Hi,

I was wondering what you guys think of a fiat bravo petrol 2011 multi-air model with 170.000 km/ 105.000 miles. It is first owner and ex lease. The person has driven it for 4 years so we can assume most of the miles are highway miles. In the Netherlands lease cars are always serviced by official dealers with full history (afaik).

i drive around 10.000 km per year/ 6250 miles.

The price is around 3/4.000 euros cheaper for a similar car with lets say half the mileage.

if i look at used car sites in the Netherlands, I don't see many high mileage fiats compared to BMW/Volvo etc etc.

regards

This is from an inexperienced mind but I have a little knowledge the problem with petrols having high mileage is that their engines have more moving parts than diesels so have more to go wrong that doesn't mean they will though however you have to think about how long do you want it for even if it's 3 years 8,000 miles a year you're up to 129,000 miles and to sell that would be difficult. I would definatley reccomend a bravo but one with less miles or maybe a diesel version??

Hope this helps make a decision

Missed the bit about the miles so yours will be slightly less than mine.

Yeah most likely it would not be sold afterwards. i would drive it until it's economical broken or completely broken. Diesel is not an option because i do not drive as much. in the netherlands the turning point to drive a diesel is around the 25.000 km / 15.000 + miles because the road taxes would be much higher.

JordanB08 said:

This is from an inexperienced mind but I have a little knowledge the problem with petrols having high mileage is that their engines have more moving parts than diesels so have more to go wrong

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Really? More moving parts??

Diesels used to be more reliable because of the lack of spark plugs and engine electrics but that's not the case any more with the electronics that happen in both electric and diesel engines.

Apart from that they are pretty much the same parts in each, in fact I would hazzard a guess that you get as many problems from diesel injection systems now as you do from spark plugs.

That's what I heard could be wrong

From my experience diesel engine are built more heavily do to the higher pressure needed to ignite the fuel in the engine,petrol engine have to sustain less pressure, because the fuel ignition is helped by the sparkplugs so they are made from "weaker" material to reduce cost and weight that why petrol car are generally cheaper and lighter then their diesel version.this is valid for other component in a car including gearboxes,exhaust system and other.in my opinion I would not buy a petrol car with that kind of mileage.also motorway mileage can be bad for petrol car, as high rev are not good for extensive amount of time,70 mph on a diesel is at 2000rev on a petrol I'm not sure But I Think Is Higher Then that.

It's all about the final price let me say

hakiro09 said:

From my experience diesel engine are built more heavily do to the higher pressure needed to ignite the fuel in the engine,petrol engine have to sustain less pressure, because the fuel ignition is helped by the sparkplugs so they are made from "weaker" material to reduce cost and weight that why petrol car are generally cheaper and lighter then their diesel version.this is valid for other component in a car including gearboxes,exhaust system and other.in my opinion I would not buy a petrol car with that kind of mileage.also motorway mileage can be bad for petrol car, as high rev are not good for extensive amount of time,70 mph on a diesel is at 2000rev on a petrol I'm not sure But I Think Is Higher Then that.

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70 Mph in 6th in my T-jet is about 3,000 revs. Hardley blowing the back door down lmao.

thx for your opinions all.

i just had a test drive and the car itself was very good in terms of driving. Unfortunately, the previous owner didn't really care that much about the car. It wasn't in the best shape. Start stop system didn't work. PDC didn't work. probably because there was a dent near the PDC. The service history was complete though with basically everything expensive already replaced, timing belt? and the brakes front and rear.

i guess the car was the typical lease car, great service but a owner that really doesn't care because it is leased.

Once upon a time (like 35 years ago ) it was a downward slope for a petrol car car that had more than 100.000 miles under its belt but the times have certainly moved on. Engines are built better, the oils they use are more kinder and of a better quality - proof of this is the extended service intervals they have these days so if it's been serviced properly then there's no reason it can't get to 180.000 plus. The only thing you can't gauge is how well it's been driven in the 105.000 miles it's already done

fnatic said:

Diesel is not an option because i do not drive as much. in the Netherlands the turning point to drive a diesel is around the 25.000 km / 15.000 + miles because the road taxes would be much higher.

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Not true.
For new cars in Holland, the 25.000km is more or less a fact.
When buying a used diesel car, the break even point compare to petrol cars sometimes is around 10.000km...!!
It's all about the money, at this moment, the Dutch market is flooded with used Punto's 1,3 jtd, the so called "spaar diesels"...
Those cars were free of roadtax until this year, one can buy a low mileage 2010-2011-2012 version for around 7000 euro's, and that's a real bargain, even when driving around 10.000km a year.


Back to the high mileage Bravo, if the price is right, and you like the car, just buy it, with good maintenance, the engine is just half way...!!
Consider a little more minor repairs but that's it.
We are driving (almost 12 years) a Fiat Palio Weekend 1,6-16V modelyear 2000 with 220.000km's right now, acts like a new car with the correct maintenance, and since 3 years a 2004 Alfa Romeo GT 1,9 jtd wit 305.000 km's, running like new as well, we intend to keep the cars for many more years...!!

Peter Pick-Up said:

Not true.
For new cars in Holland, the 25.000km is more or less a fact.
When buying a used diesel car, the break even point compare to petrol cars sometimes is around 10.000km...!!
It's all about the money, at this moment, the Dutch market is flooded with used Punto's 1,3 jtd, the so called "spaar diesels"...
Those cars were free of roadtax until this year, one can buy a low mileage 2010-2011-2012 version for around 7000 euro's, and that's a real bargain, even when driving around 10.000km a year.


Back to the high mileage Bravo, if the price is right, and you like the car, just buy it, with good maintenance, the engine is just half way...!!
Consider a little more minor repairs but that's it.
We are driving (almost 12 years) a Fiat Palio Weekend 1,6-16V modelyear 2000 with 220.000km's right now, acts like a new car with the correct maintenance, and since 3 years a 2004 Alfa Romeo GT 1,9 jtd wit 305.000 km's, running like new as well, we intend to keep the cars for many more years...!!

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wow thank you so much for this information. i had no clue. i will definitely look into the spaar diesels.

Matthewr1990 said:

70 Mph in 6th in my T-jet is about 3,000 revs. Hardley blowing the back door down lmao.

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70 mph in 5th in my Grande Punto 1.4 8v is about 3,500 rpm.

Exactly, I run at about 55mpg at 70mph with ease.

The Dutch version Punto Evo 1,3 jtd have different gear ratio's ( and only 5 gearbox), and consume even less fuel...