Hi all,
Just joined up as I'm the semi-proud (because of the faults - see below!) owner of a 53 Punto multijet diesel.
The missus has a 52 petrol active sport, so when I decided to replace my aging 306 turbo diesel I thought I'd give the Punto a try. She thinks its great!
Overall it's a great car, the legroom is superb (I'm 6 foot 4) and it's very comfortable. The road tax saving (£35 a year) is outstanding and I'm hoping to see a big improvement on MPG figures - with the 306 I'd put in about £60 of diesel and get about 500 miles out of it.
The only problem is that the car wasn't very well prepped when it left the garage on Friday. They'd not valeted it (not a problem as I like to do it myself), but the coolant was completely empty - there was just a bit covering the bottom of the expansion tank.
There was also a nasty squeak which turned out to be the stereo. I just removed and re-seated it and it's fine.
The only other issue is a whistling noise on acceleration. I've read a couple of others threads about this problem (split in pipe or cambelt tensioner), but the dealer said that all modern diesels make this noise.
Anyway, I've previous been a keen contributor on other car forums for my previous cars which needed regular "love and attention" - the 306 and an MGF, so I hope to stick around here and offer what advice I can.
Andy
Just joined up as I'm the semi-proud (because of the faults - see below!) owner of a 53 Punto multijet diesel.
The missus has a 52 petrol active sport, so when I decided to replace my aging 306 turbo diesel I thought I'd give the Punto a try. She thinks its great!
Overall it's a great car, the legroom is superb (I'm 6 foot 4) and it's very comfortable. The road tax saving (£35 a year) is outstanding and I'm hoping to see a big improvement on MPG figures - with the 306 I'd put in about £60 of diesel and get about 500 miles out of it.
The only problem is that the car wasn't very well prepped when it left the garage on Friday. They'd not valeted it (not a problem as I like to do it myself), but the coolant was completely empty - there was just a bit covering the bottom of the expansion tank.
There was also a nasty squeak which turned out to be the stereo. I just removed and re-seated it and it's fine.
The only other issue is a whistling noise on acceleration. I've read a couple of others threads about this problem (split in pipe or cambelt tensioner), but the dealer said that all modern diesels make this noise.
Anyway, I've previous been a keen contributor on other car forums for my previous cars which needed regular "love and attention" - the 306 and an MGF, so I hope to stick around here and offer what advice I can.
Andy
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