My name is Renato, and I am a long time Fiat nut, but haven't owned a Fiat for a while. I actually grew up in a Fiat family in Brazil, and I remember weekends at my grandpa's weekend home when all the cars on our driveway were Fiats.
I learned to drive on a 1985 Fiat 147S (Brazilian market version of Fiat 127), it had an ethanol-powered 1.3 engine, five speed transmission, and it was bright red with nivyl seats. I loved that little car and it became my first car. After the 147 I owned a Fiat Uno 1.5R (sporty Uno in Brazil), while my mom had a Fiat Elba 1.6 (Uno station wagon, aka "estate" for you British folk, or "Combi" for the Europeans).
I moved to the USA in the early 90s, and I owned one single Fiat there, a 1986 Bertone (Fiat) X1/9. It was a blast to drive, but unfortunately it wasn't as reliable as Brazilian Fiats, and broke a lot. It was also starting to rust badly and I didn't have the money to keep that car so I sold it after a few months of ownership. Since then I have owned all sorts of other cars, Volskwagens, Mercedes, Daewoo, Subaru, Jeep, Saab, etc. I change cars a lot.
Which brings me to where I am right now, most likely buying a Fiat 126 tomorrow. Two weeks ago I sold a 1987 Saab 900i that was incredibly reliable. Sometimes I wonder why I sold it as it was a great car, but the price paid was very good, slightly above market, so I came out with a bit of profit on that car. Now I am looking to buy a car to replace that 900, and I am looking for something that is small, easy to work on, cheap to run, and fun to drive. The Fiat 126 seems to fill that profile quite well.
Tomorrow I will be looking at two different 126s. Both are being sold here in Germany, but both are still wearing Polish license plates and are registered in Poland. While I am in Germany, I am here with the US Army, so I can registed my car without needing a TÜV inspection or the vehicle history investigation which I imagine might be the reason they are not registered in Germnay yet.
The first car is a green color 126 Maluch Town, 2000 model, with 56,000 km, vinyl interior, for 600 euro. The second car is a red 126P, 1999 model, with 100,000 km, cloth interior, for 560 Euro. Both owners say the cars are in excellent mechanical shape, and good optical shape. I am more inclined towards purchasing the red car, as the Fiat 126 (pretty much any Fiat) looks beautioful in red.
So, keeping my fingers crossed, tomorrow I might be back into Fiat ownership. I am looking forward to it. It's been too long since I last owned an Italian car. :slayer:
I learned to drive on a 1985 Fiat 147S (Brazilian market version of Fiat 127), it had an ethanol-powered 1.3 engine, five speed transmission, and it was bright red with nivyl seats. I loved that little car and it became my first car. After the 147 I owned a Fiat Uno 1.5R (sporty Uno in Brazil), while my mom had a Fiat Elba 1.6 (Uno station wagon, aka "estate" for you British folk, or "Combi" for the Europeans).
I moved to the USA in the early 90s, and I owned one single Fiat there, a 1986 Bertone (Fiat) X1/9. It was a blast to drive, but unfortunately it wasn't as reliable as Brazilian Fiats, and broke a lot. It was also starting to rust badly and I didn't have the money to keep that car so I sold it after a few months of ownership. Since then I have owned all sorts of other cars, Volskwagens, Mercedes, Daewoo, Subaru, Jeep, Saab, etc. I change cars a lot.
Which brings me to where I am right now, most likely buying a Fiat 126 tomorrow. Two weeks ago I sold a 1987 Saab 900i that was incredibly reliable. Sometimes I wonder why I sold it as it was a great car, but the price paid was very good, slightly above market, so I came out with a bit of profit on that car. Now I am looking to buy a car to replace that 900, and I am looking for something that is small, easy to work on, cheap to run, and fun to drive. The Fiat 126 seems to fill that profile quite well.
Tomorrow I will be looking at two different 126s. Both are being sold here in Germany, but both are still wearing Polish license plates and are registered in Poland. While I am in Germany, I am here with the US Army, so I can registed my car without needing a TÜV inspection or the vehicle history investigation which I imagine might be the reason they are not registered in Germnay yet.
The first car is a green color 126 Maluch Town, 2000 model, with 56,000 km, vinyl interior, for 600 euro. The second car is a red 126P, 1999 model, with 100,000 km, cloth interior, for 560 Euro. Both owners say the cars are in excellent mechanical shape, and good optical shape. I am more inclined towards purchasing the red car, as the Fiat 126 (pretty much any Fiat) looks beautioful in red.
So, keeping my fingers crossed, tomorrow I might be back into Fiat ownership. I am looking forward to it. It's been too long since I last owned an Italian car. :slayer:
