Hi,

I've a few issues please help if you can, as MOT is coming up soon, and I need to work out what I can do:

1) Can anyone please tell me on the rear right wheel arch, where the fuel tank is, is there meant to be a plastic guard cover above the wheel? It looks like something is missing from my car, but I can't remember?

2) If yes, does anyone know where I can get this part from?

3) Also, it's created a small hole due to rust, is there anything I can do to repair this, cos the garage man said it will fail the MOT and he says it will cost ~£300-400 if it needs welding to pass. Is there any way I can fix it cheaper at all? It's not a structural part of the car, just the inner part of the wheel arch. But they say the cost is due to be being near the fuel tank and so the labour hours it needs to take that out too.
(It's a mk1 R-reg Fiat Punto. I've had this car for 15 years, it's been brilliant, I'd hate to have to scrap it for this hole as the rest of the car is fine.)

4) Also, the handbrake cable was new last year, and it's gone quite lose, holds right at the top, so something seems quite slack. Can anyone let me know how to tighten this, is it easy for me to do myself?

Thanks. #Sigh #

Pics would really help. £400 is a lot of welding even if the garage in in Chelsea.

Handbrake is adjustable from within the cockpit -- panel behind lever unscrews, IIRC.

Get the Haynes -- you can probably pick one up for a fiver on eBay/Amazon.

Do you know if there is a plastic guard above the wheel too, i.e. in the arch covering the pipes (incl. the fuel pipe)?
The welding he said was £300-400 quote, is not Chelsea area!, I was told it's because to weld it they need to remove the seat and fuel tank, hence the labour time/cost.

ok pics just uploaded:

i) as you look at the wheel these are on the right side of the wheel arch.
- hole about 10cms x 5cms

ii) a smaller 2cms x 2cms hole a bit below it

iii) the pipes nearby these holes

iv) the view above the wheel, ie. fuel pipe, etc. Is there a guard missing, as I dont remember seeing the pipes like this before, but I cant remember as it's not often you look and remember.

Thanks.

ps. what did IIrc mean?

I'd not worry overmuch about the guard -- I can't remember if there is one.

It's a long time since I've been under a Punto -- that hole definitely needs attention by welding, but I'm not sure how serious the damage actually is. I'd be inclined to get a few quotes.

There isnt any covers ect there. you should be able to move the fuel filler pipes out of the way by undoing the four screws around the filler neck. As for the seat removal Id try folding the seat flat and look to see if you can see the hole with the seats like that.
Where abouts do you live?

I live in NW London, the problem I have got is it's not worth spending a huge amount on repairs,if they are going to cost more than the car is worth! #Sigh #

i cant quite tell from the photos where the hole actually is, did they say why it would fail the mot, is it near to a suspension or seat belt mounting?

If you were facing the wheel, it's in line with the arch, and just right of it.

The guy I asked to look at it pre-mot said it would fail due to the seat belt mountings, but they are not on the same part of metal.

But I guess it could fail an MOT on the fact there is a hole on that area, is that not correct?

has to be with in 30cm of the area to fail iirc

ok it's about 15 cms away I guess, but a totally separate part of the metal/bodywork, it's not supporting or connected to the seatbelt area at all. So I guess it would be a fail at the moment. #Sigh #

Not sure what I am going to do....

sunflower888 said:

ok it's about 15 cms away I guess, but a totally separate part of the metal/bodywork, it's not supporting or connected to the seatbelt area at all. So I guess it would be a fail at the moment. #Sigh #

Not sure what I am going to do....

Click to expand...

the holes is within 30 cm of a structural component = FAIL,
however - it's a fairly small area,
£150 tops for welding..!!


you could always slacken off the mounts around the filler neck, and remove ( unbolt) the seat base yourself to save yourself MORE money,
(@£50 per hour for labour..!!)


if the car runs well and this is ALL it need for another years MOT , then £200 is worth spending ;-)


Charlie - Oxford

Yes that is all that is needed... interesting suggestion. They said the added labour cost was due to needing to take out the fuel tank and seats... etc

Maybe I should get a few more quotes it appears then. Thanks. And yes the rest of the car runs very well, but I guess I should change it sometime in the next year.... hence it's not cost effective to spend too much on an old car. Sadly.

sunflower888 said:

Yes that is all that is needed... interesting suggestion. They said the added labour cost was due to needing to take out the fuel tank and seats... etc

Maybe I should get a few more quotes it appears then. Thanks. And yes the rest of the car runs very well, but I guess I should change it sometime in the next year.... hence it's not cost effective to spend too much on an old car. Sadly.

Click to expand...

or you could remove the seats yourself and lower the cost

True, spoke to someone today and they said £80+vat, how can there be such a difference, really poor.

also this rust that fails you on mot is a scam, like if you are you putting anyone else in danger than yourself if you got few rust holes in your car, a ****in joke

I'm not even putting myself in danger.... yeah good point!

fingers99 said:

Pics would really help. £400 is a lot of welding even if the garage in in Chelsea.
Handbrake is adjustable from within the cockpit -- panel behind lever unscrews, IIRC.
Get the Haynes -- you can probably pick one up for a fiver on eBay/Amazon.

Click to expand...

Handbrake:-
Fingers99 - thanks....:worship:, did this with a friend and we fixed the handbrake biting point being at the top, and now it's how it should be lower down. It was actually relatively simple. So looks like the garage last year when it was a new cable probably didnt tighten enough allowing for a bit of slackening by a brand new cable. Funny how when you speak to the garage they say they have to take the wheel off etc etc, and yet we didn't need to, it was how you said. (They quoted me 1 hours work for this @£60+vat)

Welding:- ok so the update is being a responsible driver I took the car to the another garage to ask about the holes re any MOT and to get a quote, they again said no more than £80 for welding, and suggested it wouldn't be structural, and suggested to put it through the MOT as it may not be needed in any urgent sense.

MOT:- So I did the MOT and it failed, but not on the holes, on the rear lights. This is a new issue, when the indicators are in use, it dims the other lights, and causes them to flicker, the man say this is due to shorting and and earthing problem.

Rear lights:- Anyone know how to fix this? I've opened up the two light columns, and the bottom nearside (rear) one has rust at the lowest bulb that was never there before, the foam at the top has moved down, so water has obviously got in and it was damp to touch. Just need to fix this issue then can take to get MOT resolved in a few days I hope.

Cant believe I may have almost scrapped the car due to the other garages advice when it was not needed. Poor.

Rear wheel guard:- So I rang Fiat about this part and they said there is a guard on the diagram, sent me the attached really useful parts diagram. Part 10 on the attached he thinks is the part, but doesnt know how tall it is. £25 from Fiat in Italy apparently, will take 5 days to get here, which is not bad I guess, but if I get it, not sure how I can secure it as there's nowhere to tie it or bolt it too, due to the small hole being a weak area, without getting the welding done. Any suggestions? cos otherwise that area is going to get worse over the winter and wet weather will cause more rust.

clean rust, bulbs and their holders

flisko said:

clean rust, bulbs and their holders

Click to expand...

Would one side cause the other side to go wrong too? Or does it mean there are two problems in each column of lights?

Thanks will try this. ...

mhm, dont think one side would cause the other to start ****ing around