Faults:

The cam pulley came off at 12002 miles, so no way the dealer would fix it, it threw the cam belt and bent all the valves.

Burnt points every 2 weeks, starter switch couldn't handle the amperage of starter so I installed a starter button on the side of the seat.

Door stops were made of coat hanger wire so doors had crimp marks at fronts.

I learned a lot about mechanics owning this vehicle for ten years. My toolbox was a permanent fixture to the car. I changed the transmission in a K-mart parking lot while visiting Lake Chelan; luckily able to find a semi-working transmission in a junkyard and luckily a local gas station loaned me a floor jack.

It was fun to drive when running. My next car was a 1983 4-cylinder Toyota Camry and I was amazed to suddenly have a reliable car that rarely needed work.

General Comments:

Honda Civics were also available at the time but unheard of by the general public. It would have been a much better car. The dealer also had a Lotus Europa for 1000$ more but insurance for 1 year at my age would have been 1/3 the price of the car, and reliability would have been the same with much more difficult-to-find parts, but it was gorgeous.

The Fiat did sit for a few years when I picked up a VW Squareback which needed an engine rebuild for cheap. That was the easiest rebuild ever; just loosen a few bolts, drop the engine and bolt on new cylinders. A great car once I figured out how the fuel injection worked - for a while I had the reputation of being a magician with VW fuel injection systems, most mechanics at the time knew nothing about fuel injection.

Faults:

Brake pads needed to be replaced.

All the rear lights would go out and then come back on.

Replaced several starters.

Distributor rotor disintegrated one day as I pulled in to park at the grocery store. Went in, bought a screwdriver, and troubleshot it (no spark? hmmmm...) in the lot. Try doing that with a modern car - course you probably wouldn't need to.

General Comments:

I bought this car from a service buddy - turned out he had gotten it stuck on the ocean beach and it was submerged in sea water, but never bothered to tell me "because I flushed it with clean water afterward". Got rid of it before corrosion started to show up.

Seemed to eat starters, but they were really easy to replace - it was right in the front bottom of the engine. I had such a hard time keeping it so it would start, I got rid of it. For a while, I had a habit of parking it on a hill so I could gravity-start it if/when the starter failed. Looking back, I was buying cheap rebuilt/repainted starters, no surprise they failed.

Neat smalll boxy design. Smelled like a Fiat. Spare tire was under the hood with the engine. Very cool compact engine compartment. It was the first car I'd seen with a transverse engine.

It wouldn't start when it was hot; took me a while to realize the car had a manual choke (!), just like a lawn mower, with the little pull knob on the dashboard. I really liked that once I started using it, it was much cheaper and more fun to operate than a computer.

No a/c, of course, but I didn't miss it.

I learned how to shift on that car, poor thing.

I also learned how to work on cars with that thing. With modern cars, I haven't touched a wrench in ten or fifteen years, but I did a lot of work on that thing back in the day.

Really neat car. I miss it, although at the time I couldn't get rid of it fast enough. Sold it to a buddy for $150, and told him about all the problems. He managed to keep it running for a few years at least.

Faults:

Well many things to say as it's a 28 year old car. Mainly brakes, rust and steering.

General Comments:

It's a cheap car for its spare parts and repairing costs.

Sometimes its performance is good, especially in third gear. However, its spare parts, especially in Egypt, are not good and usually you've got to change the new parts faster than you imagine.

Faults:

So many... I don't have enough space to tell all of them.

However. Mechanical, engine, gearbox, struts and MAJOR RUST PROBLEMS... a real nightmare.

General Comments:

If you don't have a hobby, buy a Fiat.

It's a good way to spent time, you can dismantle it, fix it, polish it etc etc.

If you like seventies street racers cars, buy a decent one and enjoy a lot.