Well,
I've been reading messages in the Stilo forum for the past few hours. It has almost put me right off buying a Stilo.
If I was to replace all three of my Italians with just one, it would be a Stilo Abarth 3-dr. The price for a 2002 example is $18,000, which is £5931. The advertiser said that "trades are welcome". I rather cheekily offered my Alfa 164 - can't wait to hear what he offers for that I'm guessing $2000.
<sigh> This seems like an enormous decision to make, because for the price of that Stilo I could buy 20 good Unos. Has anyone else here been through this before? If I remember correctly, thepottleflump has - and yet he now owns an Uno Turbo!
So to briefly summarise some of the Stilo's 'character' that I've learned from the forum:
- Selespeed (hydraulically-operated manual) often jerks, sometimes stops dead, opening and closing driver's door ten times may reset the fault warning but usually requires replacement ECU, replacement clutch speed sensor (clogged with debris) or sometimes just the connector under the battery needs to be cleaned/waterproofed. Other times it is the brake pedal switch that immobilises the car...
- Reverse sensors/airbags often flag up a fault
- Stereo cannot work with iPod interfaces that are available
- Abarth version does not handle as well as base 1.6 version, due to extra weight and soft springs
- Manual versions tend to lose a piece off the synchroniser causing a third-gear crunch
I presume that owning a Stilo is therefore a lottery of avoiding expensive disasters? There have been so many stories that my FIAT, my Bertone, and my Alfa Romeo begin to look very reliable...
Is it likely to go around corners as fast as my Uno Turbo or my 164? What about acceleration? Rust resistance?
I can't really afford a Stilo - but anything is possible given the enthusiasm...
Thanks,
-Alex
I've been reading messages in the Stilo forum for the past few hours. It has almost put me right off buying a Stilo.
If I was to replace all three of my Italians with just one, it would be a Stilo Abarth 3-dr. The price for a 2002 example is $18,000, which is £5931. The advertiser said that "trades are welcome". I rather cheekily offered my Alfa 164 - can't wait to hear what he offers for that I'm guessing $2000.
<sigh> This seems like an enormous decision to make, because for the price of that Stilo I could buy 20 good Unos. Has anyone else here been through this before? If I remember correctly, thepottleflump has - and yet he now owns an Uno Turbo!
So to briefly summarise some of the Stilo's 'character' that I've learned from the forum:
- Selespeed (hydraulically-operated manual) often jerks, sometimes stops dead, opening and closing driver's door ten times may reset the fault warning but usually requires replacement ECU, replacement clutch speed sensor (clogged with debris) or sometimes just the connector under the battery needs to be cleaned/waterproofed. Other times it is the brake pedal switch that immobilises the car...
- Reverse sensors/airbags often flag up a fault
- Stereo cannot work with iPod interfaces that are available
- Abarth version does not handle as well as base 1.6 version, due to extra weight and soft springs
- Manual versions tend to lose a piece off the synchroniser causing a third-gear crunch
I presume that owning a Stilo is therefore a lottery of avoiding expensive disasters? There have been so many stories that my FIAT, my Bertone, and my Alfa Romeo begin to look very reliable...
Is it likely to go around corners as fast as my Uno Turbo or my 164? What about acceleration? Rust resistance?
I can't really afford a Stilo - but anything is possible given the enthusiasm...
Thanks,
-Alex