Would i recommend a Stilo 1.9 JTD? Totally, yes.
Ive owned mine for 15 months & covered just over 10,000 miles in that time. All it's needed is fuel. It's not used a drop of oil, it's been due a service for most of the time i've owned it (due to losing my job ive not been able to get it done yet) but it still goes fine & doesn't complain about its lack of attention from a mechanic.
I get the 'low oil pressure' warning when i stall it & when the battery got very low (when it was parked for 3 weeks without moving) it said 'airbag failure' & something else, but this didn't happen again once id taken it for a run.
I get the odd rattle from the dashboard, one from the centre console when the temperature is below about 5c and another from infront of the speedo area from about 50mph, which is (usually temporarily) cured by hitting the steering column area, but other than that ive had no faults & it (like the two Puntos ive owned previously) has been totally reliable.
Id go for a one or two owner car (one thats changed hands alot may have done so because its troublesome). Make sure it's been serviced regularly - mine hasn't, but i do drive it very carefully (let it idle at the end of a long journey to cool the turbo gradually, don't rev it about 2250rpm till its fully warm etc). Try and check to see that the front springs have had the spring catchers fitted (an extra piece of metal on the base of the springs), that's about it.
Stilos can eat tyres as has been mentioned, however mine has hardly used any tread at all in 10,000 miles so im guessing some Stilos are worse than others. The warning messages are usually due to insufficient battery voltage & either clear themselves on their own or are solved with a good quality new battery. The only other thing to mention that my JTD & several other JTDs on here do is rattle from the passenger side at idle when cold (around 2c or colder). This is caused by the rubber in the gearbox mounting bracket going brittle over time & no longer absorbing the vibrations. It appears to cause no harm if ignored, it just makes an annoying noise, but can be cured by fitting a new mounting bracket. The part is around £50 and the labour i was quoted was also £50, so £100 in total, depending on who fixes it. Not all JTDs do it though, so you might be lucky and could probably check this quite easily in the current cold weather. I bought mine in warmer weather so didnt know!
So there ya go, a few things to watch out for, but nothing majorly serious & also bear in mind the Stilo JTD is quite abit cheaper than rivals to buy, and is only group 5 insurance, £120/yr to tax and (mine) does 550 miles to a £50 tank of diesel, so it makes up for any shortfalls. Good luck.
Ive owned mine for 15 months & covered just over 10,000 miles in that time. All it's needed is fuel. It's not used a drop of oil, it's been due a service for most of the time i've owned it (due to losing my job ive not been able to get it done yet) but it still goes fine & doesn't complain about its lack of attention from a mechanic.
I get the 'low oil pressure' warning when i stall it & when the battery got very low (when it was parked for 3 weeks without moving) it said 'airbag failure' & something else, but this didn't happen again once id taken it for a run.
I get the odd rattle from the dashboard, one from the centre console when the temperature is below about 5c and another from infront of the speedo area from about 50mph, which is (usually temporarily) cured by hitting the steering column area, but other than that ive had no faults & it (like the two Puntos ive owned previously) has been totally reliable.
Id go for a one or two owner car (one thats changed hands alot may have done so because its troublesome). Make sure it's been serviced regularly - mine hasn't, but i do drive it very carefully (let it idle at the end of a long journey to cool the turbo gradually, don't rev it about 2250rpm till its fully warm etc). Try and check to see that the front springs have had the spring catchers fitted (an extra piece of metal on the base of the springs), that's about it.
Stilos can eat tyres as has been mentioned, however mine has hardly used any tread at all in 10,000 miles so im guessing some Stilos are worse than others. The warning messages are usually due to insufficient battery voltage & either clear themselves on their own or are solved with a good quality new battery. The only other thing to mention that my JTD & several other JTDs on here do is rattle from the passenger side at idle when cold (around 2c or colder). This is caused by the rubber in the gearbox mounting bracket going brittle over time & no longer absorbing the vibrations. It appears to cause no harm if ignored, it just makes an annoying noise, but can be cured by fitting a new mounting bracket. The part is around £50 and the labour i was quoted was also £50, so £100 in total, depending on who fixes it. Not all JTDs do it though, so you might be lucky and could probably check this quite easily in the current cold weather. I bought mine in warmer weather so didnt know!
So there ya go, a few things to watch out for, but nothing majorly serious & also bear in mind the Stilo JTD is quite abit cheaper than rivals to buy, and is only group 5 insurance, £120/yr to tax and (mine) does 550 miles to a £50 tank of diesel, so it makes up for any shortfalls. Good luck.
