advice needed

hi all i need some advice I'm looking to buy a ulysse and took one out for a test drive it was a p reg 2.0 petrol,i have never driven one if these before and found that the clutch was really quite stiff i said about this to the sales man and he said it was like because it was a fiat, is this true? and what do i need to look out for when buying one of these cars as i was stung big time when i bought my last mpv which was a Toyota lucida your advice would be much appreciated.

Hi,

I had a P reg until I recently upgraded to the new shape.

There are degrees of stiffness to the clutch. Compared to most cars the clutch can be quite stiff but when I was looking for the P reg one that I had I drove some that were pretty horrid. The one I ended up with felt a bit stiff but not enough to be a problem.

I would go for the diesel as they wear better and hang out for an EL spec that will give you proper aircon captains electric chairs fog lights etc.

Make sure that all electrics are working as on a P reg a lot may have electrical gremlins. Full service history is a must.

Check all the gears as some lose 3 rd gear. Any gearboxes that are notchy avoid.

Check that there is no slopiness in the steering and that the steering wheel is central. This can mean new whishbones at some cost.

Go for 7 not 8 seats. You will never move the bench seat on your own.

These are great cars for the money. I got back what I paid for mine 6 months after I bought it.

Plenty of cars breaking on Ebay which is what I used to maintain mine.

Cheers

Richard

Thanks for the advice hopfully buy one this week

Hi Stuart, I just recently bought a p reg 2.0 S and yes the clutch is quite heavy. If you've been used to a Toyota before then the Ulysse will seem much more 'van like' in comparison but you do get used to it. One thing I have noticed is you'll need to ensure the electrical contacts on the rear sliding doors are clean or you may find one or both doors don't lock/unlock reliably (it's a common issue with these contacts - not confined to Fiat)