1994 Fiat Cinquecento Base from UK and Ireland - Comments

I bought the car with moderate damage to the rear. Obviously this wasn't the manufacturers fault!

Petrol tank was replaced under recall, a courtesy car was gladly accepted for the day it was in the workshop.

Even though this match box has done more than 120,000K, I have had absoloutly NO problems with this car over the past 18 months.

When replacing the exhaust with a "cheaper than Fiat" stainless steel exhaust (which doesn't sound/look boy-racer!) I created a "ROCKET". The miniature 899cc engine, with no other mods, can throw this thing exactly at 100mph down the M4 (including 2 passengers).

I was absolutely stunned at the space that was available from such a small car, with the interior being "non-rattley" and styled quite sensibly.

I managed to pick her up for just £500 (UK), and then parts and paint to repair the bad back-end nudge (which nearly wrote her off - before I bought her) which made it a grand total of £700. All in all a winner!!

I much prefer this than my previous MK3 Astra, what a money saver!!

By simply removing the cat on a cinquecento, a significant increase in power will be realised.

Now that I have to renewed the lambda sensor (for the MOT), the top speed is only 96mph with one light passenger.

Although the tappets were not drastically noisy, I always believe in preventive maintenance. She's now clocked up to 132,000 miles and is even quieter than before (due to those regular oil changes with the correct oil). She still starts first time - EVERY TIME. In this colder weather I find that she won't get hot enough to blow out any kind of warm air from the heaters. I find that placing a sheet of hard plastic/cardboard behind the bumper to cover half of the surface area of the radiator, resolves this problem; but watch the temp gauge when stuck in those traffic jams!!

Although I am looking to upgrade to more luxurious car (I'm dreading the change in running costs!), I don't think I can bring myself to parting with this little beauty, I'm afraid this one will kept in the garage for those short trips to the shops or muddy playing fields with the dog, instead of taking a Rover 220 coupe turbo or a Calibra 4x4 turbo.

HAPPY MOTORING!!

Its probably too late now as you probably no longer own the car, but I think you will find that the reason it doesn't "heat up enough" isn't due to not heating up enough. Its down to a broken thermostat!!