(T) Headlight Bulbs

Ok, thinking about one of these but I vowed that I would not buy a car that you couldnt change the headlight bulbs easily. I currently have a 2003 punto and those are about as hard as I want it to be.

Has anyone had to change them yet and how difficult is it?

Also, does anyone know if the engine has to be removed for timing belt changes?

Basically, is this a pain in the ar** to service?

Cheers!

well with 5 years warranty means it will be serviced by someone else so shouldn't be a issue wether to buy it or not. All cars have akward items to get too / replace.

It is an issue with the headlights. I dont put my car into the garage to get bulbs changed.

I wish it were like the good old days with my Panda Selecta, took about 30 seconds to get into them.

120k miles with it as well, in fact 110k with my Punto, these Fiats are pretty good touch wood (with the exception of a 126 I had when i was a student, that wasnt so good...)

so what your saying is if changing a bulb is difficult you wont buy that car

gone are the 'good old days' i'm afraid,the public want more extras fitted as standard aswell as more room in the interior & all these extras have to be fitted somewhere.

Yeah basically if it costs me money to change the simplest of commodities (ie bulbs) then I will look elsewhere. A headlight bulb for my Punto costs about 1.50 from my local motor factors plus about 20 mins to remove various fuseboxes and waterbottles (depending on what side its on) I am not going down the route of forking out 100 quid like some with French cars have to to get a bulb changed!

Manufacturers only do it as it means they can get cash to their dealerships.

thats absolute rubbish! anyway pop off down to nearest dealer to put a deposit on the bravo as bulbs are straightfoward/easy to change.

Its not rubbish at all. Some of the Renaults require removal of the front bumper.

Lets face it there is a reason why its not so easy to change bulbs.

Look at the asian cars on the market. Most have easily replaceable parts and thats purely because there is not the same access to dealers/garages in their home markets. Fact!

If they are easy to change thats all you needed to say ;-) I have had many fiats (and lancias) and its obvious that manufacturers are making things more difficult for us DIYists! That coupled with the fact that local Fiat dealers are not the best.

Anyway, your not making my decision any easier, I like to ponder on things :-)

Maybe I should stick with my Punto JTD.... I've not even started on the lifespan of tyres on the Bravo JTD's yet, perhaps that next weeks question!

ok so bulbs are easy to change......so what next? check how easy it is to renew fuses,starter motor,alternator,timing belt/chain, alternator belt etc...the list is endless!

Asian cars may as you say (in some cases) have easier parts to change but you pay more for them.

Are you seriously suggesting the reason a cars headlight bulbs may be difficult to change is purely so the dealers can make more money out of changing bulbs?

guess so! must of messed it up with the bravo because its a doddle to change them.

Excellent, thats all I wanted to know.

Dont see why everyone is taking offence at this. Its a well known fact and really basic, basic economics.

because quotes like 'Manufacturers only do it as it means they can get cash to their dealerships' are laughable.

The only fiat car I charge for changing a bulb for is a stilo,£10 for n/s dip/high beam

Excellent. Some other manufactuers bulbs are a pain to change i know that as a fact.

Fiats may be different I just took bad to my Puntos headlights taking more time than my 500's, Y10's, 126's, Pandas and Puntos as well as my other non-fiats!

10 quids not so bad either.

Anyway, I am glad you cleared that up. I tend to worry about small things but hey, I'm only human!

I think (personally) you need to look at the bigger picture,after all bulbs dont need changing as much as they did due to more advances in production/design, also you dont need me to tell you to avoid cheap bulbs.

Anyway get the wife to change the bulb if it needs done,tell here she has to learn basic car maintence

Hmmm, she might not be too keen on that.

You know why its an issue? Its the only thing I have had to do on my Punto in 110k miles. It gets its service every 12k at the local garage but the only thing I have actually had to do is the bulbs which it goes through a couple every year. My viewpoint on this may seem petty but its only because my current car has been so reliable (and not that I am a Scottish with tight purse strings!)