hi all,
As title i,m looking for a cheap runaround , was thinking of ford ka etc , any ideas on what to avoid but must be cheap !!

Cheers in advance


kev Walker

define cheap
what sort of budget you working to? any requirements, ie, diesel etc?

Forget the Ka, get a Cinquecento or Seicento Sporting. Proper small car fun and dirt cheap to buy, tax and insure

I've driven all 3, and owned both of the FIAT's and can safely say, the Cinq & Sei are the dogs leathery bits

Rob
Mk.2 Marea Weekend 1.8 16v 115 ELX - Bigger IS better !

hi again

@ roberto anything to look out for when buying a Cinquecento or Seicento Sporting, also what sort of price would you expect to pay . i,m not looking for anything imacculate just something as a back up if you get my drift!
@ Phil i,m after anything dont mind fuel type etc .
As it will be second car it needs to be cheap to insure etc.


Cheers again


Kev Walker

Check the radiator is ok as these can take a beating and the fan switch too. There isn't a lot of room in the engine bay and it gets quite warm in there (perfectly normal) but make sure the cooling system is ok. This applies to both models.

Other than that, I know of no other problem areas. the engines are FIAT F.I.R.E. (Fully Integrated Robotised Engine) units so have fewer moving parts, ergo, less to go wrong (in theory). They are very reliable.

You could probably pick up a Cinq Sporting for less than £500 notes in reasonable nick. The ex wife had mine when we got divorced and the bitch traded it in for a feckin Citroen Paxo !! Later models of the Cinq came with the slightly sturdier Punto internal switch gear and levers.

As for the Sei, maybe a little more. I sold mine 2 years ago. W Plate with 25K on the clock for £1350. Sei's, unlike Cinqs, come with power steering, which IMHO, makes them "too" refined and not quite as much fun as the Cinq.

Rob
Mk.2 Marea Weekend 1.8 16v 115 ELX - Bigger IS better !

Hi roberto,

Many thanks for your advice.
Have just been ploughing through fleebay and have found this one item no. 330240249352 .
It states on the advert that the timing belt appears to have "slipped" , could that seem right?
Is it worth at least going to look at?
i wont hold you to anything (lol)

Cheers,

Kev W

Edit to add looks like its been A bit butchered
may be not !

Personally, I wouldn't touch it.

Those wheels look like they've been to the TommyK school of painting

And that exhaust looks just silly.

As for the red interior "detailing".....

Rob
Mk.2 Marea Weekend 1.8 16v 115 ELX - Bigger IS better !

hi again,

Just checking roberto do cinqs have a timing belt , i know diddly squat about these "fire" engines?

Cheers,

This looks like a tidier option.

Or This.

Or this.



Rob
Mk.2 Marea Weekend 1.8 16v 115 ELX - Bigger IS better !

Yes, they have a timing belt...



http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/ajwebster/eng.html



Rob
Mk.2 Marea Weekend 1.8 16v 115 ELX - Bigger IS better !

cheers Roberto ,

Now they are much better arent they!!
I know have a much better idea of what i,m looking for !


Many thanks for your advice

Kev W

No worries.

Jackie still misses hers. She was pining over the ones on show at Stanford yesterday !

Me, on the other hand, rekindled my X1/9 fetish.

One day...



Rob
Mk.2 Marea Weekend 1.8 16v 115 ELX - Bigger IS better !

If you get the Sei... the SPI (single point injection) models didn't have PAS (ours doesn't).
Be wary of head gasket problems, clutch cable and clutch failure.
Strip the back seats out, fit a punto 60 throttle body and hey presto, a £700 rally car.
Rob is right on with the overheating too. Make sure the cooling system is serviced.

I had the clutch cable problem on the Cinq. It's an awkward bugger as it is fitted the same way as the left hand drive models and therefore has to snake it's way around the bulkhead.

The AA man was not a happy bunny

The overheating is not an issue, per se, and you will find that the cooling fan comes on a lot, especially when stationery, but that's quite normal. It just gets warm a lot quicker than most, but if your cooling system is ok, it handles it

Rob
Mk.2 Marea Weekend 1.8 16v 115 ELX - Bigger IS better !

Hi again,

Thanks for all your replies, my mind is now set on a cinq sporting a yellow if possible!! not that it makes any diffrence !
Will let you know how i get on

once again cheers,

Kev walker