I bought a 1998 60SX Punto a few weeks back, and we're loving it so far !

But the other day the damn handbrake cable snapped !

I need to go buy a Haynes manual I guess, but can anyone give me a rough idea if this is a big job (ie tricky) and how much I can expect to pay for a new cable ?

Its seems to have only snapped on one side (I pulled the cable out from within the car) - but can you replace just one side at a time ?

Cheers !!

You can change one side at a time but with anything to do with brakes,tyres and suspension its always advisable to do both together.
I had mine replaced on my 1.9 JTD which cost £42 however it is also a good idea to replace the fitting kit in the rear brakes as well. This will give you new adjusters and return springs.
It can be a complicated job in the drums and they can be a pain to get them to work evenly.
A good garage will do it at about £50 and give you some warranty on the parts.

the handbrake cable particularly on the driver's side is vulnerable to damage; your car is 12 years old so suggest take the opportunity to replace the rear brakes entirely; you will have to remove the drums to replace cables anyway; on the inners aspect of the brakes (backing plate) is a plastic plug (it will be covered in dirt and almost invisible), lever this out and then with cables slackened off (the broken one will be slack anyway) use a big screwdriver to lever what's underneath forwards as this will move the shoes away from the drum and facilitate it's removal; replace EVERYTHING ie drums, shoes, cylinders, hoses, springs, clips and carefully check the adjacent metal pipes for corrosion and replace with copper if dodgy; the parts are cheap but it is a fiddly job and you will not need then to do it again for the life of the car; use cable ties to pull the handbrake cables up as close to the body as possible particularly by the petrol tank to avoid damage.......

Amen to that last post. Remember if your foot brake fails its your last resort so worth every penny spent.