[WasavaTyres]

"Beer is made by men, wine by God" ~ Martin Luther

Could not have found a quote more apt for my tuscan wine Punto 90 HP. As is widely (and perhaps arguably) considered, this is one beautifully crafted piece of metal. Fell in love with the design since the time it had launched.

My Getz had aged gracefully and it was time for a change of ride as well as choice of engine as a new office meant I would be driving much more than what I had been. After mulling over polo/i20/punto it was finally the heart ruling over the head. I guess almost everyone who owns a punto has followed their hearts while making the choice. I was inundated with unsought advice - arrey resale nahi milega.........FIAT ki gaadi hain,pata nahi company kab model band kar de.... Punto jyada chalti kahan hai... etc etc [ You'll not get a good resale ......You'll be stuck with it if fiat packs up.......No one buys it] Anyway, I knew I'd always regret and be saying to myself, alas I wanted to and didn't buy the punto. So decided it was too much to think of over 5 years (the normal time I keep a car) and the car was too good in many aspects to let TATA's infamous service record and a few niggling issues come in the way. Since I am a vendor to the local TATA dealer I knew I could do some top level name dropping and have few guys instruct the workshop guys to take care of the care,so that wasn't much of an issue. FIAT's now legendary plastics quality I just hoped would have improved by the time I got my vehicle. Had initially decided on the BNW but one evening my mum saw the color configuration thing on fiat website and really liked the Tuscan Wine shade,so it was TW then.

Had booked the car towards the fag end of December 2010 so availed of year end discounts and company schemes apart from a special discount of 20K from the dealers end. Also refused to pay the 5K asked for Tuscan wine as they called it "premium shade" told my SE that it's all a sham by the company & dealer to skim the customer as I know the costing for all paints is the same. Got the car on the 7th of Jan 2011 two days later than promised but was ok with it. Experience at PDI (just a quick visual glance on the bodywork) and delivery was decent. Car was cleaned and decked up with the usual bells n whistles, apart from the cheap free 'goodies' that the dealer throws in Mirror hanging / Ganpati idol / Matting set / Steering Cover / Box of chocs from fiat. Signed the necessary papers and took delivery of the Car. Pulled off the steering cover after I left the dealer's place,gave away the noisy doll to a kid selling papers at a signal and drove home.

After driving the car home and a small mandatory puja by mum took it to my shop to change the tyres. Took off the apollo aceleres and shod it with Yokohama 205/60/R15 V550 Decibel rubber. My staff noticed that the negative terminal of the battery was loose and the windshield washer reservoir was empty - Hail Tata-Fiat - Got the bolts tightened and 3M battery terminal protector sprayed. poured in a bottle of abro windshield washer fluid and got the floor mats replaced with those transparent variety ones. Had got original mud flaps from the dealer so got them fitted while the tyres were being mounted. Refused this service at the dealer as the moron there tells me without batting an eyelid that it'll be a 2 min job and that he only need to put 2 screws on the sides of the rear bumper to tighten them thanked him and gave him 20 bucks to leave the car alone. There is a plastic lining that can be removed and refastened after putting the mudflaps in place,will attach a pic to illustrate the same.

I've been driving it everyday now and I love it for some reasons and utterly find it annoying for others. I've been used to my getz for over 5 years so initially everything about this car felt so heavy and taut. Day one saw me bang my head thanks to the 2 stage door opening. I gave it a light pull and assumed it'd open all the way (being used to the getz) first i hit the door frame - bang - reflex action wincing in pain - bang - into the bodyline. Lesson learnt.

What I dislike :

The power window and mirror controls are far beyond reach. I inadvertently end up pulling the rear window switches whenever I want to roll up the front windows.

The steering joints nudge my toes when I turn the steering with the clutch depressed.

The pedals are so closely crammed the dead pedal seems a waste as most of the time you're trying to find space to just move your feet.

The rear windscreen - like a strip of band-aid.

The rear tyre that gives off a 'thud' every time it goes over a bump / pothole.

Blue n Me - Gives me the blues whenever I want to shuffle between folders.

Audio System - Could have definitely been better for a car costing upwards of 7 lakhs.

Silver colored door handles and center console, for those like me who keep their cars for a long time would end up with worn out/shabby looking interiors. Saw a Linea T-Jet with chrome handles at the showroom, will ask my contact person their to arrange it if they fit onto my car.

Miss all those cubby holes that getz had offered. The door pockets and glass holders are short of being a sad joke. While the glass holder on my getz swallowed a 2 litre bottle bisleri with ease,the 'space' on this one is barely enough for those bottles of cola that sell for Rs.5 Even the sides in the boot have been wasted. I used to stock my bottles of polish/air con cleaner / inflate & repair / tubeless repair kit on the sides in my getz. Fiat gave me an open field to play with.

Love it for :

The way it looks . A million dollars on the road

The way it rides effortlessly over bad and rough patches.

That sense of security the body cage offers.

The solid feel of the buttons. The steering controls demand 3 times the pressure my pioneer remote required. Built for the long haul.

The overall driving experience.

[psbali]

Congratulations on buying such a good looking, solid and stable car.. Good to hear that you have a way to ensure good service for your car.. Sad that I will have to strike off a punto from my list as the dealer experience doesn't look promising. Haven't even got a TD yet from the dealer..

But you have bought one of the best cars that looks amazing.. Wish you endless miles of happiness..

[neoonwheels]

That color looks premium... Congrats dude... Keep updating the thread at milestone

[Soccerfan]

congrats man. Please post more pics especially of the AVs db rubber

[download2live]

Originally Posted by WasavaTyres

[b] I guess almost everyone who owns a punto has followed their hearts while making the choice.

Built for the long haul.

You said it man.
That head over heart is true for any person who buys a FIAT.

I gather you sold your Getz for a new car. You seem to be a guy who updates his rides after a given number of years. In that sense you might have to take a hit on resale value of Punto.

Congrats on joining the Punto Owner club.

Rear left hand thud noise is cause of design. Nothing wrong as such.

[WasavaTyres]

Download2live : I guess you meant heart over head The getz has not been sold - too many fond memories to let it pass into other hands - it's going to be driven within the city now mostly and used by by sisters.

PS Bali : Don't let a lousy dealer stop you from owning a good car. I know it's easier said than done,but with a li'l perseverance you can get work done from anywhere and anyone. You just need to know how.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by download2live

You said it man.
That head over heart is true for any person who buys a FIAT.

Should be heart over head, otherwise no punto, no heart no punto.

Originally Posted by WasavaTyres

PS Bali : Don't let a lousy dealer stop you from owning a good car. I know it's easier said than done,but with a li'l perseverance you can get work done from anywhere and anyone. You just need to know how.

Exactly, team-bhp is the source for your re-assurance. In spite of the big hurdles you face in the buying or maintaining experience, the punto still wins hands down. Go for it download, you will live to appreciate it.

[fiat_tarun]

Congrats on the car. The Punto will always put a smile on your face when you are in the drivers seat.

The power windows being too far ahead are actually by design, as Italians are known to be long armed ! I totally agree on the complete lack of storage places.

@psbali - Pune is getting two more Tata- Fiat dealers (Ex Maruti dealers Millennium motors is one), so if its only the dealer that is the issue, you can hang on for some more time.

[vignesh_ny]

Congratulations on your ride. The punto is definitely a head turner. On road price , if you can share, please.

[praz]

Congrats and welcome to the Fiat Punto club. There are a lot of things which I don't like in my Punto like the lack of storage space, rear visibility, customer service, etc. But all that is behind you when you are sitting behind the steering wheel and you have an open road in front of you. I am very sure that all Punto owners will be smiling to themselves while driving the car on a road with lots of curves. I tend to do that a lot .

[bnzjon]

Congratulations on your ride. The colour looks rich and premium.

[nkrishnap]

Congrats on the Punto. The tucson wine color looks lovely, but I have observed that it gets dirty pretty soon.

Enjoy many more happy miles with the car.

[lloydofcochin]

Congratulation on your Punto

It is a fabulous Car and looks great in that color.

[PassionateDrive]

Oh, doesn't she look sexy in that tucson wine color? Indeed she does!!!! Congratulations for the new Punto. Interesting post too . The post certainly demands some more pics of your new beauty.
Drive Safe.

[Newpunter]

Congrats on the Punto. Regarding the dislikes that you have mentioned, you will get used to most of them after sometime and you won't find them annoying any more . Trust me in this , coz the same thing happened with me .