Fiat Punto 2007/2008

[ajnluv69]

Hi everyone.. I'm planning to buy a used Fiat Punto 2007/2008 petrol tiptronic car. Despite that there is no second-hand value I just want to know the maintenance cost and any other issues.. Got to know that this is good on fuel and more comfortable than a Japanese vehicle. One person told me that there is a gearbox issue with tiptronic gearbox. Pls enlighten me with this issue. Thanx everyone.. :-)

[rover]

Thanks ajnluv69, harry,and vvti for your valuable comments.

I still have few more issues to be sorted out like the rear door locks which are difficult to open from outside, and fuel consumption issue which is hovering around 8 km/l at the moment.

I got the door locks tempororily fixed from a guy at Nugegoda today and he says due to wear the complete unit must be replaced. I will try to get them through ebay together with the stereo system front panel where all the button's markings are erased probably due to climate and poor material. I saw the same issue in another Punto recently.

Also one of the rear speakers is broken and will try to get it fixed locally.

It's a bit of a dissapointment that the bluetooth is not working as this function is important for me. Don't know if Indika can upgrade the software.

But apart from all this I'm enjoying my ride. It's a nice comfy ride and the light steering makes it ideal for city driving.

I'm planning to take the car to Indika for a full check up next week, and thanks guys once again for the help.

[ajnluv69]

Every italian GPs in sri lanka has the rear door issues ..

[Harry (aq)]

Radio panel issue is due to the SL climate. have you tried the Agents? (Eu!o Mo!!rs) the guy (Sorry I cannot tell the name on this thread) there is the best in the country for GPs.

I had the same issue with the speakers. The cloth (i am not sure what it is called) in the speaker needs re-pasting. nothing serious. Get all the speakers checked at the same time if you can.

[The Don]

Radio panel issue is due to the SL climate. have you tried the Agents? (Eu!o Mo!!rs) the guy (Sorry I cannot tell the name on this thread) there is the best in the country for GPs.

I had the same issue with the speakers. The cloth (i am not sure what it is called) in the speaker needs re-pasting. nothing serious. Get all the speakers checked at the same time if you can.

Even better, get the speakers replaced with better quality ones. They are usually standard sizes.

Perhaps a good UV cut clear tint might help if plastics are suffering under the sun, and use a windshield cover when left in the sun.

[Crosswind]

Actually its the sweat on the fingers that make the printing on the radio panel to wear out. Tint won't help.

Like ajnluv said, the rear door problem exists in all GPs in the country. Euro Motors has a fix for it and it doesn't cost much.

It seems we have a small cult of Grande Punto lovers in the country. May be the car will become a local classic sometime in the future.

[Harry (aq)]

Actually its the sweat on the fingers that make the printing on the radio panel to wear out. Tint won't help.

Like ajnluv said, the rear door problem exists in all GPs in the country. Euro Motors has a fix for it and it doesn't cost much.

It seems we have a small cult of Grande Punto lovers in the country. May be the car will become a local classic sometime in the future.

Well this calls for a meetup..... What do you guys say????

[ajnluv69]

The GUY in the euro mortors is the best.. he knows what to do and the best possible and the cheapest ways of doing things.. I'm upgrading my car.. got everything fixed by that GUY and everything is fine now.. planning to do a chip tune up in future..

Don't spend too much on little things..

[ajnluv69]

Do we have a GP club here?

[VVTi]

Actually its the sweat on the fingers that make the printing on the radio panel to wear out. Tint won't help.

Like ajnluv said, the rear door problem exists in all GPs in the country. Euro Motors has a fix for it and it doesn't cost much.

It seems we have a small cult of Grande Punto lovers in the country. May be the car will become a local classic sometime in the future.

every old car is a classic in Sri Lanka...

[Crosswind]

every old car is a classic in Sri Lanka...

yup... ayyo salli

[VVTi]

One only has to troll the classic car pages of FB to see what our standards of what a Classic Car is...

[Harry (aq)]

Do we have a GP club here?

I guess we have. Both current and previous owners.

[VVTi]

I guess we have. Both current and previous owners.

There is a quite active Italian Car Enthusiast Club in Sri Lanka...

[Crosswind]

Speaking of GPs, any idea who owns the two-door orange GP with the glass top?

[ajnluv69]

I have not seen it.. is it an abarth version?

[Dushyantha]

hey guys .

I am also considering on buying a used fiat punto 2006 or a 2007 ,

previously owned a fiat bravo 2 door so not entirely new to fiats and European cars

i got to know that the punto had a common gearbox problem .

is this gearbox problem a costly repair ?

how much would this repair cost ?

how is the availability of spare parts for the punto ?

and any advice on specific things to look for when buying a punto will be greatly appreciated.

[ajnluv69]

As far as I know there are only less than 5 bravo's in sri lanka.. its a cool car..

Well fiat GP doesn't have a gear box issue .. The issue is with the hydraulic clutch unit. Grande Punto has a manual gear box. The hydraulic clutch is operated by a 'salespeed' hydraulic pump which will change the gears adjusting the pressure. The salespeed pump is pretty expensive. This problem only exsist with the petrol ones. In the diesel version this issue was fixed. If ur not bothered go for the diesel. It's a turbo engine.

There is no permanent solution for this. There is a temporary solution but it's not costly. Proper maintainance of this pump will increase it's life span. Use only tutela salespeed oil for the pump. Its a must.

other than that there is a issue with the electronic power steering system. It's not common though.

Parts are available. I have my guy who will manage to find any part for the punto. So far i don't have any issues. Any part is available online ; only if u can find a way of getting things down here.

Personally I'm in love with this car. It's so thrilling to drive this. Switch off the eps and its magic. I can recommended a guy for u, but can't expose details here.

It's not powerful as the bravo. GP has a smaller engine. Hope it's ok with u..

Did lot of research on this car before i bought mine. That's how i managed to gather the information.

Hope this will help..

[Dushyantha]

As far as I know there are only less than 5 bravo's in sri lanka.. its a cool car..

Well fiat GP doesn't have a gear box issue .. The issue is with the hydraulic clutch unit. Grande Punto has a manual gear box. The hydraulic clutch is operated by a 'salespeed' hydraulic pump which will change the gears adjusting the pressure. The salespeed pump is pretty expensive. This problem only exsist with the petrol ones. In the diesel version this issue was fixed. If ur not bothered go for the diesel. It's a turbo engine.

There is no permanent solution for this. There is a temporary solution but it's not costly. Proper maintainance of this pump will increase it's life span. Use only tutela salespeed oil for the pump. Its a must.

other than that there is a issue with the electronic power steering system. It's not common though.

Parts are available. I have my guy who will manage to find any part for the punto. So far i don't have any issues. Any part is available online ; only if u can find a way of getting things down here.

Personally I'm in love with this car. It's so thrilling to drive this. Switch off the eps and its magic. I can recommended a guy for u, but can't expose details here.

It's not powerful as the bravo. GP has a smaller engine. Hope it's ok with u..

Did lot of research on this car before i bought mine. That's how i managed to gather the information.

Hope this will help..

thanks for the prompt detailed reply . yes i owned one of the 4 fiat bravos . it was a turbo diesel one . unfortunately had to let it go coz didnt have time for maintaining it with all the repairs and bringing down parts from abroad . had to even bring down airfilters and stuff because they werent available here .

i understand that you own a punto . how are the maintenance costs ?

and roughly how much would you thin this selespeed pump repair cost if i was to face with this issue ?

[ajnluv69]

The maintainance cost of diesel is far more less than the petrol one, and its more fuel efficient. I do my service every 5000 km and cost me 10,000 at euro mortors. Other than that changing of transmission oil and selespeed pump oil can be done every 25000 to 30000. For the transmission oil u can use mobil. but for the pump u SHOULD use tutela cs speed oil. Most of these issues has occurred due to using of other oil types for the pump.

I think the pump will cost u almost 125 k at euro mortors. But u can find a brand new one if u search online for about 80-100 k.

When i bought my car it was not in a good condition. I replaced many parts and now it has come to the hydraulic pump. I think i will have to do it in nexr year. The main reason i bought my car, coz it has leather interior and panaromic roof.

Right now the tutela 1 ltr oil will cost 13000 at euro mortors. But i get it for 9000. Still it's more cheaper in europe and planning to bring some.

Other than that the repair cost is same as a japanese one if u use original japanese parts.

By the way, what color was ur bravo?

[Dushyantha]

wow very detailed great advice . thank u for the info . after reading all the positive feedback for this car on autolanka i am sure to go for a punto . hope to find a decent one .seen that theres not much of em around for sale due to the very low second hand market .

ajnluv69

The Bravo was a 1999 black 2 door hatchback JTD 105 2000cc turbo diesel one .

oh . it had a sunroof too

[ajnluv69]

I've seen a brownish goldish one.. that's a nice car. If ur used to a diesel one, i think diesel punto is a good option. Its trouble free.

[Crosswind]

When i bought my car it was not in a good condition. I replaced many parts and now it has come to the hydraulic pump. I think i will have to do it in nexr year. The main reason i bought my car, coz it has leather interior and panaromic roof.

That sounds a bit familiar... is your car a red one with K* - 266* number?

[ajnluv69]

Nop.. its red though. Kind of little modified, with carbon fiber touchup and racing strips. Turning in to an Abarth..

[Harry (aq)]

wow very detailed great advice . thank u for the info . after reading all the positive feedback for this car on autolanka i am sure to go for a punto . hope to find a decent one .seen that theres not much of em around for sale due to the very low second hand market .

Try talking to euro motors, they get info on the cars for sale. If I remember correct, there were only 104 GP brought down here by them. According to them, I am running the lowest milage :-) at 37k and the maximum they service is somewhere around 120k.

[Crosswind]

Try talking to euro motors, they get info on the cars for sale. If I remember correct, there were only 104 GP brought down here by them. According to them, I am running the lowest milage :-) at 37k and the maximum they service is somewhere around 120k.

There's a diesel one (2008 permit) owned by a doc in Kurunegala area, which had clocked 265,000km when I checked it out July 2013. I suspect that car would have reached 350,000km by now, if owned by the same guy. Good news is the engine and gearbox still seemed smooth despite the fact that the level of abuse it had gone through would make abu-ghraib folks envious. Speaks a lot about the quality of diesel fiats.