How reliable are fiats?

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raj62, Jun 27, 5:28pm

I'm looking at a fiat punto sport 2001. I've got no experience with these at all so unsure if it will be a good car or not. Thanks!

intrade, Jun 27, 5:47pm

they are as reliable as the servicing that it had. and this country is not knowen for people actuarly servicing there cars, when the vtnz tells you they are doing the service for them.

morrisman1, Jun 27, 5:56pm

Raj62, you are under arrest for the use of words 'reliable' and 'Fiat' in the same sentence. You have the right to remain silent and anything you say may be held against you in the court of law

franc123, Jun 27, 6:09pm

They don't rate at the bottom or close to the bottom of reliability surveys for no reason, they have never measured up against the best from Japan in terms of overall quality and long life, they're made cheap to be used in Europe for a few years and then be sent to recycling into the latest model. Fiat eventually galvanised a lot of their models which is a nice touch, but this was done more to assure buyers that it wouldn't rust to pieces in six months like most of their products built up until then.

intrade, Jun 27, 6:31pm

actuarly galvanising was done on the tipo model onwards early 1990s japanese vehicles rust a lot more then any fiat as they dont galvanise japanese makes like toyota, 10 stage rost proofing or what the hell bullox did i read somone wrote for the japanes thing , it just needs 1 stage and its called galvanising that fiat and vw do since ages. vw have 12 full years anti rust warranty.

tamarillo, Jun 27, 7:08pm

Hi op, they can be great value for money, and can arguably be more involving fun drive for your money. They're are very simple car, don't let this talk of expensive servicing scare you, there's nought weird or odd or even complicated.

tgray, Jun 27, 7:23pm

Where's Jazz?

stevo2, Jun 27, 7:33pm

In the workshop fixing the Fiat?

trogedon, Jun 27, 7:41pm

Crap - plenty of people service their cars in NZ.

steve52, Jun 27, 9:58pm

I've owned two 2006 Fiat Punto's for 4 years and they have been great. now have 100k and 170k on the clock

raj62, Jun 27, 10:31pm

jmma you caught me :P I'm looking to buy my first car and I really want something that's not going to crap out on me, might stay away from this one then. Any other recommendations on what would be a reliable, value for money first wee car?

whqqsh, Jun 28, 4:07am

we've only had one, a '96-7 Punto 1100, had it for a couple of years, no issues whatsoever, went better than I thought would & even good on the open road considering the small motor. Was pissed when the wife sold it to get something bigger & quicker (VR6 Golf), if I needed a small runabout I'd def get another one

msigg, Jun 28, 4:24am

They are a reasonable little car, good value for money, I personally don't like the look of them, but hey everyone is different, low milages one's are good value compared to the Japanese cars, they can become uneconomic if needed major repairs because of how cheap they are, but for a couple of grand if it goes for years then cheap motoring.

gsimpson, Jun 28, 5:47am

I have had FIATs for 30 years. I have found them reliable and long living so long as the correct servicing is done. In the early days there was comments around electrics. Often this was owners (and mechanics) failure to get their head around the use of relays which were not common in Japanese or Australian cars of the time. There were quirks like centrifugal oil filters which got overlooked. My current model is an Abarth Stilo with Selespeed. Easy to service with cable and software (cheap to buy). Parts cheap and easy to obtain. An example of stupidity, the Stilo had a butchered BMW thermostat fitted which did not work correctly when I got it. A quick internet search and a new correct thermostat found. $75

trogedon, Jun 28, 7:30am

Flatmate had a 131. I couldn't believe a car could be so rusty - back in the day when they'd still get wofs. He told me off for cleaning it once - said it looked better dirty - it did. It performed really well though.

chookin3, Jun 28, 7:34am

Much safer to buy a vehicle from Turners then some private spook.
Turners guarantee clear title and are at least there for you if you don't get what you paid for.

bjmh, Jun 28, 7:56am

My nephew brought a used hilux from turners,we got an independent pre-purchase done on it,its been a very good vehicle.Turners were very helpful,like any vehicle purchase. do your homework,don't blame the seller.There are obviously a lot of clunkers end up at auction,but its the buyers choice to purchase.

kazbanz, Jun 28, 8:16am

Lets forget make /model for a moment.
IT is a 14 year old car with so far to you totally unknown maintainance history or mechanical condition.
So I'd be asking the current owner the question as to what has been done to the car
Then have a word to your local mechanic and ask what regular maintainence is needed to this make/model.
THAT will give you an indication if you should move to the next step with the vehicle -being a full pre purchase inspection. OR move onto the next possible vehicle.