General Fiat Punto Convertible - general issues - help needed!!

[sprat141]

Hi everyone

After finally getting rid of my Fiat Brava, I bought a fantastic Punto Elx Bertone (convertible) '97 . It's really fun to drive, but there are a couple of issues I have with it, and I just wondered if anyone had any advice...

Firstly, when I drive it above 50mph the whole car shakes quite badly. I know it's not the balancing. The garage tell me there's a hole under the driver's seat :bangoh great - lots of expensive welding!!) and they say that once this has been repaired, it will sort out the shaking - could they be right on this?

The other thing is, both the passenger and driver windows don't quite meet the roof. There's a really tiny gap at the top. Can this be sorted?

Has anyone had one of these during the winter? I have visions of my doors getting frozen shut and me having to scrape the inside of the windows as well as the outside (mind you, I had to do this with my brava, so it's not out of the ordinary for me!!)

I appreciate any views anyone has on these cars, as it appears that they're quite rare!!

Many thanks
Sarah

 

[Strada]

Hi! I owned a Cabrio from new back in 1994 which was when the car was launched. First of all, can I say that you should of got the car inspected before you bought it. As with all convertables, the Punto has extra strengthening in it's underside and around the body to compensate for having no rigid roof. If this is compromised by way of a hole in the floor as you have described then the car may be a potential death trap. What worries me is that the 'frame' of the car may be twisted which would explain why you have gaps at the tops of the windows. In my case, I cannot remember having any issues with the windows closing completeley or ice inside the cabin during the winter. Did you buy it from a trader or private? How was it described? has it got a full MOT? If I was you, I would get it inspected by an expert such as the AA as soon as possible!!

 

[sprat141]

Thanks for your reply Strada, although I do have to point out that with all due respect, when you owned the Punto, it was, as you say, when they first came out - therefore you had the privilege of owning a brand new car, whereas my car is 12 years old.

The car was checked over by the garage who sold it to me - I'm not stupid enough not to, and any garage worth their salt would never sell a car without doing so. After purchasing the car, I did what I always do, and had it checked over by an independant mechanic who pointed out the hole in the floor, which he also added was difficult to spot. He certainly never said it was a "death trap". The MOT doesn't run out until Feb 2010. With regard to the windows, they sit perfectly straight, but just don't meet the roof. Surely if the frame was twisted, I'd have inconsistent gaps? I was thinking that the window mechanism itself was worn, seeing as these are one of the first things to put down when the roof is off?

 

[Strada]

Well obviously I was'nt aware you were that much 'on the ball' to have had the car independantly inspected so I take my hat off to you! have you spoken to the seller about the hole in the floor and the vibrations? I was just a little concerned about the hole being there in the first place and whether any of the underside frame may be also corroded because as I said, thats where the car's strengthening is. Ref the windows; do they actually reach the top of the quarter lights? If so then may be the roof is not closing completly level?

 

[sprat141]

The two garages are conflicting with each other... the seller says there's nothing wrong, whereas the independant garage says there's a hole. There's obviously something wrong because the car shakes violently at any speed above 50mph, and I'm stuck in the middle of two garages!!

Not sure about the roof because when the roof is down, you can see that all the windows are in line with each other and reach the top of their frames, it's just when the roof is up I notice a very small gap at the top.

Was considering getting another garage involved, but because this could end up with welding being done, I'm getting suspicious that in the current climate, garages will say anything to get work. It's so frustrating.

 

[Chas Uno]

The violent shaking coming in at a certain speed (50mph) sounds as if it can only be caused by circulating masses i.e. wheels or driveshafts. First thing you should do is have all for wheels checked for balance and trueness, along with the tyres for signs of bulging or sidewall damage. The wheels themselves might also be warped or damaged - an out of true wheel can cause nasty vibration like that which you describe.

If it's not the wheels/ tyres then it's possible that one or both driveshafts may be damaged. Get the wheels checked first as that's the easiest thing to do and will either confirm or eliminate them from the equation. Bent driveshafts are often more difficult to diagnose if there's no obvious damage and often the only way to find out is to replace them. Then again, your Punto may have had a balance weight fitted to the long driveshaft and it's somehow come off causing it to be out of balance? My instinct is that your vibration issue is wheel/ tyre related. I doubt if a small hole in the floor would cause such a problem unless there are also unseen weaknesses spreading throughout the chassis.

Regarding the gap at the top of the doors with the roof up, that sounds quite normal for an old convertible. The roof can shrink over time causing warpage and all sorts of poor fitments. As long as it stays dry inside I wouldn't worry too much about it as solving the problem would likely entail a new and expensive roof.

Do you have any pictures of the car that you could show?

 

[Strada]

The two garages are conflicting with each other... the seller says there's nothing wrong, whereas the independant garage says there's a hole. There's obviously something wrong because the car shakes violently at any speed above 50mph, and I'm stuck in the middle of two garages!!

Not sure about the roof because when the roof is down, you can see that all the windows are in line with each other and reach the top of their frames, it's just when the roof is up I notice a very small gap at the top.

Was considering getting another garage involved, but because this could end up with welding being done, I'm getting suspicious that in the current climate, garages will say anything to get work. It's so frustrating.

If I were you, I would take it to somewhere like the AA to get it inspected properly where you will get a written report. Tell them about the hole and the vibrations. They will check things like drive shafts ect as suggested by 'Uno45S'. when you get the report take a copy to the seller and see what they say. You may also like to have a word with trading standards to see where you stand if you get a bad report back. A lot will depend on how the car was advertised in respect of condition ect. As for the hood, it does sound like what 'Uno45S' says or it could be that it is not fully closing. The hinges/joints may need greasing which if I remember correctly was a service item at around every 12 months on the cabrio. One other thing i'm not clear about; was the hole caused by damage or corrosion do you know? I think the latter is unlikely so maybe there is other damage underneath.