Multipla Like or not like? Comments please!

[varesecrazy]

When I bought this 2 years ago for £400, 11 months mot and 7 months tax. 140k miles, only thing not working is the radio - needs the code and I don't have it. tut
IMO what's not to like!?
(Hope the photo uploads)

:slayer:

look in ICE section . if you still want the Radio CODE

Charlie

 

[glowplug]

Looks like you got a good deal there and nice colour too. Actually I prefer this shape to the newer one. I bought my wife's one 7 years ago with 59K on the clock for £4K and it now has 106K and climbing. Amortising that (excluding repairs) it equates to £571 / year. I have been looking for a replacement for no other reason than for a change but I have yet to find another car with the practicality. Apart from the front springs which both snapped in synchronisity one moring on the driveway it has been reliable. Yes I have had to repair this and that but no more so than any other NON Japanese car I have owned. It does now need the DMF changing but I am eaking it out until the weather improves.

Sure my SEAT Alhambra is bigger and my Chrysler Grand Voyager before that bigger yet BUT the cool thing about these cars is that they're like Dr Who's Tardis. Look small from the outside but deceivingly spacious inside. AND handle great for a people carrier.

The other big positive about this shape is NO DPF.

 

[widemouthfrog]

The other big positive about this shape is NO DPF.

Amen to that. And the injectors don't need to be coded either.

 

[glowplug]

Slightly off topic but the secret to injector longevity is Acetone. Every 4 or 5 tanks I mix 100mls of acetone to an equal mix of redex diesel. Have done so for many years now on all my diesels and have never had any signs of injector problem. The only injector I had fail was the #1 injector on my Grand Voyager but that was the piezo sensor which is a common and electronic failure on those old VM-Motori engines.

I was having issues on an old Peugeot 504 diesel, misfiring, loads of white smoke, poor running etc and someone told me this trick. Tried it and before the tank was run half down the problem had simply gone. Have used it ever since.

 

[steve20vt]

I've just bought a 2007 multijet, it was super cheap having a few issues.
It was a cat c in 2014 and put back on the road with used panels so some panel gaps aren't great. It wasn't a massive shunt as only the bonnet and bumper were replaced, even the near side headlamp was plastic welded.
It damaged the air con rad but everything else is fine. But for the few hundred quid I paid out its great value.

I'm used to my coupe and marea so I'm familiar with all the running gear.
Needs a few bits doing but I can do everything myself and just about to order the multiscan so I can sort out the service light etc.

To me it handles okay but not what I'm used to so I'll be addressing that and having a play with the engine too.

Loving the interior space and practicality so far.

 

[Tubthumper73]

I've just bought mine, an 03 JTD ELX with 87K on the clocks for £500. The MOT had run out 3 days before I picked her up and looked like she hadn't been cleaned, inside or out for many months.

One failed MOT test later, 10 days of sorting various issues and a trip to the scrap yard i now have a Multipla with 12 months ticket and no advisories

I reckon I spent less than £150 sorting out all the bits for the MOT along with missing items such as a parcel shelf and all the bits for a service from Euro car parts.

The one person I thought would be horrified when I came home with it was my wife, but she loves the thing, and appears to use it more than her own car My two young daughters also love being in it and can't wait for our planned road trip to Devon this August

My only gripes at the moment is a notchy gearshift, which I'm hoping will be improved when I change the gearbox oil and lube the linkage. Worst case scenario is it's the clutch/DMF but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
The other is that I didn't buy one of these years ago, instead of soldiering on with a Peugeot 406 which had electrics that even Fiat would be ashamed of

 

[flanok]

Give It A Bit More Respect

When the Multipla won the "Top Gear" best car of the year award back in, I think 1999 I was so shocked I even wrote an email complaining to the BBC. Then many years later, I found myself buying one how strange is that.

I then decided the car needed more respect that I had given it. So much so, I even wrote an article on the History of the Multipla here. Hope it is useful.

http://www.sellyouroldcar.co.uk/talk/give-the-fiat-multipla-a-bit-more-respect/

and lets be honest if t weren't for its original ugly looks could have been a much more respected and common MPV.

The only issues I have had has been the heater, you can see my many posts here. Just looking for a solution to the problem without taken out the dash. Apart from that, I think these are good value for money, compared to other MPVs and drive better with the shorter length and wider wheelbase.

 

[steve20vt]

The size is deceiving, I have a Fiat Coupe and a Marea weekend both use the same floorpan / wheelbase (including lots of others, brava/o, Alfa 145/6, 155, Lancia dedra etc)
The multipla uses almost identical running gear (11mm wider front arms, 40mm wider rear subframe) obviously the floorpan is very different to give it a five inch increase in wheelbase and extra width in the body.
That's why it's easy to fit the Coupes 20 valve turbo running gear (I say easy lol)

Despite its height the handling is very good and that five inch extra in the wheelbase pays off in the twisties! It's also very light compared to other vehicles with this many seats.
I took all the rear seats and spare wheel etc out of it and it really is a fun car to throw around.

 

[Oletimer]

Having read the comments from our dedicated members I thought I'd add a little note:

I'm now on Ugly Bug #5 and on Sunday will be dragging home #6 .
It's fair to say that I either have a few brain cells missing and require the attentions of 'those nice young men in their clean white coats' or perhaps have a bit of a Bug fetish.
Either way, there's something about the Bug that gets under the skin and with the exception of my old Zephyr Zodiac, I wouldn't want any other car.

It hasn't been all plain sailing, and, like others, I've had issues I'd sooner forget but, and it's a big but, no other car has given me so much pleasure, whether it's the big cheesy grin I get having just rebuilt the arse end, with refurbished sub frame, springs and axle - that took many hours strip, shot blast and repaint, down to fitting a new crankshaft sensor that stopped the engine at just the wrong moment, I have no idea, but there's definitely something about it that's appealing.
I have taken it out for no better reason than the simple pleasure of driving it - and how many other car owners actually wave to owners of the same car on sight?
People who own Bugs are a different breed, or at least, are more friendly toward other Bug owners.
Now lets not get too carried away, it is after all just a car! Or is it?
I don't know what it is about the Bug that brings out the Paternal instinct in us, or the will and desire to keep it running when common sense tells us it's not economically a good thing to do, but whatever it is the Bug's got it in spades.
My latest Bug is a 'save it from the scrap-yard' project - my cousin has had it a while, MOT time came round and he's a bit financially embarrassed. He parked it with the intention of 'doing it later' but never got around to ending the later. After a little discussion, he sold it to me as a project and it'll be here this weekend.
Sorry to have got carried away - Bug #6 (1.9ELX JTD) will soon get my overalls in action - I'll keep you posted as to how I get on.
George

 

[wiltshire]

I'm just getting my bug repaired so that it will soldier on for another year. I should scrap it but couldn't face the grandchildren if I did. They love it, they can all see out,even in the back; the 10 year old girl says it's like a greenhouse compared with some of her friends' families' modern cars with letter box side glass. Designers ignore the little people's view and concentrate on external appearance. My son's 'Footballer's wife' Land Rover stays parked when the young 'uns chose which car we go in.