2001 fiat Punto reviews

Fiat Punto 1.9 JTD ELX 2001

I have mixed feelings... As a car when I bought it, it had new fan belt and timing belt fitted, and seemed pretty roadworthy. I drove it some 12,000mi, during which the ONLY problem was the wiper mechanism stopped working (common problem, simple fix = drill hole in, add pin, weld shut - garage can do it ;) ). Then, I left it cold for the winter, while I went to Colombia. Asked gf to turn the engine over once a week, fine; she put a solar panel (12W) into the cig lighter and left it on the floor for me. She started up just fine after that, got a winter safety check on it and found front discs were shot to pieces - fair enough, I was mean to her, she was mean to my wallet!! Now then, 3k miles later she went for her 1st MOT with me. OH DEAR. New exhaust needed, and new headlamp ’cos I crashed and smashed the clips. £600 total, bought parts myself from breakers (new), £300 labour + £25 Halfords had to fiddle (washers were used!!) with the light to align it and make it pass. 2 days later, I crashed again - hit a curb at 30. Oil sump cracked, 1 breakeryard.com had one for £120. Needed feed pipe too, another £46, plus £60 labour and opening on a Sat charge from garage in Liverpool. AFTER doing the work, these ’clutch specialists’ told me the clutch would go in about a week or 2. I’ve seen a kit on Ebay for it at £90, plus approx. £200 labour I hear. Still not had a service yet, because I had to save up for the MOT/tax/insurance (£900 on their own!!) so couldn’t afford to keep the car if I’d serviced it. Now wish I had though, cos they’d have told me it was a heap and I’d have scrapped it. So, it’s a clown’s car above about 80k miles/10yrs old. Live and learn ;)