I've spent hours trawling the site and been unable to find a solution to the following;

My daughter's Mk2 2000 1.2l has a clutch with the biting point right at the bottom of the pedal travel. For info, the clutch does not slip. I'm suspecting the clutch slave cylinder (but can't check for leakage atm as she has the car at work).

Anyone with any ideas?

I'm no stranger to the vagarities of Italian build quality (having owned two Lancia Betas (saloon and HPE, both 2 litre), two Unos (60DS and Turbo) and an Alfa 164 3.0l - yeah, I know, a sucker for punishment), but on this occasion I'm hoping for a simple fix.

Puntos are not too bad for build quality though not up to Audi standards.

On Puntos the clutch pressure plate fails before the friction plate, but a low pedal can mean air in the hydraulics.Try bleeding the clutch slave cylinder, but if that has no effect, it's looking like a new clutch is needed.

While the gearbox is off the car, always make sure the input shaft bearing is ok. When they fail they cause the seal to leak and contaminate the clutch. If there is any lumpiness in that bearing, replace it as it wont be lasting long. Its also possible for debris to cause other damage inside the box, so not worth risking a questionable bearing..

Thanks for that WhiteSei, I'll have a go at bleeding the slave cylinder.

Will a vacuum bleeder work - I've got to change the brake fluid on my own 5 series and so need to get a kit that'll do both jobs.

I did mine as a 2 man job but a vacuum bleeding system should work better. The reservoir feeds both brakes and clutch so be careful to keep it topped up.

If air keeps getting sucked in the master cylinder seals might be the problem. If its done arounf 70K miles its likely the clutch is close to its end anyway.