Much of their reputation for unreliability and rust is based on very old cars of the 70s and early 80s, things have moved on significantly as we all know - rust just doesn't exist and mechanically they are very strong cars. Only the electronics seem a slight weekness.

When I bought my first Fiat I asked my brother what he thought, his current and previous car were both Fiats. He said it was reliable, cheap to run and would be buying another Fiat when it came to replacing this one. That was enough to convince me that the Fiat was a good buy. I bought the Stilo and got 3 years of solid trouble free motoring before buying an Alfa which is still part of the same family I like to think. The only thing that really dissapointed me was the depreciation but that is what you get for buying new.

I think the new models like the GP and the new Bravo will start to turn things around. We are already seeing this with the GP - a really great car with Fiat back to their best. Dealers still seem to get the most flack, my experience has been ok with the price and a very good local specialist making me look elsewhere. Even if the dealers aren't 100% yet I'm happy to put up with a little hassle for something which I would prefer I know many people aren't.

And yes this site is the best place for Fiat on the internet!