Technical The Barchetta is pure JUNK!!!

[itaa5x]

Have to start by saying that I have had mine for 3years and still like the look of it, but honestly that's the only thing I like about it..

-Fuel consumption is **** for such an small car
-the ride is just terribly harsh
-with a roof up there is almost 0 visibility
-incredibly small inside, no cup holders or anywhere where to store something

But the best part of it, it's Pure unreliable italian Junk and totallyfits the slogan
Fix It Again Tomorrow
My car is 2 owner car with just 80k kilometers on it (less than 50k! miles) with nice leather interiour and it looks apart, I have maybe done 5000km with it in the past 3years I have owned it because you can't drive with it anywhere far, even after doing 100km in it you feel exhausted. I have spent on it about 3x more in repairing it in the 5000km I have had it than I have spent in 180,000 km I have done with my similar aged honda which is at 370k km now.

just to name a few
-I feel like the car is put together with snot, everything creeks,wobbles,doesn't properly fit.
-The engine on mine sounds like it's on it's last legs,
-Pretty much sure the clutch has started to gone as well
-all the coolant pipes were so busted that it constantly leaks and overheats
-even the brake discs/pads looks brand new they squeek/rattle all the damn time
-The roof has started to really degrade being 19years old, holes everywhere, glued spots coming off etc.
-The radio on it barely ever works
-I have welded the exhaust on it 3times already,I'm not spending 400euros on new exhaust..
-It smells like fuel all the time
-Headlights are just terrible, I can't even drive with it at night without putting on high-beam or the visibility would be non existant
-Again the engine on it is just junk

Pretty much sure I could make the list 2x longer if I spent more time writing.

It's a pretty cool car to drive in summer When/If it works hence I haven't yet got rid of it, and I only pay 50euros a year to insure and 35euros to tax it so it might as well sit in garage for some more,maybe in 20years it will become more valuable?
If anyone is thinking about buying it I would really think really hard about it!

 

[itaa5x]

oh yeah and the speedo wasn't working since I had owned it, bought an used speedo and when I switched it over guess what- All the lights went flashing, Airbag/abs and one more I don't remember , I had a good look at the old speedo and the bulbs had been taken out just so they wouldn't work and signal you I did take the bulbs out from the ''new'' speedo unit as well or I wouldn't have been able to pass MOT , Today the New speedo after running for maybe a year got stuck/stopped working as well!

mine is from 1997 , and when buying it I had a look at 3 other barchettas before buying this,all of them were pure junk which I walked away from ,at that time I thought that the owners just hadn't taken care of them , when I bought mine it looked and it was in pretty good condition so it seemed and best from all 4 I had a look at. I Still don't regret buying the car because I only spent 1000euro on it and still think I got a good deal on it even with all it's faults, But Be AWARE!

 

[Candisa]

That's late 90's and early 00's cars for you. My previous car was a '01 Volvo V70, pretty decent make and model you'd think, especially since I was very happy with my older Saabs and Volvo's... Well, NOT!
The V70 was utter pants, disabled all electronics I didn't need and still spent thousands on it in a few years.
Around that era most manufacturers were pushing the limit of how cheap they could build their cars while loading them with electronics, pretty much the 80's all over again.
Newer cars aren't made to last anymore either, that's why I decided to buy a brand new Fiat instead of fixing up 10-20yo cars: even if it's totally done and worthless after 8 years, it's still cheaper!

Isabelle

 

[gar074]

Sounds like you bought a pup, judging from your account of how the warning lights had been removed by the previous owner, but you get what you pay for (and €1000 is shed money).

It's understandably frustrating that you've had so many problems, but there is always a risk attached to buying a dirt-cheap older car. I paid £3500 for mine 10 years ago, and I reckon I could easily get that back if I sold it tomorrow. It's never let me down, and it has cost me buttons to keep on the road.

Several of your criticisms are a bit unfair. I don't think the fuel consumption's bad for a high-revving 1.8 petrol (driven gently, mine's more economical than my 875cc Twinair Panda, and even driven hard it rarely dips below 30mpg). If fuel consumption is that much of an issue for you, buy a diesel! How many cars had cup-holders fitted in 1997? (and who gives a toss anyway?!) Yes, storage isn't brilliant in the cabin, but you've got a lockable glove box, a lockable storage box between the seats, and a boot that's really capacious, whether or not the roof is down. Yes, visibility is poor with the top down, but name me a small convertible that doesn't suffer from the same problem. I don't share your criticism of the ride - either the suspension on yours is non-standard, or your suspension is knackered. I'm constantly surprised at how well mine absorbs the bumps on the poor roads around here.

If you really don't like it, why not sell it on to someone who will appreciate it for what it is?

 

[Cribus]

It's a 19 year old small budget Italian convertible. Anyone buying one needs to be aware that you have to keep on top of things and deal with issues when they arise, otherwise you'll have a long list to deal with. Put the work in, and it's an enjoyable and unusual car that looks amazing and will probably increase in value. But without the effort to maintain and improve things, it's not going to work in the long term. I'm amazed a 19 year old hood is even still in place ! Before buying mine I tried 3 others as well as a BMW Z3, Toyota MR2, an MX5 and an Alfa Spider. The only one that felt more 'together' than the Barchetta was the MX5, a Mk1 that had been cherished and well maintained. The Toyota and BM felt even more loose and rattly than the Barchetta, and now that the bushes, top mounts, shocks etc have been replaced, the Barchetta feels more solid and was a better buy than any of them. Yes it's small and difficult to see out of, but presumably it was like that when you bought it. To me it's snug and every journey is an event, a bit of an adventure - sad eh ?! Things like fuel smell, rattles, cooling, radio etc - things like this need investigating and fixing and there are plenty of threads on the forum to help owners do that themselves, rather than paying garages 1000’s to spend time looking, shrugging and handing the car back with the problems still there. Easy to say I know, and if you get fed up having to put the work in then I've no doubt the novelty will wear off and you'll want to get rid. That will probably happen to me if I get fed up working on the car, but I've always enjoyed stuff like that so I'm hoping I'll want to keep on making the effort. Each to their own.

 

[itaa5x]

I do get that 30mpg driving at 90km/h ,which is pretty $hit for the size/engine of the car at those speeds.
Don't get me wrong I appreciate it, after all it's a fun cool looking car to drive and I don't plan to sell it, since it's not my daily/only car the space is enough for just driving around the city, but the amount of work/upkeep this thing needs is just nuts.
Servicing here is dirt cheap, hourly rate maybe 20euros per hour for work and they don't rip you off on everything like in UK , but still I try to do everything on it myself, I do know the car inside out and have taken apart probably a third of the car to fix various things, but the stuff what needs to be done just keeps coming up!

Btw I have to say again that pretty much all garages in UK from my experience are money grabbing thieves who Will NOT do any job properly and will just mess up other things while doing something,just terrible terrible establishments, I don't remember a single time when brining any of cars to garages in uk that they properly fixed something without messing up something else or doing the job itself half arsed.


And I hardly doubt that I bought a particulary bad example since it was the best from the 4 barchettas I had a look at, price wise, the guy was selling that car for like 3months and dropped the price from 2.5k to 1k after some serious haggling since I could see he had lost interest in it,now I see why

Honestly I was like you at first, it had a few niggles and I just let it slide because of what the car was, but spending longer time with it it just isn't a reliable car which you can trust.

btw when looking at the seatbelt manfucaturing date mine is from 1996 , so a 20years old car already, but when working on it VS doing anything on my other japanese cars which are only a couple years younger the build quality on everything is just so much better on them. I knew that Fiats were pretty bad cars quality wise but after some research people suggested that this model is pretty decent...so I bit the bullet anyway and glad I did because it's a cool car and I had wanted one for really long time. I wonder what's the quality on other fiat cars IF this car has supposedly good build quality.


Oh and stop telling that you have terrible roads in UK, your roads are damn near perfect , every small path is laid in tarmac.
this is what a terrible road looks like, and 90% of the roads here are like this. I think I haven't seen a single gravel road in UK? here I think 85% of all roads are gravel roads not laid in tarmac.

 

[Professorwho]

It does sound like you were sold a poor car.
Mine is a 1997 model and has been in my family from new. It has been used as a daily driver for most of that time and has none of the problems you describe. The roof has been replaced but then the guide life for the soft top on the Barchetta is 3-5 years.
For the time it had reasonable fuel economy. The engine on mine pulls really nicely and sounds lovely once the oil has got into the variator, I do need to replace it though.
You have to remember it was a cheap car when it was released. My main car at the time was a Citroen saxo and the Barchetta felt like luxury in comparison.
Looking at the picture of your roads it really isn't the right car for your roads!
Mine is a nice toy

 

[HP]

Sorry, but the guys above are right - you've bought a nacker.


I had mine from 82,000 to 96,000 miles over 7 years and at 80km/h (50 mph) I could easily get 40 mpg. It cost me little apart from some upgrades I chose to do, very little went wrong.


Fuel smell - likely a leak in the vent or filler neck. Possibly linked to your poor mpg.


Ride terribly harsh - I suggest someone has 'upgraded' your suspension.


Roof will degrade over time, you have to expect that.


You really can't complain about the exhaust being holed on a car that old...


The car is too small - did you not see or test drive it before you bought it?


Headlights - never had an issue with mine - could see ok.


Many of the things you describe are down to poor maintenance and upkeep, not poor build quality (19 years ago...) - did you actually check any of it before you bought it? It ain't Fiat's fault that yours is bust.

 

[brianpoole]

Sorry, but the guys above are right - you've bought a nacker.

No Barchetta's were sold new in Latvia Of the Barchetta's taken over there they would have been brought up cheap in Germany or Italy of very dubious history taken over, tarted up and moved on by back street traders. I had the same experience of looking for a Barchetta in Poland (looked at three)even the Polish Barchetta club told me to find one else were. One piece of advice was that if it did not have the red key the Barchetta was in all probability an insurance write off. with the insurance company keeping the keys in an attempt to stop cars being sold on other than for spares.
I

 

[Davefridge]

I think that if you wanted good fuel consumption, comfortable ride on dirt tracks, good visibility and cup holders/storage space then maybe you should have bought a diesel Range Rover/Renault Espace/Fiat Multipla! Really, what did you expect from an Italian sports car?
This is an enthusiasts forum and the last thing we want to see is someone slagging off our beloved Barchettas.
BTW. Didn't you notice none of the warning lights working before you bought your bargain basement car?

 

[richit]

Love my Barchetta!! Does exactly what FIAT wrote on the tin. Fast, fun and very cheap to buy and run. A few years ago I spent over €20k on a new VW Golf 6 - now, that was a pile of expensive junk! If I spent a 1000 I would have loved it

 

[Richpea]

All the previous comments are right. You have to accept that it is a Fiat which is 19 years old. I have owned my Barchetta for nearly 10 years and it has been relatively trouble free. During that time I have been fortunate enough to have some nice business cars, some of which were replaced annually, such as Merc 350SL and BMW 335. Lovely cars but none of them put a smile on my face like the Barchetta does which by the way has always been the most reliable and cheap to run of all old cars I have previously owned.
Sometimes when driving my Barchetta I see peoople driving something special like a high end Porsche I think that I am having as much fun as them, if not more in a car that cost a fraction of their's. For someone like me who has had more than 40 cars in my driving life and changes them frequently it says something that I have kept my Barchetta for 10 years and have no intention of getting rid of it. I think our friend in Latvia is outnumbered"!

 

[Barchetta Bloke 440]

I'll just give rough details.

Owned since 1/12/2012.

Covered 32,000 miles in those 3+ years.

Very little gone wrong.

Done 9 european roadtrips in it and 2 more planned this year.

Did 4945 miles in it ,in 15 days last summer,to Sweden,Finland etc.

Drove to Modena,Italy and back in one weekend,covered 1800 miles in 50 hours.

I love it,best car I've owned....out of 37 cars.......nuff said.

BTW....can't prove much of that but I have pics of my car at the Arctic circle and other places.

 

[eramosa]

I live in Ontario Canada. Bought a 98(built in early 97)teal Barchetta imported from Japan, with only 21K on the clock.I have since put 5K on it, just got it out of winter storage, it starts and runs mint. It does have some minor issues, power mirrors are frozen, need to repair A/C,-the top is like new, all major systems such as lights, brakes, power train, are excellent. My biggest hassle is I removed the seats to repair fuel pump seal and I cant find a scanner in this country to turn of the airbag light.We love it and no one else has one!