My cars past & present

[Darren1234]

Well I have finally finished lurking on PH but now im going to give some input of my own and what my car history has been and is.
First off its safe to say in our house hold we like Italian cars 2 Alfa Romeos (156 & Spider) and 1 Fiat sat outside.

Well then where to start

My first car was a 2000 Fiat Seicento 0.9 sx in black not got any pictures at the moment but can always get some as its now my GF car. Cost me £1500 + 1500 for insurance = £3000 for first year of my motoring life.

Was good car to learn in as plenty of visability and nice nippy run a round. Kept this for a year then moved on up.

Moving on to my second car

2002 A Fiat Stilo 1.9 JTD (115hp) 3dr a massive jump in size and power compared to my seicento was a nice change to say the very least. I brought the car with 115000 miles on it for £1350 and enjoyed this car very much dispite lots of faults but that just gave the car some character. Much enjoyed as it wasn't like all the other corsas and clios that college friends had. Despite the fact it had the normal electrical problems and airbag warning message it was mine and I like it. Had this for a year or so. Even held its own against the massive amount of snow we had.

Couple of pictures





Was offered £200 part ex as it had 145000 miles on it, however I decided to sell it private and got £1150 for it =) happy days which leads me on to my current car

Car number 3
2007 Fiat Grande Punto 1.9 Mjet Sporting (130hp)

The buying process = very very easy and I was trully amazed that the dealership stuck to the price promise that they advertised. Available Car do a price match where if you can find a car of same spec and mileage they will match the price (if you find it within 7 days of order) and I thought I would try this and saved over £800 on the screen price.

The Car = Much better improvement on my stilo and the mileage of 22750 a big difference in mileage too. The car is a nice place to sit and has a suprisingly nice ride despite being on 17 inch alloys. It has Fiats Blue & Me system which wasn't working fully when I got it however a brief read on FF and a update later I now have a fully functional Blue & Me system which plays my Ipod.

Performance wise its a great car for its insurance group and you even have the possiblity for remaps however I haven't gone down this road as im happy with the way it pulls at the moment. People on Fiat Forum get 189hp & bucket loads of torque can see why people are tempted.

Picture when I first got it home

Few more








Be gentle please =)

[Spantney]

I admire your brand loyalty Love the grande punto, I honestly think its one of the best looking hatchbacks around (with that Maserati-eque front end) I am a bit biased though! I had a regular 1.4 active sport and loved it to bits. Then I upgraded to the Abarth version which is amazing :-D Love the colour of yours though

Oh and I love the Alfa's too! I don't suppose you know someone in the fiat group do you? My dad works for CNH (part of Fiat group) and we've always had Alfa's and Fiat's sitting on the driveway!

[Graebob]

I had a Grande Punto 1.2 hire car once, and I was impressed by the character of the thing. Despite it feeling like it had the worlds smallest engine, it felt sort of "right" in an italian car to thrashing the nuts off it. Yours looks very handsome in that blue. Off to the classifieds again I think...

One thing. Sorry.

You bought the Stilo, not brought

[forum pedant mode = off]

[Darren1234]

Ah knew I would slip up at some point doing it. Graebob I apologise :-)

Spantney : no don't know anyone in the fiat/Alfa world just one of them things , think its the step dads influence he used to work in motor trade and is into the Italian cars. Would have had a Brera if money would allow, I did look at the GT (bit more in my price range) before settling on the grande punto but I wouldn't change this.

I do rather like the Maserati (ish) front end. The abarth would be nice but for me in the real world I'm happy with 1.9