Faults:

Everything...

First I'd had the car a month and the handbrake/brake fluid light kept coming on for no reason.

Then driving home one night, the pushrods snapped and the brakes were making a grinding noise. I brought it back to have it checked. They said it was new brake pads breaking in!!! (yeah right) The brake discs were in bits, and I felt a dragging and brought it to a garage to have it checked. They showed me the state of the discs. I couldn't believe it. I have only put 5000 miles on this car.

Oh, and my lights are faulty too.

The most recent problem is a dreadful noise coming from exhaust (I think).

The worst thing I have ever bought in my life. I will never ever buy a Fiat Punto again.

General Comments:

Crap, just cheap crap.

Faults:

Nothing whatsoever,

General Comments:

Can't believe all the horror stories I'm hearing about this model, specifically about the ECU! have had my particular car from new, have done 27000 miles, and have to honestly say that she has never failed to start once! ride quality is poor, but then I paid £6000 on the road, who can complain? to me at least, she is a second car, and a reliable old workhorse!

Faults:

Electrical problem: The brake warning light kept coming (after 9000) on when braking even though brake lights were OK and brakes were OK. Fiat fixed it, said it was a loose connection.

Electrical problem: The oil warning light came on after the engine was switched off. Resulting in flat battery. Electrical connection problem.

Electrical problem: Various dashboard lights flashed every now and then. unexplained.

General Comments:

On the plus side the car is economical to run, and can be a bit nippy as it's light - plus it's easy to park.

Negative points: there is a lot of type and engine noise in the cabin. Also, the suspension is very rigid - so rides aren't always very comfortable. Problems with the electrics are common.

Faults:

Engine Management Unit failed at 29850 miles.

Exhaust blew within 3 months of purchase.

General Comments:

Car is usually reliable and cheap to run.

When a fault occurs on the car it costs a lot to repair and only a main dealer can source the parts quickly.

Fiat Customer Services have taken over 3 months to acknowledge a complaint that was made and have still not resolved the issue.

Faults:

Car judders intermittently when in 4th and 5th gear.

The clutch thrust bearing seems very noisy.

Car had wrong gear knob when we bought it.

Someone had hacked the cables for the stereo previously, including the aerial cable.

General Comments:

The Punto has been okay so far. We've only had it for a month. In comparison to a Corsa we had, the interior is pretty spacious, with quite supportive seats. The build quality doesn't feel the best, but it's a relatively young car so we should get the best of it. It has electric windows, height adjustable driver's seat and that gimmicky 'City' steering button, that lightens the power steering, supposed to make it easier to park the car, but makes it feel just like you're steering on ice. It is fairly nippy, but being a 1.9 diesel, isn't the most economical car on the planet, being comparable to the 1.2 16v petrol engined Punto. The main advantage of the diesel over the petrol is the torque - there is much more pulling power when accelerating in gear than there would be with a petrol engined Punto. The engine does seem more refined through the rev range than Ford's Focus turbo diesel. I think the car looks a lot better in this shape with the narrow front lights than the later (2003 -) shape car. I think they made the later Punto look like the old shape VW Polo...