(G) the world of bravo

after owning a diesel punto and then going into the world of ford for 6 months i have finally decided to get a bravo.
i have seen a w reg bravo jtd 105 sx with full service history for £1695. i am just wondering a few things, are they reliable? how much would a cambelt change cost, is it a engine out job?. are the parts expensive?
i have seen a hgt bravo breaking down my way and the interior is up for sale for £100 is it worth getting, or are the jtds seats fine. thanks guys.

sorry forgot to add does this car have a red key as the dealer said it didnt have one at this age of car.

All bravo's have a red key - do not be fobbed off! http://www.fiatboo.co.uk/buy-a-bravo.htm#look

Cambelt on the JTD is not an engine out job so should not be pricey.

If the HGT interior is a leather one - snap his hands off. You could get £400+ for it even if you dont like it.

tis not leather unfortunately, so the guy at the garage lied to me he said not all had a red key only up to 1999. i think i will ring fiat just to check but thanks WIMMY.

Trust me - I KNOW

Even some fiat dealers have tried fobbing off. ALL bravos had a red key

owwww... another JTD owner

The JTD's are great cars.. I have 1 and i've just bought my sister 1... its the twin of mine... same year, spec & colour

I had my cam belt and tensioner done at Fiat... cost £185 last year.. theis year they quoted my sister £175. Local guarage cost anywhere from £100+


As for the car.. not had any majour problems. It's done 70k now.. bought it with 55k last year. It's had a few oil changes, filters errrmmm and the cambelt/tensioner and thats it!


Just keep the JTD fed and watered and it'll be fine... just don't over oil it!!


If you fancy a bit more speed, there are lots of tuning companies out there than can make the JTD as quick as the HGT up to 60mph......!!


If you fancy a tune up.. I've had a re-map from angel tuning.. cost about £300 and although it hasn't increased the BHP (according to a dyno test I had done) the Torque is up quite a bit


Only other thing... the MAF (airflow mass sensor) can stop working, or become dirty... the car should rev freely in all gears upto 5k.. (apart from 5th) it it starts to bog down or really slow at around 3,000 revs, you will need a new 1.. cost £125ish.


Just check its had oil changes, clutch is ok, and it doesn't blow loads of smoke & it'll hopefully last you many a happy mile


good luck.... & as for red key.. use it as a bartering point.. but the red key is only used as a master to get other keys cut.. but you can get the blue keys copied now, so it's not that important!! --- so i've been told from another bravo owner!!!! ------


essay complete... Tommy

Trust him, he does know everything about Bravo/as that ever was to know The car sounds like a good deal for you if it's been well looked after!

it does sound like a really good deal. but the red key is bugging me when do you need it? is it everytime you disconnect the battery.
celtic tuning have told me for £350 they will come to the house and remap the car to 150bhp wow that sounds like fun.
thanks for the help everyone and i will believe you in future wimmy lol.

sorry to keep posting i am exited about getting my car lol.
someone said that i can get the blue key copied. does this mean it will work as if it was a red key? can i order a red key if i have the blue keys?
my punto td was a 1994 model and it never even needed any special key.

It's used if there is a major problem with the ECU, sometimes needed for diagnostics and was used in the past for service updates. Do a search on 'red key' in this sction and you will find lots of reading material on it

the way it works is very typical of fiats, there is a small gremlin which lives inside the car, he is always listening, these gremlins get paid commission by fiat everytime the owner has to go back to the dealer. when he finds out that you have no red key he presses a magic button which stops your car working. it is also the gremlins that are responsible for the airbag light, when the battery dies the gremlin's tv stops working so he gets annoyed and puts the airbag light on as a constant reminder not to do it again. what can i say, italian gremlins aint nice people.

fiats always leak becuase the little gremlin needs a regular water supply to stay healthy. without water he gets very upset and causes all sorts of problems, thats why i wash my car with the windows down and make regular gift offerings to the gremlin. my bravo's gremlin like a bit of cheese on toast as a treat on the weekend, i think he must be happy coz my car has been ok since i started leaving treats for him. i haven't managed to catch the little bugger on film yet but when i do i'll post some pics.

i've asked fiat why their gremlins are so moody but they declined to comment, typical

lol....

Red key is used to copy more keys.. cos it contains the infor for the ECU.. but so do the blue key's but Fiat say "you can't copy a blue key" but you can.. so thats the use of the red key out the window!

As for battery change or going flat.. i wouldn't worry.. i've ran my battery flat loads of times. now have an optima.. which is doing ok

£350 for angel tuning remap to 150bhp!!

well ok.. i will say nige did a lovely 2nd map on my car.. although it came out 5bhp less than his 1st map he did.

My car's dyno reading was only 100bhp, same as standard. BUT the torgue has increased. Maybe it does increase the BHP, but from the dyno it says it hadn't.

by the by really, im very happy with my angel re-map as it's made it loads more responsive, and a pleasure to drive. Can keep up the the HGT so it can't be bad!!


Just wanna see if nige is willing to but a money back guarentee on the 150bhp reading tho


If you do get it done, ask for the same map as Tommy K, lad with the red bravo & silly big alloys... oh and comfy new seats should kno who ur on about! It's not quite as visious as the previous map... doesn't give u a huge kick up the arse when the turbo spins up, but my goodness it pulls better than Wimmy at car shows!!!

Good Luck!

lol at what jug said
i am still in 2 minds because now i have seen a y reg 1.2 16v for £895 which sounds like a bargain but it has a cracked winscreen how much for a winscreen about £300 tops.
so it still only makes the car £1195 and i think its in the new tax band as well.
i am going to have a long think tonight and see what happens

The 1.2 seems very cheap but perhaps the windscreen is putting people off? Needs a good check over for that price though. At Y reg it will be around the age where it might be old or new tax rules so check the date first registered in the V5 then look here, not that it makes a huge amount of difference either way. If you do decide to go for it, get insured fully comp and get the windscreen replaced using the usual £50 deal .

I have a JTD Bravo and its a great car
If you go to F.A.S.T in Stockton a cam belt change is £180 or £245 if you get the water pump done at the same time. I had mine done today and they did a great job
Also with a JTD the MPG is good. I get 49MPG at the moment and that will go up in the summer.

EDIT: Road tax it £110 if it after March 2001.