Faults:

Lots, mostly electrical. Wipers failed. Radio was intermittent. Battery and alternator failed. List goes on.

Engine would randomly cut out every once in a while - dealer could not find fault and said maybe it was my imagination. I walked away.

Inside the interior wore early - gearstick and steering wheel had worn so badly it looked like a 150,000 mile car, yet we put barely 35,000 on it.

Outside cosmetically for a nearly new car when we bought it, and only 4 years old when we got rid of it, it looked terrible. We took care of it, washed and serviced on time. But it aged so badly and still fell to bits.

General Comments:

A car we had in the family a long time ago, but I will remember it as the only car we ever had that fell to bits almost immediately.

2002 Punto Active in grey. Smart enough looking car, interior had silly blue seats however. But my daughter loved it and influenced our purchase. It had electric windows in front but that was about it. Really basic car. Comfortable enough if you only make short journeys.

I tried to like this car. To drive it was pleasant and smooth around town. 1.2 gave good economy, usually well over 40 mpg. On motorways or country roads however it was noisy and slow.

Sold in 2006, was never so glad to sell a car. Never understand why these were popular. Cousin had a Fiat Brava and Bravo from roughly the same time period and had similar quality issues. Myself I should have bought a Vauxhall Corsa or Ford Fiesta, maybe even a Renault Clio or just about any other car. I actually liked Fiat at the time and considered a Fiat Coupe Turbo. I wonder how that would have went reliability wise...

So all in all not a car you buy to rely on. Don't see many of this shape (facelifted 1st/2nd generation Punto) anymore. I think they updated this car again in 2005/6 but I still can't recall when I saw a more modern one last.

Faults:

The wiper linakge failed at around 30,000 miles. Replaced with an upgraded part made by a specialist wiper comapny and have had no problems since.

Bonnet release stopped working but managed to do a DIY repair for the short term.

Engine cuts out sporadically.

Various dasboard lights come on sporadically.

Have had no luck establishing why engine cuts out and lights come on. No faults were found on the engine management system by Fiat Dealership. They pointed out the battery was needing replaced which I have done but as expected this has not solved problems.

General Comments:

The performance of the 16v engine is very respectable. Having previously owned cars with larger engines I was worried about performance on the motorway however was presently surprised.

The insurance is quite cheap and fuel consumption good, around 40 - 45 mpg.

I like the way the car looks and think the interior is well designed. The the space has been used wisely and feels quite spacious for a small car. The Blaupunkt CD player with 4 speakers, two tweeters and a 100W woofer in the boot produces the best sound I have heard from a Manufacturer system in a small car.

Despite having the top model with the better trim and seat material, the quality is still poor and material stains easily and catches.

However, having paid £3,500 for a car with 24,000 miles I feel it is good value for money and niggles with trim quality etc are to be ignored.

My feeling on the Fiat Dealership are mixed. For routine work such as MOT, servicing, timing belts etc they have been very competitively priced. Can't complain at £100 for service and MOT.

However, when it comes to more out of the ordinary problems, e.g. engine cutting out the dealership have been terrible. It is as if they think I am making the problem up as there are no faults on the engine management system. They do not seem keen to help me to solve the problem, just keep saying that there is nothing wrong with the car.

As a result I am going to try an Auto electric garage to see if they can help solve the problem. Fingers crossed!