Potato
New member
Hi all,
Apologies for the typical needy-newbie post title. I've been lurking here for a few days but I'm not making much headyway on my own so need to ask for help.
I'm looking to buy a used Punto. This will be my first car, and given that I know nothing about cars or mechanics, I'm utterly adrift. I've been driving a friend's 1997 R-reg Punto_s for a few months and despite it not quite comfortably accomodating my 6ft 3ins frame, I love the little bugger.
What I could really use is some general buying advice that's specific to Puntos - what are the things to really look out for when buying used? So far I've identified the 'red key' as something to watch out for, but that's about as far as I've got. Please dumb it down as much as possible - I'm one of the "what's a gasket?" crowd (for now..).
I have around £700 to spend including any repairs and suchlike, and looking through AutoTrader and eBay it seems like there's quite a range available to me at around that price. With that in mind, I'd like to try to thin the herd. Do you think it would be possible to find one with power-steering, and a height-adjustable steering column and driver's seat within my budget? If so, what numbers and letters and codewords do I need to be looking out for? If not, how much more do I need to save?
I'd be massively grateful for some help here and can't wait to get my new baby and become another member of this forum. Please help!!
Many thanks.
Apologies for the typical needy-newbie post title. I've been lurking here for a few days but I'm not making much headyway on my own so need to ask for help.
I'm looking to buy a used Punto. This will be my first car, and given that I know nothing about cars or mechanics, I'm utterly adrift. I've been driving a friend's 1997 R-reg Punto_s for a few months and despite it not quite comfortably accomodating my 6ft 3ins frame, I love the little bugger.
What I could really use is some general buying advice that's specific to Puntos - what are the things to really look out for when buying used? So far I've identified the 'red key' as something to watch out for, but that's about as far as I've got. Please dumb it down as much as possible - I'm one of the "what's a gasket?" crowd (for now..).
I have around £700 to spend including any repairs and suchlike, and looking through AutoTrader and eBay it seems like there's quite a range available to me at around that price. With that in mind, I'd like to try to thin the herd. Do you think it would be possible to find one with power-steering, and a height-adjustable steering column and driver's seat within my budget? If so, what numbers and letters and codewords do I need to be looking out for? If not, how much more do I need to save?
I'd be massively grateful for some help here and can't wait to get my new baby and become another member of this forum. Please help!!
Many thanks.