hello all. I am pondering on buying a car for my lovely pregnant lady friend. Not looking to spend a great deal, not that I think little of her you understand!!!! a guy at my work is selling a Fiat Brava P plate 5dr hatch 1.4 SX for a steal at £250, it's T&T until the end of the year, it has a rather nasty amount of mileage on it, he tells me 130-140k which is quite severe, not sure if I am in for a hammering come MOT time. hmmm, can anyone comment on any prior dealing with high mileage Brava's? or them in general, he states there was a recent oil leak which has now been fixed and also there is no radio in it (probably to listen previously to the leaking oil!!!), not the end of the world but does the radio have to be Fiat specifically? I was considering going down the line of a 5dr Fiesta between K-M plate for about 500 sovs but this seems a steal, or will it be daylight robbery?
any advice always welcome.
Thanks
BM.
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Two hundred and fifty quid for 4 months motoring, cheap as chips i'd say. Even if it fails MOT come December. Just leave it in a layby with no number plates and go buy another!
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They aren't a terrible car by any stretch. I was recently lent a 90,000mile Brava whilst my Alfa was in for some warranty work and it got on with the job without any fuss.
The radio is a bit of a problem as the fiat unit is shaped like the back of Darth Vader's helmet. I'm sure there are aftermarker fitting kits available, but it won't be pretty.
For £250 you can't really do any wrong provided it's fit for the road. At this price I would suggest you get the brakes looked over and make sure it drives straight. That aside, little to bother about. Disposable motoring at its best and a much better drive than a £500 Fiesta.
No Dosh - Backroom Moderator
mailto:moderators@honestjohn.co.uk
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<< Just leave it in a layby with no number plates ......
???????
--
L'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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Two of my friends have BravOs, the 3 door ones, one a 1.6 the other a 2.0 HGT. Both love them, neither have had any problems, and both tend to abuse their cars a little. Go for it I would say.
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<< Just leave it in a layby with no number plates ...... ??????? --
my sense of humour, of course i would never condone such action. much better to set fire to it in a field.
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Thanks all, particuarly good advice and comedy momments which all help, thankfully where I live with the lush country side of east scotland and layby's......not that I would consider such drastic action!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I particularly like used as Alfa was in for service, that's my other baby, although not for long, any offers?
Cheers all again.
BM
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From what I remember the 1.4 12 valve engine in the earlier Brava's and Bravo's is a bit weak, prone to problems and replaced by 1.2 16valve later on. However at this price so long as it runs OK generally that's not a consideration.
I would be careful though and always check safety items first - tyres, brakes, corrosion etc. How much is a life worth?
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Just check it starts / stops has half-decent tyres and exhaust you can't go far wrong. Even if it does go belly-up at MOT time, it's still been cheap motoring.
If it's a choice between the Brava and a Fiesta it's a no-brainer. Fiestas of the vintage you're looking at have got to be the most over-rated, expensive junk out there. Truly nasty.
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get a hyundia pony
will be a rust bucket but will run forever and never cost more than 300 quid!
bravo isnt very bad, just fiddly.
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>will be a rust bucket
Whereas the P reg Bravo looks like a proper 'posh' car.
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>>get a hyundia pony>>
Even if you could find a Hyundai Pony and actually handed over a sum of £300 (there are some people who might actually do that rather than be paid to take it away), it would not be a patch on the Fiat Brava.
Even then the Brava may well suddenly pack up half way through a long journey (as happened, for instance, with a friend's P-reg example bought three weeks earlier and eventually changed by the dealer he got it from), so it's probably best to look upon your partner/girlfriend's potential acquisition on the lines of the advert that implores you to "Enjoy the moment."
Seriously, the Brava (the last a is for aperture to indicate it's a five-door) or the slightly more stylish Bravo three-door are reasonably OK, although the latest Panda etc are somewhat superior.
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Bravo! In praise of a male (typically the lead in an opera)
Brava! In praise of a female (ditto)
Bravi! In praise of a group of people (perhaps the whole cast)
Who ever said I wouldn't know culture if I saw it in the bottom of a yoghurt pot?
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>>Who ever said I wouldn't know culture if I saw it in the bottom of a yoghurt pot?
your mother.
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Yes, but Fiat's own PR staff used the last "a" in Brava to represent "apertures" so that they wouldn't get the five-door's name used for the three-door...:-)
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If you take a look at the "Depreciation cost" thread you could have my Audi for all of 27 days for that money.
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Darn it, can I re-request DT's Audi when the Brava (mans motor) packs up, 27 day's is pretty good going, I like those german fellows.
Thanks all I will be checking bravAAAAA out tomorrow and let you know how it goes, if at all interested.
BM.
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Brava/o designed by Chris Bangle no less!.. where else could you get a Bangle for 250 sovs?
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