1997 Fiat Cinquecento Sporting review from UK and Ireland
"'It's a piece of junk' - Star Wars 1977"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Rear brake caliper seized.
Water pump blew.
Radiator blew - due to new water pump!
Drivers side window stuck.
Third gear missing!
Washer bottle cracked.
Passenger front seat adjustment lever broke off.
Alternator packed up.
Rear wash wipe has never worked.
Exhaust blew behind the cat.
Brake fluid reservoir cracked.
RHS CV boot split 2006.
LHS CV boot split 2007.
Petrol filler cap rubber seal perished - spewing unleaded overboard!
General comments?
In the two years I have owned the car, the list of things that have blew, broken down or simply fallen off are never ending!
However, we have two cars - one is our decent going out and about car, and the other is the "Chiqui".
Regardless of the constant battle-damage (dents & scratches all over) she never fails to start, she returns 40 mpg around town and 50 mpg on the motorway on a long run, and she will cruise flat out in the outside lane all day with no problems (who needs 3rd gear on the motorway?).
Spare parts for a Fiat can be bloody expensive, so all she gets each year is one service - with work carried out to get her through another year and an M.O.T.
She does three miles to work each way, and a full tank of unleaded lasts nearly a month!
Apart from getting me to work and back, she does all the donkey work for us; we have had widescreen TV's, smashed up wardrobes, smashed up double beds (and the mattress which was folded in two and jammed out of the hatch with the door tied down!), and even a washing machine on its many trips to the local dump - she doesn't miss a beat and never complains that she never gets cleaned. The Chiqui is a great car if you don't care about your car!
Basically all I do with the car is tax it, M.O.T, one service, and fill it with petrol, and that is it - she is the Millennium Falcon of cars!
When you break down the list of items that have been repaired or replaced, and divide that over the two years of ownership, the monthly payments are far cheaper than having a loan for a more expensive car that you would be worried about damaging.
Did I mention the she also corners on rails!!!
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Don't Know |
| Model year | 1997 |
| Year of manufacture | 1997 |
| First year of ownership | 2005 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2007 |
| Engine and transmission | Hamster power!!! Manual |
| Performance marks | 5 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 10 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 4 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 10 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 53000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 67000 miles |
| Previous car | Ford Mondeo |
| Date of Entry | 30th August, 2007 |