General 2003 Punto Active Sport, are they any good???

[Phil_]

A police car managed to write off the wifes Panda so we've been looking around for another small car. For sale locally is a 2003 53 plate Punto Active Sport with 53k on the clock, FSH, MOT until August, excellent condition (according to the seller) for £2000.

The price is right but are they any good? If I read this forum for too long I'll just read about all the problems as that's the nature of forums but I've heard a lot about head gasket failure.

Would any of you recommend the Punto Active Sport? I know people always knock Fiats but the wifes Panda lasted us a few years without any major problems - it developed a judder which cost £100 to put right but that was all. Our old Multipla was OK too.

Here's some pics of the Punto...

 

[Focus Owner]

looks tidy

a few standard problems with punto
steering, small amount of rust, wiper linkages

other people will have more info

also whats the spec like abs, windows etc air con

seems a little high on price other people will tell more

 

[Phil_]

Here's the full advert:

2003 (53) Fiat Punto 1.2 8v Active Sport - 3 Doors, Manual, Hatchback, Petrol, 53,600 miles, Blue, MOT-08-2010, 3 Owners. Full Service History, Power assisted steering, Adjustable steering column/wheel, Front electric windows, Drivers airbag, Passenger airbag, Body coloured bumpers, Central locking, CD Player with 6x9's, Rear wiper, Front head restraints, Folding rear seats, 3x3 point rear seat belts. Insurance Group:3, only covered 53,600 miles with a full service history.

This car really is in immaculate condition with no dents or marks on the body work and a clean engine. Great little car with sporty looks and will give you 50+ MPG.

 

[Tony123]

ive had mine now for just over a year.. and i think its a cracking little car.. ive had a few problems with mine was nothing anything big.. but i would only pursume thats because its been in a front end smash and was written off

I would haggle with the price ive seen active sports around the 1500/1650 mark that look in decent nick like

 

[Phil_]

Yeah Parkers say £1895 for a 53 reg with 69k on the clock.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/used-prices/Valuation.aspx?deriv=23044&plate=73

 

[Phil_]

I would haggle with the price ive seen active sports around the 1500/1650 mark that look in decent nick like

Just looking on eBay and something I've always known is I live in an expensive area when it comes to the price of secondhand cars.
Here's some Active Sports near me....

This one is near enough the same as the blue one I'm after - same age but with an extra 10k on the clock and this dealer ten miles away wants three grand! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-03-FIAT-...omobiles_UK?hash=item1e599e4147#ht_978wt_1165

There's this one in Essex, same age but an extra 30k on the clock but it does have air-con for £2500: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2003-03-FIAT-...omobiles_UK?hash=item1e599e4147#ht_978wt_1165
80k on the clock would put me off that one though.

The cheapest one nationally is £2000 from a dealer in Cheshire for a 52 plate with 68k on the clock: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2002-52-Fiat-...mobiles_UK?hash=item3a53df0c5f#ht_1283wt_1165

Based on eBay prices I'd say £2095 for the one I'm after is OK, not a bargain but reasonably priced. If I could get it for £1800 or £1900 I'd say that was good.

So if I go for a Punto I take it they're not money pits? I don't want to be taking it to a garage every month!

 

[1PuntoCarl2]

there quite easy to work on aswell, so if you did get any major problems, you could look at some guides on a here and repair it yourself ...

thats if you do get any major problems.

i've had my punto for about 8 months now, only problem i have is a creaky rear end, heard its just the rear bush mounts but i've never had time to sort it lol.

 

[Phil_]

Not the bush problem?!?!

I've owned an old Cinquecento Sporting and a Seicento and both suffered with that fault, I was hoping the Punto's wouldn't.

 

[1PuntoCarl2]

Not the bush problem?!?!

I've owned an old Cinquecento Sporting and a Seicento and both suffered with that fault, I was hoping the Punto's wouldn't.

hmmm, im now guessing 'all' fiats have that problem haha...

is it an easy or expensive repair?

 

[missey]

It's not too difficult, more of a day long pain in butt job.

There is a good guide on here and not too expensive for parts, if you do it yourself.

 

[Phil_]

Going to view the car this afternoon.

 

[jip0]

i got a 52 reg active sport for my first car iv now been driveing it for over 6 months and loved every minute of it

biggest probleme iv had is the wiper linakeg wich you can bodge or pay 20 quid and get upgraded linkage

its a really fun little car to drive

 

[Phil_]

I'll make sure I test the wipers, a mate had a Mia a few years ago and said it suffered from juddery wipers. The Honest John website says there was a recall for that.

 

[jip0]

I'll make sure I test the wipers, a mate had a Mia a few years ago and said it suffered from juddery wipers. The Honest John website says there was a recall for that.

testing might not be enough coz you can pop the linkage back together and that will last a little bit if you wanner see open the bonnet and have a look

personally i wouldnt let it put me off buying it, its such a small easy fix

if it does have a problem with the linkage that you can identify with the seller there use it to haggle the price a bit

 

[Phil_]

Well it drove alright and was pretty much immaculate inside & out so I bought it.

 

[Puntodriver1991]

Well it drove alright and was pretty much immaculate inside & out so I bought it.

How much did you pay in the end

 

[Phil_]

Enough.