General finally... its all over!

[paz]

After several frustrating months of uno ownership, I've given up I've found a nice 306 td that I'm going to start using as a runabout instead, hopefully that will be a better car for me.

The car will be getting traded in sometime in the next month or so for the princely sum of £150 so if anyone wants to take it off my hands for the same amount rather than it going to a trader, give me a shout - its a k plate red 1.0 ie start.

I just wanted to say a quick thanks. You've all been very friendly and helpful when I've asked questions, and wanted to let you know that I'm guessing I won't meet any of you again, as I'm planning to never... ever return to Italian (and especially fiat ) car ownership again

Thanks all again, and good luck

Paz

 

[M@nticore]

fiat rule, they give less **** than any other brand.

 

[paz]

Thats where we'll just have to agree to disagree I think matey

paz

 

[Chas Uno]

Three years, 27000 miles with nothing major gone wrong, never been stranded, my 20 year old Fiat. :slayer:

Guess some are good and some are bad

Sorry to lose you, but my experience of French cars was :yuck:

But then again, maybe my time with a French car was bad and yours will be good

 

[paz]

:lol: I'm not a huge fan of french either, just the 306td is a workhorse - and thats what I need really. Used to have a saxo and all it did for 3 years was lose bits of interior trim!

Wish I'd been lucky, if I had I'd be keeping the Uno as a runabout for years to come - but I have no confidence in it I'm afraid, and am not paying through the arse to put it through an mot every year.

In terms of my 'proper' car I have a 1992 nissan pulsar GTI-R, I'm a big fan of japanese stuff. Part of me deep down thinks I should buy another sunny as my runaround, but they only come in minimum 1.4 petrol, and I want some good fuel figures ideally.

I did nearly buy a fiat coupe 20v turbo, but read bad things about them too - then a mate of mine got one and after claims he was going to ''leave me in his wake'' it needed a lot of messing about with, so that put me off. I did nearly spray my car that coupe 'light blue' kind of pastel colour, thats ny favourite fiat thing

Cheers

paz

 

[Peterg]

Paz
Where are u based?
Is the uno a 3 or 5 door what kind of issues have u being having with it.
Thanks
Pete

 

[paz]

I'm in Bolton pal, its a 3 door.

The existing issues are alternator light (not checked to see if the belt is loose or if the earth is bad etc) but worse case its a new alternator. Saying that, its been running for the last 2 months with it on, so I now look at it as an attractive interior decoration Wheel bearing has gone on the front drivers side and then there's the stuttering thing. Car drives fine when cold, but as it warms up it will stutter from time to time when you put your foot down. Most likely suggestion on here was the injection matrix/controller (or whatever the word was) apparently its a £15 unit, but I haven't got time to be messing about at the minute so I just ignore it. More of an annoyance that anything!

Thats about it really at the minute, nothing bad - but gets on your nerves if you don't like the car to begin with!

paz

 

[Peterg]

Thanks Paz
Im after a 5 door as I use mine for work.
Read your history shame u had so many annoying probs.
Good luck with the pug.
Pete

 

[paz]

Yeah it does get aggravating! Cheers for that Pete

Paz

 

[alexGS]

Fair enough. Thank you for your kind comments about the forum

Best of luck with the 306td. I presume that's newer than the Uno?

Remember that with old cars, a lot comes down to treatment previously in the car's life. I guarantee that there will be some Peugeot 205s or VW Golfs that are at least as troublesome as your Uno

It's also a matter of 'the devil you know'. If I had your Uno, I would have its problems solved in a weekend, using second-hand inspected parts from my collection (or my friend James' collection). But, if you are less fortunate, I can understand that the problems don't go away by themselves, and over time they tend to snowball.

It also depends a little on your standards. I think I posted some comment to this effect before, when there was the question of the Uno not being trusted to get you around because something was knocking or roaring... I do agree, but at the same time, at least the car will still get you there

BTW my first Japanese car has been a bit of a financial disaster so far, spent the price of the car again in the first month. Parts have worn out that just don't give problems on FIATs - like steering racks and CV joints. It failed to crank over one night for no apparent reason (started fine five minutes later). It's not very economical, the engine sounds like a vacuum cleaner, and it's difficult to see out of. Basically, I think the Japanese styling is hopeless. This two-door car weighs 1300+kg but cannot seat four people in comfort. It is also soft and soggy to drive. Like you not buying a FIAT again, I'm unlikely to buy a Toyota again...

-Alex

 

[paz]

No problem, I meant what I said - the forum itself has been great, its just the foundation on which the forum is based which I take issue with

The 306 is a 1997, and has been owned the the last year by my girlfriend - gearbox jokes aside, at least I know its been looked after, the cambelt has been done and its a first time starter (at least at the moment!). I appreciate that uno's can be reliable - its actually one of the reasons I got one in the end, despite my previous perceptions about fiats, I read a LOT of reviews where mileage was well over 100k and the car was still going.

The car has pretty much always managed to get me where I wanted to go (with the exception of the headgasket incident) - that much I will agree with, however it always makes me nervous when I get in the car to try and start it of a morning, and thats just not good for me! lol.

I sympathise with the problems you're having with the celica. Japanese cars more than anything are proof that a car must have been looked after before you bought it in order to work properly. Take my GTI-R for example, its 220bhp out of the box and will take 330bhp all day on standard internals/turbo and never miss a beat, my cars been fine *touch wood* for the last two years, and I've only ever really had to maintain it. However some of them, you can buy and within 1 week need a 4k engine rebuild - its down to which car you get.

The japs do make bad cars, the subaru impreza is proof of that but on a serious note, they do make bad cars, I don't think they're the best thing since sliced bread - but they are where i would trust my hard earned money 9 times out of 10.

Don't know a great deal about the celica, but from what I do know they tend to be slightly heavy, the newer twin headlight type celica is heavy as well, and needs probably another 50bhp over a pulsar to keep up with it. As for economy, you've got me there - I'm lucky to see 20mpg, but from a 2 litre turbo, 4 wheel drive, quad throttle bodied road going rally car I can deal with that

Always interesting to see the other side of things from others, cheers for your post and good look with your uno's

Paz

 

[alexGS]

Thanks Paz!

Sounds like you have the Peugeot safely 'in captivity' - family-owned is usually good.

When I think about it objectively, it is true that I've had a slightly mixed bag with Unos - in particular, my Mum's 70SL which gave me nothing but grief when I worked on it. I remember persistent starting/running problems which in the end I drastically solved by swapping the engine, complete with carburettor, for a 128 engine! The car was never as economical after that. The gearbox also gave me a load of grief, paying out $$$s for new bearings etc. only to have the same old rattle with the engine idling and the usual weak third gear synchro.

I have to say that my Uno Turbo has proved to be the ultimate Uno for me... it's hard to get very excited now about the lesser models, since the Turbo seems so much better engineered (re: the fuel injection and ignition systems, the cooling system, brakes, etc. etc.) I have had some minor hassle with the electric windows (not as bad as on the 70SL, though!) and the balljoints tend to wear out quickly, but generally it has proved very reliable and a tough little machine!

My Alfa Romeo 164 definitely fits into the 'passion' category of vehicles, paradoxically enough because it is a four-door saloon! Jobs on that car take four times as long as any other, and parts are stratospherically priced. If I was paying other people to fix it, the jobs I've done (e.g. the dashboard strip-out to replace air distribution seals) would be into four-figure prices (in our dollars, at least). Having said that, there hasn't actually been much wrong with it - more a question of the details that the Italians didn't pay much attention to in the first place, and the age-related servicing such as the new thermostat that took two weeks to change...

If you ever decide to get a 'better' Uno (e.g. a Turbo) I'm sure you'll be welcomed back here with open arms!

Cheers,
-Alex

 

[Biz]

Cant stand french cars!
I ran a 1.9 405 STDT for about a year and it didnt miss a beat and was damm torquey engine!!
but when it comes to fixing it.....................they are just ****!!

I aint getting french again!
Itallions know how to build a small reliable nippy car.............they are just in the wrong country!

But if you aint gota touch the pug then you wont know how bad they are!