2002 Fiat Punto Active Sport from UK and Ireland - Comments

There was a scratch across the bonnet, which the dealer said they would rectify.

Condensation in headlights.

Absolutely amazing to drive!

Unbelievably comfortable, I love this car!

The stanadard CD player is excellent and the speaker setup is the best standard system I have seen!

The only thing this car needs is a set of alloys!

My car has now done 1000 miles, and has had to go in for a bonnet re-spray. a rear bumper re-spray, and some minor mechanical adjustments, all under warranty. The dealer however seemed very unhappy and was not very pleasant to talk to.

I agree with everything you have said about the Fiat Punto mark 2. I have also bought a Fiat Punto 1.2 16V Dynamic (formerly ELX) rebranded car Summer 2002. The thing about Fiats is that they remain dogged by their poor reputation from the past. Nevertheless, this is the second Fiat I have had and the build and design of the Punto beats all other cars in its class. Moreover, the standards you get for the price are excellent. My car has six speaker subwoofer CD as standard, plus electric sunroof and electric windows. The car is very nippy, handles great, good on fuel, very roomy and has anti-rust warranty for six years which lays to rest the old addage that Fiats were rust buckets. In fact the car is fantastic. I have no hesitation in recommending this car wholeheartedly. One final point that appears to let Fiat down is the dealer experience. I have heard people say that dealers are unhelpful, but mine was great from begining to end... Yes the Fiat Punto is a winner.

I have 18,000 on 2000 ELX and have found car to be really good. Especially bolt on wheel embellishers, CD, electrics faultless, and trip computer showing 53 mpg regularly! One crib, the direction indicator warning click is far too quiet and ditto light is too small and dim. Result- indicator left on regularly. Fiat head office said I was the only one to complain about this. BOB K. Rep of Ireland.

I have just bought a Punto Active Sport (52) reg. Within minutes of driving it away the air bag light started flashing. This seems to be a common problem on fiats! Worst yet, at 250 mile the gearbox cable broke causing the car to become stuck in 4th gear. I am now having to wait until mid October for a replacement part! Although Fiat haven't done a re-call it appears that it is happening to the majority of newly registered Punto models.

Other than that I love my Active Sport and just wish I could drive it. - JD Norfolk.

Jd Norfolk again. Now having to take my Active Sport back to the dealer due to flooding in the passenger foot well!!!

Dealer refuses to refund or exchange car and in view of all the previous problems I now hate the thing. My advise to anyone wanting to purchase a Punto is DON'T.

We purchased a new Punto Active in October 2002 and the very next day, one of the pair of gearbox cables failed. It was eventually replaced by the local Fiat dealer after being temporarily patched up with tie-wraps by the AA. After 1,600 total miles the other cable has now failed!

With the first cable failure we made the mistake of limping home before calling the AA, only to find the contract stipulates that the AA aren't responsible for lending a temporary replacement car in 'home-start' call-outs! It's then up to the Fiat franchise garage to sort out - when they have a car available. Watch out for courtesy car insurance clauses as well in these circumstances.

I have to say the Punto is super to drive, but I agree about the (less than) audible direction indicator warning - I have driven with it on as well before noticing. Road noise drowns the sound too easily.

I'm not too keen on bi-directional dashboard indicator light - I prefer separate left and right lights.

Pete.

02 Punto 1.2GO. Headlights have condensation and misting to varying degrees depending on weather. Advised by dealer this is a recognised problem and nothing can be done!!!

Clutch clicking has been repaired eventually.

Overall the car is a nippy and easy to drive car, just a shame about the lights.

I'm just about to buy an Active Sport. However I'm a bit concerned that it only has 60bhp. Is it a dull and boring drive or does the car have good acceleration? Jim-bob.

I bought a Fiat Punto 1.2 Active in September 2002.It is now in the workshop needing a new clutch and gear box seal!

I am very disappointed as I have never had a Fiat before and this experience has really put me off.

I purchased a Punto Active Sport 1.2 in July 2002. Since that time I have had to have the engine replaced under warranty and now every time I put my foot down on the clutch I get this grinding noise as if some wire is on the verge of breaking. A nice drive, but no fun whatsoever in terms of reliability.

I purchased a Punto Active sport January 2004, it's a March 2003 model and on the whole I am very pleased with it, just one thing, I was unaware that the car came with a radio/cd player as standard, and my car has installed a cassette player, so I am at the moment in dispute with the dealership.

I have had 4 Punto's so far and a fifth on the way. The first was a 1.1 Mark 1 on an N plate, I then had a 1.7TD Mark 1 on an R plate and a 1.2 Mark 2 on a W plate. Currently I have a 5 door 53 plate 1.2 active Mark 3 and I have just ordered my 5th Punto an active sport 1.2 8v in yellow. Overall I have covered over 70,000 miles in Punto's and other than the current car they have been totally reliable. I always buy new, but this was the first one I bought 2nd hand at 10 months old and 11,000 miles. Since I have had it (approx 1500 miles) I have had 2 door hinges replaced, a new fuel pump, an intermittent creak on the rear suspension (my dealer says this is a common complaint) and the driver mirror fell off when I was adjusting it. I can't really blame the car however, as the faults could have been down to previous neglect. Overall I have been very happy with the little Punto. It's a drivers car, incredible fun to drive, with a lively chassis and a gutsy little engine. It begs to be driven and enjoyed unlike a lot of it's rivals.

Hi, I have a 2005 Fiat Punto Active Sound Sports model - looks lovely, but unfortunately have had a litany of problems over past three years.

From day one I had to have gearbox replaced - garage would not replace car.

Door hinges fell off.

Have had starter motor replace twice, battery replaced twice, horn stopped working and had to be replaced; don't think I even used it more than a few times.

Constant problems with the ECU unit in that the airbag sign keeps coming on.

Have had car rewired.

Now over the past year have had problems with dual steering - steering becoming so hard I'm unable to steer - they said airbag and replaced it twice - still happening, had steering motor replaced and today it died - all lights came on dash saying all lights have failed including steering, and then died; no lights, no ignition, no nothing. Had to be towed to a garage where again it is to be tested to find out what the problems is.

Thank God for the Fiat 4 Year Guarantee. I have easily had parts replaced which far exceed the value of the car - Only three years old and 40,000 km - No alternative but to trade it in, but do I buy another Fiat? Anybody had any problems like these? Thanks and regards.

In all respect it is good to read that I'm not the only owner of a 1.2 Active Sport that has had an endless amount of trouble with my car.

The very first day of getting it, the bulb warning light came on, they had put the wrong wattage bulb on my tail light.

A couple of weeks later the zip that holds the upholstery on my passenger seat popped.

A few weeks later I had to replace my brakes, even though Fiat told me they were replaced before I picked up the car.

Then my ECU light came on, had to wait weeks to get that fixed, and when they replaced it the warning light was still on.

Both my airbag warning lights came on, one of my gear selector cables snapped leaving me stuck in 2nd gear (a part that wasn't under warranty) and now my gearbox has gone, meaning I need to replace that and the clutch.

I have had the car for 10 months and had this many problems, where does it end.

I would not buy another Fiat after this, the amount of money I have had to spend on it to keep it running I could have probably bought a reliable German car.

Although I must say that when the Punto is running OK, it is a pleasant car to drive and does look good, but so should any car that spends that much time in the garage.

D Griffin, Norfolk.

I too have had my 2002 Fiat Punto for 2 years now. So many problems. I keep taking it to different garages, cause when any one sits in the back, my exhaust makes a banging noise. Was told by so many mechanics it's a fault with the way Punto's are made.

Air bag light stays on all the time. Took it to a garage, they put it on a computer, cost me £20, it disappeared. A month later it's back on. Hoping to get a new car in the near future, so bye bye Punto, won't make the same mistake again.