Technical I Need some advice about Grande Punto, as I am planning to buy one.

[britgreek]

I Need some advice about the Grande Punto, as I am planning to buy one.

Hi to everyone. I’m a new Greek member and I’m planning to buy a second hand Grande Punto. I share my time between the UK and Greece working as an academic researcher and I often drive to your country from Greece and back. It’s a great experience and you get to see wonderful places. I’ve been reading this forum for quite a few hours so far, and I have to say I love it!
I need your advice on a few things I’ve noticed after having seen about 30 Grande Puntos. Most of the cars I’ve seen have a very heavy clutch, so I’d like to know if yours have a similar issue. Unfortunately traffic is annoyingly heavy in major Greek cities so I’m trying to see if a GP is not the best deal for me, as I’ve had a hernia operation and I definitely need to drive a car with a smooth light clutch. To be honest, Grande Puntos are quite cheap here in Greece, so I can get a fully equipped 2007+ model for about 5300 euros. I’ll only need to figure out a way to add a usb port to the factory-fitted Blaupunkt (they don’t do that in Greece, claiming that if the car doesn’t have it, it can’t be done). I’ve been thinking of buying an 1,4 95bhp model (5 door). Most cars I’ve chosen to see are in immaculate condition with very low mileage and full service history. The thing is, though, that most people I’ve asked are telling me not to buy a Fiat, suggesting that Japanese – or even Korean cars are definitely more reliable. However, you can see Fiat cars everywhere in Greece, so making a final choice is rather confusing. And, in the end, we don’t really know where our cars are built, do we? Grande Puntos are built in Italy, as well as in India. Toyota cars are built in Japan, Turkey, etc. What I know is that I consider the Grande Punto to be the best looking mini. My main concerns, therefore are the clutch (it shouldn’t be heavy as it’s hydraulic) and reliability. Please note that I’ll be doing around 30,000 km per year and I’ll be keeping that car for 5 years. I think I won’t be able to get any warranty, as I’ve heard that the five-year warranty is not transferable to the next owner (I know for sure that leased cars have only one year warranty, regardless of make, according to Greek car dealers). I’ll have to check on that.

Please let me know what you think.


Kind regards from Greece.

 

[grantewhite]

Hi to everyone. I’m a new Greek member and I’m planning to buy a second hand Grande Punto. I share my time between the UK and Greece working as an academic researcher and I often drive to your country from Greece and back. It’s a great experience and you get to see wonderful places. I’ve been reading this forum for quite a few hours so far, and I have to say I love it!
I need your advice on a few things I’ve noticed after having seen about 30 Grande Puntos. Most of the cars I’ve seen have a very heavy clutch, so I’d like to know if yours have a similar issue. Unfortunately traffic is annoyingly heavy in major Greek cities so I’m trying to see if a GP is not the best deal for me, as I’ve had a hernia operation and I definitely need to drive a car with a smooth light clutch. To be honest, Grande Puntos are quite cheap here in Greece, so I can get a fully equipped 2007+ model for about 5300 euros. I’ll only need to figure out a way to add a usb port to the factory-fitted Blaupunkt (they don’t do that in Greece, claiming that if the car doesn’t have it, it can’t be done). I’ve been thinking of buying an 1,4 95bhp model (5 door). Most cars I’ve chosen to see are in immaculate condition with very low mileage and full service history. The thing is, though, that most people I’ve asked are telling me not to buy a Fiat, suggesting that Japanese – or even Korean cars are definitely more reliable. However, you can see Fiat cars everywhere in Greece, so making a final choice is rather confusing. And, in the end, we don’t really know where our cars are built, do we? Grande Puntos are built in Italy, as well as in India. Toyota cars are built in Japan, Turkey, etc. What I know is that I consider the Grande Punto to be the best looking mini. My main concerns, therefore are the clutch (it shouldn’t be heavy as it’s hydraulic) and reliability. Please note that I’ll be doing around 30,000 km per year and I’ll be keeping that car for 5 years. I think I won’t be able to get any warranty, as I’ve heard that the five-year warranty is not transferable to the next owner (I know for sure that leased cars have only one year warranty, regardless of make, according to Greek car dealers). I’ll have to check on that.

Please let me know what you think.


Kind regards from Greece.

Eeek with that kinda milage u shud get an mjet mate aspecialy if ur doin lot of long runs I get 42mpg absolute max out my tjet normaly make about 22 lol the no turbo petrol 1.4 is lifeless and has no tuneability so I stand by 1.9 mjet as my vote

 

[britgreek]

Thanks for replying. Unfortunately, diesel cars were not allowed in Athens and Thessaloniki until a week ago. There aren't many diesels available in the market and those that we can use must be Euro5 (not Euro4) in order to be allowed to enter the city centre. What's more, cars in Greece are taxed according to their cubic capacity (cc) and emissions and we buy cars according to our salaries. There is a band/scale according to which buyers can buy specific engine sizes without having to pay a fine in taxes. For example, if I earn 12,000 euros per year, I can only have a car with a 1,4 engine (theoretical numbers) without having to pay extra taxes. If I decide to buy a 2.0 litre car, the state asks for some kind of annual fine, because 2,0 litre cars are for those who make more money. They have also set a minimum sum of annual car maintenance costs (regardless of whether we use our cars or not) which has to be less than the total sum of our income. I know it sounds strange, but this is how things work here. For a 1.9 engine the road tax comes to 300 euros, plus the rest of the taxes that we'll have to pay now that we're in the middle of the crisis. Bear in mind that the basic salary in Greece is 592 euros per month, and petrol costs about 1.70 per litre.

Sorry about my poor English language skills.

 

[grantewhite]

Thanks for replying. Unfortunately, diesel cars were not allowed in Athens and Thessaloniki until a week ago. There aren't many diesels available in the market and those that we can use must be Euro5 (not Euro4) in order to be allowed to enter the city centre. What's more, cars in Greece are taxed according to their cubic capacity (cc) and emissions and we buy cars according to our salaries. There is a band/scale according to which buyers can buy specific engine sizes without having to pay a fine in taxes. For example, if I earn 12,000 euros per year, I can only have a car with a 1,4 engine (theoretical numbers) without having to pay extra taxes. If I decide to buy a 2.0 litre car, the state asks for some kind of annual fine, because 2,0 litre cars are for those who make more money. They have also set a minimum sum of annual car maintenance costs (regardless of whether we use our cars or not) which has to be less than the total sum of our income. I know it sounds strange, but this is how things work here. For a 1.9 engine the road tax comes to 300 euros, plus the rest of the taxes that we'll have to pay now that we're in the middle of the crisis. Bear in mind that the basic salary in Greece is 592 euros per month, and petrol costs about 1.70 per litre.

Sorry about my poor English language skills.

Man greece sucks lol, in that case get a 1.4 tjet then atlest u'll be able to overtake ppl lol

 

[MISC1691]

ive had 55mpg out of my T-Jet so if your careful fuel is pretty good, real careful.

 

[britgreek]

Man greece sucks lol, in that case get a 1.4 tjet then atlest u'll be able to overtake ppl lol

It's not Greece that sucks, mate. It's our political mentality which makes us think that voting for the same people over and over again is ideal...

My cruising speed on motorways never exceeds 120km/hour. I hate turbo engines because I think they are less reliable. My greek friends tell me that the 1.4 with 95hp consumes a lot, so maybe I should try to find a diesel, hoping that it won't break down.

A Tjet costs about 16.000 euros, so it's completely out of budget for me.

 

[grandepunto]

hi mate, welcome to the forum

reading through your post i would suggest get a 1.4 8v petrol. Mine gives upto nearly 45-50 mpg on motorway driving. also mpg value is dependant on traffic and how you drive the car. the car itself weight just a tick over 1000kg which is light weight compared to similar hatchback weighing around 1400 kgs. so thats good

i would say avoid the turbo models, it can be fun but cannot be reliable as turbo will go wrong and will mess up the engine. i had driven turbo cars in the past and i was fed up with the repair bills, hence if you need something reliable then go for a naturally aspirated engine. Turbos are good for power, speed etc but remb the expense side of it as well. If you look through the post her on the forum quite a lot of them are associated with problems with turbo cars.

the only thing i would suggest since you are doing long journeys is to keep an eye on engine oil level as 1.4 8v fire engines are prone to bing drinking

click the link i have found which sheds some more light on the grande punto model etc.

http://www.italiaspeed.com/new_models/2005/fiat/grande_punto/engines.html