ok, so im suddenly left with a serious dilemma with my punto.....

the mrs is pregnant.....

so..... here come the relevancy to the forum....

i have a 3 door punto..... problem 1... obviously a 5 door will be much more practical in terms of baby seat etc.

problem 2.... the punto needs some work doing to it.... maybe even quite a bit of work..... knocking from rear left side... stiff gear changes; could be linkage, could be gearbox could be something else... looking like engine/gearbox mount is also on its way out.... suspension could also do with a revamp (excuse for coilovers ).

ok, so the point of this thread is simple.... what to do?????

do i spend some cash on fixing up the car and making do with only 3 doors.... or do i spend a similar amount on buying another car.... pointing out that maybe £1500 for eg will most likely buy me a lemon... with the bonus of 5 doors.

ive already spent a fair bit on my car already with service (will need doing again soon), new clutch, ht leads, brakes all round, lambda sensors etc as well as the mods.

cash is tight at the best of times and with the added bonus of a baby on the way makes things that much harder so im at a real loss on what to do so hoping you guys can offer a little advice on what i could/should do. doing up the punto will mean i can buy bits here and there as time goes on and can make do getting it sorted over time even after the baby is here... buying another car means a bulk of cash going in one hit.... with the possibility of further money needing to be spent after ive got it.

It's now time to buy a reliable NCAP 5 star car & leave your youth behind... a baby brings different responsibilities & priorities TBH...

Go for 5 door

I also have a new baby (ok she's 10 months old). I actually find the baby seat easier to fit into the back of my 2 door Punto than into my wife's 5 door Focus. There are some heavy duty costs coming up so a new car might not be the most important or even possible.

BTW find your local NCT for help and advice. They also hold bi-annual nearly new sales including things from cloths to cots and push chairs.

Back to cars the most important if you have the one car is reliability. Only you can decide if the Punto is good enough based on its history.

Last of all congratulations

Well, its reliable in the sense that it starts 1st time and get me to where I want to go, but there are a fee knocks and judders which I've asked about in other threads. as for baby stuff, its still early days yet but I've a string of people who can help out with clothes etc but its good to know there are other places to go without getting ripped off. how is it easier with only 2 doors tho. most people have said 5 door is easier.

I think what whitesei means by easier, is you can get in to do up the belts around the car seat, rather than standing outside reaching over, as the seat folds foward.

It takes a bit of practice to get the seat in, but once you've mastered it, its in and out in no time.

Car seats for older kids are easy to fit, & theres no doors or windows for you to worry about them opening (but thats a while away lol)

Congrats

My friend used to get a pretty big baby seat into his old 3-door cinq with ease, so a 3-door punto shouldn't present any real problems. What condition is the rest of the car like?

Is it worth you doing the work if it's a rust bucket or got other bad areas. I'd just think about it like that really.

And, Congratulations!

well, im not too sure. car seems sound, not much obvious rust, but i dont know all that much when it comes to mechanics so i could be way out and sitting on a time bomb of breakdowns and mahusive expense. i listed the known faults in the OP but may be more undetected.... same time, if i got another, i could be in the same boat. im just at a total loss.
thanks for all the congratulations tho.

It is easier from the front than reaching over but boot space is going to dominate all other considerations pretty quick. Remember bringing my first home from the hospital - like driving on eggshells , changed the way I look at cars permanently. Congratulations and can we all be honorary Godfathers ?
One lesson we learned was that the reality is totally different to what you might expect and the wisest advice we got was to wait and see what gear you really need as you go along rather than make expensive choices on the wrong stuff.

i got a long list of new families to get advice from close to home as well as the established. no doubt they will kick me into gear. lol. been tempted to sell some of the mods ive fitted to fund either repairs or new motor..... i really am stuck between a rock and a hard place. :bang:

after a good think or pros/cons, its most likely ill keep the car and try to sort out the minor problems with her. least with the baby, ill have an excuse to tint the rear windows. will prob also looking at refurbing my alloys myself to save on some costs.... just have to hope the little problems are not not caused from more expensive factors...... just wish i knew more about cars. :bang:

Think as long as you keep doing the weekly checks it should be a good runner.

Tints, you could DIY them, £20 or less job off ebay as I did, good enough for me..

Alloys, BUY A GOOD MASK AND SOME LATEX GLOVES, a good DIY job, id say less than £50 to do them all, get the bead broke on tyres, makes it so much easier to mask up. No need to mask up the back of the rim in great detail if you do go white, its not going to be seen.

You really do need a good mask, those paper ones, or the paper with vent arent good enough. Too much leakage from them

Go to your local auto paint store, will work out cheaper than halfords, they should stock ready mixed white and clear. Use davids isopon p38 to fill any kerbing, then use high build primer to get a nice even surface to lay down your base coat, 2 coats should be fine, followed by 2 clear coats.

how do u break the bead? deflate the tyres? id do the inside as well, they are looking pretty grubby. would prob get the paint from ebay or the such, cheaper than motorfactors.

Congratualtions on your addition.

I've got kids 3 of my own (oldest one is 19). What I can tell you without a shadow of doubt is that kids are tougher and more resilient than you think.
On the other hand YOUR life will never be the same again You suddenly develop into a bottomless money dispensing machine that wears unfashionable old clothes..... But, when they give you THAT smile...its worth every single cent.

On the car side, glad you decided to keep the Punto.
I've only acquired a 5 door in the last 2 years. Previous to that I've only ever used 3 doors or 2 door pickup truck style vans. It takes a couple of tries but eventually you can get that car seat in and out (with or without kid) faster than Husain Bolt does the 100m race...especially when its pi$$ing with rain

People will give you all sorts of advice - some good and some cr*p. Best thing you can do, is don't stress and follow your instincts. You won't go wrong and you WILL adapt.

I'm on my 2nd time around. My first kids are 19 and 21. Minnie is 10 months.

Ive had the boring MkIII VW Passat old shape with its long wheel base and it was great for car seats etc. Also a Ford Galaxy which was great with 2 kids 2 greyhounds and a caravan.

But the Punto is also fine with a little one. It wont be so fab with two and you need to choose your buggy carefully as the boot is small. For getting a baby seat in the back take it high where the opening between seat & door is biggest. You then stand on floor in front of the seat facing the back to do up the belt. Its much easier than twisted through a rear door.

Deffo find you local NCT they hold prenatal classes and give all sorts of info the NHS really doesn't have time to do. http://www.nctpregnancyandbabycare.com/

Having now seen three arrive I'm sure its best to be sparing with the technology. Gas & Air is fab stuff. Pethidine is good for slowing things down but otherwise it just keeps mum quiet. Epidural only as the very last option because mum cant feel anything there are often more problems and more damage.
Technology has its place but where possible keep it simple.