardy in terms of the dash plastics which can go sticky and/or wear if its had a lot of time in NZ's harsh U.V.
The airbags are dual stage units that have a sneaky sensor that weighs the occupant and then decides whether to deploy the airbag and how hard in the case of an impact. Annoyingly though those can fail and be a real fiddle or expensive to replace, they are also WOF checked so can't be ignored. Suspension tends to need bushings and attention fairly early on.
By no means a terrible car, (actually a really great car aside from the niggles)and better than the Abarth for reliability/hassle without the selespeed. Certainly a LOT of car for the money and I would buy for that if I had a need for one.
BUT, buy it in the knowledge you will likely need to fix the odd gremlin now and then. The good news though is someone who is a bit handy can usually fix most things with the excellent help from those at the fiatforum etc.
Oh and like the Punto most parts are cheap and easy to source, however the stilo does have a few items that are exceptions to the rule. easy to get but a bit pricey.
So yes, I would do it but go in with your eyes open. Oh, and don't forget to do the timing belt if due on age/km's. Would be a shame to ruin that engine. Its worth getting the timing belt done by someone who will do it properly with the cam locks and dial indicator, you can fudge it but its a shame to take the edge off the economy/power.
If you are a bit put off by all of that then perhaps consider the Punto, ironically you will pay a little more for one but they are just a little less "cutting edge" in the technology department and as a result a better balance of equpment and reliability. That said I would still take the Stilo over pretty much anything non-Fiat for that amount of money.
Best of luck!
craig04,
Apr 18, 7:07am
The Punto is your automotive viagra.
trdbzr,
Apr 18, 7:08am
"Zero depreciation"
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 18, 7:10am
Darn Tootin!
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 18, 7:11am
High initial depreciation. Which is exactly what you want when buying a vehicle at this point in its depreciation cycle. The new owner will now likely enjoy "zero depreciation" for the next few years.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 18, 7:17am
I think the key thing here is that while the Stilo will likely have the odd small niggle, when you compare it to what else you can get for that much money its probably not going to be any worse.
In other words if you look at what 3K buys you in a Corolla, Mazda etc even though those would be more reliable if in equal condition/km's/ageto the Stilo, they are far from equal km's/condition/age for the same money. My money says on average at the same price point reliability would therefore be similar.
saxman99,
Apr 18, 7:50am
Thanks jazz, an informative reply as always!
Niggles don't bother me much, I am pretty handy and can fix most things.
Cheers all.
bellky,
Apr 18, 8:15am
So ugly.
neo_psy,
Apr 18, 8:16am
Straight swap, or cash either way!
tgray,
Apr 18, 9:41am
A 2002 car that is going for the price of a 1992 corolla should tell you something. If you choose not to listen, that's your perogative.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 18, 9:54am
Your welcome! Sounds like you are going into it with the right attitude. so much car in return for the occasional bit of DIY tinkering.
I think your wife will love it when she drives it.
BTW, Italian Auto Centre and Dino Enterprises will stock timing belt kits for that (along with pretty much anything else you mayneed both new and secondhand).
Italian Auto's will likely lend or hire you the cam lockers if you get a kit from them if you want to do it yourself. Just ask. Reasonably easy to do a timing belt on, the technique is a little different though. Give us a yell if you need the rundown on it.
saxman99,
Apr 18, 6:57pm
Cool ta. I guess the "issue" I have is that the car is in Wellington and I am in Auckland, meaning I can't really go and look at it first or take a test drive etc.
Hmm.
thejazzpianoma,
Apr 18, 8:09pm
Perhaps its time to phone a friend!!
Yeah, that is a bit of a pain. Pity there was a local to me in Tauranga a few days ago for similar money I could have checked out for you. It was only the 1.6 base model though.
Perhaps you could contact the seller and do a "buy now" conditional on a pre-purchase check!
If there are problems its usually going to be stuff like warning lights, or something electrical not working as opposed to engine or transmission failure. So even just getting a relative to go and check everything works and that it looks tidy is a help. In particular you want to make sure the airbag light goes on when the key is turned to on and then off again when the engine starts.
The worn suspension bushes usually show up with a slow drive over a speed bump or other such bump. The common one is a klonk sound from the rear of the car. This is not a major though, not usually a wof issue and most people don't worry about it.
Sorry I can't recommend anyone down that way to check it for you.
trdbzr,
Apr 18, 11:54pm
There is a company called Car Inspection Services. They are VERY good at what they do. They are based in Auckland but I think they do inspections in Wellington as well. Best to give them a call.
trdbzr,
Apr 18, 11:57pm
The simple fact that a new Corolla would have been cheaper to buy in 2002 and at present a similar one would easily sell for more than double the price goes to show what is a better investment. In fact, cars like Corolla's have gone up in value while most of the Fiat, VW have just been depreciating.
richardmayes,
Apr 19, 12:51am
No, that only shows that the Corollas depreciate more gradually.
That $3k Stilo has got to be at rock-bottom, as long as it is running and has a rego & warrant it is never going to be worth significantly less than it is now. As Jazz says, that's exactly what you want when buying an old low-value car that you might end up running for a long time (until it dies.)
If OP ends up selling it, even if he only gets half what he paid for it he's only down $1500, pretty good for any car.
And if the car gets sick and diesbecause it's uneconomical to fix, he's "only" down $3,000, which is a much better position to be in than having a $10,000 jap import the same age die on you.
bellky,
Apr 19, 12:55am
There's a reason why they depreciate more gradually richardmayes; it's because they are still wanted. Obviously noone wants a 10 year old Fiat, and who can blame them!
msigg,
Apr 19, 2:51am
Yes there are reasons to most things if you look.
phillip.weston,
Apr 19, 10:54am
I think you would be downright stupid to spend $3200 on a 1992 Corolla, especially one which by now would have done 200-300,000kms and more than likely be no more reliable than anything else in the same price range.
I think whoever gets that Stilo would be getting a damn good car for the money. I wish people would wake up and realise you can do better than a 1992 Corolla for $3200.
ema1,
Apr 19, 11:23am
I have two times actually, a 1991 Corolla I purchased 4 years ago for $400 with a smoky engine and I fitted a low km ( like 58,000km) engine from one of the same year total cost overall was $650 and over the four years I had it did 35,000kms trouble free in it. Sold it recently for $1300 so a tidy profit there. Last year I bought a real tidy 1993 FX Corolla for $2400, the kms are up a bit but I have done 12,000 km since with no drama's at all. In my case the 1992 $3200 corolla doesn't stack up and I reckon at that price it would be an exceptional one. I will admit they don't depreciate quite as fast for sure as some others and the fiat on here represents great value .well bottomed out dollar value and as Jazz says you can't go wrong really and as richardmayes says ( I whole heartedly agree) if something does go really wrong it's not a big loss $$$ wise anyway and not a big issue at all. Real cheap motoring even if OP got only a year or two years out of it and moved it on most likely for a similar price to what it is now, lots of folks buy bottom depreciated price cars and get a lot of fun for SFA cost. The OP is like me .handy around cars and this would be right up his alley definitely, go for it I'd say. have it checked out by a reputable guys like Car Inspection Services would be a good move.
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