Fiat owner that never learns....

[megaboost]

I really only joined up to post a wanted ad and seek some info before selling the car but thought it would be rude if I didn't post in here first

Basically my other half has a 1.2 16v ELX, it's a 2000 in Astral Blue, it currently has no power steering.

I come from a Punto background myself having had an EL 6-speed back in '94 and then a yellow GT in '96 - we thought the newer ELX would be a decent alternative to other smaller cars but to be honest it's been a nightmare... as were the other 2... all electrical issues.... I should have learnt my lesson after the 2nd one!

Anyway that's me and the car - no doubt I'll have loads more questions to ask before we swap the Punto for something more Japanese

 

[AppleSei]

Welcome to the forum. Where abouts in yorks are you from?

Very suprised your punto doesnt have PAS especially on a 2000 plate and the model, thought they would have, or is it faulty?

What you thinking of buying?

 

[beau]

welcome, puntos are normally very reliable, especially compared to the competition.

Welcome to the forum. Where abouts in yorks are you from?

Very suprised your punto doesnt have PAS especially on a 2000 plate and the model, thought they would have, or is it faulty?

What you thinking of buying?

think your find its faulty because he says-

it currently has no power steering

 

[megaboost]

Welcome to the forum. Where abouts in yorks are you from?

Thanks for the welcome, we are over in the Leeds area.

Very suprised your punto doesnt have PAS especially on a 2000 plate and the model, thought they would have, or is it faulty?

Apologies, I was a bit vague on that one It *should* have PAS and did up until Saturday morning, I was daft enough to press the city button while moving the car from an ultra tight spot and halfway through the move I lost the PAS completely. A quick check over everything at the time didn't reveal any obvious problems so it was in Fiat today getting a diagnostic check - they have narrowed it down to the PAS motor but I'm reluctant to give them the £260 they have requested.

What you thinking of buying?

Ultimately the decision will be made by my good lady, she's currently liking the new Fiesta and the Micra, I'm a bit of a Japanese car freak so the Nissan would probably be my personal choice, it will definately need some styling tweeks to make it acceptable though

 

[megaboost]

welcome, puntos are normally very reliable, especially compared to the competition.

I must have a real skill in picking the ones made on a Friday afternoon in that case, if there is a 'common' fault to be had I can usually be guaranteed to suffer it, friends of mine who have also been swayed towards the Punto (usually by me) also seem to have issues I wouldn't normally expect until the car is a lot older.

think your find its faulty because he says-

it currently has no power steering

Spot on, to be honest this one hasn't been too bad compared to the other two I had, most of the niggles are build quality related and for the price of the car I can live with them, it's just frustrating when parts you'd expect to have a decent lifespan die after relatively few miles of driving.

 

[Hellcat]

omg noooo not the evil old person car!

Broke the PAS? Serves you right for using the girly button

 

[megaboost]

omg noooo not the evil old person car!

Apparently it's a 'pretty colour' *sigh*

I just thought it was a fairly decent spec for the money and liked the idea of the 16v engine in conjuction with fuel economy triple the figures I get in my own car.

Broke the PAS? Serves you right for using the girly button

The arm wrenching unassisted steering it has now is certainly punishing me for wondering if the girly button would make any difference I remember when we picked it up from the dealership, the sales chap reckoned he drove in city mode all the time... sounds very scary! I actually prefer the feel of the steering now that it's not assisted, once up to speed it's really nice to have some concept of what the steering is doing rather than have it numbed by the motors. Sadly my other half is only little, she doesn't have the strength to park it

 

[PNL]

Welcome Newbie fiat ownership is fun

 

[Si - Punto]

Welcome to the forum matey, Im sure you will be swayed back to Fiat ownership at some point

There is something about us Fiat owners, we are willing to live with the little niggling problems etc because it means we get to own a Fiat (I know that makes absolutely no sense)

There is something about Fiat that makes thinking about owning anything non Fiat a thing of the past (however I have been considering a BMW recently )

Anyway welcome and I hope you stick around at least for a little while

 

[T14086]

A quick check over everything at the time didn't reveal any obvious problems so it was in Fiat today getting a diagnostic check - they have narrowed it down to the PAS motor but I'm reluctant to give them the £260 they have requested.

Motor does not come seperate as it's a part of the column,which is around £420,i'd find out exactly what they want to change even ask to see the examiner printout.

 

[megaboost]

Welcome to the forum matey, Im sure you will be swayed back to Fiat ownership at some point

Maybe when the Germans or Japanese buy them out but keep the design team

There is something about us Fiat owners, we are willing to live with the little niggling problems etc because it means we get to own a Fiat (I know that makes absolutely no sense)

Unfortunately the car in question isn't normally used by me, the person who usually steers it isn't quite as willing to put up with the 'charms' they send to challenge us

There is something about Fiat that makes thinking about owning anything non Fiat a thing of the past (however I have been considering a BMW recently )

Unfortunately I moved to the dark side of Japanese motoring when the GT went all those years ago and it's just as addictive (and full of technical challenges!) - I did think about getting another GT as a track toy a while ago though, there was something about that car that really did it for me.

Anyway welcome and I hope you stick around at least for a little while

Chances are if the steering is sorted and the car polished she'll fall back in love again for a while so I'm sure I'll stay around.

 

[megaboost]

Motor does not come seperate as it's a part of the column,which is around £420,i'd find out exactly what they want to change even ask to see the examiner printout.

That's interesting to hear - I've seen a couple on eBay now and they come with the full column, I thought it was just the sellers being lazy and not splitting them

Can anyone confirm if the column / motor setup on a '53 reg car is likely to fit mine? It looks as though it comes with the ECU and everything I'll need so with a bit of luck it will be a straight swap - the seller is fairly local too...

Thanks to you all for the warm welcome :worship:

 

[PNL]

Good old T14086 I think this forum will have to find him and his mrs a baby sitter so he can continue to post here what would we do on here without these guys other members have said the same in PMs to me there would be more fixitagaintomorrow fiats than running ones and thats for sure :worship:

 

[megaboost]

PAS problem now fixed - got a column with motor, ECU etc for £40 - stripped the motor off it and then with a bit of tinkering swapped it with the broken one on the car - all working again, the missus has stopped wittering