General Would you recommend a Stilo

[JoeW]

Hi all, first post here and it more a question than a problem.

Im looking for a new car. I Have seen a 2004 1.4 16V active for just under £3k. Its had 2 owners and has 35k miles on the clock. It looks a nice car and i have drove a stilo before and quite liked it. As Stilo owners on this forum would you recommend anybody to buy on?

I have been doing a bit of research on the internet and they dont get the best write ups for reliability. Have some people just been unlucky or are they as unreliable as some would make out.

Hopefully people on here will be able to sway me one way or the other. The doom and gloom surrounding them is the only thing putting me off.

Cheers JoeW

 

[Yellow Peril]

Welcome Joe. Yes, you will find some stories of unreliability on this forum, but in part that's what they're for isn't it? I'm on my second Stilo and I think they've got a lot going for them - despite what the doom-mongers may say. They do benefit from regular servicing though, and if I was choosing one, I'd go for a bigger engine than a 1.4. The Stilo is quite a big, heavy car and needs a more powerful engine to shift it along. 1.6 or JTD would be my choice. Just my thoughts...

 

[OzMoSiS]

welcome to the stilo massive

i think that the 1.4 is a fine engine, especially with the 6 speed box. also being a phase 2 car it'll be of better quality too.

before i bought my JTD the first stilo i test drove was a 1.4 stilo sporting with claws, and it was fabulous.

the 1.8's and the jtd's are worth a look too

 

[StevenkSengwayo]

I drive a 53 plate 1.2 and as far as I'm concerned the stilo is fine purchase and is a bargain. come with quite a bit of kit for very little money. In terms of trouble and all that you'll find that if you get one and come here the chaps are really helpfull...........we're like a big stilo family only happy to help. So yep get one

 

[Ffoxy]

Wifeys 03 plate 1.2 has been excellent to be fair, had it from new. She doesnt do anything to it except drive it and take it (reluctantly) for a service every year.

Its been fine.

 

[Steely]

good car, but you will have little niggles to sort,,


if you do get one, the first thing you need to get is a fault code reader, about 25 quid on ebay, worth every penny, and saves you on diagnostic checks at 70 quid a chuck,

 

[bozzy]

good car, but you will have little niggles to sort,,


if you do get one, the first thing you need to get is a fault code reader, about 25 quid on ebay, worth every penny, and saves you on diagnostic checks at 70 quid a chuck,

Sound advice, the one thing I would look into first, Check out your local dealer, get some idea if they are any cop before buying the car or sort out a very good independant dealer. It's no accident that Fiat dealerships are at the bottom of the JD surveys again.

 

[JoeW]

Cheers everybody. Think im going to go see it today or tomorrow. It seems too be a toss up between that and a 03 plate, 2.0hdi Peugeot 307 for slightly less money but more miles (80k odd). Im going to be paying it off for the next 2 years so dont want to buy a total dud

 

[1.8Stilo]

think ill echo what most people have said here, had my 1.8 stilo for 4/5years and never had many problems. Look at tyre tread to make sure there is no uneven wear and check out the service history! My old der has also had a 1.2 stilo from new and is coming upto 5years now with no problems either, i think they key is making sure its been looked after properly and serviced regulary. Saying that my old der did 20k in between one service without a problem, naughty i know

something to bear in mind, being an 04 plate same as my old ders, it will be coming up for an cambelt change next year sometime, maybe something to swing into the deal as it can cost a few hundred quid

 

[PhilM Star]

There was a recall on earlier models to fit a saucer type thingy under the front suspension springs. This was in case they broke and ripped into the tyre while moving. I would think FIAT will fit one if one hasnt been done already. When I got my JTP 1.9 I phoned FIAT for some advice on another matter and they checked to see if I had the mod then sorted me out to get it done.

 

[JoeW]

Well i went to see it. Its wing mirror was taped on. It had a dent in the N/S front wing and a bit of corrosion to the bonnet. Although to be honest there minor problems i could have fixed or live with. Its funny how pictures on the internet always look better than the real thing. The garage owner done nothing but slate them. Told me to avoid the Stilo like the plague. The only reason he said he had it in was because it was a trade in. Think i will keep my eyes open for a stilo, although im going to look at the diesel ones and not back at that garage

 

[Argonought]

I'd hold out for a JTD with good service history (and not many owners)

Funny enough, some people say the Stilo looks better in the flesh than when photographed

 

[OzMoSiS]

i think me meant the condition argo. it doesnt really show in pics.

i think people who slate the stilo every chance they get are talking out of their backside. i have seen many many vw's, fords, pugs, renaults, bmw's, merc's, etc....... go wrong. some of them catastrophically wrong, like this guy who came into work with a merc that was a couple of months out of warrenty and the turbo failed and took most of the engine away with it!

cared for stilo's are good as gold, same as most other cars. infact, the stilo is better than most of the cars in its class, its generation and this generation.

i would keep an eye out for a tidy JTD, or as i said, a tidy 1.8 they are very very good, very underrated, and best of all, VERY well priced at the moment.

good luck with your searches

(ps there is a beautiful yellow 1.8 dymanic in cardiff at a very expensive garage for £2995, which means you can haggle that a lot )

 

[coyotes_uk]

I think so long as you find a stilo that has been well looked after they will look after you!

 

[JTD_Liam]

I'll pretty much repeat what's been said already, a lot of car for a hell of alot less cash than any of it's rivals. Stilo = Steal.

Ive only recently bought mine, but i got a 2004 54 reg JTD Dynamic 3 door with 50,000 miles, 1 owner, and leather & blade alloys as options, from a Volvo main dealer for £3950. All except the 2.4 engine has low insurance, fuel economy on my JTD seems as good as my Mk2 Punto JTD which is impressive considering the Stilos extra weight and extra 35bhp. Plus the tax is cheaper by £65 a year, so im very happy.

I havn't looked at many petrol models, but of the diesels ive looked at, a huge number have been 1 owner cars, even back to 51 reg. That's gotta say something. Why would someone keep a car from 2001 or 2002 if they didn't like it? They wouldnt. Therefore there has to be alot of good Stilos out there.

Incidently there has been quite alot (by Stilo standards) of JTDs on Autotrader lately (typically since i bought mine). The key to finding a good one is do a national search on AutoTrader. It's well worth travelling for if you get something that's just been better cared for, rather than settling for something for sale round the corner.

The guys have pointed out the main areas of concern (spring catcher recall etc). The only thing id add is if at any point, particularly at first start up, you get a *BEEP BEEP BEEP* followed by 'Engine Failure', 'Airbag Failure', 'ABS Failure' or something else, turn the car off, turn the ignition back on, let it say 'Checking' and then return to the date, then start the car, chances are itll say 'Check OK' second time round. These faults seem to appear more often because of a worn out battery or low battery voltage, rather than an actual 'failure' as such.

My final comment would be that if youre other choice was a 307, you've got nothing at all to worry about with a Stilo!

 

[bozzy]

Liam, that's a hell of a price you got that JTD for, at that price I might be tempted to start looking again

 

[JTD_Liam]

Liam, that's a hell of a price you got that JTD for, at that price I might be tempted to start looking again

I was rather pleased, especially as it had been advertised at £4950, then £3950 then back to £4950. Luckily i spotted it at £3950 and mentioned this on the test drive & they said that if i took the car as it was (ie bought my own road tax & got the service myself) they would let me have it for £3950.

Road tax is £120 & service is £159 on GoldCare so for a grand off i think that sounded reasonable! I think they just wanted rid as it was a Fiat at a Volvo & Mitsubishi main dealer & they had limited space, tho i am waiting for the engine to fall out after the price i paid!

You shouldn't have sold your JTD Bozzy, it was yummy. The Meganes are nice, but that 1.6 won't be as special as your JTD id imagine?

 

[bozzy]

You shouldn't have sold your JTD Bozzy, it was yummy. The Meganes are nice, but that 1.6 won't be as special as your JTD id imagine?

It was a condition of my car allowance, £450 a month but the car must be less than 3 years old. I can't knock the Megane but it just ain't the Stilo.