[neoonwheels]

Originally Posted by alfafan

neoonwheels - a great narration on the ownership of this wonderful car. My Fiat Punto 1.3 MJD emotion variant has clocked 91,000 km's. No major repairs, no falling apart of parts, a beautiful car to say the least

A quick question - where do you do the servicing of your car, is it pandit auto in bavdhan. I always take my car there since they seem to be the most reliable and overall customer experience has definitely improved a lot recently.

Thanks Alfafan. Yes, I take my car to Pandit in Bavdhan. Pune now has 3 dealers for FIAT. The older Jay-Vijay is back to FIAT.

[neoonwheels]

Remapped my Punto this weekend. WolfMoto team was in Pune and I opted for the multiple maps. Today did a quick dash to Lonavala (Round trip of 120 KMs) and the car feels quick!!! I used Map 3 throughout and loved the eagerness of the car. Touched higher speed 3-4 times but looks like the Map fades away at high speeds. Map 4 is now on my list for highway testing. Overall, I am loving my car all over again

Got a FE of 22.5 kmpl for this 120 km stretch. Surprised since at this speed, earlier I used to get around 18-19 kmpl. May be Another 3-4 tankfuls would give me a clear picture.


Overall, I am loving the way car builds up speed as compared to stock. I feel like having a different car all together. How I wish FIAT Punto had much sorted first gear

[neoonwheels]

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

4. The front right suspension was creating a kchhhh kcchhh noise - Narrowed down to Strut pad. As of now changed only the problematic one - 2500/- (Included in 13500/-)

The car feels like "almost" new. May be in 2-3 months, would change the right side strut pad as well. Early next month the car would complete 5 years and in all probability would get a gift in form of a "remap"

So the issue was with the outer ball joint in the steering rack. Older FIATs (2009-Early 2010) have RANE make steering rack while post mid 2010 cars come with SONA racks. The issue with RANE rack is that the child parts are not available so to change the outer ball joint, I will have to change the whole steering rack assembly.

As this is a costly affair, I contacted FIAT management through my contact and company accepted to share the cost. I would not go into the details but I am happy at the end of the day.

The rack is changed in a single day as the part was readily available. No more waiting for the parts.

I am now running on MAP3 of the remap and the car feels peppier even in City. How I wish the car would have come with such a map from factory.

[neoonwheels]

The car has completed 60000 KM last week. This year has seen high maintenance bills for sure.

1. First it was the the tie rod for which I had to change the entire Steering rack.
2. Then came the suspension overhaul as the car had become bumpy even on small undulations.

The Suspension overhaul (Link rods, Lower control arm ball joints, struts, strut pads etc for all wheels) has costed me 24K including labor. Now after spending close to 35K (Rack + suspension), the car feels as new and I would now put my plans to sell it off on hold for at least couple of years.

On FE front, for last 60000 KM, it has returned me an Average of 16 KMPL (Yes, I have every fill up details). I hope this year would see low maintenance and would not burn hole in my pocket.

[neoonwheels]

Update: You have to move on in life !!! Sold the car at 75000 KM on odo...

Well, going through the thread, you must have realized how attached I was with this car. Being a BHPian shows we love our rides no matter which car/bike it is. The passion we all share for automobiles is common irrespective how costly our beauties are.

With a heavy heart, I let her go at 75000 KM. Even now she looks a million dollars to me. She has served me well and never ever troubled me so much to sell her off early. So after 75000 smiles and 7 years of the relationship, I let her find herself a new home. The person whom she is with now is a FIAT fan and already has a Linea. What better home than the one with her elder sibling to keep her company !!!

I hope my thread has helped people on overall upkeep of a FIAT Punto MJD.

Mods: You may now close this thread.

[MAS]

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

Update: You have to move on in life !!! Sold the car at 75000 KM on odo...

Well, going through the thread, you must have realized how attached I was with this car. Being a BHPian shows we love our rides no matter which car/bike it is. The passion we all share for automobiles is common irrespective how costly our beauties are.

With a heavy heart, I let her go at 75000 KM. Even now she looks a million dollars to me. She has served me well and never ever troubled me so much to sell her off early. So after 75000 smiles and 7 years of the relationship, I let her find herself a new home. The person whom she is with now is a FIAT fan and already has a Linea. What better home than the one with her elder sibling to keep her company !!!

I hope my thread has helped people on overall upkeep of a FIAT Punto MJD.

Mods: You may now close this thread.

It is always sad to let a car go, especially when it has served us well and to the best of its abilities.

How much did you sell it for? What is your next drive? Finding a suitable replacement for Fiat and Ford cars are not easy.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

The Suspension overhaul (Link rods, Lower control arm ball joints, struts, strut pads etc for all wheels) has costed me 24K including labor. Now after spending close to 35K (Rack + suspension), the car feels as new and I would now put my plans to sell it off on hold for at least couple of years..

Hi, congrats on the Jetta.

Before you sold it, where did you get the Punto serviced from? A colleague's Linea needs some work done (similar to what you've written above), and he would prefer a FNG more than ASC, if the workmanship is good.

Cheers,
Vikram