First car - fiat punto 2000-2004

Soldato
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So I'm planning on getting first car around September.
I was thinking about merc e class but was told here that it would not be great car- money pit- drinks fuel due to its 2.5l engine.

Car I would like is Citroen ds3 150ps but that would mean getting a loan or finance.

So trying to be reasonable here :)
I quite like puntos from 2000-2004. Let's say 1.2 16v

Insurance on them is pretty low- seen quotes under £900 which for first time car buyer in London is really nice and low.

I've seen some on eBay for between £1000-2000 which would be in the budget.

Am I missing something with them?

Any other cars I should look at?
1.2 16v is maybe not fastest car on the road but should not be slow as well.
 
Soldato
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They are dreadful cars. Absolutely dreadful. Unreliable, awful to drive, absolutely woeful build quality, awful ergonomics, just.. No. I'd rather have a Corsa, and I despise Corsas.

Look for a Fiesta, Focus, Polo, Yaris, Clio, dustbin, anything but a Punto. :)
 

4T5

4T5

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I know 2 people that have bought that age Punto in the last year.

One has been in a garage a few times & racked up bills of about a grand, Tuther one has been perfect & has not had a single penny spent on it.
The difference between the 2 is that one is a chavmobile & tuther is straight out the box bog standard bobby basic model.
Either way I would much rather have a Golf but that is purely personal & you should buy a Focus. :p
 

4T5

4T5

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S'pose that depends on whether he has any rug rats ? Apart from that it having the hatch back with seats down makes it as practical as most I'd say.
 
Soldato
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They are dreadful cars. Absolutely dreadful. Unreliable, awful to drive, absolutely woeful build quality, awful ergonomics, just.. No. I'd rather have a Corsa, and I despise Corsas.

Look for a Fiesta, Focus, Polo, Yaris, Clio, dustbin, anything but a Punto. :)

I disagree - ordinarily I would agree with you, however i know no less than thee people who owned one for over a year each, and one who liked it so much he went on to buy a brand new punto last year.

To me they are just another corsa/clio/106 ****box but apparently not.

Not personal experience though, others may have different standards of course :)

Good luck OP. +1 for a 1.6 focus here, had one as my first car and it was awesome as a first car. Comfy/well spec'd/handles well/immobiliser which I imagine is useful in laaaaaaandan.
 
Soldato
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I disagree - ordinarily I would agree with you, however i know no less than thee people who owned one for over a year each, and one who liked it so much he went on to buy a brand new punto last year.

To me they are just another corsa/clio/106 ****box but apparently not.

Not personal experience though, others may have different standards of course :)


No offense, but... What? :confused:
 
Soldato
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No offense, but... What? :confused:

He is (very obviously) saying your unflattering description of the Punto is not correct, and I would have to agree. They have their faults (e.g. dodgy electric power steering) but they aren't the appalling contraption to drive that you seem to describe. They even had a very respectable NCAP rating.
 
Soldato
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Each to their own, I think they're utter **** and the OP would be wise to look elsewhere, but it's his choice bla bla bla. It's a discussion forum and he wanted opinions :p

Shoes' post just confused me as it read a bit contradictory.
 
Caporegime
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I disagree - ordinarily I would agree with you, however i know no less than thee people who owned one for over a year each, and one who liked it so much he went on to buy a brand new punto last year.

To me they are just another corsa/clio/106 ****box but apparently not.

Not personal experience though, others may have different standards of course :)

Good luck OP. +1 for a 1.6 focus here, had one as my first car and it was awesome as a first car. Comfy/well spec'd/handles well/immobiliser which I imagine is useful in laaaaaaandan.

Every car built after 1995 has an immobiliser so I don't see why that's such a big deal. You'd be mental to buy a Punto when you can buy a Focus for the same money, it won't be as new but it'll be 100x less awful.
 
Associate
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They are dreadful cars. Absolutely dreadful. Unreliable, awful to drive, absolutely woeful build quality, awful ergonomics, just.. No. I'd rather have a Corsa, and I despise Corsas.

Look for a Fiesta, Focus, Polo, Yaris, Clio, dustbin, anything but a Punto. :)

That's a fact and that's the end of the discussion? Have you owned a Punto?

I bought mine (2003 Mk2 1.2 8v) for £800 about 6 months ago and all I've had to do to mine is put 2 new tyres on it, change the rocker cover gasket and a clutch (at 77k it was a bit knackered, plus it's very easy to do on a wee car this size.).

My car has had more hits than the Beatles yet it still puts a smile on my face when driving it. Probably because it's your first car, so it won't really matter what you get .... BUT, I will say you can do a lot better as people pointed out. A Focus will be a better buy. I'll be sticking with my car for another year or so until I'll be needing something with more space, but for now, there's no need. It drives, it's cheap to fuel, it's cheap to insure, it's cheap to tax, it'll be cheap to maintain if anything goes wrong. It's cheap. :p
 
Soldato
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I've not owned one but my mum has owned two mk1s and I've had enough experience with the 2000> shape to know I hate it.

I bought mine (2003 Mk2 1.2 8v) for £800 about 6 months ago and all I've had to do to mine is put 2 new tyres on it, change the rocker cover gasket and a clutch (at 77k it was a bit knackered, plus it's very easy to do on a wee car this size.).

'all you've had to do' in six months is that lot? Nice. Built to last these cars, then.
 
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