General Fair comment or criticism?

[Django]

Admiring an Alfa Romeo Brevia, the owner returned to his car and we got to talking about Italian cars.

It turned out he also owns the Clover Leaf garage in Gloucester a respected specialist business mainly concerned with Alfa, Fiat and Lancia sevice and repairs.

When I told him I was considering selling my Coupe and replacing it with a Stilo he commented that he didn't think it was a decision he could agree with because of Stilo reliability problems.

His experiences with Stilos was mainly that of sorting out cars which were too much trouble for Fiat dealers.

He also commented that the early petrol engined models were particularly troublesome as regards electrical based faults.

Later models were better but the only one he could recommend was the diesel version!

Is this fair comment and representative of otheres experiences?

 

[bozzy]

I would say that's a very accurate statement indeed. Luckily I have owned two very good Stilo's (1.6 & JTD) with very few problems but he is endorsing my belief that dealers dislike Stilo's altogether.

 

[wizardflake]

I've got an early 1.2 petrol engine. The engine itself has been fine bar a coil

The general problems for Stilos mainly seem to be:
Front suspension springs prone to snapping.
Dodgy airbag sensors - but they just need cleaning and work again.
Dodgy coils


Other than them, aslong as they're regularly serviced, theres not much to worry about.

 

[stilo16v]

I was talking to a good local garage recently. He said he looks after two stilos and all he does is service them, they never need anything else doing!

My 1.6 has been ok over the 6 months ive had it, not trouble free, but ok, nothing too expensive and mainly wear and tear and things which can go on any car.

 

[T14086]

the faults they do have are well known & documented here which is comforting if you decide to go for one

 

[Maia]

If you want a reliable car, don't by a Stilo. That is simply undeniable.

But despite that, there are a huge amount of completely happy Stilo owners who wouldn't want any other car. Sure it is a modern nice car with nice looks and tasty features. And, like T14086 said, the possible faults are so well known that just by reading these forums you know what to expect

 

[NumanR]

Post 2004 cars are better than the earlier models, but I have many very happy Stilo owners as customers, and many have no problems at all.

 

[ABZSTILO]

If you want a reliable car, don't by a Stilo. That is simply undeniable.

No, that's utter b*llocks more like. With one or two, admittedly annoying/worrying faults (which Fiat addressed with mixed success) I'd argue that the Stilo is a reliable car - so do buy a Stilo, chances are most (if they've been looked after) will be as reliable as any other secondhand car, remmeber they are all secondhand now. A good buy IMHO

 

[wizardflake]

No, that's utter b*llocks more like. With one or two, admittedly annoying/worrying faults (which Fiat addressed with mixed success) I'd argue that the Stilo is a reliable car - so do buy a Stilo, chances are most (if they've been looked after) will be as reliable as any other secondhand car, remmeber they are all secondhand now. A good buy IMHO

Agreed. I've only owned my Stilo for a month, but my grandad had it for 3 years before me and added 58k on the clock. The only real fault it ever had was a coil going. That was in 3 years. It's still going strong now being 5 years old with 80k on it.


Obviously that's not including exhausts/brake pads etc because they go on ALL cars.

 

[coyotes_uk]

I can agree with ABZStilo, if its looked after the Stilo is no less reliable than any other car!

 

[Maia]

Stilo is no less reliable than any other car!

If you say something like that, you must have had every other car

Stilo has its reputation and it can't come from nowhere. But there's no need for anyone to get upset. I'm a Stilo owner myself, like my car (with all its faults) and said also good things about it. I wouldn't buy any other at the moment. So please, peace everyone!

 

[1.2LStilo]

Well I own a 1.2L Stilo (no surprise there ). It's an 02 reg with full Fiat dealer service history. I bought it used and the CV joints were bust on it. I got the repaired by my local Fiat dealer and now 18 months later they have gone again.

The 1.2 L engine is vastly underpowered for the size of the car and it can really struggle on overtaking on M-way and A-roads. It's a lovely car to drive and very comfortable on long journeys.

Other than that I haven't had major problems. Right now the handbrake cables are rusting and I have an advisory on them and there's a small leak in the gearbox. The sump is also rusting.

I don't mind however because I'm trading it in next week and picking up a new car. Overall, I'd say the Stilo was a lovely car but you're better off with a bigger engine than the 1.2L petrol. However as it's no longer in production, selling it on in 2-3 years time will be difficult and trading-in will be very difficult.

 

[FiatStiloJTD]

It all depends how the owner looks after the car at the end of the day. If it breaks and you don't look after it you can't really complain.

I've had the stilo since Jan and all thats gone wrong is the battery died and a light bulb, touch wood.

Even if reliabiltity isn't as good as a focus or a golf, it definately looks ten times better!

Matt

 

[Muppet1]

Just to add to this, My Mw jtd has just passed 100k at a little over 4 years old. Apart from the egr valve, the numberplate blub unit and now the overboost valve it hasnt failed yet. It does however get thrashed most days, oil gets changed when i think about it and in all honesty is thoughly abused.

Would i have another..........

YOU BET!!

Good and bad in every make and model not just Stilo's.

 

[coyotes_uk]

Stilo has its reputation and it can't come from nowhere. But there's no need for anyone to get upset. I'm a Stilo owner myself, like my car (with all its faults) and said also good things about it. I wouldn't buy any other at the moment. So please, peace everyone!

:yeahthat:

 

[maddogmorg]

No, that's utter b*llocks more like. With one or two, admittedly annoying/worrying faults (which Fiat addressed with mixed success) I'd argue that the Stilo is a reliable car - so do buy a Stilo, chances are most (if they've been looked after) will be as reliable as any other secondhand car, remmeber they are all secondhand now. A good buy IMHO

you selling your car at the moment per chance?

 

[ABZSTILO]

Nope - unless you want to make me a generous offer ofcourse.... spotted a 150 Sporting near to me

 

[Steely]

The stilo is a good car, plenty of gadgets, but im on the fence, its been an enjoyable car to own, but i would say they are prone to have reliability problems, but only on the electrical side, lets be honest, the italians have been sleek in designing for years, but the electrics are utter pants, look at ducati bikes for example,


An honest piece of advice is :

if you want a fun rewarding car at a good price and can put up with needing to sort out niggles every few months, you will have a steal of a car,


Mines been great but its just become a bit to much for me to sort out at the moment, its needed about 550-600 in bits in the last month and a half, and it still has electrical problems,so going onto something else very soon, just got to get rid of my stilo now!, have a look at my prevoius posts,

ive had it 18 months, and its had up to now:

4 ignition coils £150
map sensor £65
new standard back box £44
battery £60
cd changer packed up £135
air con pipe snapped £150 common problem,
2 drop links £30
center exhaust pipe £58

but in its defence, the engine has been bulletproof, and will take whatever you throw at it,

 

[payney1]

Speaking from experience, i owned a 52 plate stilo 1.6 5 door,i had it for just under three years and i did love the car, but i had that many problems with it breaking down that in the end i decided to pay off the car loan early and get rid. In all my life i have never had the AA out to it so much, i even knew some of the AA mechanics that came out as they had been out to me before.

So your friend was spot on, lovely car, full of good features, but some are dogged with bad electrics. Fair comment i would say. But from what others say about their experience's of car reliability, the stilo is not alone, and you are always going to get the friday afternoon car.

Needed a reliable car for work as i do about 400 miles a week, so have this one now....

 

[fenton_jd]

The problems listed on the site would infuriate me if I'd have bought a Stilo new.

I wouldnt go for one, unless it was a 150JTD sport.