General New to Fiat ownership and the forum.

[Frazorblade]

Hi folks,

I recently bought my first Fiat, a 2009 GP 1.4 8v Active 5dr in red with FSH, a full years MOT and only 18500 miles on the clock. It’s in almost immaculate condition inside and out and I think I got a fairly good deal at £2990.

I’ve a couple of issues however...

Firstly, both front and rear bumpers are a slightly darker shade of red. I was concerned that the car had maybe been in a bump and had these replaced but the dealer assured me it hadn’t. I checked the MOT history, service history and on the car where the bumpers are connected to the metal bodywork both front and back, under the bonnet and underneath even lifting the carpets to make sure but there are no signs of compression, buckling or crumpling of the paint anywhere. There wasn’t so I’m fairly satisfied that it hasn’t been in a collision and the bumpers are original, but why are they darker?

I understand that paint on plastic bodywork has a tendency to fade but this seems to be the opposite. Other than a respray is there anything I can do to restore them to match the metal bodywork colour?

Cosmetically I was also thinking about a few simple mods to make the car my own like chrome door handle and wing-mirror covers and windscreen wind deflectors. Should these be notable for insurance purposes?

Performance wise it seems to be in great shape but my one concern is changing gears seems to be a little stiff, at least harder than I’m used to with my previous car (a Ford Ka Mk1 1.3) and fleet vehicles I drive at work. Is this normal with GP’s or something I should be concerned about? Do I need to have the gearbox oil changed?

I was also considering changing the air filter and spark plugs to high performance ones, would this be worth my while?

Any comments and recommendations welcomed, thanks.

 

[nikrox]

Welcome to the forum...paintwise I think if you want a perect match then its respray time.
I have drivern two GP'S and tbh I think the gearchange is appalling..nothing I tried made any difference..
The car will respond absolutly NO differently to a freerer flowing/k+n style air filter nor will plug changes to anything 'sports' mode..Its just not that got that much power.
IMHO keep it serviced and dont expect miracles.

 

[The Imaginative Lad]

I have the 1.2 8V 5 door on almost 100,000 miles, they are not very fast cars but they'll get you from A to B. You just have to wait a bit longer at roundabouts and junctions

The issue for me is hills, my area is very hilly and when I've had 5 people in the car I've had to avoid certain hills e.g. this one: [ame]https://youtu.be/fAWJkJ359DQ?t=14[/ame]

I only use that hill if it's only me or just 1 passenger in the car otherwise its a no go, I've tried and failed and did an embarrassing reverse down haha

Also completely with nikrox about the gearbox, it is horrific. I thought it was just me missing gears before I let anyone else drive it.

 

[Frazorblade]

Thanks for the replies guys...

And nikrox thanks for the advice about the bumper colour but I’m not flush enough to put my hand in my pocket for a full respray right now so I guess I’ll have to live with it for the time being.
The Imaginative Lad, I’ve read the 1.2’s aren’t the most powerful but man, that hill climb is (less than) impressive! [emoji12]

I was hoping the filter change and new sparks might give mine a wee bit more oomph on acceleration but if it’s not worth the hassle then fair do’s.

That’s unfortunate to hear about the gearbox generally being rubbish too, when I took the car for a test drive I’d assumed it was tight because it was starting from cold and I just wasn’t used to it. Wish I’d known this in advance.

Cheers for your comments though, any advice on the cosmetic mods and the affect they’ll have on insurance if any?