Grande Punto Need help as the last owner did not tell me it has been in a crash

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Grande Punto Need help as the last owner did not tell me it has been in a crash

I drove it straight home and took it apart so I know no one has hit me since I bought the car
And the amount of damage there is no way they would not know about it they patched up the crack in the bumper and after finding sticky tape on the inside of the bumper they would have had to take it off to do that
I don't care if it has had a new engine I just want to make sure it is the correct one ie its a 1.4 and 16v as it should not have ac on it
It makes me question if its the right engine for the car
 
According to the handbook it does not have ac I went onto fiat and put my number plate in and it gave my a handbook for my car but no ac
 
Ok if it does then I need to find all the stuff that's missing which I guess is just a rad I hope and the ac gas
This is getting expensive
Thanks guys just need to find that engine number
 
According to the handbook it does not have ac I went onto fiat and put my number plate in and it gave my a handbook for my car but no ac

In your first post you say you have climate control which is just a fancy type of air-con. The hand book will be generic covering many different specification levels, they don't print a new one for every trim level.

It does sound like you are missing the air-con radiator, it could easily have been damaged in a crash.

What makes you think the engine has been swapped? The impact sounds like only a minor one if it only cracked the bumper and did light damage to the cross beam, air-con and engine radiators. There wouldn't be any reason to change the engine.

As for the seller, could the impact not have happened years ago? They may not have a clue about cars and may not have known. As for the mot, I'm not sure minor impact damage would be flagged up, they have a very specific list of things to check and anything else doesn't matter, I'm not sure they actually need to lift the bonnet to do one. They also do them in a hurry.

Finally, even if the seller did know about it, the old buyer beware rule applies. Immoral or not, they haven't done anything illegal. It sounds to me like you relied too much on the paperwork and didn't do a good enough job of inspecting the actual car.
 
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Would not the bumper reinforcer come under structure of the car I'd it not part of the crash zones etc. ?
And I did look at the car these are bits I could not see without taking the car apart or on a ramp which I am sure no one does in the middle if the street
The car drives lovely I would never of know without taking off the bumper
Surely he should of flagged up the radiator holder was missing if not he what is the point of a mot as it is a safety check of the state of your car to check it is road worthy !
Mine was not
Have got over the fact he covered it up as I know when the bumper was fixed and it was a long time ago so this is not a new thing
I'm just surprised the MOT did not pick up a unsafe car
 
The bumper cross bar can't be seen so these is no way an mot could pick it up. Not sure if a broken rad mount would count as a fail on safety grounds. Its not a safety critical part.
 
Bumper reinforcer is just that, to stop the flimsy plastic of the bumper flapping about. It is not part of the MOT, unless perhaps it was missing. Bent is fine.

Can't see why you think the engine has been swapped.

If the dash has a snowflake button, it should have aircon. Press it with the engine running. There should be an aircon pump on the front of the engine (Front being the end with the pulleys, not the side that you look at from the front of the car.) this pump should engage when the snowflake button is pressed and shortly after, cold air should enter the car. You description suggests that the aircon radiator (condenser) is missing, so no fridge gas, no aircon. Probably removed to replace, then not done. (Time, money, availability, etc.)

If that's all that is missing, a new condenser and a regas should sort it.

Other options for a radiator at the front would be oil cooler or turbo intercooler.
Oil cooler would have oil escaping at high pressure, so that's not it.
Intercooler will have large pipes and make a lot of noise if disconnected and significantly less power than you'd expect.
My guess is aircon. Get an aircon specialist to look at it and see if anything else is missing and quote on an evacuate and regas after you've sourced a new condenser.

Bent bumper reinforcer is up to you if you bother to replace. Try this, others may be available. http://www.clevelandpanels.com/fiat/fiat-grande-punto-06/front-bumper-reinforcer.html

Keep calm. Assess what is needed now, needed later and what is wanted. Then plan accordingly. Aircon open to atmosphere is not good, needs sealing to keep out damp, so this becomes a need soon.
You can't go back to the seller to complain or refund as its a private sale, but you might ask them nicely if they'd tell you what happened and what they've removed/lost. Without any anger, they may be helpful. If they're not helpful, then you can shout at them. It won't fix anything but it may make you feel better.
 
I'm just surprised the MOT did not pick up a unsafe car
With respect, you were caught out too. Just because there was undisclosed accident damage does not mean that the car is unsafe. Obviously in the opinion of the tester, the car is road legal.

I still feel you pain though. Yes you might not have been told the truth and the car may have got a prang, but if it is otherwise structurally sound then fix what needs fixing and enjoy it!
 
Petrina Does your dash look like this
341_4.jpg
or like this
Grande-Punto-Dashboard.jpg


First one being no Aircon Second one being Aircon

i am refering to the bottom part of the dash with the heating / ventilation controls do you have twisty knobs or do you have a screen with climate control that is your aircon control unit :)

Both cars in those pictures have air conditioning its just the bottom one has climate control the only difference being the electronics which alter the temp automatically to maintain a set temperature in the car.

It sounds like the condenser is missing and you'll need a new one plus you'll have to have the air con system gassed and tested.

Aircon or climate control mechanically they are the same its just the electronics that differs. Climate control is put basically automatic air con
 
Would not the bumper reinforcer come under structure of the car I'd it not part of the crash zones etc. ?
And I did look at the car these are bits I could not see without taking the car apart or on a ramp which I am sure no one does in the middle if the street
The car drives lovely I would never of know without taking off the bumper
Surely he should of flagged up the radiator holder was missing if not he what is the point of a mot as it is a safety check of the state of your car to check it is road worthy !
Mine was not
Have got over the fact he covered it up as I know when the bumper was fixed and it was a long time ago so this is not a new thing
I'm just surprised the MOT did not pick up a unsafe car

Is it a failure though?

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070814101149AAC8P4D

Doesn't look like it! Think you are being harsh, as has been said someone could have reversed in to them etc.

You'd be surprised as to what is defined as 'road worthy'.

For example, my car passed its MOT with no internal fan. It failed once because a rubber gromit came off one of the drop links.
 
GYoung87 i was trying to be helpful i did not know the first pic had aircon with just manual controls, i am not perfect and still a newish member and don't know my way around every punto on the market

but i must say your Comment
The first pic does have aircon. The button in the middle with the snowflake icon is aircon. The second one has climate control. Not a very helpful post.
to be a bit rude towards me when i was just trying to help there is even rules on making sure you do not post stuff that others might take offence to

If it is a sporting, no matter what engine (mjet, T-jet or starjet) is should have aircon as standard
and this in big and bold can be seen as aggressive towards the OP

i do not like to complain but this is supposed to be a friendly and helpful place and as such responces should not be unhelpful and most of all friendly and none aggressive

thats just my op tho

Beyre83
 
Magic Johnson whilst i can understand that others managed todo it with out coming across as rude, when pointing out i had made an error, which i will hold my hands up we are human and we make mistakes its only natural but one should think carefully and compose a reply that others will not find belittling or making them feel stupid...

again i suppose it depends how you read things that can judge how you react / feel about a post as you can't tell from txt if it was ment in a constructive or destructive way

Beyre83
 
@Magic Johnson whilst i can understand that others managed todo it with out coming across as rude, when pointing out i had made an error, which i will hold my hands up we are human and we make mistakes its only natural but one should think carefully and compose a reply that others will not find belittling or making them feel stupid...

again i suppose it depends how you read things that can judge how you react / feel about a post as you can't tell from txt if it was ment in a constructive or destructive way

Beyre83

I'm almost 100% sure that wasn't his intention. That's not the way we do things on FF.

(y)
 
Erm...did you not test to make sure the aircon/climate was working?

Given how expensive it can be this is near the top of my car buying check list. I do actually keep a list on my computer which I update from time to time I print it out and take it with me when ever I go to look at a car, otherwise its easy to get caught up in the moment and miss something. Perhaps the op could download a list from somewhere for next time.
 
GYoung87 i was trying to be helpful i did not know the first pic had aircon with just manual controls, i am not perfect and still a newish member and don't know my way around every punto on the market

but i must say your Comment
to be a bit rude towards me when i was just trying to help there is even rules on making sure you do not post stuff that others might take offence to

and this in big and bold can be seen as aggressive towards the OP

i do not like to complain but this is supposed to be a friendly and helpful place and as such responces should not be unhelpful and most of all friendly and none aggressive

thats just my op tho

Beyre83

Don't be soft. If you are unsure yourself how can you advise others?

This post is dragging on a bit now. Post pics it will be more helpful.

I posted in bold to be clear as the OP is unsure. Suppose it doesnt help with people advising on things that they themselves are unsure about.
 
Sorry to hear about your predicament but i think this is the exact car i was about to go see before i found my current car. It was advertised on Gumtree, a white T-Jet, in Milton Keynes and the price was so low i felt it was too good to be true so i rang the seller and it was a woman, who also explained to me about having a child etc, and that it had not been in an accident or anything. I planned to go see the car, however luckily i did a HPI check on the car first and the results came back that it had 7 owners, had been in a crash and that the car is originally blue... Therefore i rang her again and said that i did the HPI check and that it said its been in a crash, she then said to me she didnt HAVE to tell me its been in a crash which is fair enough (or not) and that the car is originally blue but has been wrapped in white... I was angry at the time so just said no thanks. I hope this isnt the car you have bought, but if it is, im sure its fixable and especially at the price it was put on for
 
Sorry to hear about your predicament but i think this is the exact car i was about to go see before i found my current car. It was advertised on Gumtree, a white T-Jet, in Milton Keynes and the price was so low i felt it was too good to be true so i rang the seller and it was a woman, who also explained to me about having a child etc, and that it had not been in an accident or anything. I planned to go see the car, however luckily i did a HPI check on the car first and the results came back that it had 7 owners, had been in a crash and that the car is originally blue... Therefore i rang her again and said that i did the HPI check and that it said its been in a crash, she then said to me she didnt HAVE to tell me its been in a crash which is fair enough (or not) and that the car is originally blue but has been wrapped in white... I was angry at the time so just said no thanks. I hope this isnt the car you have bought, but if it is, im sure its fixable and especially at the price it was put on for

You asked she lied know in a house sale you have to be honest when asked then again it could have been owner number one that crashed it and no 7 didn't know....
 
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