Hi peeps, I'm new to the forum so firstly I hope I'm ok to post this here!! Sorry if not.

I wonder if anyone can help me. Next week I'm going to look at a stilo Schumacher GP, I'm good with cars/studied mechanics, but I would like to know if anyone can point me to anything I should look out for in particular/common faults and issues etc.
The car has done 56,000 and had a Cambelt etc 10,000 miles ago. I've been told there was a revised Cambelt change at 36,000 if anyone could confirm this would be much appreciated
It seems a well looked after example but would be nice to go armed with a bit more knowledge and if I should actually buy one lol!! I've also been told lots of different opinions on oil as well, what's the weight 5/40??

Thanks for taking the time to read and any feedback would be much appreciated
Cheers
Ash

Hi wesstie and welcome firstly well done on your choice I hope you end up buying it as we could do with a few more Schumacher models on here!

First thing first ask to hear it running from cold ( put your hand on top of the engine to check that its stone cold) I say this as the 2.4 engine has a cam variator on it and if it starts ups and rattles like a diesel then it needs a new one (£160 from fiat). If that's ok check for smoke. The 2.4 likes to drink its oil so ask if the owners kept his eye on it.

On the road test make sure all the gears are ok - manual 2.4s are rare so finding a replacement is tricky (as I found out! Lol) also listen for rattling/ knocking noises from the suspension areas. Wishbone bushes and rear axel bushes go a lot sooner than they should as do the drop links. Wishbones and drop links are easy enough if your handy with the spanners though. Check the tyres!!! Last time I looked they were roughly £160 each

As for the cam belt I'm not heard of a different one and the oil...... Well the book says 10/40 but I use 5/40 but some owners go as thin as 0/40! I've used that before but I found my oil consumption go up dramatically but my cars an oddity as other owners have reported no problems whatsoever

Good luck and I hope to see you on here with a shiny new schummey

Hi Gadge, thanks for taking the time to reply, sorry for my slow reply!
I'm hopefully going to look at the Schumacher tomorrow and if I like it ill leave a deposit (as long as he makes a good offer on my car) he assures me it's a top notch car but ill wait and see as I'm quite fussy haha. I've wanted one for a long time but people put me off with reliability issues. A mate of mine had a normal Abarth with the selespeed gearbox that he came out to one morning, started it up and it burst into flames. But after much though I've decided sod it ill go for it!
Thanks for giving me pointers on what to look out for, I've asked for the car to be stone cold or ill walk away if its already warm. I had read about a few suspension issues but I'm able to replace these parts myself so I'm not too concerned. Hopefully the next time we speak ill have a pic to show, fingers crossed, and if not the search continues.

Thanks again for your help

Ash

Hi mate
I have had a Schumacher since 2006 and use it ever day for work it has clocked up 63000 miles and I can tell you now it makes you smile every time you take it out, yes it has bits and bobs replaced but show me a car that has not and I will show you an owner who doesn't look after their car.
Of all the Stilos I have driven this version has been the best, good luck in the search.

Hi.
Personally speaking I love the look of the schumacher and think they are probably just like any other car on the road. If its been looked after it will be fine if not it may have problems. Just be thorough when checking it out.
I have owned my 1.8 stilo from new aug 2002 and apart from stuff that I would call wear and tear item I haven't had any problems with it at all and it still looks as fresh as when it was new. It has certainatly never broken down and left me stranded. And they are such a bargain these days.
The only thing I could possibly say from reading the forums regular is the 2.4 although a beast of an engine may have bottom end issues. I suspect this may be down to poor servicing on the owners part but I would be listening for unual knocking noises and ticking etc on start up and whilst driving.
At the end of the day there are plenty of good ones out there and if you suspect it may have an issue just walk away like you would any other car.
The Stilo gets a bad rap but totally undeservedly.
I love mine but over the years I have kept on top of the servicing changing the oil plugs and filter every year regardless of whever its done the mileague all done by myself/dad. Ok so it doesn't have a stamp in the handbook since it was 3 years old but it does have every reciept for every part in its folder to prove what has been done on it over the years.
When I bought the car I paid £11400 for it and its a very well specced model. Now its probably worth maybe a grand which is why I dont want to get rid of it as it just keeps doing the job of getting me there safe, with enough power to have a little fun on the way and still looks quite cool when parked at the side of the road. Never fails to make me smile and none of my mates can believe its a 11 year old car when they get in it. And these are people with Golfs and focuses etc that are slightly newer but not worn as well as my stilo.

Hope that helps.

Hi everyone, just a quick one, I picked my Schumacher up today, wow am I pleased . More Info and pictures tomorrow

Ash

Hi everyone, can someone point me in the direction of where I can upload a pic of my Schumacher/if there is a thread on it already, I'm using the FF app on an iPhone, cheers

Hi there

Nice buy and enjoy the red schumey, it will keep on putting a smile on your face

To upload some pics, (not sure if the same on an I-phone app) simply log in, click on to the "gallery" tab on the main blue ribbon up top of the forum page, then click on "my albums", then "create a new album", from there just upload some pics in to an album and label them. Once you have upload some pictures on to ur album, to post a pic, open 2 web pages with yourself logged in to the Forum, on one web page post a reply to this thread if you wish to post the pics on this thread, on the second web page, open up your album through the gallery function, then click on a uploaded photo and simply copy and paste the forum address "link" on to the reply post thread message, then space the pics "links" as you go in the message if you want to post more than 1 pic.

Hope that is not too confusing lololol

You are restricted to the amount you can upload, once you make a small donation to the Forum your account allowance increases

Get these pics up soon, im looking froward to this :devil:

Welcome to the show westie! glad to see you made the right choice if you have any queries then do not hesitate to ask here first! If you have a ganders in the "events" section you may be interested in a few events that are taking place around the country where you could show it off to others they always attract good attention

Hi everyone, sorry for the lack of pictures yet its not uploading them, ill wait for my new laptop next week. BLKC99 your instructions where spot on I think it's the stupid way my camera insists on uploading photos.

Just a quick question for anyone who may know as Gadge has said ask here first so here we go...

Firstly Im really pleased with the Schumacher and I've just done a full service (what a pain in the arse the oil filter is to get to) and the car runs sweet!
The problem is the car has a slight hesitation/jerk/unevenness if that's the tight word when your accelerating gently, under normal or heavy acceleration it's spot on, but when you just want to potter around it just isn't smooth, I'm suspecting a possible coil pack but wouldn't it throw a engine management light up? Or affect the car under load? Maybe a throttle position sensor? Dirty inlet? Hopefully one of you have the answer, it's not the end of the world but just a tad annoying as its pretty perfect in every other way! Someone's loved and cherished it in the past that's for sure!
Cheers guys any suggestions will be great and thanks for reading!

Ash

Sounds like classic failing coil symptoms. At your mileage to be honest I'd replace all five as a matter of course if you can afford it.

http://www.shop4parts.co.uk/?name=store&op=Details&ProdID=2396&sku=40637

Hi mate thanks for the quick reply, ahh guessed it might be that, it already has an odd coil pack so ones been changed in the past, 4 Bosch and one beru. Is there difference in makes in your opinion, I've been offered 5 beru ones at £35 each all in, and what plugs do you run in the 2.4 it's got the standard twin ground electrode ngk's in ATM, have you changed for iridium or anything? Cheers

Westie200 said:

what plugs do you run in the 2.4?

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For what it's worth I use Nippon Denso Iridium Power IK20 plugs. Don't think the brand of coil makes much difference (though I think I'd avoid an unbranded e-bay job!)

Yeah I've seen the god old cheap eBay ones lol, are they single ground electrode plugs?

Hmmm it does sound like a suspect coil pack fault? I take it you checked/changed the plugs? I did exactly the same as you did and gave mine a good service soon as I got it - and yes what a ball ache that filter is! Screw it in from the bottom, tighten from the top - I fitted NGK irridiums in mine as well as a K&N panel air filter, well worth it just so you don't have to fit another one!

Westie200 said:

are they single ground electrode plugs?

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Yes and the electrode is amazingly small - 0.4mm in diameter!

Ill invest in a set of coil packs and descent plugs then and see if that cures the problem! Cheers mate

Gadge I changed the plugs on the service for the normal NGK but to be fair the old ones where not that bad really, driving on the motorway etc it doesn't skip a best it's just when your driving like a granny it has that funny hesitation!
I also need a new tyre and they are a unusual size, not much choice either lol, it's got 3 brand new conti's so I guess I'll have to buy one more to complete the set!

Try eBay for the tyres. I've got my last four nearly new SportContact 2s there...

Westie200 said:

Gadge I changed the plugs on the service for the normal NGK but to be fair the old ones where not that bad really, driving on the motorway etc it doesn't skip a best it's just when your driving like a granny it has that funny hesitation!
I also need a new tyre and they are a unusual size, not much choice either lol, it's got 3 brand new conti's so I guess I'll have to buy one more to complete the set!

Click to expand...

Yes your right the man at the tyre shop told me that too. I replaced all 4 of mine as 3 of them were on there way out. I went against the grain and went for Pirelli P-Zeros as I'm not a fan of continentals - they were £153 each so I thought I'ld keep it Italian through and through