(G) Looking to buy a Fiat Ritmo 1.4L Sport

I own a 1988 Fiat Croma which ive had since 2000, and also a Honda Prelude... im about to upgrade to a new 2008 Fiat Ritmo 1.4L TJet Sport

The Ritmo is a rebadged Bravo being sold here in Australia and as for the life of me i cant find any Australian Fiat forums i figured id start here... I took a 1.4L TJet Emotion for a drive and it felt good, nice power and agile.

So i applied to get finance on a brand new 1.4L TJet Sport model in Cross Over Black with Factory Sunroof, and the Red & Black interior.

Now before i sign the documents i just wanted some feed back from anyone who has the equivilant model of this car. The sport has all the options here and comes with 17" rims, duel climate control, hill holder etc... can be seen on the Fiatcars.com.au website.

Pretty much what I've got but in Silver!

Although doesnt have the duel zone climate control as standard on the Sport over here!

What would you like to know?

How long you've had it, any problems with the car or things that just arnt right...

Also how would u rate the car on a 1 to 100.

Do u have a sunroof and have u had any probs wit it?

I will have had it for 2 weeks tomorrow! lol

No real problems, although I am going to need it looked at at the dealership. the gearbox is "notchy" which I am assuming it shouldnt be. There is also a leak of pink liquid from one of the connection pipes on the turbo.

Aside from these its a cracking car and so happy I got it! Huge inside, great performance, comfortable...I could go on!

The Sport button is a great temptation...but it is really thirsty when you use it! And I am still having to resist the temptation to kick the arse out the car every time I leave a roundabout!

Oh...and no it doesnt have a sunroof!

How would I rate the car from 0 too 100?? Tough question since I havent had it that long but at the moment I'd say about 80, which will probably go up once I get the gearbox sorted.

Only down side so far is that it doesnt have an alarm as standard, and I'm also in discussions with Fiat regarding the 5 year warranty that i didnt get offered by the dealership!

Ahh awesome to hear... What color did you go with? Im looking to get the cross over black so that the sunroof doesnt stand out as much.

Ive heard about this pink waxy like substance in another post i read on here lastnight, apparently its a loose pipe near the turbo. Also the gear box issue is apparently the Flywheel being buckled from what I read in another post.

Ive decided im gunna get it, altho we dont have a 5yr warrenty down here in Australia.

Im just psyched that FIAT Finally has come back to the land downunder, ive had 3 fiats in the last 10 years... love them especially my 88 Croma hehehe.

sorry to hijack the thread, but was wondering is there much of a FIAT presence in Oz ?. I have relations down under and they didnt even know about FIAT's, so they can't be that common i guess. If there are any older ones about, what models are there ?.

regards,

stylers.

There's a fair few pre-1990 model fiats... Cromas, 124, X1/9, Regatas etc..

There presense has only started to come back in the last 2 years... last year more so.

I have had mine Fiat Bravo 1.4 TJET 150bhp Dynamic Evo 2(in denmark, i don't know which version it is in UK/AU). But it has ALL in equipment standard except B&M and the satnav.

I must say it's one of the best cars i've had the pleasure of owning and driving. I bought it in january 08.

It has now 6100 km / 3800 miles on the clock and not one fault. I've been on a trip to Bosnia and back and it loved the Autobahn :-)

And i must say one of the best looking cars in its class!

From what i can tell the Sport model here is the 1.4L TJet 150... im pretty dam keen to get this car

I got it in Silver...cant remember the official name for it! lol

yeah it was me that posted about the pink waxy substance! I'm off on holiday on Monday so I'll be booking it in as soon as I get back to get fixed.

Hope you do get it ordered, its a cracking car!

I sincerely wish you luck - you'll need it.

(And don't be fooled by "warranty" - it doesn't mean sh*t if Ateco doesn't honour it)

No.

I take it you have had very bad experience? Care to elaborate.

And as for warranty, the fiat dealership is 5mins down the road shouldnt be an issue they've been there since 2005.

Have fun reading

http://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punt...-dualogic.html
http://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punt...-gear-pt1.html
http://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punt...typus-pt2.html
(Can't find the third part to the trilogy)
http://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punt...t-service.html
http://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punt...complaint.html
http://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto/147081-doors.html

If I can warn & stop just one potential customer from buying a Fiat here in AU, then I can be proud of myself

That's not the point - what if there's an obvious fault with the car, yet multiple dealers and Ateco can't find a fix for it (even though I've told them what the fix is), so they say "its within the manufacturer's specification" and "everything is fine"?

Well I've read all those posts and seems like all your problems come back to one thing the Dualogic transmission. I'm hanging to get back to a manual car myself... as for the response's you've had from FIAT themselves they actually seem reasonable. Just sounds like you got the one Punto thats just got something wrong... Perhaps its frame is bent or something.

As for the steering issue, well from what i know of cars... more so front wheel drive cars they ALWAYS pull a little to the left due to design... In my Prelude, my Croma, my dads 2001 celica infact all fwd cars ive been in the car always pulls just the slightest to the left. If i turn right the wheel always comes center, if i turn left it comes almost center. Road camber will affect this as will the tyres themselves. The Michellins i had on the front of my Prelude prior to the Pirelli Dragons pulled more to the left than the Pirelli's.

The paint damage to your car well thats not Fiat Australia's fault thats just a useless Dealership. I took my Prelude to get the rear shock's replaced and they just tossed the old shocks into my $1k boot setup damaging my subs, tearing the carpet and dirt EVERYWHERE. I didn't blame Honda Australia, cause i knew it was some snot nosed 20yr old punk tech guy who was just rushing to get the job done. However it worked out well they offered to have my boot fully restored and fixed to the condition it was in before I took it to them.

The brake sensor / reverse light issue... well yeh thats crap but hey you got it fixed in the end.

The reverse 'clunk' you talk about happens in all the autos ive driven when puttin it in reverse... Another reason I want a manual car

Im sorry to hear about your problem with the car breaking down on your holiday trip and having to find your own way home... But i have one question what do you feel that Fiat Australia / the Dealer could or should have done in your situation? You know the only four letter word you need is not FIAT...






Its RACQ :P Wouldn't be without it would you?


I'm not having a go at you or defending Fiat, as it sounds like you've had a bad run. But it honestly seems more like its just that one particular car.

I'm buying the new Ritmo 1.4L T-Jet Sport next week, Getting it in Black with Sunroof Option... Ive owned enough fiats to know what to expect hehehe and I ain't expecting allot from FIAT. But I always had my way with Honda, when they stuffed something up I got it fixed quick smart and I see no reason why Fiat should be any different. They're trying to relaunch here the last thing they need is NEGATIVE press which is what you should have been threatening to do if you wanted results.

Once again I'm not trying to attack you but I think you do need help with Anger Management :P I also do appreciate all your comments as when I go to the dealer this afternoon I will be making mention of the issues I've heard of other Fiat owners and when things go wrong.

Can't believe you actually read all of them..

You mean the doors?

I honestly CBF about this anymore..

What paint damage?

In this case of course its not Fiat or the dealer's fault, but that doesn't excuse the car from breaking down at the most inconvenient time and most inconvenient place.

NRMA down here

Here's a fact for you: there are around 20 members here from Oz, most of whom are inactive, and I seem to be the only one complaining.

No problem - yes look at my badminton racquet - I do need help in anger management