General im a vw guy...should i buy a gps 1.9 130???

[arronh]

So...im a very enthusiastic vw person!!

but looking to get rid of my polo 1.4 tdi and getting something with more power...the 130 polos are too rare and expensive....new shape is also expensive...

Looking on the net i discovered that you guys have 130bhp diesels!...good start

but i know fiats arent the most reliable cars...so i need to know every little bad point about fiat grande punto sportings ...particularly the 130 diesel..

mechanical/electrical problems?...suspension?...overall reliability..EVERYTHING!!

and what should i look out for?..any particular model/spec

i have no idea about these cars...so help me out and maybe ill join you lot one day! thanks. email me on [email protected]

 

[keat63]

No.
Save a little longer and Buy a Golf.

See my "Pile of poo, money pit" thread.

 

[jameshobiecat]

A punto yes, but not the 130 diesel as the gearbox is made of cheese. On the plus side the it has a thousand times the charisma of any vw and it isn't saddled with the terrible stoneage pd engine.

 

[DueUno]

Well I love mine. I've had quick cars before, including two Impreza's and came to the GP from a 3.2 V6 Alfa GT. Whilst the out and out pace of the 1.9 isn't anywhere near those, the usable pace is very similar. In reality, how often do you do a 0-60, but 50-80 when overtaking or on the motorway is much more useful.

There will always be issues, but go on any car forum and ask for normal issues and you'll get loads - be it a VW, BMW or any other car you care to mention. Add in age and mileage and it obviously gets worse.

Any car is basically 4 wheels, some seats and an engine. If it cost £10k new, it was cheapish parts but at least they'll be cheap to replace. If it cost £50k new, they'll be better parts, but you'll be crying when it breaks. So either walk everywhere or accept that ANY car is a risk and a money pit (parts, faults, depreciation, etc) and buy something you like and can afford to repair.

 

[ChrisUK]

Just make sure you buy one with a good gearbox. One that feels good to use and doesn't one where the 'gear knob' shifts back when you let of the throttle (bearings on the way out).

 

[arronh]

thanks guys!..so i need to look out for gearboxes...i agree they look alot better than any vw and they stand out!

what if i plan to remap it?...what about turbo, flywheel/clutch problems?
im trying to get as much info as i can. really appreciate the help

 

[arronh]

ALSO!...just seen that theres a 1.6 multijet availible...what are they like???...they have more torque than the 1.9 130!!
and cheaper tax

 

[keat63]

Arron

I'll no doubt be upsetting people on here, and for this I apologize.

However, just read the threads, in between people showing off their photo's and "How do i fit go faster stripes" there are tons of problems.
Dodgy electrics, dodgy gearboxes.

I wouldn't buy another one that's for sure.

 

[DueUno]

thanks guys!..so i need to look out for gearboxes...i agree they look alot better than any vw and they stand out!

what if i plan to remap it?...what about turbo, flywheel/clutch problems?
im trying to get as much info as i can. really appreciate the help

Or take into account about £600 for a gearbox refurb - in some ways a cheaper one with a problem you can get fixed may be better, as at least you know it's sorted.

Getting it remapped up to about 155bhp is fairly standard and shouldn't cause any real problems - obviously if you drive it like you stole it, things will die even more quickly. Some places will tune up to about 180bhp, but at that level you could expect to need to replace bits a lot sooner.

 

[ChrisUK]

Arron

I'll no doubt be upsetting people on here, and for this I apologize.

However, just read the threads, in between people showing off their photo's and "How do i fit go faster stripes" there are tons of problems.
Dodgy electrics, dodgy gearboxes.

I wouldn't buy another one that's for sure.

Dude you've been stung by a bad one so I understand your butthurt. No one comes on a forum to complain how good their car has been so you're not getting an accurate demographic of the car over all.

Dodgy electrics? Care to expand on that? seen as though they are ALL BOSCH which is the same gear put on VAG, BMW, MERC etc.

Back to the topic at hand, yes the 1.6 may seem attractive but they suffer bad with their EGR valve design. So you can end up with cracking on the case. A guy on here had his under warranty which saved him £800!

But back on the 1.9. The engine themselves are solid as a rock and powerful. You need to be wary of the gearboxes as said. And as with all moderately torquey modern cars have a dual mass flywheel. This being faulty can lead to clutch judder and a rotational 'whurring' noise when coasting at low speeds.

The only 'common' electrical gremlin I can think of is the MAF Sensor (a BOSCH part ). When faulty it can cause a 'hesitant' acceleration which makes it feel laggy low end (there should be next to no turbo lag).

 

[Magic Johnson]

Does the 1.6 have the m32 gearbox?? If not might be worth a punt, it has 120bhp so 10 less but nothing a map cannot solve.

Oh yes, if you are going to map it to 180-90bhp then prepare to get your wallet out for transmission replacements; your choice.

Wonderful car though. You want common faults check the sticky.

 

[Rackham115]

If you want german build quality, save up and buy German but be prepared for expensive bills whenever something does go wrong, because it will. No car is built to last forever and you will always get wear and tear.

Fiats might go wrong from time to time but at least parts are relatively cheap. I always try and do my own work on my car too, makes bills cheaper, you'll learn far more about your car and when its finished and working again you can sit back and appreciate a job well done and treat yourself to a beer or 2

 

[Magic Johnson]

If you want german build quality, save up and buy German but be prepared for expensive bills whenever something does go wrong, because it will. No car is built to last forever and you will always get wear and tear.

Fiats might go wrong from time to time but at least parts are relatively cheap. I always try and do my own work on my car too, makes bills cheaper, you'll learn far more about your car and when its finished and working again you can sit back and appreciate a job well done and treat yourself to a beer or 2

Yeah apart from the usual, obviously a gearbox/alternator/clutch/DMF/etc are going to be expensive on any car, but if you chuck things in like double clutches and stuff you find in VAG cars then it gets closer to eye watering than expensive.

 

[ChrisUK]

I was next a bloke in Euro car parts the other day who was ordering 2 new head light units for his Merc as his had MELTED!! from the factory standard bulbs and made it fail it's first MOT. Only £965 each

 

[the rake]

Speaking as a VW enthusiast myself, with only a low level spec Grande...

I absolutely love it. Wouldny swap it for any VW. In fact I'm looking into buying another....

As for reliability. Mines been all over the country and no problems whatsoever.

Travelled to Peterborough for Mod Nats from London recently and had 2 Golfs break down. One we fixed and the other had to be towed home the day after....,

 

[Rackham115]

i was next a bloke in euro car parts the other day who was ordering 2 new head light units for his merc as his had melted!! From the factory standard bulbs and made it fail it's first mot. Only £965 each

ouch!!!!

 

[keat63]

Dodgy electrics? Care to expand on that? seen as though they are ALL BOSCH which is the same gear put on VAG, BMW, MERC etc.

I'm on here every day, and i've tried to help where ever i can offering advice and bumping threads where no one has replied.
So I can't help noticing how many people have problems with electrics.

Heater fans catching fire,
Headlights going off when indicating
Dials doing spazzy fits
A possible dash display unit failure today
Electric windows not working
Central locking not working.

It's relentless.
I know a lot of people only join forums when they have a problem, hence the reason car forums tend to be more about problems than most other things.
And most car forums will have the same fault repeatedly cropping up.
But i'm on 3 different car forums, and this is by far the worst one for issues.

Maybe my attitude will change if we get 6 months out of our car without an issue, but i can't envisage that.

 

[Magic Johnson]

Heater fans catching fire - wiring loom issue, same as Vauxhall
Headlights going off when indicating - bad earth, water ingress fusebox
Dials doing spazzy fits - dying battery
A possible dash display unit failure today - as above
Electric windows not working - wet fuse box
Central locking not working - bad earth etc

All fixable by a good auto-electrician, replacing battery or making sure your fusebox is watertight and has been closed properly by the last person inside it.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

I'm on here every day, and i've tried to help where ever i can offering advice and bumping threads where no one has replied.
So I can't help noticing how many people have problems with electrics.

Heater fans catching fire,
Headlights going off when indicating
Dials doing spazzy fits
A possible dash display unit failure today
Electric windows not working
Central locking not working.

It's relentless.
I know a lot of people only join forums when they have a problem, hence the reason car forums tend to be more about problems than most other things.
And most car forums will have the same fault repeatedly cropping up.
But i'm on 3 different car forums, and this is by far the worst one for issues.

Maybe my attitude will change if we get 6 months out of our car without an issue, but i can't envisage that.

Or perhaps the other forums you're on are those of car brands where people would rather go straight to a main dealer rather than fix themselves through the help of a forum.....

Yet you seem to be the person who shudders at having to pay to maintain your daughters car when consumables come up for replacement or the odd part on a budget motor has to be replaced.

 

[middo85]

German reliability is a myth, it might have been true 20 yrs ago but everyone else caught up!!

One of my best friends bought into the myth, had a 2006 Golf from new, loads of little niggles, all of which werent cheap. Replaced it after 3 years with a new Polo 1.6 Tdi which went through a clutch and gearbox in 6 months. He now drives a DS3, which has noticably better build quality.

We have quite a few BMWs at work and although they are excellent drivers cars (330d msport) they are no better built than the mondeo's of similar age we have.

The current 5 series handles like a canal boat despite how much the motoring press rave on about them.

I drive a lot of different cars regularly and as far as i am concerned most of the praise the German marques get is badge snobbery.