I am thinking of seeing if I can find someone who wants to do a swap. I am just looking for some input really. I have had my car for almost 2 years and spent a small fortune on her and I do love her - BUT I am facing a loss of income in the next month (youngest son turns 19 and the child support stops) so I am looking at ways to keep costs down to a minimum and one way would be a car with a smaller engine, lower insurance, tax and running costs.

I have also always wanted a convertible or at the very least something with a skyroof, I know a convertible wont bring my insurance down but a smaller engine will. I am kind of going back forth with this at the moment because I really do love this car but I know I could be running a car for much less.

In the past I have had an old Panda, an Uno and Punto, this is actually the biggest engine I have had, so just wondering what you guys think? Would it be better to just sell her and look for something else? I am already looking for a Cinq or Seicento for my sons wife and I dont know a thing about buying cars so I kind of feel like 'better the devil I know'. I have replaced just about everything on mine whereas a different car will be unknown......

You might consider a JTD? These are allegedly a bit more reliable, cheaper on insurance and tax, and if you find one with a Skyroof, all is hunky dory!

I'm in a similar situation now I'm toying with the idea of getting rid of my 1.8. I have the Stilo JTD estate I delivered those wheels to you in, and also a 1.8 16v Hatch. The difference in running costs between them is crazy. Considering they both perform similarly and such similar cars. The JTD is so much more economical to run. It's as cheap on tax, and better with fuel as my mum's 1.1 Seicento sporting.

Hope this helps

Owen.

GizmOwin said:

You might consider a JTD? These are allegedly a bit more reliable, cheaper on insurance and tax, and if you find one with a Skyroof, all is hunky dory!

I'm in a similar situation now I'm toying with the idea of getting rid of my 1.8. I have the Stilo JTD estate I delivered those wheels to you in, and also a 1.8 16v Hatch. The difference in running costs between them is crazy. Considering they both perform similarly and such similar cars. The JTD is so much more economical to run. It's as cheap on tax, and better with fuel as my mum's 1.1 Seicento sporting.

Hope this helps

Owen.

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My son has a 1.8 Dynamic, (he put your claws on it) its a gorgeous car and has ALL the extras but its a real gas guzzler compared to mine. Im also glad its him taxing it and not me! I dont know if its due to just being much heavier because the seats are electric (which is a pain in the ass as they take forever to adjust and all you can do is wait), but it uses WAY more petrol than mine does and its not just the fact that he drives like a maniac, it uses loads more than mine when I drive it too.

So you are saying that a JTD is as efficient as a Seicento? How much is tax?

I can't directly say whether or not you should change your car, as you need to weigh up if the extra cost of road tax on your car plus extra fuel cost will outweigh the additional money needed to buy a different car. For example a Stilo JTD of similar mileage to your petrol is likely to be a good few hundred quid more to buy & i guess if you were to swap with someone, the JTD would have a fair few extra miles on it unless you were prepared to put a few hundred quid towards a lower mileage one.

All i can say is my Stilo JTD (115bhp) 3dr got 560 miles from its last tank of diesel, which costs £75-£80 to fill up (i put 56 litres in it last time from running on air). I don't always get 560 miles but i always get a minimum of 500 miles to a tank. Road tax is currently £115 a year & rises to £120 following the Budget i think. Insurance is Group 5 under the old rating system, not sure what it is under the new gradings but i'd imagine your bigger savings will come from Tax & Fuel as the 1.6 is Group 5 insurance too iirc.

The other car i would suggest looking at is a Panda, as there are a fair few 2004-2005 1.2 Dynamic models and a few 1.1 Actives (more basic) & 1.2 Eleganzas (more posh) on AutoTrader with low mileage for £2000 or under. These will be no more than circa £125 to tax, easily do 50mpg (particularly the more efficient 1.2) & be in Group 1-3 for insurance. They're also very unlikely to suffer many problems - even a cambelt snapping isn't a disaster on the Panda as the engine is 'non-interference', so a swap with a Panda owner might be a possibility perhaps?

Just my two pence! Good luck

EDIT: Forgot to add, the Panda Dynamic was available with 'Skydome' sunroof which also added a few extras in the price like rubbing strips & roof bars so there's a few kicking about with this option too!

i agree with the above statement, we run both a jtd and a 1.6 (in the multiwagon), the insurances are identical group (think its 12 under the new insurance it was 5). the tax is a lot cheaper on the jtd by around £100 per year. the fuel consumption is much better for my sort of driving, but if your pottering around town then it may not be anywhere near as good.
i had a kidney infection last year and was really ill with it, my wife decided to use my car while i was ill, i had reset the mpg clock only a few days before hand and it was showing around 50mpg,
when i finally recovered to an empty tank of diesel and my mpgs had dropped to around 32mpg - my wife does a lot of short journeys round town (and i think she loves the power in the jtd and opens the horses up).
Her car does an average of 29mpgs on her usual trips (although when i use it i get around 42-44mpg).
So depending on what sort of driving you do you need to think what is best, round town then petrol is ideal, but if your up and down the motorways like me then the diesel will show its true worth.

FionaB said:

My son has a 1.8 Dynamic, (he put your claws on it) its a gorgeous car and has ALL the extras but its a real gas guzzler compared to mine. Im also glad its him taxing it and not me! I dont know if its due to just being much heavier because the seats are electric (which is a pain in the ass as they take forever to adjust and all you can do is wait), but it uses WAY more petrol than mine does and its not just the fact that he drives like a maniac, it uses loads more than mine when I drive it too.

So you are saying that a JTD is as efficient as a Seicento? How much is tax?

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£145 a year. Insurance group 5. Say no more.

FiatFleetFamily said:

£145 a year. Insurance group 5. Say no more.

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Seicento is £130 a year and group 2

JTD_Liam said:

The other car i would suggest looking at is a Panda, as there are a fair few 2004-2005 1.2 Dynamic models and a few 1.1 Actives (more basic) & 1.2 Eleganzas (more posh) on AutoTrader with low mileage for £2000 or under. !

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Also consider the very under rated Fiat Idea!! An absolute bargain now. Even a 2007 plate is a bargain with a 1.3 Mjet engine.

Eklipze3k said:

Seicento is £130 a year and group 2

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Mine being a MW, not a match box.

FiatFleetFamily said:

Also consider the very under rated Fiat Idea!! An absolute bargain now. Even a 2007 plate is a bargain with a 1.3 Mjet engine.

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Gotta agree with this, I was looking at them on AutoTrader yesterday and they're so cheap it's unreal! Based on a Mk2 Punto IIRC.

FiatFleetFamily said:

Mine being a MW, not a match box.

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It's not size, it's what you do with it :devil:

Eklipze3k said:

It's not size, it's what you do with it :devil:

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My husband would disagree..:yum:

Eklipze3k said:

It's not size, it's what you do with it :devil:

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Oh Eklipze3k, will you ever learn?

Note my new signature

I was looking at an Idea on the forum a while ago and it looks like a nice little car, if my kids were still young it would be a contender for sure. The thing is there is something SOOOO very sexy about my Stilo, I feel GOOD when I am driving her and if I was to pull up at traffic lights next to a brand new Panda or Idea I would still feel that I had the nicer looking car, even though she is ten years old. She holds her own purely on appearance. Some may disagree and thats fine but I think they are beautiful looking cars. My sons car is modified and when I drive that it turns heads and that feels good. I cant imagine a Panda giving me that feeling! The Panda is 'middle aged mother of three' and the Stilo is 'sexy older woman' LOL.

We even looked at 500s last year and the man in the Fiat showroom got irritated with me when I started pointing out all the things that my Stilo has that the 500 lacks. I dont know if anyone else has experienced this but Fiat dealers HATE the Stilo, I have yet to meet one who has anything nice to say about it - until you tell then you have one parked outside - then they tell you what a great car it is lol.

The only 500 that would have been in the running was the Abarth convertible, I was chatting to someone at a meet who has one and it was a very nice car but at the prices Fiat are charging, if I had that sort of cash I wouldnt spend it on a 500.

I guess that just leaves the Punto, I used to love my old Punto but even then it doesnt have that extra 'something' that the Stilo has does it? I think Im losing the plot obsessing over a car lol


If I had some extra cash and found a good example of an MK1 Punto convertible I would drive it for the summer and SORN the Stilo for 6 months, but I wouldnt give my Stilo up for it.......

For economy you can't really beat the Panda but frankly they aren't fantastic to drive and look pretty boring!

Is an older new 500 out of budget? Tbh I think even the basic one is quite classy

Taking everything into account, I think you need to get a Stilo Hatchback JTD

Get a high mileage one that's been well looked after with some tasty options on and you'll be made. There's JTD's on here that have done 170k plus on here and they've not put a foot wrong because they're well looked after (mine's on 150k now and it still runs like new!)

If you find a high mileage JTD with air con, sunroof, leather seats, maybe even the sat nav (they do come round every so often), you should be able to get it for much less than the sale price of yours, giving you a few hundred quid putting your mark on it, or towards your insurance.

At the end of the day you're gonna have a sexy stilo (maybe even an improvement on what you already have) with an engine that will cost you peanuts in comparison to insure and run, and probably go an incy bit faster If that's what you're into! It's no surprise that the majority of Stilo enthusiasts on here have opted for the JTD 115

Tax: £120
Fuel Consumption: 50-60mpg urban.
Similar insurance premium as a 1.2 Mk2 Punto.
Top Speed: 125ish
Remappable to 150BHP
Potential for Biodiesel - Significantly cheaper if you have a decent local source.

Owen.

JTD 80, if you cannot find a good JTD 115.

There's a JTD 150 for sale in the classifieds, up for 2500 but they've said they'd accept 1900 for it! Looks mint though, exactly the same as yours apart from the addition of the Abarth skirts and it being a facelift model, has the newer grille. It looks like it's been well looked after so if it has the service history to back it's looks up then it's probable good for another 100k

If you can't bear to part with the Stilo (I know I can't, I get the same feeling as you when driving mine ) then I'd snap it up rapid style!

Or maybe you've already seen it and I should shut the hell up now. Goodluck finding a replacement for the mighty Stilo!

MarkThompson4 said:

There's a JTD 150 for sale in the classifieds, up for 2500 but they've said they'd accept 1900 for it! Looks mint though, exactly the same as yours apart from the addition of the Abarth skirts and it being a facelift model, has the newer grille. It looks like it's been well looked after so if it has the service history to back it's looks up then it's probable good for another 100k

If you can't bear to part with the Stilo (I know I can't, I get the same feeling as you when driving mine ) then I'd snap it up rapid style!

Or maybe you've already seen it and I should shut the hell up now. Goodluck finding a replacement for the mighty Stilo!

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I was looking at that one yesterday and if I had the cash here I would go and get it, but sadly I dont, I would need to sell mine first and it appears he wants a quick sale. The interior on it looks quite nice too for cloth, I could sacrifice the leather for that

Minus8 said:

For economy you can't really beat the Panda but frankly they aren't fantastic to drive and look pretty boring!

Is an older new 500 out of budget? Tbh I think even the basic one is quite classy

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My son sat in one in the showroom and his head was rubbing on the roof lining They certainly look nicer than a Panda though...