thesmallprint
New member
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2018
- Messages
- 43
- Points
- 11
Hey, just like to introduce myself and the newest member of my family, my 58 plate 1.9 MJet 150 Bravo Sport.
I'm a postgrad student in energy, and I've worked in car rentals before, where I developed an interest in cars. Yes, pretty much every rumour you've heard about rental companies is true. Some of them are lovely people in person, but every rental agent is in a fight with you even if you don't know it. Their income depends on extracting as much as possible out of your wallet, sometimes by devious means (a large part of why I left). Your odds of getting the car you ordered are slim, and they'll avoid telling you they don't have it until after trying to upgrade you twice. Take photos of every inch of it before you take it, and make sure all the damage is already recorded. If you DO want an upgrade, never accept the first price or show that you really like that car. The price may have been made up on the spot, but don't try to haggle openly as they will shut it down even if it means losing the sale. If they've given you the lowest possible price for it straight away, their manager will want a word with them, and you can always go back to it if they don't move.
When it came to buy, I was looking at golfs and polos, but the name means what you get for that budget in rural Wales is simply not worth having. I'd never heard of the Bravo - only seen fairly gutless low-spec Tipos and 500s were just a bit too cute for me - but what a find! Prettier than a golf, moves well, feels nice and is comfortable too, provided no one with legs needs to sit in the back. Also has a pretty solid reliability record, and this one's only MOT fails were for brake pads. Count me converted to FIAT.
That being said, it's a £2k 71k 10 yr old car, so I'll be working on it and thought it'd be an idea to find a group of knowledgeable people to ask questions of if I run into any issues. Hello! If I get time, I'll try to document the work that I do on it. There's not much info about the Bravo online, so I bought the workshop/repair manual and my tinkering might prove interesting/helpful to someone. Step 1 will be replacing all the filters, oil and coolant, touching up stone chips and scratches, and cleaning off the mass airflow sensor, as it's giving a fault code about that. Step 2 will be brake discs and pads, repainting the calipers (paint is chipping), refurbing the driving wheel, stick and handbrake. Step 3 might be installing a 2din head/nav and maybe a HUD. We'll see when funds allow. It'll be due for a timing belt change in 19k miles too, so I'll probably do that myself as well. I'll also try to document any incidental repairs and maintenance that come up along the way.
Cheers! Happy new year!
I'm a postgrad student in energy, and I've worked in car rentals before, where I developed an interest in cars. Yes, pretty much every rumour you've heard about rental companies is true. Some of them are lovely people in person, but every rental agent is in a fight with you even if you don't know it. Their income depends on extracting as much as possible out of your wallet, sometimes by devious means (a large part of why I left). Your odds of getting the car you ordered are slim, and they'll avoid telling you they don't have it until after trying to upgrade you twice. Take photos of every inch of it before you take it, and make sure all the damage is already recorded. If you DO want an upgrade, never accept the first price or show that you really like that car. The price may have been made up on the spot, but don't try to haggle openly as they will shut it down even if it means losing the sale. If they've given you the lowest possible price for it straight away, their manager will want a word with them, and you can always go back to it if they don't move.
When it came to buy, I was looking at golfs and polos, but the name means what you get for that budget in rural Wales is simply not worth having. I'd never heard of the Bravo - only seen fairly gutless low-spec Tipos and 500s were just a bit too cute for me - but what a find! Prettier than a golf, moves well, feels nice and is comfortable too, provided no one with legs needs to sit in the back. Also has a pretty solid reliability record, and this one's only MOT fails were for brake pads. Count me converted to FIAT.
That being said, it's a £2k 71k 10 yr old car, so I'll be working on it and thought it'd be an idea to find a group of knowledgeable people to ask questions of if I run into any issues. Hello! If I get time, I'll try to document the work that I do on it. There's not much info about the Bravo online, so I bought the workshop/repair manual and my tinkering might prove interesting/helpful to someone. Step 1 will be replacing all the filters, oil and coolant, touching up stone chips and scratches, and cleaning off the mass airflow sensor, as it's giving a fault code about that. Step 2 will be brake discs and pads, repainting the calipers (paint is chipping), refurbing the driving wheel, stick and handbrake. Step 3 might be installing a 2din head/nav and maybe a HUD. We'll see when funds allow. It'll be due for a timing belt change in 19k miles too, so I'll probably do that myself as well. I'll also try to document any incidental repairs and maintenance that come up along the way.
Cheers! Happy new year!
