My first car was a 1.4 Tipo. I loved it. Only problem I had with it was a snapped fan belt. Went to Italy twice in it aswell. I have never seen a car with so much room inside vs its outside dimensions. The back easily took 3 adults.
Fiat group just posted their highest quarterly profits ever, Fiat Automobiles SpA posted a healthy profit and they've taken 57,000 orders for the new 500 in the first 3 weeks.
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I've had five or is it six ? FIATs in my time.
I thoroughly enjoyed driving each and every one of them. Simple to service and maintain, even the 20v turbo Coupe.
UK dealers are a bit of a hit and miss affair, family run garages much better than groups as is the case with pretty much any brand I think.
Only gripe I have with them is the driveshaft/gearbox seals.
When are they going to get around to fitting something that doesn't involve plastic clips inside rubber boots wearing away the driveshaft ?
We are currently looking for a second car for my wife, ths S60 is a bit big for town driving, and I'm trying to steer her down the new 500 route.
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Simple? The latest diesel from Fiat (who pioneered common rail in cars BTW, until Bosch took over) has a twin-turbo, siamesed installation. Now there's a good wheeze for the trade, when the engine coughs slightly. "Fraid its both turbo's that have to be replaced madam - and we need a bankers draft before we start."
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Must admit I was wondering how an engine out cambelt change on the Coupe could be described as simple.......
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The best Fiat I had was an old 850 - made by Seat (I understand all UK imports were).
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We used to have a 131 Mirafiori estate in foul orange. It was a shed. It even came delivered with rust on it and the electrics were always troublesome. But that was in the 1970s, most cars were rubbish then.
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Despite a number of quality and build issues on a number of Fiats, the quality of body work seems to be excellent. Look underneath a 12 year old Punto and you will see hardly any rust, maybe none at all. Compare this to a Fiesta and Corsa and it is a welcome step forward. The panels may be thin on some Fiats but they are well protected from rust.
When was the last time a Bravo or Brava had rust issues? I have never seen rust on one that had not been involved in an accident. Still areas of concern however with the Fire power units the 1.2 form, such as snapping timing belts.
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The family hack at one point was a Fiat 127 903cc pushrod engine which was nippy, economical and incredibly resilient.
The rings went at around 80k and I replaced them, couldn't understand when I put it back together why the oil pressure light was flickering.
Didn't sound noisy and didn't appear to have any problems so I ordered an oil pressure sensor and carried on using it, only when the new oil pressure sensor was fitted and didn't cure the problem did we investigate further.
An end cap had come off an oil gallery and the oil was being recirculated straight back into the sump, checked the bigs and mains and cam followers and apart from some minor scoring on cam followers everything was fine.
Sold on to a friend at 95k and soldiered on for another couple of years.
We've just picked up a Mk1 Multipla JTD for £3K with 82k on the clock, apart from a worn balljoint everything works fine and it's extremely practical - kids love it as they can both sit in the front. Handling is ok, ride is good (on 205/45 tyres) and the additional ground clearance got us to Gloucester last Saturday and back - don't ask, it was a long standing engagement.
Very underrated car imo (once you're over the looks!)
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My Seicento has apart from a sticky throttle at times, been very reliable.
Its also nicely designed, practical and handles very well. I get an easy 54 mpg from every tankfull too and general running costs are pocket change.
The basic rule of thumb is to do your research and buy the best, most well-cared for example you can find. Mine was a one lady owner from new with full Fiat history.
Mines 4 years old and showing nearly 44k. It has a couple of rust spots but only on the tailgate (out of sight ) which was repainted. In the last 3 months ive done just over 3k and its never let me down.
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My Dad owned two Fiats in his time.
Firstly an H-reg Fiat Tipo Formula, in the year of ownership he had no problems.
Then came the bigger Tempra, a slight oil leak coming from a mistery spot, oil light came on at least twice in the five years he owned it, the throttle would stick occasionaly on acceleration, central locking would play-up every so often.
Im looking at a Fiat Grande Punto as well :-)
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
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Mines 4 years old and showing nearly 44k. It has a couple of rust spots but only on the tailgate (out of sight ) which was repainted. In the last 3 months ive done just over 3k and its never let me down.
Rust? A Seicento shouldn't be rusting. My Seicento's quite an early one, 1999, it's done over 60k and there's no rust.
No need to quote the whole post :-O - PU
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Must admit I was wondering how an engine out cambelt change on the Coupe could be described as simple.......
Simple...the engine didn't have to come out :) Had mine done at the FIAT workshop in Ruesselsheim in six hours including new belts and water pump.
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I had had various Fiats over the years.....
131 mirafiori - sideways action in rain wether you were going for it or not.
1.3 Uno Turbo MKI. Brilliant little car - scared many a bigger engined car with it's acceleration. Came with the mandatory rust from inside of the bodywork - matched by the efficient wriggling of local dealer to deny that it was covered by warranty. Sold it - 2 days later the water pump broke. Caveat Emptor.
20v Turbo Coupe. Again brilliant car to drive - hideous to pay for (Co car forunately). Alarm was never installed, had local dealer retro-fit one under warranty (BIG mistake - I nearly had to move because the damn thing kept going off in middle of the night. I eventually switched it off.
Local dealer was incapable of maintaining this car. Had the two day engine out cam-belt replacement done, picked it up, drove 20 miles by which time the power steering pump had started to dump it's fluid (queue screeching noise - heavy steering). Called the manufacturer supplied breakdown (AA) - he said that old gasket / seal appeared to have been used - tightened it, filled it and I got home. When I 'suggested' to the dealer they need to fix it properly I was told that the reason fluid had dumped was the AA tightening the nut too tight!!! Car was then off the road for 3 months (no spare p/s pipe available, wrong part supplied from head office, factory in Italy on summer hols: you name it I heard ALL the excuses) I eventually demanded that they took the part from one of their brand new unregistered cars, which they did. Never went there again.
Oh and the exhaust was made old Alfa Sud body panels (left out by the docks for good measure), it fell off within 12 months. Car used to do around 20,000 miles pa so underuse couldn't be the cause.
All in all a not to be repeated experience - I'm still smarting as I type.
Great to drive - carp to own.
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By not taking the engine out, as it's not necessary.
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I think I'm continuing the family tradition of the first car being a Fiat:
Fiat 500 to Fiat 127 to my Mk II Punto. Great little car, just short of 30,000 miles and never a problem (although you probably wouldn't expect anything this early...!). Yes, main dealer servicing is usually good, but they have their moments.
It has more space inside that one would think - rather like Mary Poppins's travel bag. I think I'll run it 'til it dies (which may be sooner rather than later!) Quite fancy a 100 hp Panda - well, if James May has one, it can't be too bad, can it? The 'Lifer' one in Top Gear Magazine seems to be going well, too!
AA
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well I've got to say, I'm in awe of my Fiat! A 9 year old 2.8 diesel LWB van. I bought it at auction at 2 years old with 50K on the clock as an ex hire vehicle. I've put another 56K on the clock now and in 7 years I've done the following - one new clutch (this year), 2 new front strut bearings, one cam belt change, new tyres, corroded section of brake pipe, a few rear bulbs and apart from oil and filter changes its never been serviced (oops) and thats it - nothing else has been done to this vehicle, mind you it is quite tired now but still runs ok. Its been so good and I've been so surprised I'm tempted to buy another.
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Plenty of Fiats round our way.
Although I've driven a lot of Fiats, I've only owned two. The first was a Fiat Miafiori 1.4 in deep blue in the early 1980s which proved to be such a well liked family car that I part-Xd it after three years for a 1.6 Regata 1.6S.
This proved equally satisfying (from the point of giving very little trouble) apart from one key point - the brakes were carp.
It wasn't just my particular Fiat, as every Regata I drove around that time delivered the same "will it or won't it stop in time" reaction; anyone who has driven an older VW Polo with a similar malaise will appreciate what I mean.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I've always had Fiats, and probably always will.
Started my driving life in a Panda 750L through Tipos and now on a 2000 Brava 1.9 JTD. Bought that on 40k miles 3 years ago for my 120 mile round daily commute. It's now on 130k with only a replacement radiator and clutch slave cylinder.
Even got my sister on to them too. She wanted rid of her old Fiesta 1.8 diesel so she took over my Tipo 1.9 turbodiesel - that was a flying machine :):)
It was such a revelation after the Ford that when she wrote it off, she wanted another Fiat, so she currently runs a Tempra 1.9 diesel Estate with about 170k on the clock. It's a reliable and useful old bus.
I've also put a bit of my time into the restorations of an 86 126 FSM and an 85 Panda 45CL which I display at the Italian car shows. Current project is a 78 900T Citivan. Also have a Panda 1000CL and a 750L as 'weekend runabouts'.
It's all good fun:):)
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I had a 126 in the mid 70`s that was zeibarted but rust spread out from the holes drilled (and plugged) to do it, like a horror movie. The transaxle bearings failed twice under warranty ( 3 months of the road for parts each time) The noise started again for the 3rd time out of warranty and I moved it on as a PX.
That said, the car was fun and I enjoyed its weirdness, like the floor mounted choke control........
Came back to Fiat again with a Uno diesel. one of the last models, bought used this was a fine city car with a boot size that seems to have been lost in cars of this size.
Bought a new 2002 Doblo JTD ( after a new VW gave a lot of trouble) The Doblo was a nightmare with leaking power steering, the front screen let water pour over the dash, it needed a new ECU, the Sat nav failed, pipes were rubbing under the bonnet.
Underneath the handbrake cable wore a groove in the fuel tank. Spotted by me, doing a head underneath check and not the Main dealer who was doing the warranty servicing. If you put it into neutral while still moving, the engine cut out.
The Dealer told me it wasnt designed to be driven like that. -Words to the effect of- " driving it outside the ECU design parameters"
In other words, `driver error` .... :):)
Then the Sat Nav started to fail again out of warranty. There were a raft of more minor faults too, such as the rubber going sticky on the inside and outside of the rear window frames, as though not cured properly.
A good car to drive though and the space was appreciated when touring abroad.
Nothing but praise for our 2 Puntos. One now 5yrs old, and the Van with the Multijet engine, which have been totally different ( why?) and the most reliable and well put together vehicles we have owned.
Regards
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I'm aware some specialists will not remove the engine to change the cambelt and charge you *just* £500 for the privilege. This suggests the procedure still isn't 'easy maintenance' and in any case isn't what Fiat would do themselves.
I'd still own a coupe however they're quite fantastic cars and a sure fire future classic.
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>>This suggests the procedure still isn't 'easy maintenance' andin any case isn't what Fiat would do themselves.
Nope, this is the reason I had it done by a FIAT servicing centre rather than dealership.
I was quoted between 13 & 1500 pounds plus VAT to have the work done by a franchised main dealer. Why charge for six hours work when you can charge sixteen seemed to be their attitude.
The car will be a future affordable classic.
The only extra thing to look out for (other than normal used car checks) are the track rod ends on the 20v turbo. They used 2.0 16v Tipo parts (148bhp, 15" wheels) on a 220bhp & 16" wheels car and they aren't really up to the job.
They are fantastic cars capable of taking four adults, two suitcases and a couple of squashy bags which I think is pretty good for a two door coupe.
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