What kinda money have you spent on it already, can ya gimme a bit more indepth information on it
Hmm, I'd rather not add it up to be honest!
I bought it cheap with a blown engine (don't mess around with boost levels without checking fueling!), so had to rebuild it; new piston, rings, big end bearnings, gaskets, timing belt kit, water pump etc. I also rebuilt the turbo myself with a 360 degree thrust bearing. I guess this cost me £600 or so for parts, obliviously would have been far more if I couldn't do the work myself.
It's had a complete new front suspension; wishbones (they don't last long, especialy pattern parts), new Bilstein struts, top mounts, spring bearings, track rod ends, ARB links and bushes and I fitted a reconditioned steering rack a few months back. It's had two new wheel bearings, a front and a rear. The rear is a complete hub so quite expensive (£60 for a pattern part, double that for genuine). New bilstein dampers on the rear suspension. Full set of pads and discs (~£200) - and these are now nearing the end of their life ~30k on them.
New coolant hoses (genuine), Samco silicone boost hoses, new recirc valve (not a silly dump to atmosphere one, they don't run well with them). I had to weld up a big crack in the exhaust manifold (very, very common), and some time later the manifold gasket blew because the manifold was no longer perfectly flat. Could have had a gasket face milled flat, but luckily I managed to find a s/h uncracked manifold (like rocking horse poo) for £90.
Front tyres don't last long, at least not with my driving. I'm on my third set and these are almost gone.
OTOH it has been almost completely reliable, the only time it failed to start with when the starter motor failed a few weeks after I got it on the road, and I managed to bump start it fine. It has passed every MOT with no advisories, there have been no problems with electrics or rust.
It's a great car to drive, impressively quick for a small Fiat and averages about 28-29mpg on my commute, over 30mpg on a longer run. I have been racking my brains thinking of something to replace it with and come up with nothing I like so far - certainly not many cars give similar performance and economy at the same time.
If you are buying one start with the best example you can afford unless you actually enjoy working on cars.
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