Faults:

Rust on the baseboards and roof edges.

I replaced the alternator at 50,000 km, the timing belt was also repaired shortly after, and a battery was replaced. The brakes also started to wear, so it has brand new brakes. Air conditioning parts also wore out over time.

The worst part wasn't these faults (few for a car over 30 years old), but that each repair cost a fortune. There are no official Fiat spare parts in New Zealand or throughout Oceania, so everything that needs to be repaired is imported. In my case, with the exception of the battery, I had to buy everything else online from the UK and Germany.

The car doesn't cause major problems, but if something breaks, finding the right replacement is an odyssey.

General Comments:

I'm very fond of it, especially because it was my father's car. Once he passed away in 2007, I inherited it and kept it, partly because I liked it, but more than anything because it was my father's and I had also enjoyed it as a child.

Although I acquired it in 2007, my father bought it new in 1994, and until the day I took possession of it, it had barely been used, as reflected in its performance. Inside, it's intact, covered with leather seats and corduroy upholstery, all in black. It really looks fantastic! The passage of time hasn't aged it; rather, it has made it more beautiful.

The Croma isn't a car that was seen much here in NZ. Although it was sold for a few years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was an executive car that competed with the Mitsubishi Galant, Toyota Corona, Alfa 164, and BMW 3 Series (among others), so it wasn't easy to compete with. Still, its design is what I liked most; its innovative, Italian style appealed to me.

True to its segment, the car is comfortable and very easy to drive. Its 2.0-liter turbo engine is very powerful with surprising acceleration. I admit I don't take care of it as much as my father did, and I tend to rev it quite a bit and test it quite often on the road. The engine's biggest flaw is that it tends to get noisy past 140-150 km/h. It's a truly fast car that easily exceeds 200 km/h (I never dreamed of going that fast, but the factory claims 215 km/h). Like every Italian car, it runs at high revs, especially with this turbocharged engine, so it's not very fuel-efficient.

A few years ago, I thought about selling it, but seeing that it's a nearly exclusive car, rarely seen around here, I reconsidered and decided to keep it. Especially knowing that sedans of this type and with these features aren't made anymore.