Hi, first post in the Bravo section. (I'm usually residing in the Uno section, instead).

I currently have two Fiats, one as a daily runner, the other as my weekend car. The Uno (my daily runner) is being sold/given to a friend who has just passed their driving test. This was the intention all along with this car. And as virtually all components have been serviced and/or replaced with new, the Uno behaves and drives perfectly.

The Coupe is the weekend car. With the high fuel consumption, it would just be impractical to use this as my daily commute. Plus, it's garaged and I want to keep it in A1 condition, which it's in at the moment.

So the replacement for the daily car is a Bravo.

A few years back I had a HGT (155hp) Bravo. Was dissapointed with the performance, to be honest. But found the rest of the package was really very good. Comfortable and stylish.

I'm now looking at (and this is of course subject to your experienced opinions) a 1.2 80sx model or 1.4 100sx model. Not really knowing which is the better car out of these two variants.

Looking to spend no more than £2.5k. Which looking at the prices should get me a pretty decent low mileage example, (1.2 80sx).

Criteria would be:

1. Good fuel economy.
2. A car that I can do most of the servicing and work on, as I have with the Uno, and previous Fiat cars I've owned, I have access to most tools, a workshop, and the parts.
3. Reliability.

I'm not interested in performance (I've driven in the Uno 60s - so I'm used to, shall we say, relaxed performance on a daily basis, and I have the Coupe, if I'm looking for a rapid journey from time to time).

Really I'm just after knowing what to look out for?

I note that the 1.6 models have a premature failure with their injectors. But is the 1.2 or 1.4 models affected in the same way or are there any early failures of other components on the 1.2 or 1.4?

And what one is the better car in terms of the criteria above, 1.2 or 1.4?

Any experience and advice on this would be most welcome.

Thanks

1.2 all the way.

From personal experience the 1.4 is a crap engine with nothing but trouble (even for a Fiat) don't consider a 1.4

1.4 is slower, uses more fuel, and is far less reliable, they tend to suffer from premature camshaft wear and serious oil circulation problems. basically dont even consider a 1.4.

the 1.2 is much better, plus it is also a mk2 model unlike the 1.4.

£2500 is an absolute fortune of a budget as far as a bravo is concerned, for that price i'd was a 2001 model with less than 30k, full dealer service history, pristine condition and 1 owner, and even then i think 2.5k is paying too much.

for £1000-1500 you should get a great low milage 1.2.

for example from autotrader today:

2001 FIAT BRAVO 80 16V SX 3dr Hatchback
Price: £1,375ono.
31,000 miles Manual BLUE Petrol 3 Door Hatchback 51 reg (2001)
Body coloured bumpers, power steering,Central locking, Drivers airbag, Electric sunroof, Folding rear seats, Front electric windows.racing alloy wheels. 07789776817. £1,375. ono
07789 776817

2000 FIAT Bravo 1.2 SX
£999ono.
V reg (2000) low mileage, full MOT, power steering, e/windows, e/sunroof, c/locking, low insurance, HPi clear, excellent condition
Cannock
(07811) 559017

2000 W Reg FIAT BRAVO 80 16V SX 3dr.1.2
3 Doors, Manual, Hatchback, Petrol, 58,000 miles, Metallic Blue, MOT-03-2008. Adjustable seats, Adjustable steering column/wheel, Central locking, Driver airbag, Electric windows, Power assisted steering, 5 Speed Gearbox, All usual standard features, Body Coloured Bumpers, Driver Air Bag, Electric Slide/Tilt Steel Sunroof, Low Tax and Insurance, Radio/Cassette, Service History. Insurance Group:5, All usual dealer facilities.Great value car looks and drives superb.Full set of keys inc red key.Also inc 6 months TAX at £1295.
TEL 07836716166. Tel: 0161 4773647
Price: £1,295

My advice would be to check the idle when starting from cold, ie higher than usual revs, and also when up to temp, make sure when its up to temp and you're driving it, when you put your foot on the clutch that the revs dont drop so far that it nearly cuts out.

This obviously isnt a problem on all cars but its something to look for, mines been doing it since i bought it and its very irritating, im hoping the diag check will find the problem and i can sort it once and for all, apart from that the car is great, make sure you have service history (common knowledge) including when the timing belt was done last.

That's great advice - thankyou to all!

I had wondered whether my budget might be too high. Bravo's are cheap, and if you get a good one, you'll get a lot of car for your money by the sounds of it.

And I had no idea that the 1.4 was poorer than the 1.2. So again, that's very good advice, and I'll be sure to not even bother with the 1.4's, (considering my budget is heading for top-notch cars).

Thanks again!

Good luck with the buy and let us know how you get on.

Yes as others have stated steer clear from the 1.4 they were replaced by the 1.2 as they were a bag of crap.

In your budget you want to stick as close to the top of it as possible, sometimes what looks like a bargain can often be run down not well looked after car.

I dont know of anyone who has been disapointed with the 1.2. As you mentioned you arent bothered about performance so should be a good choice.

Also have you considered the JTD (turbo diesel)? I would choose this out of all of them. Its very nippy, good on fuel and very sought after.

Thanks again for the advice.

I did think about the JTD, but I've only ever worked on Petrol Engines! Plus another reason I'm looking at the smallest petrol engine (on top of the fuel economy issue), is ease of working on the engine and around the engine bay.

I've spent many a day trying to do a simple job on a performance or large engined Fiat, only for the job to be incredibly difficult and knuckle scrapping because Fiat have shoe-horned a large engine with millimetres of rooms around it in the Engine bay. It's what makes working in the Uno a joy (almost), in that there's room all around the engine and engine bay to to the simple and complicated jobs.

And thanks for the link too - made interesting reading.

Just one other question what was the last year of manufacture on the Bravo? 2001/2002?

Thanks again.

in 2002 there were a few bravo's registered, but not many.


seen as you have a generous budget you can get a 2002 model (if you can find one).

you can also afford a JTD, which you should seriously consider if you want low fuel costs and a car thats good for motorway driving and is still quick enough to have some fun with.

you can service the JTD yourself easily enough, its not as bad as a 20v bravo, plus the JTD doesnt need much servicing, and its probably the most reliable model in the range. they hold value best, which means they csot more to buy but you lose less when selling.

i'd seriously consider a JTD, at least test drive one if possible.

Point taken.

Although I'm not considering a great deal of motor mileage, just to and from the station carpark, general about town. For performance (as mentioned), I have the Coupe for that.

My main priority (top of the list) is ease of maintenance. Being a Fiat it will break down at some point, so I'd rather be in a position to repair the car than have to rely on another garage.

The 2nd priority is running costs. Wouldn't the running costs (not incl the fuel consumption) be potentially more on a JTD than a 1.2 16v?

But, as the budget is there, I'll be open to both and make a decision based on test drives, state of the car, and vfm.

for easy maintainance, a 1.2 16v would be better. especially as everything in the engine bay is alot more accessable and parts are cheaper than for a JTD.

as for fuel constumption, my fathers Stilo 1.9 JTD has seen a constant 80mpg on a moterway run! but usually sees 50+mpg around town. as for the 1.2 16v, i would expect 40-45mpg.

*note - Stilos are also getting very cheap at the moment! consider one of these! you can get a low milage 1.2 16v Stilo for £2000.

i would expect the 1.2 is easier to work on, and cheaper to maintain. i've enver worked on a JTD, not even serviced one, so i cant really comment, but i can see there is less room in the engine bay, and the low volume sold means parts will cost more and be harder to find.

there is a lot more choice if you want a 1.2 so its easier to get a good one at a good price.

Sounds to me that if I were to be driving on motorways to and from work then holding out for a good JTD would be the best option.

As I'm just doing town and some country road driving the 1.2 16v sounds good, in consideration of the parts availibility and cheapness.

Buying a Stilo is an idea, I guess. But £2k for a Stilo? Really? I would expect them to be more expensive, as they are the "current" model. But then again with the "new Bravo", maybe not.

But don't the Stilo's have more reliability problems than the Bravo, I've heard there are issues with Suspension springs, and steering rack issues - or is this just hearsay and rumour?

I guess a nice 3 door 1.2 Stilo should be better than a Bravo, but when a friend of mine drove me in their Stilo, I thought the ride was fidgity, and not so comfortable as the Bravo....

yes, stilo has worse reliability and more faults. it also isnt a nice to drive, hell it doesn't even look as nice, i've no idea what fiat were thinking!!

i personally love the 3 door stilo.
although i would agree it is too "german looking"

Any stilo made before an 03 plate suffered from these problems. but most stilos will of had these problems sorted.
dont forget bravo/as suffer from problems too (although not usually as serious)

i would also agree my brava gives a better ride and handling than my fathers stilo multiwagon.