Faults:

Nothing has GONE wrong so far. Not quite perfect to start with.

General Comments:

OK, OK - a few lines about my recently acquired Tipo. I'm a car nut, so had to give one a try as I'm told they are a fine chassis. My reasoning was, I decided to get something a little more hatch-versatile as I work as a tradesman currently, and this a bit more space/versatility than my Mitsubishi FTO. A van would be ideal, though, I'd pay a lot more for any decent one. So my expectations weren't high.

I must say this one is growing on me. Metallics are the colour to go for, as these seem to look quite contemporary for a car now hitting its early twenties. Mine is quite straight too, which is good as I'm past driving old sh**e-boxes, so I'm not at all embarrassed to park and walk away from it when there are people about.

To drive - well it's not exactly a rev happy screamer that'll take your breath away. My old 1.3 Uno loved a tickle-up far more than this does, I wonder whether the top end needs some work. I've played about with the timing as it was clearly retarded somewhat - that makes 2 of us... so now it starts, and pulls better. The heater and fan don't work, but I reckon I can see to this myself before next winter, neither does the drivers' electric window, something simple no doubt.

Well the real measure for me and this car is how does it drive? And so today I took it through one of my favourite twisty roads. I got home and I was grinning; my God, what a chassis. So neutral, it just seemed to laugh at everything I was prepared to serve up, holding its line and instilling confidence at every corner. Beautiful steering, which can be tillered one-handed, and not bad at all on puny 165-section rubber - I think my lawnmower is better shod. The motor is laughably anemic, then again I am used to a 2 litre mivec V6, which will rev to the moon. Ride comfort in these is good too.

In a nutshell then, Fine and functional, but not a Toyota. All they need is some power - I want a Sedicivalvole now.

Faults:

Odometer reset to zero at 120,000 miles.

Alternator replaced at 160,000 miles.

Interior lights failed at 150,000 miles.

Sunroof handle fell apart c. 120,000 miles

General Comments:

Has been astonishingly reliable.

Just beginning to rust - but was the World's first mass produced galvanized car.

Still has many original parts e.g. gearbox, engine and dampers.

Still loves going round corners!

No apparent wear on camshaft after 180,000 miles.

Faults:

The water pump let go and water poured everywhere, but I managed to find a local specialist Fiat garage who put in a new one for a reasonable price.

The speed sensor in the gearbox went faulty causing the digital speedo to act erratically giving false speeds. This fault was obvious however because it was jumping all over the place. I believe this can be a common fault, but a dealer fixed it for a reasonable price.

The digital dash looks very nice, but the Italian aren't known for their electrics and I lost a couple of bulbs which was annoying. At the time, the dealer quoted £40 for taking the dash out to replace the bulbs.

The O-rings started to give up the ghost making the car smoke at only.

Faulty engine earth lead causing everything to die. It took a while to find the problem.

General Comments:

The car had a very nice interior and a good amount of space, although I found the driving position a little uncomfortable and the seat gave me lower back ache on longer journeys.

All my friends thought it was a 1.6 because the car was very 'nippy' but I think that was down to the short gearbox. It did 40mph top in second gear and didn't really like the motorways, the engine was noisy.

The steering is pretty heavy as mine didn't have power steering. I jumped from 13" steel wheels to 15" alloys and the car 'tram-lined' all over the place wanting to follow every dip and fault in the road surface which wasn't good.

Maybe it was due to my heavy right foot, but I found the petrol consumption bad for a 1.4 car, but I'm sure it would be OK for a more sedate driver for the town.

I don't think the 'O-rings' should have gone at only 90,000 miles, but maybe it had a hard life before I had it. It's still the car I've kept the longest and although I seem to have found a lot of bad faults with it, the car did serve me well without too much hassle and had a lot of equipment that other cars couldn't offer for the price. So if you're after a cheap runaround with plenty of space and some Italian character then give this car a try!

Faults:

-Battery only changed because car was staying on parking line for while.

-Use polir paste for old paint.

Everything is OK!

General Comments:

When I buy car he looks just a new car. Interior was without error. Exterior great too (never be crashed or scratched), first paint, but only two little holes, machine too. The car is great. Very much space, digital speedometer, very good performance and if you drive little gently its very economic. I love Tipo for many reasons (design, performance, comfort...) and my next car will be some Fiat.

Faults:

Bad:

Loose seals and eats motor-oil, oxidised electric contacts (salt on road in Moscow winter), central locking failure, suspension not strong - bad resistance, unevenen.

General Comments:

Driven with pleasure.

Salon is not narrow.

Fuel economy (6-7 lt/100km with 100km/h).

Faults:

New gasket, oil leaks everywhere, new exhaust, heater doesn't work, thermostat sticking, digital dashboard only works sometimes.

General Comments:

It's not a bad car, but very thirsty on gas.

Faults:

Had to change the catalytic converter which is quite common on this model.

Some trouble with the front brakes. Otherwise I'm completely satisfied with the car.

General Comments:

No rust at all. The car is a bit thirsty but I think it's worth buying another car like this one.