General is high mileage a problem?

[punto0211]

hi i have a 1998 mk1 fiat punto 1.2 16v sporting and it has 126,000 on the clock, is there anything i have to be aware of like common problems with a punto i'd just like to know if anyone knows any, i didnt pay much for the car because its my first car, i only paid £280 and it did have 10 months MOT when i brought it but did have a couple of little problems but nothing major, it runs great and is a lot faster than any other 1.2 ive come across, but does sometimes sound like theres a little mis fire when ticking over but i think im going to service it and see if that helps at all or if anyone knows what else knows what it could be then please tell me.
thanks jamie

 

[Eklipze3k]

I've said it a few times in the past but I'd personally be less worried about the mileage and more concerned about how many previous owners. I once bought a car with 30k and 11 previous owners which was a bag of crap, fun but so many things wrong with it. On the other hand if your car has only had 2-3 previous owners then I'd be pretty happy that most of them have looked after it and serviced it on time to get to where it is now.

If service history is unknown get as much done as you can afford to do.

 

[blu73]

as above really.. Do you have any history with the car at all detailing what servicing has been done and when??

 

[punto0211]

i have got a few past MOT slips from 2010 to now and some invoices saying what work was done to the car, last thing done to it was some welding on the floor pan that was on the 17/02/2012, then on the 10/12/2011 it had a full exhaust including cat which was £210, Then on the 03/11/2011 it had £547.19 spent on it which was a new clutch, rear brakes (shoes and wheel cylinders) and some other little bits and piece like bushes, but i havent got anything saying when it was last serviced or when the cambelt or anything was changed.

 

[blu73]

well i myself without any history would be doing a full service including belts, tensioners, fluids, filters, plugs & leads. If you do it yourself will not cost too much but cambelt is not as easy as an 8v engine and requires cam locking tools as far as i know. Depends on your skill level and budget what exactly you do.

 

[punto0211]

ok thanks, i think i am going to change as much as i can, and yea you have to have a special tool that goes down the spark plug holes and holds the pistons in place and then another tool to lock the cam, but ive been told that i have to take the engine mount off to do it

 

[fingers99]

Not sure. No big deal if you do -- just support the engine and, if from under the sump, use a big peice of timber tp prevernt damaging ther sump.

I'd not do it without a manual, but changing belt and tensioner should be your no 1 priority.

 

[J.R Racing]

They are as reliable as anything else made in the last twenty years.

A car is only as good as its owner in general!