Faults:

Rear exhaust section replaced at 35,000 miles.

Heater matrix replaced at 70,000 miles due to leakage.

Cylinder head gasket replaced at 73,000 miles.

Rear brake pipes replaced at 73,000 miles due to corrosion.

Rear suspension strut replaced at 75,000 miles.

General Comments:

Plenty of room for a car of this size.

Economical to run.

Heater matrix is badly designed, requires the removal of entire dashboard, radio and steering wheel to get at it.

Has poor build quality, paintwork and plastic on interior suffers from marks and scratches over time. Air duct from the air filter to the exhaust manifold had to be replaced as the original was a cheap card type of ducting.

Fiat FIRE 8v engine seems to suffer with cylinder head gasket failure.

No signs of corrosion on bodywork, although the rear brake pipes had to be replaced due to corrosion, replaced as part of Fiat recall.

Faults:

The e.c.u computer failed and had to be replaced, they cost £600! I got one from a breakers yard for £160.

Cam belt sensor failed, cost £100 to replace and fit.

Fuses have blown on a few occasions leaving me stranded!

General Comments:

This car is very cheap on fuel and I think can do about 45 miles per gallon, the steering is quite hard to use (there is no power steering). electrical faults are supposed to be a common theme among-st fiat's and so the punto continues this tradition.

Quite scary whilst driving on motorways when over taking trucks as the whole car loses control from high winds around trucks!

Even though all these problems I have to say you really feel like your driving in this car - theirs no fancy electronics and its dirt cheap to run, however the electrical problems do let this car down.

Equipment levels are very basic and seem like from a bygone era! still looks great especially in silver with body color bumpers.

Faults:

Leak from radio aerial mounting (fixed by purchasing a new one from dealer).

Front Right speaker not working.

Exhaust needed replacing at approx. 46000.

General Comments:

This car is fantastic! I enjoy driving it each day and I have never got bored of it. The 1.2i engine and 5 gears seem to be perfectly matched for a good combination of acceleration and cruising at speed.

It is a surprisingly quiet car considering its size and cost, although since having a new exhaust fitted by Kwik Fit it is a lot noisier.

It is simple to service yourself with the appropriate Haynes manual and parts are not too expensive. I use fully synthetic oil and I believe this will be economical in the long run.

Have done long journeys from Bristol to NW Highlands of Scotland with no problems and the driving position is still comfortable after many hours.

Faults:

So far (touch wood) nothing has gone wrong with my car, although I think the fan belt is on it's way out.

There is a groaning noise when the car is turned off after a long drive.

The seats are wearing quickly.

The gear box isn't very solid, but it goes into reverse every time.

General Comments:

I wasn't sure on buying this car purely as it was Italian, but I was proved wrong, comfortable although on long journeys I get aches in my right foot and I fidget a fair amount.

The car handles well steering is precise, but when taking corners it leans well into the corner.

Very roomy, no problem fitting 4 fully grown men inside, lots of head room.

Faults:

This little car has been quite reliable, however, refused to start one damp morning as the fuel injection relay had developed a fault. Fairly easy to replace, but I had to get the bus to work that day!

When I first purchased the car it suffered from intermittent power loss under acceleration. Turned out that the HT leads were at fault, and were rather expensive to replace too (£60 for the leads alone!)

Air con needed re-gassing at a cost of £100 (ouch!)

Other than those little faults, nothing else has gone wrong... yet.

General Comments:

I wonder how well the engines in these Punto sporting will age because they are incredibly low geared. In 5th gear at motorway speeds, the rev counter rarely drops below 4000rpm, the engine must be very stressed! I expect this is why the mk2 Punto sporting has a 6 speed gear box! Mine has covered almost 50k miles however, and is still as smooth as the day I bought it.

The car is great fun to drive though; it pulls very strongly through all the gears and can keep up with the pace on the motorway too!

Handling was a bit sloppy at times, but I have invested in stiffer springs which have improved the situation enormously!

Also, very well equipped - fiat did a deal where you could lose the sun roof and get air con for a pound, so there is quite a few 'cool' sporting's about...