General Searching a Stilo

[puntodeltathema]

Hi all - bit of a random and eccentric punt but I owned a very rare Stilo Prestigio (2.4 5 door manual) between 2006 (I was first private owner) and 2013, a car I loved and I always regretted selling it. Registration RA55 UVC, Vitality Blue with two-tone leather, SkyWindow and blade alloys. I've stalked it a bit on the DVLA MoT service over the years and been pleased to see it has continued to give good service to someone.

HOWEVER, recently and ominously DVLA no longer seem to recognise it when seeing if it remains taxed, and the MoT expires *today* without having been renewed.....

So I'm wondering if it has reached the end of the road...but thought I'd ask here in case it belongs to anyone on the forum and might need rescuing!

As there were only about 20 of these cars registered in the UK I won't expect a flurry, but....

Thanks for the indulgence. Picture is us at the Cassino factory in 2010....sniff.

Nick

 

[Maxcaddy]

If it's not on their website it's either been scrapped or exported.

 

[simon_16vpunto]

Unfortunately scrapped 9/11/2022

 

[puntodeltathema]

Ah well - not a bad innings for a practical Fiat with a large petrol engine.... Thanks for giving me closure!

 

[varesecrazy]

Simon might have access to more info?

As you say.. 10 years more than many Stilo

 

[simon_16vpunto]

I just checked on this

We Buy Any Car - Free Car Valuation - Sell My Car

Do you want to sell your car? Sell your car with Car Baba! We offer safe, easy and fast car selling service. Enter your car registration number for free and instant online valuation.

www.carbaba.co.uk

 

[Maxcaddy]

Ah well - not a bad innings for a practical Fiat with a large petrol engine.... Thanks for giving me closure!

I hope not I'm expecting another 2 - 3 years out of mine, and it's a year older .

On a similar note I've seen a number of posts recently where folk have bought a Stilo just before Xmas, and immediately had issues with it, many to the point that it would have been cheaper scrapping it than repairing it. To the uninitiated whilst a Stilo serves its use well, and is a lot of car for the money it's not everybody's choice, and when they go wrong nobody wants to touch them. Even my local FIAT main dealer has limited knowledge, leading me to suggest to anyone thinking of buying one that if they haven't got at least some automotive experience or a good deal of luck, don't touch one with a barge pole.

 

[puntodeltathema]

If yours is a three-door 2.4 (Abarth) I think they will naturally last the longest of all the Stilos as they will be cherished as the overtly sporting models, and maintained as such. You already see this in the cars turning up in the classifieds.

The 5-door 2.4 (especially in that later de-Abarthed "Prestigio" guise) was a bit more of an oddball - albeit a wonderful one IMHO - and they may have tended to be used more as "interesting" family wagons or all-rounders. But once a big bill comes in old age (even a cambelt change) then the rational equation may no longer work, especially given the general running costs (29mpg as I recall). Throw in a couple of maintenance curved balls (like the fact they use oil and reading the dipstick is not straightforward...oil filters not the easiest to change etc) not appreciated by a "practical wagon" user (as opposed to a sporty enthusiast), and you can see how a five-door finding itself as somebody's interesting practical wagon in its twilight years might not be a fully sustainable proposition..

It was the same with the similarly-powered Bravo HGT and the Marea 20V Weekend - the latter became extinct before the former as it was the beast of burden. Fantastic concept though it was.

(Now a 5-cylinder petrol Stilo Multiwagon - that would have been a car).

Nick