2002 Fiat Punto sporting from UK and Ireland - Comments

Lights bulbs went out.

Very tapetty on start up.

P/steering fault light came on for no reason sometimes.

Seats wear badly and get dirty very easily (just took 3 months to get dirty after having the interior valeted!!

Front seats wouldn't lock into position unless put all the way back.

Paint chips and scratches way too easily.

Had the car for 5 months and had to get rid off it because the paint would just scratch and chip so easily!!! everytime I went out I would always get a scratch or a chip... it got to the point where I wouldn't drive unless it was an emergency becasue the paint was just so soft!!

The interior dash start to crack aswell after a while!

But it is a nice sporty looking car that's pretty nippy to drive and very economical I got 57mpg once!!!

The alloys just looked great!

I have a 2001 Punto HGT and it suffers the same tappety noise on start up (sounds like a diesel most of the time!).

Any ideas what the cause of this is?

I have a 2002 punto sporting and also get the same noise on start up.

Have taken it to garage, but can't find out what it is.

Yea the answer to your problems is you all bought a FIAT = Fix It All the Time!!! I had a similar problem which just got worse! If you're having no joy with dealers, get AA, RAC or an approved independent mechanic to have a look and go armed with the information!

I would be very wary of any soft paintwork, my Sporting Auto 2001 was pretty good for paintwork even after a nasty accident! However soft paintwork would normally indicate a re-spray, only after having mine re-sprayed I noticed the same (but not so severe problem). Prior to this I had no problems what-so-ever!

Quick tip: T-Cut, not only will it make the car look better, but the wax will also help protect your paintwork! Remember it's not a rubber shield though so go easy!

This problem with your car on start up is because thes engins have hidrolik tapits and need oil in them to work so when you start the car next time let it run 4 about 30 seconds and it should be pering nicely.