They are a great car, although possibly a little pricy at that, but not too bad if its as good as described.
The good thing is that one has air conditioning (although double check it really does) as most while otherwise well spec'd did not.
The 1.6 is a cracker little engine, just run it on quality oil and it will likely last many hundreds of thousands of km's without hassle. Loads of go once the revs are on and very good on gas.
The car is galvanised so no rust but if left outside our high NZ U.V can make some of the painted interior plastics go "sticky".
What is likely scaring people off that one is it may be a CVT transmission (not sure), however if serviced properly Fiat CVT's usually last really well.
Certainly worth some consideration.
fiatracer,
Oct 11, 10:44pm
not bad for the money - but I'd offer them less. The key, as is so often the case, is to use independent experts for servicing and parts. Someone like www.fiatparts.co.nz
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 11, 10:46pm
BTW, I have never driven one of these in auto (auto Brava's are pretty rare) hence my not knowing much about the transmission.
Fiat parts in general are cheap and easy to get. Pretty much everything is available overnight from the likes of Italian Auto's in Auckland, Dino Enterprises and a few others.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 11, 10:46pm
Snap!
fiatracer,
Oct 11, 11:52pm
in fact u could email him and he could pop any bits in his case. lucky bugger is cruising Italy right now
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 11, 11:55pm
He always seems to be cruising Italy!
intrade,
Oct 12, 1:25am
there is 3 parts supplyer the best is italian auto. one of them ripped me off for a wrong aircleaner even do i gave him the mesurments he still sold me one for the other diesel for more then supercheap auto had em listed. Never said sorry and only wanted to refund for the part and i was suposed to pay the 2 time shipping cost.told him he will regret it and i will make his live hell for ever , i dont forget things like that.
rpvr,
Oct 12, 6:21am
Some useful comments, thanks.
r15,
Oct 12, 8:58am
i just go 'wherever i like' to get parts for my toyotas.- as opposed to only 3 places, one of which is apparently not very good
just saying
morrisman1,
Oct 12, 10:05am
I just don't have to get parts for my nissan
johnf_456,
Oct 12, 10:14am
So it never needs a oil filter every now and then or brake pads, cv boots, brake fluid, coolant.
r15,
Oct 12, 10:17am
yeah well there's that too, cant say i have to do repairs often, wear items and maintenance don't count unless things wear excessively fast on a particular vehicle or have some sort of excessively expensive consumable
nzfatie,
Oct 12, 10:26am
Love my old Fiat X1/9.don't like the newer Fiat/Alfa's with computers, ABS, air bags, trick gearboxes etc. as they're prone to problems and you'll be held to ransom by the new and 2nd hand parts suppliers. New is mega bucks from Italy.2nd hand is just plain expensive from the few wreckers in NZ. My friend is getting a new exhaust for his Fiat Coupe, $1500 from Italy. He needed a new air bag computer and was quoted $1500 from Italy.got a 2nd hand one here for $750.ouch!
the-lada-dude,
Oct 12, 11:39pm
it's an AUTO .it's what they call euro trash a maticit's amazing it got to those many k's light blue touch paper and stand WELL CLEAR
rpvr,
Oct 12, 11:43pm
I can understand the need to get parts like computer etc from Italy, but exhaust! Can't our local exhaust shops handle this with aftermarket stuff, and why more expensive than for any other vehicle!
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 13, 1:46am
This really makes no sense, I have and have had a number of late model Fiats and have found any parts I have needed very easy to get in NZ and as well priced as any similar car Euro or Japanese.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 13, 1:49am
I havn't really had any more luck getting parts "wherever I want" for Toyota's than Fiat's.
Items like wheel cylinders for a Hilux were not in stock at any of the several Repco's I tried locally, or BNT when I needed them a while back. Items like a central locking motor were absurdly over priced from Toyota and not available locally either.
The common service parts like oil filters, spark plugs etc are all available off the shelf from anywhere but given the OP is in Auckland I don't see why they wouldn't use Italian Auto's as their prices are much better than Repco etc anyway, and they know exactly what they are talking about.
The whole parts scarcity thing is just nonsense.
nzfatie,
Oct 13, 3:12am
The Brava is and old car no longer in production, so you can expect parts to be scarce. Maybe the OP can phone Italian Autos and get prices for the exhaust, brake discs, computers, sensors, electric motors, switches and other parts that are likely to fail on a 15 year old car.before buying it! I could be that newer Fiats are easy to get parts for off the shelf, while the older ones are import or wrecker only! Lots more Fiats in the UK and buying from eBay can save money over pricey local parts.
llortmt,
Oct 13, 9:46am
Total claptrap as per usual. I recently wanted a timing belt kit and water pump for a 1992 FIRE Panda. I tried Repco,Appco,BNT,SCA,Auto-one, Partmaster AND the main dealer 'we can get it for the morning' they all said. When I wanted the same for a 2ECorolla I called Partmaster and it was DELIVERED in under 20 minutes. I know go away you troll!
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 13, 10:39am
Just as I pointed out, sometimes even common parts for Toyota's you have to wait overnight (like I did for wheel cylinders for the Hilux). This is going to be the same for any car, repco don't stock every part for even one car in any branch.
But really. how stupid would you have to be to not purchase a car because you might have to wait a few more hours to get a part!
How unreliable are these Japanese cars you lot work on for this to be a concern!
What might piss off a knuckle dragger grease monkey is likely of zero concern to the owner. Its a bit like car dealers loving cam chain driven vehicles because they don't have to take the cost of an expensive service out of their margin. So they try and convince buyers that cam chain driven cars should be their primary consideration.
I have overnighted all my NZ sourced parts for my cars for decades simply because I get genuine parts cheaper and without hassle, its never bothered me at all. Even for my work vehicles.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 13, 10:51am
LOL, any car in that price bracket is going to be old and no longer in production.
I have never even had a problem getting mechanical parts overnight for my 1977 850T camper. and its the ONLY one in the country! In fact in over 10 years of ownership I have not imported or back ordered even one part for it.
How is that possible! Because the mechanical's are used in lots of Fiats and Fiats are well supported in NZ.
I have a Multipla which I have done over 100'000km in which is even more rare than the Brava and uses much the same mechanicals. I have never had any problem getting any part I wanted, new or used, body or mechanical for it in NZ.
Crikey people, the OP lives in Auckland where Italian Autos stock a huge range of new and used parts for this car and can send these things across town in minutes. What more do you want!
Having been there and done this countless times myself I can't think of a more absurd thing to argue about.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 13, 11:06am
BTW, by all means ring and get prices and availability from Italians OP. Here are some rough ones off the top of my head for things I have ordered over the last few years for those.
* Timing belt kit approx $250 * Front fog lamp secondhand $75 * Wheel Cylinder $25 * Front vented Brake rotors $120 pair (these in fairness were a sweetdeal) * Pads were about $45 * Clutch kit, scratching my head to remember but I think $350 * Waterpump $75 * Fuel pump/sender secondhand $100
All these parts were in stock at multiple locations and available overnight to anywhere in the country. The only thing that peev's me with some of those 1.6's is like many cars Repco and the likes take the piss on spark plug prices. So I buy them online on principle more than anything. They are about $25 a set delivered for Iridium ones then as opposed to $20 each in NZ (although easily available).
The only parts I can see that might be tricky in NZ for that one would be the auto. But realistically, if you have major problems with that, like any car of its age/price its probably a sell for parts on TM proposition anyway.
And if you do decide to repair, the car is going to be a while to repair so whats a weeks wait for bits from Europe then anyway! You might possibly get a secondhand auto box in NZ, but as pointed out earlier they were less common.
BTW, I also have a 99 Marea which is basically an updated wagon version of the same thing, and that's just what I own at the moment. I am happy to say I have been there and done that with plenty of this sort of thing and they have been some of the most hassle free cars I have owned.
ritmo,
Oct 28, 9:30am
you cant educate people who already know it all Jazz. Hows the marea going!
chebry,
Oct 28, 8:18pm
Similar prices for Citroen parts and overnight delivery, Jappa parts dont get here any faster or cheaper.
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