Faults:

Since acquiring the car (formerly business-owned) :

Handbrake cabling of poor quality.

2nd failure of head gasket within 10 months.

Fan cut-out and overheating.

Replacement of fan.

Poor quality shock absorbers.

Sticky doors and squeaky boot door in motion.

Windscreen drainage blockage.

Vehicle catches side-winds.

General Comments:

Handbrake cabling of poor quality - needing regular replacement often requiring gears to prevent rolling.

2nd failure of head gasket within 10 months - currently undergoing cylinder skimming and replacement (£440)

Fan cut-out and overheating due to poorly mounted thermostat.

Replacement of fan motor and housing (£85) due to warped plastic grating sounds.

Replacement of poor quality shock absorbers (£70)

Windscreen drainage blockage - needs regular clearance (common fault), but has now corroded windscreen wiper motors - resulting in constant 'hey hey' sound when in rain.

Vehicle catches sidewinds on motorway -substantially more than other cars.

Faults:

Both parts of exhaust (front and back)

Brakes

Rear suspension (complete replace)

General Comments:

This is a good around town car, I have used it daily for the last 3 years to get me to work.

I had to have the entire rear suspension replaced last year at a cost of £250 and suspect that the front suspension is also beginning to show signs of wear.

It is extremely economical on fuel, a monthly mileage of approximately 400 miles costs me £30.

Faults:

Some brake problems (worn disks)

Some electrical problems (tail and front lights).

Some body noises (after 100000 km)

General Comments:

It's a cheap car.

Very good performance (85 hp, max speed: 180 km/h, 0-100 km/h: 10,9 sec)

The driving experience is very good.

Plenty of room for 4 or 5 passengers (little luggage space though).

It has room for improvement (engine)

It is in style even now.

Faults:

After 1 week of buying the car the passenger door inside lever broke off.

The head gasket blew at 36000 miles.

Then I had problems with the Fiat code system due to intermittent electrical faults.

The engine was cutting out, I had a new ECU.

I then had immobiliser problems, the car is still in the garage waiting to be fixed.

Luckily I have had all of this work done under warranty.

General Comments:

I purchased a Punto because as iam a tall person I felt that the Punto was bigger and I had heard that they were reliable.

The dealer is hopeless as they say it will be done within a few days when in fact they have kept my car for 3 weeks just to do a simple electrical job. There excuse was that they were waiting for parts to arrive, so I inquired about this at another Fiat dealer and they told me that the average waiting time is 2-3 days not 3 weeks.

I would never ever buy another Fiat as this experience has put me right off them.

Faults:

I bought the car second hand and two days after it developed a leak where the aerial sits.

Then the exhaust fell off.

Then the head gasket was leaking.

Then the thermostat broke.

Then the ht leads had to be replaced.

Then the rear left wishbone broke.

Then the rear washer water hose came off.

Then the head gasket was leaking.

Then the head broke and had to be skimmed. Later this was put down to a manufacture error. Yet another head gasket had to be bought.

The ht leads had to be replaced again due to the constant stripping of the engine.

Then the right rear wishbone had to be replaced.

Now it has developed an electrical fault, will it never end.

General Comments:

Apart from the 10 million faults I like the car.

There is lots of room inside.

It is very nippy for its size, that is when mine works properly.

I must say that I would never buy one again.