1990 Fiat Tipo DGT TDI review from UK and Ireland

The brakes failed.

The car fills up with rainwater.

The passenger electric window and electric sunroof don't work.

The battery and alternator failed.

The rear wiper failed.

One month after my girlfriend bought the diesel Tipo (The legendary 1.9TD from Peugeot, I'm told) second-hand for £450, the brakes started to fail. It proved to have new pads and shoes and no obvoius leaks, so I gradually replaced: fluid, slave cylinders, pipes, fluid, master cylinder, more fluid and finally discovered small holes in the rubber tubes from the fluid reservoir, caused by vibration and friction. Doh! Check this first and use duct tape to reinforce any areas of contact. Still, only £150 for a whole, new braking system which works well.

As the Tipo is not very waterproof... the electrics can suffer. Minor failures like the electric windows, central locking and sunroof are caused by corrosion on the electrical contacts, which can be removed with emery paper. A good spray of WD40 will help them stay working longer ;-)

More serious and expensive electrical failures are caused by dead leaves or other types of blockages to the drainage channels under the bonnet causing water draining from the windscreen to be diverted down the heater air intake and shorting out the system. Ours collected three inches of water in the passenger foot well and it took weeks to fully dry the under-carpet sound insulation material, through which the cables to the rear lights and wiper pass. (Ah haaa! I hear you say ;-) Don't ask how long it took me to find that out!) Scrape them out, check the rubber drainage spouts are seated correctly and use clear silicon to ensure that water goes where it is supposed to.

You should then be able to enjoy what is a fast, economical and reliable motor. It does 59.9 mpg in real world cruising conditions and pulls very hard from 2200 rpm.

If you can be bothered to take some preventative maintenance measures, I recommend it. If you can't, it will be a nightmare.