Faults:

Replaced cracked C. V boots (protective covers for the joints that link the front wheels to the axle) Cost of repair New Zealand $220.00.

Patched leaking radiator, cost of repair New Zealand $300.00.

Replaced hardened driveshaft seal (keeps the oil in to lubricate drive shaft) New Zealand $100.00.

Fixed heater connection, replaced oil level gauge, re-glued dashboard segments as one segment as had come loose & let light thru the instrument panel. Total New Zealand $200.00.

Full tune-up of engine. New Zealand $100.00.

New Clutch installed. New Zealand $800.00.

General Comments:

My friends say the car is 'cute', but it's a wolf in sheep's clothing...it's really quick.

Also the gear ratio's are excellent.

Being a convertible the body twists a bit on corners, however it holds the corners well.

The convertible top is great! It doesn't leak & is easy to put up & take down.

It's a bit thirsty on fuel, having said that my last car was a 1.1 litre.

No power-steering so, the steering is heavy.

After the engine re-tune it still stalls really easily until I've been driving the car 10 minutes or so. The engine revs when idling fluctuate.

Faults:

Front shocks, expensive.

Radiator.

Water pump, the day I got it back from the radiator!

Front wheel bearing and drive boots.

This was the first 6 months.

Since then I have replaced:

The clutch.

The front brake rotors.

A heater hose burst and left me stranded half way up a mountain.

The timing belt idler collapsed.

The aircon stopped working, very bad news here in Queensland.

Finally, the rear suspension bearings and mounts needed replacing, so I traded the car for a Nissan 200sx.

Considering that the seats are in tatters and the plastic rattles like crazy, I feel I got quite a good deal.

General Comments:

This car was the most fun car when it was working, but it cost me a fortune to run.

Great performance and amazing handling make this a real driver's car, but it is difficult to overlook the problems I had.

Faults:

Front left drive shaft boot had cracked and let dirt and water in. That was cheap to replace, just difficult. Brake vacuum assist drum, old seal cracked and gave. Cheap to replace, just scary whilst driving.

Rattles, everywhere. The only really annoying thing. Had to remount and tighten all inside panels, very noisy.

General Comments:

Good car to throw about, really has a lot of go in the dry but can get hairy in the wet. Really needs a little bit more go and bigger rear discs.

Looks very understated, can surprise bigger and more powerful cars.

Faults:

Clutch slip got progressively worse, had to replace.

Muffler rusted through, exhaust system needed replacing.

General Comments:

I love the way this car goes, when it goes. The problem is how often it goes, it plays up when wet and has required two expensive pieces of work withing the first 8 months of ownership. Hopefully these are beyond me now and I can get back to enjoying it as a toy, although I may just get the belts done to be on the safe side.