Faults:

I had the Fiat a week, then the clutch cable snapped.

The heater blower is not working, but apart from that, the Fiat seems fine. No odd noises, no smoking, nor oil leaks.

General Comments:

Fun, fun, fun - that's what this tiny Fiat is about. Of course it's not the last word in luxury or comfort, but it doesn't pretend to be. Some of the comments and moans about the Fiat Cinquecento are really pathetic, as most of it is usual wear and tear.

It's a nippy little car, and once you get it into 5th gear, she is more than capable of keeping up with the flow of traffic, and seems smooth and very agile.

Every time I drive it, it puts a smile on my face, and as I only paid £450 for her, she's worth every penny.

OK, so it's early days, but I do about 70 miles per day commuting, and everything feels tight and well screwed together. About 60 MPG is what I'm getting.

Great little car. Parts are dirt cheap, not expensive as some seem to say, and it will definitely make you enjoy driving again.

Faults:

My rocket cover gasket split. Needing a new one after 10 miles in the car.

Washer jets don't work, pipes all split.

General Comments:

The car is really easy to drive.

It's pretty quick, and out accelerates a lot of my mate's cars, which all have a lot bigger engines.

The seats are uncomfortable too. I bought a cheap pair of bucket seats.

Handles like a go-kart.

Really economical 50 mpg plus.

Sounds good with a K&N air filter.

Great body kits for it.

Really simple to work on.

Fit 15" wheels on pretty easily.

A lot of head room for a little car.

Faults:

Rear brake caliper seized.

Water pump blew.

Radiator blew - due to new water pump!

Drivers side window stuck.

Third gear missing!

Washer bottle cracked.

Passenger front seat adjustment lever broke off.

Alternator packed up.

Rear wash wipe has never worked.

Exhaust blew behind the cat.

Brake fluid reservoir cracked.

RHS CV boot split 2006.

LHS CV boot split 2007.

Petrol filler cap rubber seal perished - spewing unleaded overboard!

General Comments:

In the two years I have owned the car, the list of things that have blew, broken down or simply fallen off are never ending!

However, we have two cars - one is our decent going out and about car, and the other is the "Chiqui".

Regardless of the constant battle-damage (dents & scratches all over) she never fails to start, she returns 40 mpg around town and 50 mpg on the motorway on a long run, and she will cruise flat out in the outside lane all day with no problems (who needs 3rd gear on the motorway?).

Spare parts for a Fiat can be bloody expensive, so all she gets each year is one service - with work carried out to get her through another year and an M.O.T.

She does three miles to work each way, and a full tank of unleaded lasts nearly a month!

Apart from getting me to work and back, she does all the donkey work for us; we have had widescreen TV's, smashed up wardrobes, smashed up double beds (and the mattress which was folded in two and jammed out of the hatch with the door tied down!), and even a washing machine on its many trips to the local dump - she doesn't miss a beat and never complains that she never gets cleaned. The Chiqui is a great car if you don't care about your car!

Basically all I do with the car is tax it, M.O.T, one service, and fill it with petrol, and that is it - she is the Millennium Falcon of cars!

When you break down the list of items that have been repaired or replaced, and divide that over the two years of ownership, the monthly payments are far cheaper than having a loan for a more expensive car that you would be worried about damaging.

Did I mention the she also corners on rails!!!