Technical New member with old(ish) question. Tyre wear and sunroof leak.

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Technical New member with old(ish) question. Tyre wear and sunroof leak.

Joined
Jun 10, 2007
Messages
195
Points
75
Hi.

First off, let me apologize for my rambling post on the newbie forum; 3AM is a silly time to try to write something sensible. I'd like peoples advice though; there's what looks like quite a tidy 1.9 diesel Multipla being sold by an independent trader about 50 miles from where I live, and by good luck I was able to talk with the previous owner. When I asked him about the car he wrote back as follows:

"I wouldn't buy it! We spent over £1000 last year on the suspension. When we took it back to the FIAT garage because the alarm light was on they just ripped out the alarm! One sunroof leaks, the door seals keep falling off, the tyres scrub off easily with the wide wheelbase & power steering and the fan belt keeps getting chewed up"

Asking price is around £2250. On the face of it, the trader is trying to unload a pile of trouble (it's being sold over 100 miles from where it was traded in) but the thought crosses my mind that the guy who traded it in, having spent over £1000 on what sounds like major suspension work, has just had enough and wanted out. The Fiat garages`cure' for the warning light coming on would have been the final straw!

I'm looking for advice as to whether the above problems are common and reasonably easy to fix, or not. Are there `non excessive tyre wear, non leaking' Multipla's out there, or is this a part of the cars character which you either live with, or buy something different? I told the trader I'd let him know by Thursday about his car; it's in a body shop just now having a scratch on the tailgate looked at; the email from the previous owner arrived after I'd spoken to the trader so I've a couple of days to decide whether to make an offer, or wait for something better. I've just checked, and couldn't find any Multipla's on the forum classifieds. Although sold, I've got the use of my present car (Citroen XM) for a couple of weeks. I'd rather travel long distance for the right car than buy a pile of trouble locally:bang:
 
Hi and welcome, Leaking sunroofs are fairly common on Multiplas but are usually a quite easy fix by just putting sealent around the rim.

Door trims are a bit of a pain again very common, the trouble is the rubber expands in the heat, so this time of year they are always loose, but i have never had reason to replace them.

Get the tracking checked and see if the wheels are towing in or out as tyres will wear on the outsides if not set right. Many Multi owners on here are reporting low millage on tyres due to this very common problem

Havent heard any probs with fanbelts though

I expect "T14086" will answer that for you as he works at a dealership
Hope this helps
 
Last edited:
Hi and welcome, Leaking sunroofs are fairly common on Multiplas but are usually a quite easy fix by just putting sealent around the rim.

Door trims are a bit of a pain again very common, the trouble is the rubber expands in the heat, so this time of year they are always loose, but i have never had reason to replace them.

Get the tracking checked and see if the wheels are towing in or out as tyres will wear on the outsides if not set right. Many Multi owners on here are reporting low millage on tyres due to this very common problem

Havent heard any probs with fanbelts though

I expect "T14086" will answer that for you as he works at a dealership
Hope this helps

Thanks Garry,

It's beginning to look as if it's a possible deal; what I was concerned about was something radically wrong with the car that a sucession of visits by the previous owner to his local Fiat dealer couldn't cure. I've talked to him; he seems a nice guy but not too technically minded and I think he's just got sick of paying official dealer workshop rates for a never ending series of `problems'. Butchering the warning light worries me a bit. Maybe the dealer knew the only thing wrong with the systems the warning light monitors was a faulty earth somewhere, and the customer refused to get his cheque book out (again). I'll be seeing the car next week. Is there a Haynes manual or a checklist that shows what things the warning system monitors?...... Jim.
 
official dealer workshop rates .

And very reasonable they are too(y)

Anyway........err yes I have had some problems with belts or to be more correct the tensioner & pulleys.I'd check this out carefully as some snap belts every few weeks for seemingly no reason or 'squeal' like a banshee!
Quick lubrication of belt/tensioner/pulley only lasts a few days but start her up from cold & listen carefully.
1.9 is better bet than petrol 1.6 but can suffer from odd airflow/EGR failure & phase sensors are known to go.....change this sensor if you think of getting timing belt done...or you'll be stripping it all back down again later.
If its had £1K work on suspension then it saves you getting it all done...personally I wouldnt be too concerned bout water leak but would check air-con & heater controls work correctly.

Good luck(y)
 
And very reasonable they are too(y)
(y)

Of course they are; it would be a foul calumny to suggest otherwise:D I'm self employed and have my own small workshop where I overhaul antique musical boxes and the occasional clock. I've a good relationship with the local garage; occasionally I get the odd "can you dig out the remains of that sheared off bolt" through the door, and they get the odd "if that thing leaks LHM one more time it's going in the Tay" in return.

I'm seeing the car on Thursday; I owe people on this forum a big `Thank You' for the help given me in less than a day.:worship: :worship: :worship: Thanks Guys.
 
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