New to forum & to FIAT - Sydney

[pipsqeek]

Hi all,

I just bought a FIAT Punto 1.9 JTD Emotion a couple of days ago. Great car. A few niggles and issues here and there, but relatively small.

I found this forum from a member of another forum I am a member of, Aussiefrogs. They shared with me since I have bought the FIAT, but I still have my 405 Mi16.

What car I say about the Punto. Cost less than a Corolla, better equiped. More fun to drive and loads more character. I hope "character" doesn't mean the same as the character my 405 has, of breaking down at the most inopportune time. It doesn't seem to have under seat storage, there's a hole in the back where the power socket is suppose to be. The globes in the interior lighting were all blown. The front end has a loud knock over bumps. I'm not sure if this is a characteristic of the car or something very wrong.

Either way, it's got 3 years warranty.

Cheers
pips

 

[PNL]

Hello Pips ..welcome to fiat forum..

 

[Captain Mike]

Welcome

Enjoy your stay

 

[pipsqeek]

Thanks guys. I'm getting to know the car really well now. All sorts of interesting suspension noises.

Cheers
pips

 

[luvduvs]

Either way, it's got 3 years warranty.

Doesn't mean much if [1] you have to keep going back and forth, or [2] they can't fix the problem

And welcome to FF

 

[pipsqeek]

Well, from reading a load of threads here, it appears they replace stuff on the front. Steering racks, suspension arms.... whatever.

The dealer has been excellent with communication and making sure my FIAT experience is 100%. I went with this dealer because they made me feel comfortable about the purchase. Never pushy and always asured me that they are a phone call away. Which reminds me, the car came with 3 years road side assistance and I can't find the number for it anywhere. Must call them to get the number.

I love how I had just under half a tank of fuel in it last night, saw diesel for $1.39/L and decided to fill up. Unfortunately the bowser nozzle was larger than the hole, so I had to hold the pump firmly against the hole. But $35 later the tank was full and the trip computer states I have 830 kms ahead of me.

By the way, I think the dealer should get a mentio due to how good they are to me. It's the FIAT/Alfa dealer in Parramatta, Sydney Australia. Sergio and Rocco are the sales guys there and both are very passionate about Italian cars, Italian motorcycles and speed. Not to mention, they gave me an exceptional price for the Punto when I was disappointed the Ritmo (Bravo) wasn't available yet even though officially announced.

Funny thing last night though. I was on my way to a mates place to pick up a piece of Plywood. It just fits in the back of the Punto with the rear seats down. The piece of wood is for another mate's Ford wagon where the wood will sit in the back behind the back seats. I laughed and said, "Just his boot is half our car." to the wife while we drove home.

She laughed because she told me when she was in the petrol station paying for me after I filled up while I washed my windows and checked tyre pressure that when the operator told her $35 dollars for pump 5, she did a double take "Whaaaaaaa?" last time we filled up our car it cost $100 and lasted half the distance we have already travelled in the Punto.

I'm loving the car. Absolutely falling in love with the little thing.

 

[luvduvs]

The dealer has been excellent with communication and making sure my FIAT experience is 100%. I went with this dealer because they made me feel comfortable about the purchase. Never pushy and always asured me that they are a phone call away.

That sounds awfully familiar.. hmmm.. :chin:

Let's hope their after-sales service is just as good.

Which reminds me, the car came with 3 years road side assistance and I can't find the number for it anywhere. Must call them to get the number.

There should be a sticker on the front windscreen with the number.

And you do realise they're just your Average Joe mechanics and not a Fiat/Alfa expert, right? https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-pu...-5-hour-ordeal-two-month-old-gp-dualogic.html

I'm loving the car. Absolutely falling in love with the little thing.

Good stuff

 

[pipsqeek]

Wow, sounds like quite a story dude. How is the car these days?

Mine is a 6 speed manual. I've never taken a liking to any of these fancy Selespeed, DSG, Dual Logic, etc gearboxes. I prefer the simplicity of a floor shifting box.

Sounds like Rick Demilian are at their usual. I've heard some horror stories about thar giant dealership, not just for FIAT, but for all his other brands (read; all other brands, there really isn't much they don't sell).

I drove the car around today to a number of clients and then drove home, picking up the wife on the way. I like the car more and more each day.

I've noticed a total of three Puntos on the road in the last 12 months. One black one, a red one yesterday and a blue one earlier this week.

Cheers
pips

 

[luvduvs]

I've had my fair share of niggles over the last year or so. More recent one is a faulty part in the steering which is making the car pull to the left, and has caused uneven wear to the front tyres (i.e. left front is now about 2mm more worn than front right). The monkeys at Rick Damelian said it was normal mad, so I took it to Sydney City Alfa, who are much more helpful, and has ordered the part to be replaced coming Monday.

GPs are still quite rare, but have to say their numbers are on the increase. Perhaps one day there'll be enough for a club :idea:

Btw where abouts in Sydney are you?

 

[pipsqeek]

Pulling to the left is normal and the uneven tyre wear is normal? WTF? Sounds like the main things with your car aren't the car. It's the dealer! Glad to hear you've taken it somewhere else. Is that the one just off Link Road near Moore Park?

I tried calling them last week when I was searching for a car. I didn't get a call back. So I didn't bother going there. FIAT Parramatta made an effort with everything. So they got my money in the end. I didn't even bother with Rick's.

Yeah, GP's are very rare here. More so around my area (Revesby), everyone's car is either a Forester or a Ford Foulcan. I'm the only one around here with a Peugeot 405 Mi16. Though I recently saw an old man driving around on a few occasions in a 205 GTI.

Where abouts in Sydney are you from?

 

[luvduvs]

Well at the time there wasn't uneven wear (as this was caused by the pulling), but still, you would think that after going back 3 times for the same issue they would pull theirs heads out of their a$$es and get it right?

Whereas SCA got it right the first time. The mod for the GP section (Mr. T) has a mate who works there, and hence he recommended me to give SCA a try - that's the extent of help I needed!

I'm right next to Bondi Junction

 

[pipsqeek]

Good to hear Sydney City Alfa sound like they might actually care. I'll take mine to the Parra dealer for it's first service and see how I go. I think they did a great job with my purchase, so I owe it to them to at least try them first. If it's crap. I heard that there's a FIAT service place in Carlton (Near Kogarah/Hurstville). He does FIAT only. But I've heard nothing about them. I'm not sure I'd take the gamble or not. Time will tell. It's a long way between service with the punto.

Speaking of, I keep hearing that intervals are 30,000kms, but I was told every 15,000kms. And in the service book it says 15K kms for an oil and filter change. So I guess it's 15 really.

Also, do there motors have timing belts or a chain?

 

[luvduvs]

Do a search in this section as there are heaps of first service threads

Here's mine - https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto-technical/120485-luvduvs-first-service.html

But if in doubt, go with whatever's in the manual - that way if something goes wrong you blame Ateco.


Timing belt if I'm not mistaken..

 

[pipsqeek]

Man, I hope I don't have as many issues as you. The last FIAT I ever drove was my brother's 125. I never got why they called them Fix It Again Tony. That beast went forever.