Hello friends,

I'm Bodo, 24 years old, from Germany. I own a silver 2004 Punto Mk.B. (188b) with almost 74000 miles on the clock. It is the 1.2 with 8 valves. Nothing too fancy but it does the job. I bought the car in 2010 and it never caused me any problems since. It gives me a good 52mpg if driven well. Only complaint I get from my girlfriend when I'm sitting at 60 miles per hour on the Autobahn while other people overtake with like 120 mph in their BMW's.
It's okay-ish specced as well: it has A/C, electric windows but unfortunately no distant locking.

Anyways, I have a little question: how do I know when my clutch needs replacement? Sometimes I have a hard time to shift in reverse or in first gear. Sometimes it's pretty rough to change gears in general. Is this a sign of a clutch that needs to be replaced?

Also what do I need to look for?
I won't lie to you, my car is probably not the best serviced one out there. Cambelt is new and oil was changed recently. My mechanic says that it looks fine from underneath. No rust. Everything else seems to look good.

Regards,
Bodo

if you have insurance that covers the cost in case of car breaking down and towing it to your desired place, then i would just drive the car till clutch dies

can you switch through gears normally when car is turned off?
clutch pedal needs to travel smoothly without stopping anywhere in its path and without any clicking sounds

there are quite a few topics on how to test your clutch here

Bodo said:

Only complaint I get from my girlfriend when I'm sitting at 60 miles per hour on the Autobahn while other people overtake with like 120 mph in their BMW's.

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Well, obviously, you should emphasize you would happily drive any Maserati or Ferrari SHE buys using HER money to leave the beemers in the abyss of hopeless rage.

Give me AR over any of the "normal", abysmally boring stuff. Beemers suck big time, anytime I see one, I imagine a wannabe yuppie on cheap meth. Merc makes me think of Heinie Himmler and Valkyries. Audi is "petite bourgeoisie" at its worst.

Actually, the only German cars I like are Golf Mk1 and Scirocco - both designed by Giugiaro Or that Polo sold in four different colors ex-works.

P.S. I highly recommend "A Bronx Tale" test - it works.

Well it was kind of an analogy. I really like her and she's pretty easy on the wallet too and likes to spend her money on me instead.

I don't really like any german car right now. I like some VW's but they are overpriced for what they have to offer. My next car will probably be another Fiat or I'm even thinking of Dacia. Would love to buy myself an Alfa, but I'm not quite sure what they will have in store when I'm about to buy something new.

But this is in the future since my Punto is still holding up very well.