Hi there, new to this so bear with me.

I bought a 2001 punto 4 weeks ago (1.8 hgt) and love it, however the power steering failed exactly one week later, I took it back to the garage I bought it from and it's now been sat there for 18 days as they claim they can't get a replacement steering motor for it.

I was wondering if anyone on here could tell me how long it usually takes to get parts for a punto and if they think the garage is taking the mickey out of me? Every 2 days we get told 'the mechanic is working on it as we speak, you're car will be ready tomorrow' then when tomorrow comes I get told that they are still waiting on the part.

they are taking the **** ebay is full of them also http://www.bba-reman.com/uk/index.aspx and http://www.ecu-testing.com/electric_power_steering.html do them

Thanks for your reply, I'll be passing that info on tomorrow.

These motors are often going wrong so they are not uncommon.

Phone your nearest fiat parts department, ask them if they have one for your car. The answer will most probably be yes or "we can have it tomorrow"

Then go back to your garage and tell them/ask them why it still isn't ready?

Don't settle for a dodgy eBay part you don't know what you're getting and that might fail soon after fitting too

This is all stressing me out, even before I leaned to drive I always wanted a punto, cos even the three door versions are huge inside.

Thanx for your advice, I'll let you know how I get on with this.

what is the name of the garage?

dave said:

what is the name of the garage?

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Car care Glasgow, they now apparently have tried '3 or 4 new parts' and it still won't work, he's running a diagnostic (don't know how long that takes) and checking the wiring. Should this not have been done straightaway? The thing is I've only been driving a couple of months so I'm completely clueless about cars!!!

tell him to try a new battery if he really has tried 2 new parts, where they new though or from a scrappy

Hi dave, sorry I took so long to get back to you, quick update, we are now at day 25 of my car being in the garage.

Mechanic is now claiming that they've fixed the steering, replaced the column, ecu and motor but the steering warning light is still on. He's now going to call an 'autospark' either tonight or tomorrow.

Would love to just drive it to another garage and get it repaired but I only bought the car on 28 February.

get a refund under sale of goods act, not fit for purpose, you have given them the chance to put it right and they haven't.

Think I'm gonnae have to, absolutely gutted though. Loved that wee car (for the length of time I had it).

Ended up threatening them with legal action, the next move is theirs.

HGT's are 10 a penny shouldn't be hard to get another. better off looking in classifieds here and on puntomk2.co.uk that way you can trace any faults by looking at sellers old threads

Update on my punto so far; got the car back on Thursday, apparently the wiring was faulty. I've driven it roughly 20 miles since then - shock horror the power steering light came back on!!!

Bank holiday Monday so I'll need to wait till Tuesday. But hey ho, the saga continues, thanks for you advice.