General 1999 punto 1.2 mk2 advice wanted!!!!!!

[whiggy94]

hi, i've been offered a 1999 punto mk2 for £1600.... its a basic 1.2 3dr in green and is in great condition, 44 thousand miles and its just had service/tyres/exhaust etc!! its off a mate at work who's owned it since new and its been great for him and very reliable. any advice what to ask and can this car be recomended in general as i've heard a lot of bad things about the mk2. im goin 4 a drive tuesday so fingers crossed, its just had the cambelt done with the service and he says the mpg is great at around 45+ is this right as i currently have a 1995 55s punto which is only average around town at around 35 if i'm lucky!!!!. thanks

 

[chrisunoman]

Early 1.2 8v mk2s have a clutch problem so make sure the clutch doesnt slip.

Your always going to get bad mpg around town by the way.

 

[thefishdude]

typical possible problems are head gasket , and clutch slip. sounds like he has looked after it though, the mpg does sound about right allthough it depends onhow much traffic you are sitting in of course. my 1.2 16v does about 40 in town or 48 combined.

 

[T14086]

Long test drive,look for warning lights coming on,sounds like good deal.

 

[whiggy94]

thanks for the replies guys!!!! i'm quite excited about it as it is in great condition. i've known him for years so he'd tell me if there was owt wrong. he's looked after it and the clutch/gearbox is all smooth with no probs he said. the only thing he had repaired the other year was a fault with the power steering!!! is it true its got 2 speeds?? like i say it seems great and he doesnt want to part with it but he's moving to greece....so its got to go, he did have an 1994 L reg punto 55s before this and he said this is a big improvement in suspension and mpg so i trust him.... and at least its got a temp gauge i hope as my current 55s hasnt. thanx again

 

[PaulBrad]

Ask him what he had done to the power steering, it's most likely to be a new column that he had put on it as this is mainly the only thing that goes wrong steering wise, if that is what has been done then great becuase the part itself is about £350 - £400 and it would already have been done if he had the steering light come on at some point so saves you money!:slayer:

 

[dave]

sounds like a bargain, and yep steering got 2 speeds ( speeds not really the right word) theres a button for girls to press that makes it lighter for parking

 

[whiggy94]

hi guys, well i'm having it for £1600 ....plus its a 2000 w reg not a 99 v as i thought. so even better..... it drove great but has just had a new exhaust last week and it was knocking a bit when going over bumps etc- its under warranty so i'll take it back for that(its been back for adjustment once). no warning lights came on and everything works apart from rear wiper.... theres a suprise!!!! i still think it is a bargain as i presume wiper motor has given up or sumthin but i can live without that for time being, it didnt seem as quick as my n reg 55s but that seems too quick for a 1.1 anyway...lol,and it pulled smooth with no judder or missing, any more info/advice would be great thanks!!! and yes it was the steering pump that was replaced a few years back.so thats a good thing right?

 

[thefishdude]

yeah exhausr is probably knocking on rear axle or rear bumper. mk2 zaust have to be fitted just right. mind you my fiat dealer forgot to do up the bolts joing back to middle lol

 

[T14086]

my fiat dealer forgot to do up the bolts joing back to middle lol

Thats to give you a more sporty sound though

 

[thefishdude]

lol the back box slid bckwads and the tail pipe was resting on the inside of me rear bumper. if rear bumper dint have alip on it it would of fell off lol

dealer guys face was a picture when he came back and told me they forgot to do bolts up lol

 

[whiggy94]

i'm picking it up friday so cant wait.... thanks for the advice and info so far! is there any recalls etc on mk2 w reg punto's i should know about? as i will check its been done if there was any? and the power steering is great. thanx again