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General buying a croma?

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General buying a croma?

dave said:
"2 young kids" have you looked at doblos and multiplas? multiplas are a bargain too and there is a big community of people in the same boat as you who often all meet up at the seaside or other place good for kids
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Doblo, Multipla? What's this, some kinda Fiat Forum ;)

Funnily enough I'm the one person I know who totally loved the original Multipla design- the funky, alien looks, 3 x 3 seating, just brilliant. The boot's a bit on the wee side I think Im right in saying. Already got a Scenic II for family duties, and its a squeeze getting pushchair and baggage etc in when we're going away, though the Mrs doesn't do "travelling light". And though most of my driving is the commute, the idea of the extra space in an estate is very appealing.

Doblo... well, let's just say its not for me.
 
My opinion is... a great car let down by a few dubious under-spec'ing of certain components (e.g. rear springs & shocks).

We bought ours for £8k and have spent a couple of grand on it with a couple of unusual failures. We possibly could have cut and run but better the devil you know.

It's an unusual car, but I think I like this Fiat/GM lovechild.
 
I had a Multipla for 6 years and 70000 miles. It is easy to remove any of the rear seats, to free up the space. It always did 50 mpg, and had very few issues.
 
I've always liked the Multipla (looks and all) and their reported reliability. Only downside I can see is that they are a WIDE vehicle.

The Doblo also looks neat and the side slide doors actually very practical. Only downside is the tailgate is so long and high that if you tow a caravan you may not be able to fully open the tailgait with the caravan attached. However with those large side sliding door and side access to the rear the tailgate problem is slightly mitigated.
 
There are 23 Cromas on ebay currently (2% of all of them ever in the UK). What's all this about a shortage?

I guess the only thing with buying a Croma is forget it if you want to buy one from round the corner. For an extreme example, I live on the south coast, and bought mine in Scotland. Not as mad as it sounds though - the car was a grand cheaper than others, the flight, train and bus cost me about £50 and the dealer threw in a tank of fuel that got me most of the way home. And I really enjoyed the journey too.

If you're going to buy from the other end of the country, you may as well buy a private sale. You can always arrange an inspection before you look at it.
 
Radlet6 said:
Wrong spec, wrong box, wrong engine (and knackered PAS - that's a new one on here).
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It looks alright to me. The PAS should put off most other bidders, so it'll probably go for a little over the £2k. The seller's a pillock selling it with that fault.

I think it's the 8V engine, but that's not the end of the world. The Dynamic's as good as a posh Ford.
 
Doofer said:
There are 23 Cromas on ebay currently (2% of all of them ever in the UK). What's all this about a shortage?

I guess the only thing with buying a Croma is forget it if you want to buy one from round the corner. For an extreme example, I live on the south coast, and bought mine in Scotland. Not as mad as it sounds though - the car was a grand cheaper than others, the flight, train and bus cost me about £50 and the dealer threw in a tank of fuel that got me most of the way home. And I really enjoyed the journey too.

If you're going to buy from the other end of the country, you may as well buy a private sale. You can always arrange an inspection before you look at it.
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Glad I'm not the only one to buy from far far away! Bought my green Marea from Southsea, and I'm from near Middlesbrough.
 
Doofer said:
It looks alright to me. The PAS should put off most other bidders, so it'll probably go for a little over the £2k. The seller's a pillock selling it with that fault.

I think it's the 8V engine, but that's not the end of the world. The Dynamic's as good as a posh Ford.
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Sorry but I like climate control too much - had it in the last 3 cars and I just won't go back (just call me spoilt).

Why settle for 120 ponies when you can have 150 for very little penalty on fuel consumption and price? It would need to be cheap.

As far as Cromas are concerned it's a buyers market and there enough nice 16v Eleganzas to satisfy demand.
 
hi allnearly brought a croma at auction last nightwas 2lt diesal, 06 plate £2600 +comm = £2900looked a clean car, but had the airbag/seatbelt light on, so thought it may have a probelm.are these things any goodthis is the second one thats been at auction in last few weeks
 
ballboy said:
hi allnearly brought a croma at auction last nightwas 2lt diesal, 06 plate £2600 +comm = £2900looked a clean car, but had the airbag/seatbelt light on, so thought it may have a probelm.are these things any goodthis is the second one thats been at auction in last few weeks
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was it an auto? ive been searching auction catalogues for weeks and none have been listed. if its privately entered at auction so not catalogued be very weary, there is normally only 1 reason a private seller sticks a car through auction
 
main dealers trade in are normally a good buy if its same make as the car they are selling, means old owner was happy with it so traded it in for a new car of the same make.
julted plug for seat airbag could have put light on when it was driven off the auction delivery lorry.
 
i don't think there will be another one at the auction, if only 1200 in UK and auctions locally have had 2 in last few weeks.unlikly to have any more.
should have taken a chance with it, years ago got a vento from auction, that was a good car, and had never heard of it before i brought it
 
ballboy said:
hi allnearly brought a croma at auction last nightwas 2lt diesal, 06 plate £2600 +comm = £2900looked a clean car, but had the airbag/seatbelt light on, so thought it may have a probelm.are these things any goodthis is the second one thats been at auction in last few weeks
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When you compare it to what else you can get for sub £3k it's an absolute steal. I'm surprised you weren't locked up.

You will see that some of us have had our Cromas for some time, and yes we have had our issues, but perhaps no more really than any other mainstream car.

Happy Croma motoring.
 
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