General Looking to buy - what to look out for...

[austenw90]

Hi,

I am considering buying a Punto somewhere between 2003 - 2005 as a second car for me and also a car to teach my girlfriend to drive in.

Just wanted to know what to look out for... the only ones I'm bothering to look at is those with a Full Service History with no more than 60,000 miles.

This is a good example which is local to me and can get for £1600 cash which seems reasonable considering it looks in very good condition and FSH. Going to take a look this evening.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...ode/so508dh/quicksearch/true/page/2?logcode=p

 

[s and b]

car looks fine for a basic 3 door red
seems only 2 owners
this warranty wants to be in house not a booklet where you phone a premium number and maureen says no
make sure you drive it and check the tyres clutch keys in all locks etc and get them to sort the cover for the rear bumper

 

[varesecrazy]

YES,
clutch, g-box and signs of accident rebuilds / poor tyre wear etc.

maybe check all lights / electrics too,
Charlie

 

[Brendan W]

Sumps go rusty at the front and eventually leak, clutch pedal should be silent and free all the way down- no squeaks,clicks or stiff spots, no watery noises in the heater at start up and provoke the power steering with full lock left right forward reverse with a bit of load on soon after start up - tripping out could be a sign of a dying battery or worse and have a look for rust under the carpet in the rear footwells near the sills. The temperature guage needle should get to the middle after a few miles or less and stay there. Check the wipers at all speeds. Looks a good one - good luck.

 

[austenw90]

Thanks for the helpful and useful comments.

Is there any way I can check that the head gasket is ok and not on it's way out?

I viewed a Punto a few years back, a 2002 model on sale at a Skoda dealership. The salesman was quite embarassed to tell me I couldn't test drive the car as it needed a new head gasket but not to worry as it was road worthy and ready to go... didn't make any sense so I walked straight out.

 

[austenw90]

Also, does anyone know what the service intervals are? I will be sure the check the book.

What about cambelt changes, how frequently and I assume they aren't massively expensive?

Thanks

 

[Brendan W]

Is there any way I can check that the head gasket is ok and not on it's way out?

As S&B says now would be a good time to get aquainted with what that warranty means exactly.
There are signs but unless you know how to read them they are at best inconclusive. White 'smoke' at start up , slight misfire at idle, erratic temp gauge, coolant loss, gunge under the oil filler cap, one or more steam cleaned plugs and so on. A compression test would tell if the gasket has failed and a sniff test might also if there is gas escaping to coolant.
If warranty will not cover it I would consider insisting on a compression test.
IIRC timing belts for the 8v are 60K/5yrs. The motor is a non interferance unit so the risk of valve damage is not there it's just inconvenient but I just have a thing about sudden events causing ripples far away from the problem area - blah. If you're any way handy with the spanners it's a one hour job and almost impossible to screw up. Oil changes about 9k/1yr or whatever takes your fancy if it's getting a bit dark.

 

[austenw90]

Thanks!

Also seen this one which looks reasonable but a bit older.. hmmm

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...w/postcode/so508dh/page/1/radius/20?logcode=p

 

[s and b]

wow
wish i could get 1300 for a bogie green punto on a y with keep fit windows and no toys
its too old no matter how many stamps in the book

 

[Brendan W]

keep fit windows

nice one - have a certain appeal when you're propping up a derailed power window with bits of 4x2 in the rain and dark in January.

 

[austenw90]

wow
wish i could get 1300 for a bogie green punto on a y with keep fit windows and no toys
its too old no matter how many stamps in the book

Well that was an interesting evening out. The red 53 plate was rubbish in the end, the main reason being it was completely out of coolant which started alarm bells so left straight away. I was suprised to see this same thing last year on a 59 plate GP 1.4 16v T-Jet Sporting at Sparshatts who are quite a well known dealer in the South. There was also a big gash in the nearside front tyre wall like it had been cut with a blade.

As for the bogey green one, it seemed fine all round for it's age but I agree, it is too expensive. The two, possibly three faults I noted were that the clutch was slightly squeeky when the car was turned off but not when it was running or idling. Any ideas on this? The guy said it was probably just a spring needing lubricating??

Also the casette deck radio didn't work, however he was prepared to replace with a Sony CD player. It was also due a service as it was last done in March 2012. The cambelt was done on 2008 at 38k miles so also needs doing. It had just passed an MOT with one advisory which was that the nearside rear tyre was wearing on the outer edge.

I don't know if this is a fault but the steering wheel made a weird quiet buzzing noise when turning.

The summarise though, the green seemed alot better than the new red with the exception of the squeeky clutch and stereo but neither really did it for me.

 

[benny279]

I have a squeaky clutch never bothers me though cause 9/10 as soon as im in car music on loud cause im a bass junkie

Never really looked into that noise but doesn't seem to affect the car, ah well....

And out of coolant? Did you even ask why he had no coolant?? No coolant = Cooking time!

But don't give up though, there'll be more on the market just have to look hard for those goodun's. Your bound to come across those bad eggs believe me I looked at 5 punto mk2's before I brought mine and the other five were either so rusted you could probably sit in the car and go right through it (no joke), and others were poorly looked after. this one i have now despite a bit of a dent on O/S rear from 2 owners back it had a solid history of servicing and well looked after so I brought it

Good luck you'll get there

Benny

 

[Brendan W]

If lubing a spring was all it needed you'd think he would have done it. Pedals do get squeaky as do the pivots on the box but it could have been the release bearing starting to have a go at the springs. Buzzing steering is usually the steering motor and relays starting to tango, some have had success resoldering relays and or replacing the motor otherwise it's recon column time. Once ours did it after wet gear had been left in the car for a few days - drying it out sorted it.
The joys of car hunting

 

[Ziggy122]

Squeaky pedal happens to me - its not always something to worry about
i havent

the 8v engines are safe engines, so dont worry too much if the belt has or hasn't been done
But factor in if its over 64 or 72k old or over 5 years it could potentially snap at any point, new water pump belt and tensioner and off you go

Im currently on 65k nearly, @ 9 years old mine is still going on what i believe is the original belt - no history of a belt change
So mine could go Ka-snap at any point.....

Ziggy

 

[austenw90]

So the only issues really is possibly the steering and overall the price. The search will continue.

As for the red one, Yeah I told the guy there who didn't really want to know. He gave me the keys to look round it and went back inside. When I said about the tyre he said they'd put another one on and the coolant he just said "oh right". He was only about 18 though so was probably left there to keep the place open or something.

 

[austenw90]

What are peoples thoughts on these? I hate french cars but it looks like it is fairly up to date and cambelt and pump done.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...w/radius/30/postcode/so508dh/page/2?logcode=p

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/2003-reg-silver-peugeot-206-lx-11-for-sale/1015799097

Looked at a few Seicento's however the majority are either space ship mileage or don't have service history.

 

[benny279]

I wouldn't touch a french car with a 5 inch bargepole, but that's me....I have a mate that has one and he has had it fixed endlessly probably a lot more than I've had my Punto fixed. He recently spent out £250 cant remember on but I know two were a new clutch and gearbox.

They are extremely comfortable inside but not worth buying, just more hassle than they are worth.

If I had a choice between French and Italian I'd choose Italian, but for a Sei you need to look good and hard for a good'n, but it isn't all about high millage if a car has been looked after very well it'll go on for many more years

Look harder!

Benny

 

[austenw90]

Thanks Benny. I don't have any issues with high milers with service history. It just seems people want far too much money for them. For example I'm not prepared to part with £1500 for a 10 year old Seicento with 80,000 on the clock even if it has a full history, just think that's too expensive!

The yellow Punto in the FF classifieds looks good though just a bit far away.

 

[benny279]

My Punto was a high millage when I brought I think around 96k-97k on the clock I was a bit hesitant at first but when the chap showed me the service history and that the headgasket had been fixed and new cambelt with water pump, I felt at ease with parting with my money, not only that car was in good shape

And I've looked after it ever since like anyone does.

The real trick when buying a car that looks good condition and has good service history is to barter with the seller try and bring the price down, usually works it did for me the guy wanted £1,200 for it but I brought it down to £1,000 and I was happy with that.

Sometimes when a car is on a distance it's worth it if its at a good price and looked after very well, although depends what sort of distance I guess I was lucky with mine as it was only a single bus ride from where I live about 10-15 minutes.

You will find a car you just have to keep looking and looking, that's all its down to.

Benny

 

[Brendan W]

We love to hate French cars but you can't argue with the numbers and the latest reliability list I saw puts Fiat at a surprising 7th in a very long list with the usual Jap suspects near the top and the French mixing it with the Jeeps and Landies down towards the other end. From a purely personal drivers point of view I find the Punto a much nippier and tighter car than the 206,Leon etc in the 1.2 to 1.4 size. The controls feel more balanced and the car stiffer. The stats won't back me up but it feels faster. Definitely more fun to drive.