USED Fiat Grande Punto Hatchback (06 - 11)

My car

I purchased a Grande Punto Sporting with delivery mileage on the clock. The Grande Punto is an attractive car, and in Sporting trim looks at its best. It's spacious, reasonably comfortable, and quick enough to keep up with most other superminis. However, I have since sold mine, and would never buy another Fiat.

With just 600 miles on the clock, it broke down. Then the CD player broke. The engine ran rough, and 'fixes' only cured it for a few months at a time. From new, the car often didn't start first time, and when it did start, clouds of black smoke came out of the exhaust (and despite going to 3 Fiat garages, this was never fixed). The rear window leaked on and off over the two years I owed it (it was often the only car in the car park misted up on the inside in the mornings). It spent weeks off the road in the Fiat dealer awaiting repair. The roof trim needed replacing. The window seals needed replacing. The servicing costs were astronomical - The first service was £205, the second an eye-watering £405! The fan for the heater broke. Blue&Me went on the blink periodically, and the Bluetooth phone connection was not to be relied upon. With such a heavy engine up front, it went through front tyres for fun. The warranty in the third year covered precious little, and during the time I had it, the car certainly needed its warranty.

Was I unlucky? The fact that a friend had the same model and had many of the same problems makes me think that I wasn't.

My car

I've had this car for 2 weeks, and wish I'd never seen it. The only good thing about it is the looks. The fuel consumption is poor as is the performance. On motorways it seems to wander unless the steering wheel is held tightly, and the front vibrates a lot, and the suspension makes a horrible thump when going over bumps. If the drivers window is open when using the windscreen washers the dirty water comes in over the window switches. The bluetooth works with my old nokia, but won't recognise a new samsung phone. The rear seats are virtually impossible to get into, and an adult would find it impossible to sit in them. I wish I'd kept my 4 1/2 year old KA with 125,000 miles on the clock, it was quicker, more comfortable and economical.

My car

The car is fabulous! It looks fantastic and it drives fantastic! Don't turn away from the quite basic 1.4 8v! It's a aspirated engine, a simple engine and a light engine! The front end it not heavy at all (something I cannot say about the T-Jets or the Multijets) so the car stays quite balanced around bends. Consider it a nice "Easter Egg" from FIAT! Excellent car!

My car

I have had the pleasure of 2yrs , 25000mls trouble free with this car , does everything well and as I usually change my car around now ,will buy another , may-be a T-Jet and hope it's as reliable !.