General To buy or not to buy

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General To buy or not to buy

Fridayfiat

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Hi all

New here! Have searched the forum for some info on what to consider when buying a new Punto but didn't find the answers to everything so...

I went to test drive a second hand Punto. It's a 2 door Y reg with 90k miles on it. It's got almost a year's MOT and has been regularly serviced. The cambelt was changed at 72k.

A few concerns:

It hasn't been driven much for six weeks and it didn't start very well. It sounded like it was going to die, then sounded ok, then sounded like it was going to die on and off for about five minutes before I drove it.

One of the MOT advisories was underbody corrosion. Is there something I can do to stop this getting worse? Can we expect it to pass next year's MOT without requiring £100s to fix this? There was also some bubbly rust on the panel by the wheel arch at the back of the car.

The PAS went a few months ago and has been fixed but the MOT advisory said there's play in the steering rack inner joint/s. The owner thinks something needs tightening and has suggested the garage where the steering was fixed would do this for free...any opinions please? The steering was whirring during driving, is this normal?

The clutch was making a clicking sound when depressed, when it got to about half way down.

The spark plugs have been changed at almost every service. Again, is this normal?

Finally there was a puddle of coolant next to the oil reservoir filler cap. The owner was previously worried about a leak in the cooling system but mechanics couldn't find one.

They want £700 for it...I want something reliable that will last at least a year without costing £100s to fix in that time.

Any help much appreciated :)
 
I would walk - pronto. The clutch release bearing/ springs are dying , the steering tie rods need replacing and the rust could be a killer would need an inspection. At that age it's probably worse than you think. Spark plug renewal every year is not necessary but wont do any harm and it should start on the button - none of this dying stuff. The power steering should not be whirring and you might be looking at a replacement motor.The coolant spill ? Unfindable coolant leak is Puntospeak for failing headgasket. £700 should buy a lot better than that.
 
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Thanks for your reply :) Sounds like it was what I was worried about and not worth the hassle!

What's a decent amount to spend on a second hand Punto? Am I right in thinking that the head gasket should be changed at x number of miles to prevent problems?

Thank you again :)
 
I'm not too familiar with the UK market but over here for £700 I would expect to find a clean(ish) 1.2 8 valve five door with no issues and less that 100k on the clock and less than 10 years old as long as you're not put off by a few dings and scrapes.I would avoid 16 valve engines, body kits,lowering and automatics. Headgasket failure is probably down to poor maintenance in the main. Some cars never have trouble , others fail as early as 50k and some do have repeat jobs most likely because it wasn't done properly in the first place or they have been allowed to run coolant low again. The Punto is not the easiest car to bleed air from which doesn't help.
 
Thank you everybody for your replies. I've said no to the owner and will continue the search for a new Punto!

Enjoy your evenings :)
 
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