Fiat Punto, 1997 / 8 model

hogfather · 16 Jan 2006 at 13:32

Hi guys,

Basically, I passed my test last week (yay!) and am looking ot find a cheap car, as insurance is going to be pushing 1200 quid a year.

My mum has a fiat punto 1.2 (i assume) 1997/8 5 door, and she's going to get a new car in a couple of months. So I could make the rents an offer on the car.

Its got an MOT next week, its got new tyres, is in perfect condition except the paint has faded somewhat. Also only done about 40,000 miles. My dad and I reckon in its currnt state its worth around £700.

Does that sound about right?

Looking around, for that money you cant find a car with 40k, good nick and 1 years MOT, so is this a bit of a bargain that I should snap up before my dad realises? Or are there better options out there?

cymatty · 16 Jan 2006 at 13:39

Check insurance first, i have always found Puntos to be expensive to insure.

hogfather · 16 Jan 2006 at 13:49

Thanks for that, it seems to be largely the same, still 1200 or so. If I was female it'd be about 850

cymatty · 16 Jan 2006 at 13:50

hogfather said:
Thanks for that, it seems to be largely the same, still 1200 or so. If I was female it'd be about 850

Is that 3rd party?

hogfather · 16 Jan 2006 at 13:53

comprehensive. I don't know anything about insurance so I've just kept it the same for all companies to have a fair comparison. Is 3rd party good enough? I'm 22, male, no crashes

cymatty · 16 Jan 2006 at 13:56

hogfather said:
comprehensive. I don't know anything about insurance so I've just kept it the same for all companies to have a fair comparison. Is 3rd party good enough? I'm 22, male, no crashes

Well 3rd party means if you crash they wont pay for your car to be fixed. You can still earn NCD iirc. There is no real point going fully comp as the excess you would have to pay if you had an accident would be similar to your cars value. So try the quotes again but chose 3rd party fire and theft should take your preminum to under 1k.

hogfather · 16 Jan 2006 at 14:03

Oh yeah, is that the one that if the crash is your fault you have ot fix your car but insurance covers the other person's car? If its their fault you're covered on theirs anyway?

/goes off to investigate 3rd party

EDIT: £982 fire and theft, 12 months. Cheers for that!

Anyone else have any thoughts on how good a deal this is? (the car)

Ultra_Extreme · 16 Jan 2006 at 14:58

Reasonable. I couldnt hack 1.2's to be honest but then i started in a 1.6 escort sport and managed to write it off within 4months of passing my test, fortunately into a grassy bank only. So maybe its a good idea to have a small engine, for the record pug 306 1.8GLX's are only the same IG[5] (i pay £930 with NUD with the same details as u) much quicker car tho, always nice to have the throttle down half way and be shooting off with another half to play with

However if your budget is really 700 then u wont be able to afford one

I dont like puntos personally but it sounds like a good deal for a first car.

hogfather · 16 Jan 2006 at 15:04

Yeah, its not ideal. Its a little girly looking really, but my budget is limited, and it just seems like 1) I know its been looked after, and 2) its in great condition, much better than the equivalent car from auto trader etc.

energy · 16 Jan 2006 at 15:34

As said dont bother with fully comp - you will pay £200 extra to insure it, lets say you crash it in the first year and claim, you will probably have to fork out £100-200 excess, and then deal with the insurance premium hike from claiming for years to come. If you don't crash it through your fault, you will be £200 in pocket

Obviously if someone else hits you then they will pay for it all.

hogfather · 16 Jan 2006 at 20:41

*bumpedy bump*