General 5 years of GP ownership

[Shauncorwyn]

On the 1st of March i will have owned my sporting for 5 years purchasing my at the launch and am pretty sure i am the only original owner still left on the forum.

I thought i would post some of the highs and lows of ownership as i have done over the previous years.

Highs:
Car never let me down.
45mpg plus.
Fantastic performance.
Lots of standard equipment. 17's, Bluetooth, voice control, ipod connection, air con etc.
Excellent build quality - no squeeks or rattles, no parts falling off.
Brilliant aftersales service with my local dealer (LC Motors Newport).
Cheap to service.
Passed 3 Mot's now.

Lows:
EGR valve (twice). (Warranty x 1).
Drivers door lock. (Warranty)
Seat belt warning problem.
Front springs. (Warranty).
Alloy Wheel. (Pot Hole).
Steering column plate (Recall - Warranty)
Front Windscreen (Lorry hit me with a stone causing chip / crack) (Insurance).
Replacement turbo.
Many puntures that always ruin the tyre.

And Things that have bugged me:
Lack of storage space, cubby holes.
The fact I did not buy cruise control.
Engine takes ages to warm up.
No spare wheel.

On reflection this has been a good 5 years but has been the most costly this year due to the turbo, i have enjoyed the car on my daily commute. It is has been a reliable good looking car and the colour always seems to be a topic of conversation.

The good points have out weighed the bad 10 times over. Just had third MOT - passed no problems and also had new timing belt kit and water pump fitted.
What a good car this is and i have no reason to change it.

 

[wellfan]

I bought my first GPS in April 2006, so was also an early adopter. Bought my second in April 2008. This has to be one of the most frustrating cars I have ever owned. However, I cannot think of any other car I would replace it with. It has given me more grief than you would believe but it always puts a smile on my face when I drive it (that is when it is working). Your 'lows' list would make me happy if that was all I had to be concerned about.
Had a look at the Alfa Mito today, it just seemed a bit naff. So I'll stick with the GP for a wee while yet.

 

[T14086]

Looks like you have done well their Shaun

Wellfan, mito I agree...I just dont see the appeal in it, the rear is ugly and that's unusual me saying that!

 

[georgios1976]

Bought my MJET Sporting in June 2006 and after 76k miles I agree with Shaun, it's a cracking car despite its numerous faults. Although my turbo is still working fine, I had to replace front springs twice, ditto the EGR valve. I also replaced 3 shock absorbers, drop links, indicator stalks, USB port, steering rack, alloy wheels, heating system, all under warranty! Warranty Direct paid a huge chunk for the aircon compressor and the second EGR valve, whereas Fiat UK contributed massively towards broken sunroof vessels (that repair was over £1k) and the second set of front springs, despite the car being over 4 years old. I must say that Fiat UK have been absolutely fantastic to me, as have LC Motors in Cwmbran (I've never used the Newport branch, but guess they are just as good). No need to mention FiatForum, any time I needed advice people here were more than helpful and I am hugely indebted to you guys. Whatever the case, the car has been absolutely spot on mechanically, it has never failed to get me from A to B whatever the fault, and is an absolute joy to drive especially now that I am fully accustomed to the steering wheel feel and running on Kumho Ecsta Sport tyres which are ideal for motorways. The only car that might make me replace it is a Giulietta JTD 170, but it is massively expensive... The way things are going, I can see myself running my 'scrofa' to the ground.

 

[IainG GPS]

I would echo Shauns comments. I am the second owner of a March 2006 GP Mjet, owned for 2.5 years,

Relavively low mileage at 33,000 only real problem the door lock (warranty) and new EGR valve.

It has some subtle mods remap, new springs and the Abarth Brembo brakes.

Just had the cambelt and a full service too.

Been totally reliable and I am struggling to find a car as a replacement one that I really want....

 

[Shauncorwyn]

I always remember the ad campaign when i bought the car. Fiat claimed they did 1 million miles of testing to improve their quality, seems laughable now as most of the faults i have had seem to be pretty common and Fiat were bound to have seen them in that kind of testing.

I too will probably run this car into the ground now but hope it lasts another 5 years without too much drama.

 

[phil0254]

mine will be 5 in july and apart from 2 rear wheel bearings ,no suprise there ,2 front strut bearings ,again no suprise ,rear pads ,which where breaking up .resistor for the aircon failing ,the normal shower when opening the boot ,the car has never let me down ,has always got me home ,even on friday when on the way to work i got the batt light on ..beng in the trade and from reading on here i took it for granted the alternator had failed ,,,phoned local dealer .they can't get me an alternator till tuesday !!!! so being clever i asked for it VOR .if available that get's me it next day ,saturday ..so grab a works van shoot to the dealer who then says he has a exchange unit in stock ,result ,or so i thought till i got the car home ,luckily i was only a mile before the batt was giving up and i got the warning and heavy steering ,still on original battery ...rfemoved aircon unit alternator ,to find they have given me the wrong unit ..arrrgh..luky dealer is near and i can walk to them .. so now my VOR alternator won't be in till tuesday ,as they don't have a delivery monday ,and it isn't an exchange unit !!!!..seems like all parts departments ,no matter where are ueless ,even the lot at my work are useless

 

[phil0254]

meant to add ,that if you ask for an item VOR you loose any discount ,and generally you can't return the item if not required ..but it is a way to get said item next day if available at the main distribution depot in the uk

 

[gsalini]

where are you in south wales shaun?

 

[1.8Stilo]

Having own 3 GP's over the years... we still have 1; but the others faired as below:

My own a 1.9 Mjet sporting a 2007 model which i owned for 3 year before i traded it in, did 40k miles. Nothing really went wrong until the end.

It had the steering column replaced under third year warrenty. Front shocks was replaced in the 2nd year of warrenty along with the manifold that crack. Thank god it wasnt an earlier model and the turbo and manifold were two pieces. Had to clean the EGR valve out at 20k, but was never replaced. At the end, I was getting major electrical problems which i suspect was down to water in the fuse box

Next GP was a 1.2 06 reg, needed for nothing until recently. It has electrical gremlins; guest what water in the fuse box. This was an ex demo before being brought 6 months old or so by the parents.

The other is my sister and is still with us, going strong; yes another 1.2 GP 08 reg. Think we are going to look at the fuse box on this one before its too late?

No MiTo bashing please they are cool cars my 155TB feels much better built than my GPS and has most the optional extras. The leather is 10 times better than that in my GPS though the Mjet is a great engine and i'll look at getting a JTDM-2 engine in the guiletta next when we say bye to our stilo.

 

[Shauncorwyn]

where are you in south wales shaun?

Caerphilly area.

 

[IainG GPS]

Rob you will never catch me calling the Mito a hairdressers car I mean I am enjoying driving our 500!

Good tip about the fuse box, I had problems with the Stilo so keep this one well sealed.

 

[barnyard.c]

Ive owned my 1.9 GP sporting since new, June 2006, so it is nearly five years old, and I wouldnt change it for any other motor, it looks good (zunsoprt grille) and it goes very well
I found that the dealers in south devon were terrible with even warranty repairs being a major headache usually needing more than one visit
and now use an independant garage who are really good
I find the guides very helpful and that regular cleaning of the EGR valve helps things tick along nicely
Im a bit worried about the sunroof problem what went wrong exactly

Barnyard.C

 

[T14086]

...rfemoved aircon unit alternator ,to find they have given me the wrong unit .

I dont remove air con compressor?

 

[phil0254]

ahh can you drop the alternator from below ???..i had read that the alternator on an aircon car was a more involved job ...my main bugbear was the dealer failing to supply the correct alternator took 3 attempts ,2 of them VOR ..and i actually took the old unit to them with the part number on it ,and they still got it wrong lol...must just be parts depts ,as the lot where i work are useless as well ..anyway job done and being aircon trained ,all recharged lol..and bosses are happy for us to do our cars in the workshop no matter how busy ,so a bonus there