RE: SOTW: Fiat Tipo 2.0ie 16v
Discussion
The price here clearly reflects it's rarity - if it were something as common as a Golf GTi/BMW 5 Series it would be cheaper for sure.
That said - in my experience, cars which cost less than £500 only do so because there's something wrong with them...
If it's got 4 good tyres, an exhaust which isn't blowing, no oil leaks, nothing else falling off, full ticket and some tax - nothing seems to duck under £500 these days.
Only exception I've seen in ages was an A4 2.6 and the owner readily admitted that no-one wanted a car which couldn't break 25mpg (it's since gone to someone who's doing a cheapo LPG conversion on it - total price still under £1K!!)
That said - in my experience, cars which cost less than £500 only do so because there's something wrong with them...
If it's got 4 good tyres, an exhaust which isn't blowing, no oil leaks, nothing else falling off, full ticket and some tax - nothing seems to duck under £500 these days.
Only exception I've seen in ages was an A4 2.6 and the owner readily admitted that no-one wanted a car which couldn't break 25mpg (it's since gone to someone who's doing a cheapo LPG conversion on it - total price still under £1K!!)
Frimley111R said:
Challenging car to sell as 99.9% have never even heard of one let alone know what its like.
This.Added to the fact that there are lots of misinformed posters relaying stories about 'my boss / brother / mate / dad' had one and it was rubbish.
Only issue with this is that, if we were to scale up these experiences based on the percentages on PH, there would be more people had a broken one than Fiat ever made.
Good cars but suffering from the usual electrical gremlins. I'd want to change the fuses myself to be sure that this was the problem. Mine used to eat fuses and even went so far as to burn out the circuit board on the digital dash. Oddly this only stopped the battery charging but as it was the battery warning light "wiring" which had burnt not only did it not charge the battery but also didn't light up the battery warning light. Took a while to fault find that one. This problem was not the only one...
The none electrical parts of the car were pretty good though. Tends to eat through front lower suspension arms but they were pretty cheap from FIAT. Did rust away eventually but otherwise pretty solid.
Looks far better with FIAT Coupe wheels fitted and much easier to keep looking smart that way.
PS whoever said that these were better than 205GTIs is simply wrong. Perhaps mechanically more solid but otherwise no comparison from a drivers' perspective.
The none electrical parts of the car were pretty good though. Tends to eat through front lower suspension arms but they were pretty cheap from FIAT. Did rust away eventually but otherwise pretty solid.
Looks far better with FIAT Coupe wheels fitted and much easier to keep looking smart that way.
PS whoever said that these were better than 205GTIs is simply wrong. Perhaps mechanically more solid but otherwise no comparison from a drivers' perspective.
VeeFour said:
Frimley111R said:
Challenging car to sell as 99.9% have never even heard of one let alone know what its like.
This.Added to the fact that there are lots of misinformed posters relaying stories about 'my boss / brother / mate / dad' had one and it was rubbish.
Only issue with this is that, if we were to scale up these experiences based on the percentages on PH, there would be more people had a broken one than Fiat ever made.
My old Boss did have 3 of these as his company car, all of which broke down or had faults that required several days work at the Dealer, very very regularly, that is a true FACT.
Also, the loan Fiat's he was given, whilst his car was being fixed (under warranty), also gave similar trouble. So this is not my opinion, or a mistake, or anything other than my certain knowledge that the several Fiat's he drove over a period of about 4.5 years, that I worked with him, were almost constantly un-reliable.
These are facts! You may not like it, but it is still a true description of someone I knew who drove these cars and their experiences.
I personally don't care if you like Fiat Tipo's or not, I am only relaying knowledge, that I have, of one persons experience, of their very poor reliability when they were new. It may be that, for this SOTW example to have lasted this long, that all problems have been sorted and it will now be a decently usable car, maybe..
This chap only drove Fiat's for personal reasons (family loyalty), he also admitted they were incredibly un-reliable and cheaply made.
But, if you want one, then that's great! :-)
Always had a soft spot for these back in the day - mainly because it had a market-leading power output (well, until the 306 GTI-6 and Clio 172 came along). Plus it had that all-important Italian 'exoticness'.
I loved my sister's 1.4 Tipo, what with its appetite for revs and the meaty steering -- so I expect the 2.0ie 16V is - was
- a riot???
HAS to be in red (or black) though.
I loved my sister's 1.4 Tipo, what with its appetite for revs and the meaty steering -- so I expect the 2.0ie 16V is - was
- a riot???HAS to be in red (or black) though.
Edited by joz8968 on Friday 1st July 13:54
somebodys tired !!!
ITech said:
Er, if you are refering to my post, then I am not at all mis-informed.
My old Boss did have 3 of these as his company car, all of which broke down or had faults that required several days work at the Dealer, very very regularly, that is a true FACT.
Also, the loan Fiat's he was given, whilst his car was being fixed (under warranty), also gave similar trouble. So this is not my opinion, or a mistake, or anything other than my certain knowledge that the several Fiat's he drove over a period of about 4.5 years, that I worked with him, were almost constantly un-reliable.
These are facts! You may not like it, but it is still a true description of someone I knew who drove these cars and their experiences.
I personally don't care if you like Fiat Tipo's or not, I am only relaying knowledge, that I have, of one persons experience, of their very poor reliability when they were new. It may be that, for this SOTW example to have lasted this long, that all problems have been sorted and it will now be a decently usable car, maybe..
This chap only drove Fiat's for personal reasons (family loyalty), he also admitted they were incredibly un-reliable and cheaply made.
But, if you want one, then that's great! :-)
My old Boss did have 3 of these as his company car, all of which broke down or had faults that required several days work at the Dealer, very very regularly, that is a true FACT.
Also, the loan Fiat's he was given, whilst his car was being fixed (under warranty), also gave similar trouble. So this is not my opinion, or a mistake, or anything other than my certain knowledge that the several Fiat's he drove over a period of about 4.5 years, that I worked with him, were almost constantly un-reliable.
These are facts! You may not like it, but it is still a true description of someone I knew who drove these cars and their experiences.
I personally don't care if you like Fiat Tipo's or not, I am only relaying knowledge, that I have, of one persons experience, of their very poor reliability when they were new. It may be that, for this SOTW example to have lasted this long, that all problems have been sorted and it will now be a decently usable car, maybe..
This chap only drove Fiat's for personal reasons (family loyalty), he also admitted they were incredibly un-reliable and cheaply made.
But, if you want one, then that's great! :-)
There's a 5dr one laid up and covered in moss at the side of a house in Victoria Road, Northampton, right next to an equally neglected Fiat Coupe and Punto; obviously an italian enthusiast.
Having had a Fiat Uno Turbo as my first car back in 1998, I always hoped to own one of these, before being seduced by more dependable and easy to live with german cars; shame really. Metallic blue, 3dr tipo 16v would have been my choice.
Having had a Fiat Uno Turbo as my first car back in 1998, I always hoped to own one of these, before being seduced by more dependable and easy to live with german cars; shame really. Metallic blue, 3dr tipo 16v would have been my choice.
Spotted this myself as tempted to swap into another, older Fiat from the Stilo I've got the now 
Learned to drive in a similar era Uno and my Dad once had a Tipo as a courtesy car. Just a 1.4 and he didn't like it but that was purely on the basis that it was "too big" for him going from the Uno
I think it's a great SOTW, but I'd lose the spotlights and check the fuses. Main thing with these I reckon's the state of the body and the underside. As has been mentioned before, galvanised body doesn't mean it's completely impervious to rot.
Learned to drive in a similar era Uno and my Dad once had a Tipo as a courtesy car. Just a 1.4 and he didn't like it but that was purely on the basis that it was "too big" for him going from the Uno
I think it's a great SOTW, but I'd lose the spotlights and check the fuses. Main thing with these I reckon's the state of the body and the underside. As has been mentioned before, galvanised body doesn't mean it's completely impervious to rot.
Reminded me of the Tipo I bought from a mate's brother for 100quid after coming back from a few years abroad in 2003. Now that was a bloody shed! Even had moss growing on it!
This one looks a bit nippy!
I was told it needed some tuning. In fact, the very fat gasket between the carb and the inlet manifold had split, so whenever you went around a corner, the carb rocked on this gasket and sucked a load of air straight in this split and power to the pedal no more. Araldited the gasket back together!
Normally, with most cars, one usually develops some sort of affection for the machine. Not a Tipo!
The most horrible, ugliest car I've ever had! So from that experience not even fuel injection nor 16 valves nor a funky sounding Italian name would tempt me again!!!
This one looks a bit nippy!
I was told it needed some tuning. In fact, the very fat gasket between the carb and the inlet manifold had split, so whenever you went around a corner, the carb rocked on this gasket and sucked a load of air straight in this split and power to the pedal no more. Araldited the gasket back together!
Normally, with most cars, one usually develops some sort of affection for the machine. Not a Tipo!
The most horrible, ugliest car I've ever had! So from that experience not even fuel injection nor 16 valves nor a funky sounding Italian name would tempt me again!!!
Won a CAR Magzine Giant Test back in the day beating I think the 16V Golf GTi, the Sunny GTi (was it badged that) and RS2000.
Very nice. I saw one at a Fiat dealer in the mid 90s, had one of the key bits of plastic trim broken which kind of spoilt it.
I bet it's sold by now.
My Uno Turbo was very dependable. Had some mechanical issues with the ignition, but developed a botch to cure that. Stood up to 60-70K miles of abuse. Shame about the rot on the underside and rear arches but mechanically pretty good. A squeaky tnsioner is hardly the end of the world. I've only ever driven a Tipo TD, was quite good fun.
Wasn't the Tipo another ECOTY?
Very nice. I saw one at a Fiat dealer in the mid 90s, had one of the key bits of plastic trim broken which kind of spoilt it.
I bet it's sold by now.
My Uno Turbo was very dependable. Had some mechanical issues with the ignition, but developed a botch to cure that. Stood up to 60-70K miles of abuse. Shame about the rot on the underside and rear arches but mechanically pretty good. A squeaky tnsioner is hardly the end of the world. I've only ever driven a Tipo TD, was quite good fun.
Wasn't the Tipo another ECOTY?
Edited by carinaman on Friday 1st July 16:24
Tomoose85 said:
I make it 21, due to the different names given to it on registration.Fewer than I thought - I remember there being lots of 'em around at one time.
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