2000 Fiat Punto Sporting 1.2 16v from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Better than a corsa, not as good as a Fiesta

Faults:

Mostly electrical.

Power steering failure.

Hand brake light coming on randomly.

Wipers not working properly.

Lights on the back not working.

Niggly faults, but they can really get you down.

Oh and the manifold developed a hole and the exhaust came away from it.

General Comments:

Not a bad little car.

Nice six speed gearbox, but it is clunky.

Easily the quickest out of all 1.2 engined cars.

Looks classy in my opinion.

Funky interior.

The plastics are very cheap on the dashboard however, be careful if your heavy handed like me.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 20th April, 2007

29th May 2007, 14:31

I have a punto sporting, and a problem I have is that the door warning light stays on, I think that the boot sensor is not set up right. The only other thing is that my old punto 8v used to achieve 42mpg around town. I still have not got that on long runs. Maybe it encourages me to drive it like it wants. How ever I have to agree that the sporting is a far better looking car that any other similar priced small hatch on the road. For a 1.2, it flies (when revved).

2000 Fiat Punto 8V 1.2 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Absolute rubbish, no modern car should develop these types of fault.

Faults:

Head gasket blew at 35000 miles.

Head gasket blew at 50000 miles.

Wiper arms fell of at 54000 miles.

Power steering failed at 55000 miles.

General Comments:

It seems the Punto is OK up to about 30000 miles.

After that the trouble stars and it is endless and expensive. The head gasket was fixed professionally both times (£400 each).

The wipers I fixed myself by removing the wiper assembly, pushing the rods back in place and securing with a 'starlock' washer. Takes about 2 hours.

The steering is not going to be fixed. A dealer has offered £1000 P/E and we snapped their hand off!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 7th February, 2007

2000 Fiat Punto ELX 1.2 16v from Netherlands

Summary:

Great car

Faults:

None

General Comments:

Was a great car to drive and comfort was good for being a small car. The inside is larger than you think, OK the back seat passengers don't have a lot of legroom, but then again its bought for econemy.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 13th September, 2006

2000 Fiat Punto ELX 1.2 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Hell on wheels... I now know what FIAT stands for - Fix It Again Tomorrow!

Faults:

Electrical powered steering failure at 32,000 miles.

Head gasket at 34,000 miles.

Wiper arms fell off and needed replacing 3 times - I gave up trying to get them repaired properly and tied the arms on with shoelaces - (it did a better job)!Wiper motor also failed 3 times.

Exhaust fell off twice.

Front headlights replaced twice due to misting.

Dashboard lights flickered when using the foot brakes.

Driver side door fell off due to faulty hinges, made loud "cracking" noise after repair each time I opened it.

Central locking failed.

Electric windows failed.

Peculiar gurgling noise from engine which FIAT could not sort out.

General Comments:

Would never have another one and definitely wouldn't recommend it nor wish it upon my worst enemy!

Dealers were very helpful when trying to sell, but aftercare was appalling - they couldn't have cared less.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 5th July, 2006

6th Jul 2006, 21:10

The door fell off! Pretty suspect review really, a shame as you may have had some valid points.

2000 Fiat Punto 1.2 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Good car - basic, but cheap to buy, cheap to run

Faults:

Ticking noise from steering column when new - apparently a known fault. Fixed by dealer.

Juddery wipers on intermittent, but goes away after a while. Personally doesn't bother me that much.

Very heavy clutch and difficulty going into 1st gear. Had the clutch checked and was informed that this was "normal". Yeah, right.

Head gasket went at 40,000 miles - cost to replace £200 (plus new timing belt etc). Not from main dealer of course!

General Comments:

Originally I was looking for a new car under £6000 and you don't get much to choose from at that price!

Good package and 3 year warranty. Dealer repairs over-priced generally, but fixed things under warranty with no fuss.

Apart from the head gasket I've not had any major problems in nearly 5 years, so you really can't complain when you consider the price.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st September, 2005