rusty arches are caused by stonechips that remove the galvanised layer. you also see it on sills where the same thing happens. if you regularly touchup all stonechips then it wont happen.

The only rust i've seen on the Bravo is the darn screws that are open to the elements. Wish they put galvanised screws in or atleast used some copper grease.

ive never had this problem with any of my bravo's and ive had 4, 3 of wich were 100,000 plus miles but i wash my cars every weekend religiusly im afraid, you get what you give with fiat like alfa if you dont take care of it it will just turn into a shed very quick lol.

they are a great upgrade, ive had 3 bravos now

picks of the bunch are the 1.2, a hell of alot of fun for such a little engine, very good re insurance and petrol and general running costs. try and get as late a 1.2 as possible as the gearboxes get inherently stroger the newer they are (had a couple of minor redesigns)

the 1.8 - the petrol all rounder, only model without its own particluar quirk (1.2 eats gear boxes, 1.4 eats petrol and cam shafts, 1.6 eats inhectors & 2.0 eats money for fun)

the HGT is the only awkward one re work getting done, awkward to work n yourself and almost all garages will turn you away due to the nature of 5 cylinders in a little space... but the sound and the oomph sure as hell make up for it!

donny lad said:

ive never had this problem with any of my bravo's and ive had 4, 3 of wich were 100,000 plus miles but i wash my cars every weekend religiusly im afraid, you get what you give with fiat like alfa if you dont take care of it it will just turn into a shed very quick lol.

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Fiats of this era generally are not that bad. They only seem to rust once a paint defect has occured or mud has been allowed to accumulate on inner panels.
Fiats main flaw is the lacquer over a certain period, resulting in peel.

looking at others, late escorts rot on rear arches as do Renault Megane's. Ka's and Fiesta's are shocking sills/arches and chassis. BMW's slam panels front wings etc.

Most Japanese cars tend to be ok on bodywork but rust on suspension etc...

I've just gone from '92 Uno 45s to a 2001 Bravo HGT. It's early days but the difference in performance is, ummm, noticeable as is refinement!

One surprise was how soft the 2.0l engine is if not in the right rev range (below about 3000rpm). Almost wonder if the Uno/Fire engine has better torque/weight ratio at low revs!

the 20v engine isnt designed to have much grunt below 3000rpm, below that rpm the variable valve timing is set for more torque to help, but ultimately the engine is designed to operate at higher rpm. no doubt you've noticed the higher rev limiter too, dont be afraid to use it. an advantage of the low rpm characteristic is that you can get pretty good economy from the 20v if driven sensibly and kept at low rpm, but at the same time you can have great performance at higher rpm.

I had several uno`s ,turbo`s inc, they were fun ,but id never go back now .
I like my bravo much better, refined,smooth engine, slick gear change and lots of toys .e.g. heated seats(nice in the winter)
Ive got the 1.9 jtd hlx it has performance mixed with economy avge 53mpg.

Re: how gud is a bravo?

ahhh its too late ive brought a 1.8 vectra! which has its problems already

Re: how gud is a bravo?

Vectra? ooooh noes...


Jug get that bl**dy Vauxhall off your drive and out of your sig... it's making our members do silly things

Re: how gud is a bravo?

Hellcat said:

Jug get that bl**dy Vauxhall off your drive and out of your sig... it's making our members do silly things

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hehe, i'm working on it.

my GF is getting the astra off me in late november when her insurance expires so i've got until then to find a proper car.