Faults:

Timing belts broke with no warning, at any time, for no reason, even when new!

I maintained this car perfectly, waxed and polished and in the dry Southern California area, it formed rust bubbles on the hood when less than 1 year old!

General Comments:

The old adage that FIAT stands for "Fix It Again Tony" was never more truthful. I actually made my local FIAT repair shop rich!

I wanted a car that was unusual and had some performance, the FIAT seemed ideal. I loved that car, it had real soul... but she was just too damn unreliable. I actually would turn the key to start it while praying that it would start! It broke down so much... if the timing belt snapped, the valves would fall on the pistons and bend, and damage the pistons!

Never, never would own a FIAT again! Ever!

Faults:

First thing that broke was the clutch cable.

Then the rear side window latch's came unglued.

The stitching on the front seats rotted out at 50,000.

General Comments:

The engine ran great, and the front wheel drive made it corner great through wet roads or sandy beaches.

Faults:

Clutch cable.

General Comments:

I purchased the car new in 1974 from Roma imports in Patchogue, NY. I had originally wanted the navy blue with tan interior, but the only one available was red and tan.

I loved this car from day one. Very comfortable for hours on end. I could fit three of my friends in it easily (we're all 6' tall or more.) I remember pulling up in front of a girlfriend's office, and her boss watched three of us get out, and he said it looked like the little car in the circus that 20 clowns get out of. I think he meant it as a compliment.

I drove that car in all kinds of weather and it never got stuck. It was one of the first cars in the USA that was front wheel drive, and had an electric cooling fan that would sometimes run for a few minutes after shutdown. Invariably, a passerby would catch my attention to tell me that I'd left my car running.

The only problem was the clutch cable, which broke about every 12k miles.

All in all, I loved it. It got great mileage, handled well, looked good, and when I sold it, it was because I needed money. About six years later I saw it parked on a street on the south side of Long Island. I knew it was mine because of the unique Lexan mudflaps I'd installed when I first brought her home. I sometimes wish now I'd rung the doorbell to see if the owner wanted to part with it, but at the time I had one son, another on the way, and was trying to buy a house. Money.

Faults:

Clutch cable broke.

Minor electrical problems with wiring to tail lights.

Had problems with periodic engine stumbling and loss of power. I rebuilt the carb and that fixed it.

Rust around rear window, bottom of hatch.

I put on wider performance tires which required spacers on the front. Perhaps the stress from this or just the poor quality of Fiat steel led to a separation in the chassis where the front suspension bolted on (on one side). My tire began rubbing on the wheel well and it could have been catastrophic. My mechanic welded it and it performed fine afterwards.

Seats were badly worn out and required aftermarket seat covers.

General Comments:

I bought mine heavily used, with unknown mileage (the mileage figures I entered are just for the website requirements). The owner was in the middle of a repaint and opted to sell it, so it was primer black! My stealth car. $450 USD, not a bad deal for a car that lasted me several years.

A very spartan car, no A/C, creature comforts nil, but fun to drive. As is typical of small Italian engines, you must rev them high to get going.

Except for a body weld repair, I did all work myself, which really wasn't a lot for the years I owned it, and the cost was low. I could actually get parts from local suppliers, and even one dealer that used to carry Fiat.

It was great in snow. I recall that the handling was good and predictable, and could recover well if I managed to break away on the rear.

Cargo capacity was great. I could load an amp, guitars, and big speaker cabinet in the back, and it was easy to load/unload.