General Punto GT Turbo, know nowt about 'em but might buy one!! what do i need look for?

[Stokie Dave]

Hi guys, I'm kinda a noob on ere, been signed up a while but not really posted.

Anyway I've got a Corsa which I'm selling for something faster and one of the cars on my list is a Punto GT. Now I've seen one locally on an N plate but it's done about 115k. I don't know much about Puntos at all.... I've got a bit of a buying guide I prepared for my Corsa and a lot of general stuff can be carried over...

But looking @ the Punto GT - what specific stuff do I need be looking at? Is 115k too much to consider (the car is reasonably priced in retrospect but I aint had chance properly speak to him yet) and is largely standard bar mongoose exhaust, K&N induction kit, alloys, lowered etc. Not sure what mark it is being a N reg so... if it makes a difference or not.

So basically is there anything specific I need to check, listen for, look for and so on.

MUCH appreciated!!!

 

[PJB88]

If you can afford it then wait for one that has done a lot less miles, you can get hold of a goodun for about £2,400 tops with about 60k on the clock possible less.

But if you did want to go and buy the one you have got your eye on then see if its had its belts changed etc, when i got mine home i did a belt change straight away and the old belt was dangerously slack! look to see if its had the brake pipe recall done along with the airbag ECU one aswell.

if you spot an oil leak under the bonnet then there is a chance it could be the paper gasket, (the second one down) the top being a cork gasket and really simple to replace but the next one down is cambelt off to replace it so if it has gone and you want to replace it then bare in mind its belt off and you could get the lot done in one hit.

Just a couple of experiences I have had with mine! Hope that helps

 

[beau]

how much is it? check for excessive smoke... check its running smooth, idles smooth.

if its done 115k and hasnt had rebuild its not really going to last much longer... they can go to 140-150k if serviced like every 3k

 

[Stokie Dave]

He's asking 1350 but it has a dent in the front or something not too bad though... I wanna bargain him RIGHT down, I've been looking @ 205 GTI's etc but this is nice and local, so wanna ask him hundreds of questions heh seeing as I know nowt about 'em myself...

I'd not buy it if it needs work but its just on the offchance it's ok, but anything I learn can be taken to another one if I go view one I got a top budget of around 1500 so wasn't looking @ many puntos as I'd not expect 'em be much cop @ that price.

Thanks guys will note it all down, anymore for anymore?

 

[Frannybum]

I've been asking the same as I know these guys know a lot about fiats...

However, to be on the safe side, as you don't know what to look for etc, you could pay an extra £50 and get the AA out with you...they check EVERYTHING through and also give you a 6 month warrenty which means if anything goes wrong in them 6 months they (AA) are responsible for getting it fixed as they past it fit.

Just a thought...

Franny

 

[Stokie Dave]

50 quid? sounds cheap that... i will have an initial look if it sounds good and if I like it I think with it being an oldish turbo car get the AA come have a nosey, could be a worthy investment!

Nice one

 

[Frannybum]

the RAC also do it, so you could look at them as well, not sure how much they charge though but its worth comparing

 

[Stokie Dave]

aye good stuff, will have a looksie

any more got any ideas on stuff I should check on GT's? what should they boost at standard? should they sound tappety or anything?

 

[beau]

aye good stuff, will have a looksie

any more got any ideas on stuff I should check on GT's? what should they boost at standard? should they sound tappety or anything?

no, they idle really smoothly, and sound nice when booting it.

 

[Stokie Dave]

ah good, thought so as all the ones ive heard sounded lush

any more info gratefully recieved hehe, cheers everyone so far!

 

[DanGil]

If you see one and they say its a standard example, look for joins in the vac pipes etc and any jubilee clips as you then know its been messed with at some point.

 

[jami]

You can buy my 1.6 modded punto for 1k if you like?

 

[tom_snelling]

The engine will be slightly tappy, it just happens to all 1.4 gt engines, but its nothing to worry about.

Its worth checking the oil pressure when first started as well as whe warm. Should be 3 bar when started, dropping to about 1.5 bar on warm idle with 3 bar whem moving.

Also check what it is boosting to, if its standard it shouldnt go much further than half way on the boost guage unless its chipped and fitted with an mbc.

Check the idle. It should stay around 1500rpm when first started and will drop to around 900rpm. Make sure the idle is smooth.

Apart from that, just check for normal stuff- mayo in the oil, damage.

 

[faster4_tec]

word of warnign with the AA/RAC checks.

if there is anything other than std, they will probably damage your car examing whatever it is.

my friend got a rotten ford ka years ago, the RAC/AA came out to look at it, originally quoted £55 for looking at it, and basically broke a lot of the interior following wiring that had been bodged in by ford mechanics (the ka wiring loom is pap, so the mechs often bodge them to work instead of making a new one up), they broke part of the dashboard, the fuse box mounts, both door cards snapped and lost most of the fixings etc etc.

and then they had the gaul to ask for £165.
my mate being the useless unconfrontational type paid and was left with around £300 damage.

 

[Puntoboy]

A lot of GT's run over 100,000 miles. As with many cars of it's age, you would expect to replace parts through normal wear and tear. It's only when people don't look after them that more serious problems occur.

I assume you are talking about the running temp of your own car? The reason why no one knew that is because you are an arrogant fool who think's he knows everything about GT's when you don't.

As for Debo's car, just shows that you cannot read. He has quite clearly posted up that it was HEAD GASKET failure that has caused him to take his engine apart. He was using a standard HG. He is now replacing it with a uprated metal ring HG.

But enough of your tiresome drivel. I've actually had to remove you from my ignore list to put a few things straight.

But looking @ the Punto GT - what specific stuff do I need be looking at? Is 115k too much to consider (the car is reasonably priced in retrospect but I aint had chance properly speak to him yet) and is largely standard bar mongoose exhaust, K&N induction kit, alloys, lowered etc. Not sure what mark it is being a N reg so... if it makes a difference or not.

So basically is there anything specific I need to check, listen for, look for and so on.

MUCH appreciated!!!

Is this car advertised on the net? Do you have any pictures of it? How much can you realistically afford? 115k miles on what is more likely a GT2 isn't too bad, but there are a lot out there with a lot less miles.

Does it has a service history?

Common problems with the mk1 Punto in general are:

• Rear trailing arm bushes
• Rear suspension subframe bushes
• Rear wiper motors

More specific GT problems are:

• Hand brake cables
• Air flow meter
• Cylinder head (I only mention this due to its age)

Check to see if these items have been replaced previously.

There is a Fiat recall on the mk1 Punto for "Excessive corrosion of the rear metal brakes lines" so ask whether they have had this done.

As with all cars you are looking to buy, take someone along with you that knows more about them. Check the compression, check for excessive play in the rear wheels (rear trailing arms), take it for a drive and see how long it takes to warm up, make sure it doesn't stutter, smoke or stall.

There are GT's advertised of www.puntosports.co.uk on a regular basis. Pop over and have a look. Plenty of people on there willing to help you. (obviously plenty of people willing to help you here too )

GT's a smashing little cars, really under estimated. With a little bit of money they can be made a lot faster. The problem with them is people don't look after them and rag them to within an inch of their lives, then they call them heaps of ****e because they break, giving them a bad name.

Good luck and I hope you find a good, well looked after GT

 

[marteh]

well i bought my GT in march 84k miles N reg daily driver now on 96k miles. still pulled away from a T reg 33k 147bhp mazda mx5.

mine an almost standard GT1, k&n and catback exhaust



when buying the car make sure the injector light comes on with the ignition and it should go out after a couple of seconds once the engine is started.

check the jacking points, as on both my 55 and my GT's i have found the rear jacking points to have been soft and put a wee hole in the floor.

make sure all ur electrics work, windows sunroof central locking etc.

 

[gt3man]

punto gts are cool buy a good en

 

[Stokie Dave]

Well I'm back I ended up buying a Corsa Sport 1.6 16v as no more puntos were around in January which weren't in Scotland or London lol..

However I love my Corsa, seriously reliable car! But I fancy a change and turbo power would be fun (as would cheap tax) and a tad more speed

Any other additional stuff anyone can think of to put in this thread? Will print it out and take with me if I go view any nearby cars.

Ta guys, had a lil look around the forum and it seems a pretty useful info resource indeed

 

[Stokie Dave]

bump.. whats the difference between gt1, 2 and 3 guys?

cheers

 

[viggers]

GT1 - (1st series 1993-1995)
most powerful engine 136 HP at 5750 rpm.

GT2 - (2nd series 1995-1997)
revised engine, 133 HP at 5750 rpm,

GT3 - (3rd series 1997-1999)
130 HP at 5600 rpm, ECU maps updated to more severe emissions.

EXTERNAL DIFFERENCES


Externally there are only a few slight differences between them:-

- GT3's have anthracite wheels as standard rather than silver as on the GT1's.
- The side skirts are body coloured on the GT3 rather than black plastic as on the GT1.
- The side mirrors are also a slightly different design - the GT3 has a black surround while the GT1 has completely body coloured mirrors.
- Some GT3's also have tinted headlamps.
- The GT1 badge and side bumpstrips also differ from the GT3s.
- The colours differ between the GT1s and the GT2's and GT3's. For example, Xploit Yellow was only avaliable on GT1's, and Broom Yellow was only avaliable on GT2's and GT3's.


INTERNAL DIFFERENCES


Internally, there are more differences:-

- The interior trim is different between the GT1 and GT3, as are the seats and steering wheel.
- The interior plastics are a darker shade of grey in the GT3 than the GT1.
- The front door cards differ between the three models.
- The GT3 seats have the GT logo on them with blue inserts.
- The GT1s have no rear seat headrests.
- GT2's are a hybrid between the GT1 and GT3, having components from both. A few GT2's are notable in that they don't have any front door pockets or speakers.


MECHANICAL DIFFERENCES


There are several mechanical differences between the two:-

- Front brake pads and calipers are a different size. GT1's have the Bendix calipers and the GT3's calipers are made by Lucas (most commonly).
- Under the bonnet is another obvious difference - the GT1 has the engine idle control positioned above the rocker cover, while the GT3 has it on top of the manifold.
- The ABS units also differ between the three engines, the GT1 ABS module being larger.