Just bought a car ..
Discussion
Pericoloso said:
Burgerbob said:
its a fiat, its going to have problems.
Well done for the sweeping generalisation ,my bought at 15yo FIAT still going strong at 20yo with little to no faults in 46000+ milesin my use.
You said your Fiat had faults too, so perhaps my sweeping generalisation is correct?
Might just be the battery - when mine hasn’t been used for a week or two then it greets me with either a steering failure or one of the abs failures (often when flying along the motorway which always instills confidence). When I read the faults it’s normally a voltage out of range. I used to re-calibrate steering and reset faults to check for re-occurrence but after 8+ years of the same issue a recharge of the battery has always solved it.
I like to think it’s Fiat’s way of checking the warning lights are functional.. just in case!
I like to think it’s Fiat’s way of checking the warning lights are functional.. just in case!
cgauk said:
Might just be the battery - when mine hasn’t been used for a week or two then it greets me with either a steering failure or one of the abs failures (often when flying along the motorway which always instills confidence). When I read the faults it’s normally a voltage out of range. I used to re-calibrate steering and reset faults to check for re-occurrence but after 8+ years of the same issue a recharge of the battery has always solved it.
I like to think it’s Fiat’s way of checking the warning lights are functional.. just in case!
Experienced this exact same issue, low voltage caused a few lights to appear.I like to think it’s Fiat’s way of checking the warning lights are functional.. just in case!
On a £500 banger don't Expect much warranty however a fault in EPS is something significant take it back today for them to look at.
On these Puntos when the steering power unit starts to fail you get this warning light and when you switch it off it goes away and might be ok again for a few miles but will always come back on.
To fix it with new parts is close to the value of the car, refurbished units are available just under £200 or second hand £100 plus labour.
It's comes as part of the steering column so they have to swop this over - reasonable sized job
- most likely they will rather give your money back than try and fix this.
Punto active is not a good choice of £500 banger better off something Jap or Korean.
On these Puntos when the steering power unit starts to fail you get this warning light and when you switch it off it goes away and might be ok again for a few miles but will always come back on.
To fix it with new parts is close to the value of the car, refurbished units are available just under £200 or second hand £100 plus labour.
It's comes as part of the steering column so they have to swop this over - reasonable sized job
- most likely they will rather give your money back than try and fix this.
Punto active is not a good choice of £500 banger better off something Jap or Korean.
Edited by rallycross on Tuesday 16th January 09:14
rallycross said:
On a £500 banger don't Expect much warranty however fault in EPS is something significant take it back today for them to look at.
One these Puntos when steering power unit start to fail you get this warning light and when you switch it off it goes away and might be ok again for a few miles but will always come back on.
To fix it with new parts is close to the value of the car, refurbished units are available just under £200 or second hand £100.
It's comes as part of the steering column so they have to swop this over - most likely they will rather give your money back than try and fix this.
Pinto active is not a good choice of £500 banger better off something Jap or Korean.
Good and accurate post.One these Puntos when steering power unit start to fail you get this warning light and when you switch it off it goes away and might be ok again for a few miles but will always come back on.
To fix it with new parts is close to the value of the car, refurbished units are available just under £200 or second hand £100.
It's comes as part of the steering column so they have to swop this over - most likely they will rather give your money back than try and fix this.
Pinto active is not a good choice of £500 banger better off something Jap or Korean.
kambites said:
It is indeed incorrect, but if it was sold by a dealer the OP does have a statutory right to assume the car will be "fit for purpose".
...subject to reasonable expectations for goods of that age, type, price and apparent condition.It's a £500 s
tter.Perhaps there is a reasonable expectation for it to get further than 10 miles before something goes ping. But if the trader says "no", what then? You want to reject it? Fine. Put it outside your use - physically return it - then take him to court for the money...
A car (or anything else) only has to be "to a standard a reasonable person would expect".
It does not have to be fault free by any means.
Now, what does a "reasonable person" expect on a £500 car? Some might argue they'd think it a miracle it made it to the end of the road and anyone should basically accept scrap. Others might argue they expect more.
It is an impossible question to actually answer which is why no one can really state what sort of comeback or may or may not have in practice. In general though a "reasonable person" would expect a £500 banger to have faults and have bits worn out and now working 100% so in reality you haven't got much comeback.
A headgasket maybe or if it chucks a crank through the side of the block 5 miles later but a knocking sound and iffy warning light many would argue is par for the course with this sort of car.
It does not have to be fault free by any means.
Now, what does a "reasonable person" expect on a £500 car? Some might argue they'd think it a miracle it made it to the end of the road and anyone should basically accept scrap. Others might argue they expect more.
It is an impossible question to actually answer which is why no one can really state what sort of comeback or may or may not have in practice. In general though a "reasonable person" would expect a £500 banger to have faults and have bits worn out and now working 100% so in reality you haven't got much comeback.
A headgasket maybe or if it chucks a crank through the side of the block 5 miles later but a knocking sound and iffy warning light many would argue is par for the course with this sort of car.
TooMany2cvs said:
...subject to reasonable expectations for goods of that age, type, price and apparent condition.
It's a £500 stter.
What a lot of the websites giving "advice" on this sort of thing fail to point out is that Consumer Legislation is designed to protect the seller as well as the buyer.It's a £500 s
tter.Its a £500 old car. It really is long past its manufacturers warranty and near the end of its life. You have took a risk in buying a car at that age and price point.
The car runs and drives ok right? Is a suspension knock dangerous? Well that depends on whats causing the noise.
Thing is take it back, get a refund and go and buy another £500 car from another dealer selling £500 cars and there is no certainties you will be in any better position.
The car runs and drives ok right? Is a suspension knock dangerous? Well that depends on whats causing the noise.
Thing is take it back, get a refund and go and buy another £500 car from another dealer selling £500 cars and there is no certainties you will be in any better position.
Jay_12 said:
Hi all
Sorry if this is in the wrong section, please move or delete if so.
I bought a car today, nothing special a 2003 punto for the sum of £500.
Upon viewing there was nothing I could see (I am not a mechanic by any means) that would of warranted me not to buy the car, the guy seemed friendly and honest (silly of me to presume I know) and said the car had just passed its MOT and there was no issues that were not resolved.
Driving home just 10 miles or so, in that short distance the EBS light came on the dashboard .. and when driving a further 20 miles to a friends just an hour later I noticed heavy knocking when turning the wheel (when stationary or coasting) which I did not notice when I viewed the car.
I am not a petrol head by any means, and have never had a problem with buying a car in the past, should I just take it back? What are my rights, if any?
The "dealership" was not the best looking nor was I expecting much for my money, I would of been happy to get 6 months out of it! But the same day driving home this does not look good .. any advice for a car novice would be much appreciated!
Many thanks
EBS - are we talking electric power steering (as above, a bloody nightmare) or the braking system?Sorry if this is in the wrong section, please move or delete if so.
I bought a car today, nothing special a 2003 punto for the sum of £500.
Upon viewing there was nothing I could see (I am not a mechanic by any means) that would of warranted me not to buy the car, the guy seemed friendly and honest (silly of me to presume I know) and said the car had just passed its MOT and there was no issues that were not resolved.
Driving home just 10 miles or so, in that short distance the EBS light came on the dashboard .. and when driving a further 20 miles to a friends just an hour later I noticed heavy knocking when turning the wheel (when stationary or coasting) which I did not notice when I viewed the car.
I am not a petrol head by any means, and have never had a problem with buying a car in the past, should I just take it back? What are my rights, if any?
The "dealership" was not the best looking nor was I expecting much for my money, I would of been happy to get 6 months out of it! But the same day driving home this does not look good .. any advice for a car novice would be much appreciated!
Many thanks
Could be a battery, could be anything. Knocking on turns could be loose wheelnuts, CV joints, all sorts.
Honestly, clean it, take it back, be nice, ask for a refund, even partial if you have to. If you come out of it £100 down I'd still call that a result.
Something like a 15 year old Corolla you can fix with a mallet. An old VAG Polo/Skoda/Seat would be ok. There's a reason there's so many Fiats and Renaults for sale for peanuts. Do take note that shonky MOTs can be had very very easily if you know the right people. Take someone who knows a bit about cars next time. Good luck!
rallycross said:
EPS issues can == $$$ (short version of quote!)
I read about all this when I bought mine (it was about 8 years ago so a £1500 banger rather than £500)When my ‘steering failure’ warning first came on I fretted about it.
But I’m now about 40k miles since and still haven’t had to change anything - it’s always been a low battery causing some issues.
Not guaranteed that it will be the battery in this case, so good info on the scarier stuff.
The Punto has cost me about £250/year in maintenance if that. I could forgive it a new steering column if it needed it.
Parts are dirt cheap. Not all Fiats seem as unreliable as the press they get.
By contrast mother in laws Toyota seems to have been in to have things fixed. It’s got a horrid single clutch auto which is horribly unreliable, electrical gremlins and parts seem to cost a lot more.
Edited by cgauk on Tuesday 16th January 23:29
Edited by cgauk on Tuesday 16th January 23:29
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff