l am looking to buy a car when l pass my Driving Test, hopefuly within the next 8 weeks, and am very keen on a used Fiat Punto 1.2 5dr Hatchback.

Please advise of your experience and / or your views on this type of car.All views welcome - driver or not!

Thanking you in advance for all your help.

:-)
Hi All,

Please give your reasons to back up your viewpoint, in order that l may make an informed decision.

Again Many Thanks!

:-)

yes.

http://uk.com/question/index;_ylt=AtPy7RBj6rXa.zR_ZiqFvW0gBgx.;_ylv=3?qid=20080329142154AA1hE5V

fiat - no!

go for a fiesta or a corsa

You could do a lot worse! They're not bad motors.

you could do worse..i had a punto n reg done 150000 miles in it in 4 years with not a lot wrong

Inexpensive
low insurance
good mpg
and dead easy to work on

go for it

absolutely not!

Have a look at the owners' reports on the What Car and Parker is websites

My freind works for the AA and advised me not to buy a fiat as they get a lot of breakdown call outs to them he says that Fiat stands for Fix It Again Tomorrow

l would not know . l am not old enough.

No a Grande punto is faster, more reliable and has better fuel economy.
The third FIAT car to be called Punto, codenamed Project 199 and marketed Grande Punto, was unveiled at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show and went on sale later that year. Again styled by Giugiaro, the car is based on the Fiat/GM SCCS platform.

they are an ideal first car the common problems l have experienced with them is:rear radius arms and bushes (rear suspension)they are cheap reliable cars and parts can be sourced very easily.make sure you get a service history with the car.

Not a good buy ..suggest Toyota Yaris Mk 1, Nissan Micra Mk 2 or a Ford Ka

Do not touch a FIAT with a barge pole. My company leased four brand new Doblos in 2002. One was good, it only needed a head gasket & new brake cylinders in both rear wheels.The other three all had to have head gaskets, two had to have the rear brakes done.One had the bearings collapse in the gearbox differential. One had a front wheel bearing & drive shaft go. The door locks on three had to be replaced along with window winder mechanism's. The wiper/light switches had to be replaced on two.The gear change cables snapped on two.Then because of various problems associated with the lease, we were put in the position that ''on paper'' it was cost effective to buy two of the vans rather than return them at the end of the lease, due to lost service documents & minor damage to bodywork & interior trim. This turned out to be a huge huge mistake. One van had to have the fuel pump rebuilt & new glow plugs at a cost of £1100. Both had to new full exhaust systems shortly after the warranty expired, this include ''Cats'' they were almost £400. The second van fuel pump then packed up & we sold it for spares & repair, rather than put another £1100 into it.
l cannot warn u strongly enough about these diabolical vehicles. Buy any other vehicle u care to name BUT not fiat.

for a first car it is not bad
cheap
good mpgs
great engines
its a good buy because fiats last quite awhile

l had 1 for my first car. amazing cheap n chearfull, if it goes wrong easy n cheap 2 fix, insurance cheap, mpg 45+, easy 2 drive get 1 with city steering mode( turn the steering wheel with 1 finger for easy parking) get 1

fiat`s r a good wee car l trade in car`s and fiat`s r my best sellers , make sure when you press the clutch t u do not get a griding noise , the came shaft seals r bad on them if there gone you will get a lot of oil on the top of the engine this is not a big problem except from this there a good little car , also fiat front wings all way`s look a different colour from the rest of the car this does not mean it been in a bump

they are the crappiest car in the world do not even think of buying one l had a 2003 model and that just was in the local garage every week. l did not drive it fast or nothing but they are just a load of fucking crap. Clio 1.6 16 valve

YES!!!! l loved my mk1 5-dr to bits!
They are cheap to run, economical, they feel pretty nippy and are easy to get parts for should the worse happen.
The only real downside l found is that the engine are prone to head gasket problems.but every car has it is problems.
A lot of people will try and tell you that fiats are prone to rusting.but fiat sorted out problem out in the mid 70 is :-P