From someone who actually knows his cars. I got my Fiat Punto 2004 mk3 1.2 8valve 2 years ago.
I got rid of my old renault laguna 1.8 in hope to save money on running expenses and i have achieved just that.
Driving this car gently gets me 39 mpg round town and 54mpg on a motorway.
I have driven across France, Switzerland , Germany and other places. It has been so reliable.
If you are able to do DIY and know about cars then this is the car for you.
Every thing is so easy to get to and there is no need to remove a whole load other parts just to get to the part that needs attention. Aventually every car will need a new clutch, brakes and possibly suspention parts or even a new radiator.
Now why is this little car so good? Becauces its an absulute pleasure to work on.
Yes my clutch was on its way out just like any other car but hey no worries. Took the gear box of and replaced the clutch in half a day and I only spent £55 on a new clutch. Try doing that on a citroen xsara picaso. , Ford ka, Mondeo or what ever. Not going to be a plesent job. Again new radiator £49 and 35 minutes job done. Fact is it takes longer to wash up dishes then to do some repairs on fiats.
People run their cars in to the ground then give a bad review when it goes wrong.
First thing I did with this car was inspect the brakes and replace any needed parts. Keep things fresh.
I then changed the radiator as it had a very small leak and i don't take chances. Next was the clutch then new shocks at the rear. Now the chances are that had I not changed those parts it will still work but that's were things become unreliable. Solve anything which could lead to a problem.
The prices of parts are half the amount I paid for renaults and you save so much time on the DIY. So simple.
Next I have red many stories about cylinder head gastkits going. First of so what if it does. The job looks like a dream to fix compared to other cars. Next how about avoiding getting a blown cylinder head gaskit on a hot day in the first places. That's right. Don't turn your engine off and walk away leaving the cooling fan running. That's only going to cool down the radiator and without the engine turning that cooler coolent wont cool down the engine leaving your engine to cook as you leave it parked up. Leave the engine running with a few light revs actually circulates the coolent and when the fan cuts out then go do your shopping. Easy isn't it.
My next job is to check those breaks again and cleanthem up. No probe.
Electricle falts are often caused by owners or privious owners replacing bulbs with incorrect ones and messing about with fuses. I have checked all of mine and not one electricle fault in 2 years.
I heard a lot of bad things about fiats but I have seen for myself. Best car ever is you are on a tight budget. I am a single parrent with 3 kids and any work or maintenance I do needs to be time efficient due to me having other duties.
I will never get rid of this car and pass it on to my son when he is ready.
5 stars.