Am I being blinded by 1st Car Syndrome?
Discussion
They only seem to be little issues, in all honesty. It's a 5 year old car, so issues ARE going to arise.
I had to get used to it - all cars cost money. Better the devil you know, and all that.
To be honest it sounds like you didn't check the brakes were working properly before buying anyway. Usually dealership cars will have some rust on the discs. if this doesn't vanish fairly quickly you've got seized callipers. Again, squealing from the rear, my first suspicion would be brakes.
I had to get used to it - all cars cost money. Better the devil you know, and all that.
To be honest it sounds like you didn't check the brakes were working properly before buying anyway. Usually dealership cars will have some rust on the discs. if this doesn't vanish fairly quickly you've got seized callipers. Again, squealing from the rear, my first suspicion would be brakes.
My car (also my first) has cost me a fair bit, but mostly in sets of tyres (boring story) and insurance. When there's been a problem, I tend to get the books out, and read a lot online and find DIY solutions that way. I enjoy looking after the car, doing the maintenance work myself as far as possible. Is this something you could try as an alternative to garages or selling? Perhaps rope some friends in to help if possible.
Having said that, I've had nothing like the number or severity of problems that you've experienced, so perhaps in your shoes I'd get rid of the car and buy something Japanese and dependable.
Having said that, I've had nothing like the number or severity of problems that you've experienced, so perhaps in your shoes I'd get rid of the car and buy something Japanese and dependable.
You've maybe been a bit unlucky, but stuff does go wrong with cars (esp 5-year-old ones) and you have to roll with that...
Sounds like the car was a bit tired when you bought it - dying battery and the state of the brakes suggests no recent services or a previous owner who ignored advice to replace them (and just sold it to you instead!!).
Treat this as a learning experience - and for god's sake don't be paying dealership prices to get this stuff sorted out. A decent independant garage can resolve this stuff for a fraction of the price a dealer will charge.
p.s. noises coming from cars should generally be solved by TURNING UP THE STEREO!! - well, unless there's a mechanical counterpart in terms of poor braking, steering issues or lights flickering
Sounds like the car was a bit tired when you bought it - dying battery and the state of the brakes suggests no recent services or a previous owner who ignored advice to replace them (and just sold it to you instead!!).
Treat this as a learning experience - and for god's sake don't be paying dealership prices to get this stuff sorted out. A decent independant garage can resolve this stuff for a fraction of the price a dealer will charge.
p.s. noises coming from cars should generally be solved by TURNING UP THE STEREO!! - well, unless there's a mechanical counterpart in terms of poor braking, steering issues or lights flickering
KardioKate said:
They only seem to be little issues, in all honesty. It's a 5 year old car, so issues ARE going to arise.
I had to get used to it - all cars cost money. Better the devil you know, and all that.
To be honest it sounds like you didn't check the brakes were working properly before buying anyway. Usually dealership cars will have some rust on the discs. if this doesn't vanish fairly quickly you've got seized callipers. Again, squealing from the rear, my first suspicion would be brakes.
The brakes I'm not all that bothered about, truth to be told. The car was sat for a good 3 weeks in the snow and ice, due to me living at the bottom of a not insignificant hill. They were fine when I test drove it, but sitting for that long in that weather was bound to do something unpleasant. It was more the escalation of problems.I had to get used to it - all cars cost money. Better the devil you know, and all that.
To be honest it sounds like you didn't check the brakes were working properly before buying anyway. Usually dealership cars will have some rust on the discs. if this doesn't vanish fairly quickly you've got seized callipers. Again, squealing from the rear, my first suspicion would be brakes.
It was more the build up of issues and finding completely unrelated things wrong when trying to sort them that got me!
EDIT: So in this case the general consensus (so far) is just man up and deal with it? Maybe I'm just expecting too much of the car, given the age?
Edited by Diesel Fury on Thursday 28th July 16:42
My wife owns a Fiat Punto and we if took it to the garage every time it had a squeak or rattle we'd be there as often as you.
Simply make a list of all the annoyances (most of away of their own accord after a fortnight) and get them all looked at when the car is serviced once a year.
Or maybe you're too sensitive and not cut out for Italian car ownership?
Simply make a list of all the annoyances (most of away of their own accord after a fortnight) and get them all looked at when the car is serviced once a year.
Or maybe you're too sensitive and not cut out for Italian car ownership?
I think only you can decide. First cars are always the hardest to ditch. I'm sure you have an emotional attachment to it if you're anything like me.
If you're prepared to ditch it, work out what you could sell it for and what you could afford to replace it with and whether that would make you happier but remember any car can come with faults and sometimes the old 'better the devil you know' applies.
If you're prepared to ditch it, work out what you could sell it for and what you could afford to replace it with and whether that would make you happier but remember any car can come with faults and sometimes the old 'better the devil you know' applies.
I suspect, judging by the replies, that I've been a little naive about just how much attention cars need. This being the first year of ownership, I was expecting a few odd issues. Perhaps I should have expected more?
Cheers guys. I shall man up and put it down to experience. And the car being Italian!
Cheers guys. I shall man up and put it down to experience. And the car being Italian!
A good way to cure yourself is to buy 10 + year old cars. My current steer is a battered 19 year old Japanese Turbo sports car and it sounds like my car would turn your hair grey almost instantly! 5 days after I owned mine it was pissing its coolant out all over the pavement and you get aplenty of nice noises to ponder! 
rb5er said:
When i was 17 i had a brand new punto as my first car. It was nothing but problems although i loved it at the time.
Get another car. Fiats are terrible. It went wrong more times than any car i have ever owned and was also the slowest which just does not compute.
That's odd, my 13 year old 220bhp turbocharged Fiat has been very reliable. Perhaps that's due to the amount of preventative maintenance I put into it though - a lot of people seem to expect cars to only need an annual service to keep running.Get another car. Fiats are terrible. It went wrong more times than any car i have ever owned and was also the slowest which just does not compute.
Mr2Mike said:
That's odd, my 13 year old 220bhp turbocharged Fiat has been very reliable. Perhaps that's due to the amount of preventative maintenance I put into it though - a lot of people seem to expect cars to only need an annual service to keep running.
A lot of it is luck also. Someone on here had quite a lot of problems with his Fiat Coupe turbo.In my first car I just turned up the stereo till the noise stopped. This meant either the offending part had fallen off and was not a problem any more, or the offending part had worn away sufficiently to not be a problem anymore .
On a serious note, They do sound like little problems in the grand scheme of things. On my first car, 3 hours after passing my test the heater matrix pipe split emptying the cooling system. Next day and £15 for a second hand matrix and I was back on the road...there's a long list of problems after that as well but I still loved it
.On a serious note, They do sound like little problems in the grand scheme of things. On my first car, 3 hours after passing my test the heater matrix pipe split emptying the cooling system. Next day and £15 for a second hand matrix and I was back on the road...there's a long list of problems after that as well but I still loved it
Diesel Fury said:
Riknos said:
It will always be a Punto at the end of the day, no matter how much money you spunk on it.
Sell it and get an MX5.
Get thee behind me. I spend enough time daydreaming in the classifieds as it is!Sell it and get an MX5.
king punto. Just burn it to the ground and get the insruance money to buy something that's not a Fiat. HTH.I don't get the people who are playing down this lad's problems; this is fairly new car or thereabouts - given how much you'd spend on it, you wouldn't expect random stuff to go wrong as it has. Fair enough if wear and tear was the issue (ragging an econobox like it's an M3 is never going to result in a heavy wallet), but this just seems to be poor build quality and/or design.
Now I'm not jumping on the haha-it's-a-fiat bandwagon, because I actually like the current Punto - it looks great and most people have only reported minor niggles. In fact were I in the market for a cheap supermini, the Abarth Grande Punto would be my choice. These are not minor niggles however and in this particular case I think the lad has every right to be pissed off.
I'm not sure whether he should get shot of it so soon though - depends on outstanding finance, what he can get for it, etc.
Now I'm not jumping on the haha-it's-a-fiat bandwagon, because I actually like the current Punto - it looks great and most people have only reported minor niggles. In fact were I in the market for a cheap supermini, the Abarth Grande Punto would be my choice. These are not minor niggles however and in this particular case I think the lad has every right to be pissed off.
I'm not sure whether he should get shot of it so soon though - depends on outstanding finance, what he can get for it, etc.
OP - chillout.
My first car saw 2 and a half years of use...... had 3 replacement engines fitted. Numerous exhausts. Brakes and tyres were a monthly issue.
Not to mention the fact that 1x rear light sat 2inches further back than the other, due to it being CAT D write-off.
JTD engines need tlc on EGR's, big deal. Mine was 25quid for a refurb
My first car saw 2 and a half years of use...... had 3 replacement engines fitted. Numerous exhausts. Brakes and tyres were a monthly issue.
Not to mention the fact that 1x rear light sat 2inches further back than the other, due to it being CAT D write-off.
JTD engines need tlc on EGR's, big deal. Mine was 25quid for a refurb
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