Faults:

Porous sump.

Overheated (no warning) and warped the head.

General Comments:

I bought this for my girlfriend to learn to drive in. Small bright yellow Fiat, which is nippy, yet cheap to run and insure.

I thought I was on to a winner - but oh god the reliability! Porous sump had to be replaced, brake problems and finally the car over heated which meant that the head warped - and this was on a well looked after, and recently serviced car.

In the end we disposed of it very cheaply as it was just a money pit. Nice to drive and it always put a smile on the drivers face - but the bills were outrageous - I was running a Fiat Coupe 20v and it cost far less to run than this thing!

Do yourself a favour if you're looking at this thinking "I fancy one of them" - don't! Go and buy a Golf, Polo or Corsa. They may cost more to buy, but you'll recoup the difference, as you won't have to spend £££'s fixing it!

Faults:

I think the problem I am having is with the gear actuator from reading other peoples problems. I can't get it into first gear. I'm having to pull off in second which is proving to be slow and dangerous.

I don't want to have to be paying out for repairs every 4-6 months like I have read on some peoples descriptions.

It is supposed to be a cheap runabout for while I'm at college and university! I may have to rethink if the reliability is a serious issue.

General Comments:

I do like the car, it's cheap to run, easy to park (compared to a land rover discovery!), it's nippy and not bad looking.

Handling isn't too bad.

Seems to eat petrol as soon as it is presented with an incline.

With the sunroof in it makes it feel a lot bigger inside.

Interior is nice and simple and doesn't look too dated yet.

Faults:

Radiator burst.

Screen wash tank split.

Clutch cable and pivot snapped.

Paint peeled off alloy wheels.

Front Window seals fell off.

Rear wheel arch rotting through.

Exhaust silencer fell off.

Passenger inside door handle mechanism failed.

Seat belts not retracting.

Throttle body failed.

ECU failed.

Brake pipes rotted through.

ABS failed.

Patience snapped!

General Comments:

The car is a pleasure to drive, when it works and is a comfortable place to be. However there is the ever present danger that something WILL break down or fall off at any moment. This completely ruins the experience of driving a FIAT.

Faults:

Rear Wiper Motor needed replacing.

General Comments:

The Seicento SX is my first car and I absolutely love it. I ideally, wanted a Fiat Punto, something a little bigger. I looked at cars in my price range, and found that the older Puntos were very heavy to drive. I saw this car and instantly fell for it. It's an ideal student car as it looks very trendy (mine is bright green), is very cheap to run (£30 fills the tank) and easy to park and drive. Care is needed in wet or frosty weather as this car is very easy to skid! It takes it a while to reach 70mph on dual carriageways etc, so itis a foot to the floor job, but is otherwaise a very comfortable ride. I find it quite spacious for such a little car.

Faults:

Nothing yet at 12,000 miles. Hoping it'll stay like that for another 12,000 at least...

General Comments:

No complaints about this car at all. It's my first one, but I'm not bothered about getting a new one yet so this is fine.

Everything's in working order after 12,000 miles.

Great fuel economy, cheap to run, which is always a bonus.

The car does well at speeds 70mph+. If you find yourself at 90 on the motorway you won't realise until you look at the dial - very smooth for a car this price and this small.

Gears feel a bit "flimsy" as built, not a problem, but sometimes can need neutraling twice before reverse gear is engaged.