[stadimet]

Hai all,
I want to have your idea on what should I do with my Fiat Punto Emotion 1178 CC, Petrol car which has so far clocked 1.46 Lakh km on Indian roads and which is nearing 10 Years of service life.
I am a maintenance freak and get the vehicle serviced every 2 to 3 months.

But off late I am experiencing break down of various parts like the Dickey lock mechanism, the Odometer LCD is now almost gone and the readings cannot be discerned, Both shock absorbers -front and back are replaced, the connecting rod to the right side tyre and recently replaced the entire AC Compressor etc. I also had the entire car except the ceiling painted again due to rust spots etc. I park the car near the sea side and hence experience this problem. I water wash it at least twice a month if not 4 times which is very common and get both the interiors and exteriors cleaned.

To the extent possible, I change the parts, replaced Car Batteries, Tyres and everything that is needed over a period of time. I do not shirk for costs involved and want the car to be in top shape as I not only ride in the city - but also go 700 km at a stretch in a single day when the requirements exist to another town and back to Vizag. So I want my car to be reliable.
So far there are no complaints on the engine side.

Also FIAT discontinued this model and I do not find anything which from FIAT stock is ready to replace her. I liked FIAT especially for the thick steel that they used which I do not find in many cars now. Most of the cars are now tin cans or so it seems. So on the other hand this is also one of the reasons why I am loathe to give up on my 10 year old.

But I am thinking, if I need to start planning to change my Car. It had been a very reliable car for me so long and I wish it continues that way for at least 3-4 more years so that I can change to all Electric when the tech matures on that side.

But I am thinking if it is required to change my car. What is your opinion on the maintenance aspects of cars which are more than 10 years old.
Let me know your opinion.
--
Regards,
Surya@Vizag

[neofromcapone]

Tough choice Surya
But kudos to you for maintaining your car after all these years.
The Punto is really tugging at your Emotion(s)

If not for your highway runs, I would have suggested keep the Punto, maybe keep it for your city runs.
Keep it.
And buy another car which has a solid NCAP rating.
It's time.

[sandeepmohan]

Servicing the car every 2 to 3 months sounds a bit excess and unnecessary. At this rate, it will bleed your wallet. At the most, get the oil changed every 7000 - 8000km, instead of the Fiat recommended 15,000km service interval.

From what you have described, you're not experiencing any major breakdowns so why sell it.

[vikred]

@stadimet a little offtopic, you should definitely pen down your ownership review on Team BHP, and also post some pictures of your car here.

Coming back to the question on hand, if I were you, I would stick to doing what I have been doing for the last 10 yrs (maintaining the car in top shape), if I'm still enjoying the ownership and driving experience.

[landcruiser123]

No major breakdown, but many annoying niggles. Seems to me like the mind says sell, but heart says keep.

You have certainly got your money's worth from nearly 1.5 lakhs over 10 years. I'd personally not keep a Fiat petrol beyond that unless it was a city beater.

My advice is to test-drive everything out there and see what catches your fancy. If you don't really like anything, spend some $$$ and get a few parts (like your dashboard LCD). Also, you have to mentally accept that some parts are going to break & electronics are going to behave weirdly in a 10 year Fiat.

[GTO]

I'm a guy who usually advises people to hold onto their cars, but in your case, I'm going with SELL. Reasons:

- The car has served you well. 10 years & 1.5 lakh km means you have used it enough.

- It has the 1.2L engine which is old, outdated & underpowered, especially by current standards. You need to get yourself into something more powerful.

- You drive a lot on the highway, and safety standards have improved in the last 10 years. Get a newer + safer car.

- If your budget permits, splurge on a fast new turbo-petrol or turbo-diesel hatchback. On the other hand, if you really love the Punto (which seems obvious from your post), you could do a lateral upgrade (ARTICLE: The Beauty of Lateral Upgrades (Getting MORE CAR for LESS $$$)) and get a late model Linea T-Jet (sample listing) or Abarth Punto (sample listing).

[gkveda]

Usually people think of changing cars due to one of the below reasons

1. Some desire on a particular brand, model car.
2. Some monotony with the current car
3. Some issues that have cropped up with current car.

From your post, I see that few pointers to all of the above coming out glaringly. ie.,

You have expressed your desire to upgrade or eye on electric car but as of now, technology has not been advanced to the extent that is required for us to buy EV.

From your post, I see some issues that have cropped up in current car like small replacement of parts but it is not clear whether they are bothering you too much to extent of changing the car.

Since there is no replacement EV car available, I suggest to sit down and think whether you really are bothered too much on issues cropping up in the car

If they are bothering you, you may need to go for replacement with another used car time being, and go for full fledged EV when we get really efficient EV in market.

If the issues are not bothering too much, then suggest to retain the car for another 4-5 years and directly upgrade to EV

[stadimet]

Thank you friends for the replies.

Right now the current car thrust has come down a little since I purchased it. But I still can use it. Next somehow I am now NOT liking any particular brand of the market as on date in petrol versions. I personally do not like Diesel cars. Most of the cars I see in the market are not strong in terms of their body build quality and more and more chrome only. May be I am wrong. This is also the reason why I liked Punto and not want to part with it, unless I am forced. Also it is the first car in my life.

I am not seeing major problems as of now. However, slowly one by one the components are needing replacement. As on date the following came up to be replaced which need to be done:
[1] Door lock of dickey

[2] entire assy of car odometer where the LED display is no more working

[3] Glass of dickey got shredded 10 days back. When I was driving on the highway, I noticed some smoke coming from near the rear window wiper and stopped the car immediately to a road side. The smoke stopped. I was very worried though. Images of cars in flames came to my mind.

I opened the hatch and was wondering from where the smoke came- suspected an electrical fault, when suddenly a mini explosive sound came like something from a bottle which has soda pressure built up. Something popped up from near the rear wiper at tremendous speed and hit the glass window of the dickey glass making a small hole in the center after which the entire glass shredded.

I was just stunned and after a few days, came to the opinion that may be an electrolytic capacitor or some electronic component blew up which caused this glass to shred up into pieces. I still have to get my glass replaced which I am going to get done tomorrow. I am still not sure about the electrical wiring though and its safety.
Please understand that I NEVER tampered with electrical wiring EVER by introducing some Audio system or whatever earlier in the entire life of the car.

[4] Then there is some other problem with the drive shaft on the drivers side for which I am not getting the component and due to which I am getting some sounds from the drivers side, whenever i fall into even a small pothole.

[5] Audio is now terrible with the speakers needing replacement.

So tomorrow, I am travelling some 300+ km to get the glass replaced in another city and probably get the drive shaft problem.
Slowly Problems like these are now making me wonder.

I also wanted to know the experience of other TeamBHPians due to which I was asking these questions. I am aware that spares will be available for some more time although with increasing time, it becomes more and more difficult.

I love the car and its controls. But alas FIAT seems to have discontinued this model and no other models seem to be in the market from FIAT as on date.
I do not want to be suddenly stuck with a problematic engine and with no car and hence started thinking if I better prepare for another car.

I also wonder about the Engine and when it will give me a kick. What is all of your experience.? about Engine performance - specifically about FIAT engines.?

Anyone driving FIAT Cars out there also can share their experiences.
--
Regards, Surya@Vizag

Originally Posted by vikred

@stadimet a little offtopic, you should definitely pen down your ownership review on Team BHP, and also post some pictures of your car here.

Sure I will do that. I will pen down the ownership. Thank you for the suggestion.

[Rajeev1]

@Stadimet - My opinion is that you should buy another newer car as your primary car to do those highway runs. Since you are used to Fiat build quality, you should try the other Europeans in the market for a safe sturdy ride quality.

As regards the current Punto, the fact that it is 10 years old and already run about 1.5 lac kilometers, you will hardly get any value upon sale (may fetch Rs.2 lacs if you are lucky) - hence consider retaining it for shorter city runs and purely for nostalgia. It is unsafe and expensive to retain it as your primary car.

[abhi_tjet]

You should sell the Punto.
Go either with a new Polo, Altroz iTurbo or get a preowned Tjet/Abarth if you are able to maintain FIAT easily at your place.

[Benoit]

Originally Posted by stadimet

Anyone driving FIAT Cars out there also can share their experiences.

Hi. Great to see you have used the car for 1.5L km. I had owned a preowned Linea MJD. The ownership experience was pretty troublesome.

I bought it at 95k km, sold it at 1.45L km. Here's a list of thing major repair works I did: suspension assembly change, engine bed, AC compressor field coil and clutch change(even then AC was ineffective), drive shaft in one side, gear box oil leak(wasn't completely fixed even when I sold it), radiator coolant liquid leak, injector cleaning, clutch MC failure. I also faced the same MID LCD issue. I didn't care much.

All of this and the car still runs well. But I wouldn't call it reliable. As much as I appreciate the driving pleasure of the car, I always wanted to sell it because of the problems I faced. What stopped(delayed) me from selling is not the positives of the car, but the amount of money I had spent on repairing it. If you hold on to your car, you will likely face a series of issues and the time and money spent on repairing will stop you from selling it, thereby incurring more losses. We all know fiat spares are a pain to procure and they are not cheap.

There are a lot of good cars out there which are reliable, and can give you the driving experience. I own an altroz diesel now, and I am happy with it in every way(except for the boot of course). So, my recommendation is, please sell it and move on.

[nimishlalwani]

Here's how I read this situation:

1. Financially a sub 10 lakh rupee car depreciates at around 1 lakh a year (average), lower as you move down segments.

2. Given your description, you are spending that money on your Punto while not enjoying the benefits as much.

3. The only reason you are not able to move away from the Punto is emotional (build quality is addressed by cars such as Altroz, Polo and XUV300)

Given all this, I'd suggest:
- [Emotional decision] Buy a used Punto/Linea for 3-5 lakhs. I've seen great 2016 examples selling for 4 lakhs. You'll lose around 2-2.5 lakhs in 4 years which is same as your current expenses but you enjoy a newer car.

- [Logical decision] Buy a new Polo / Figo, lose the same lakh/year in depreciation, but enjoy the benefits of a new car - reliability and low maintenance.

The difference in buying and retaining the Punto is the upfront cash component for purchase. If you can afford it, selling the Punto is the best decision, both logically and financially

[90Horses]

Hey, I am in the same boat as you! I own a 90hp Punto 7 yrs old and 80K kms on odo. My fiat didn't breakdown yet, but umpteen times it was limping, putting all my family's confidence on the car to zero. It was serviced at fass for 5 years, post that fng. It took me the last 2 years to replace failed parts one by one to get it to the current 'good' state.

I am planning to replace, but the investment on repairs plus exchange value doesn't add up well. I will sell the car in it's 10th year and go head and take a non-turbo petrol high revving car(honda city). Reason? Simple engine and transmission, highly reliable, not complicated setup with turbo, egr, intercooler etc..

Turbo engines are good upto 3 years or so, post that repairs and maintenance is obvious, once I had burnt my hands with MJD and fass and never again.

I will replace my punto with a city in days to.come, I would suggest the same to another fiat owner.

[Shanksta]

Originally Posted by stadimet

Hai all,
I want to have your idea on what should I do with my Fiat Punto Emotion 1178 CC, Petrol car which has so far clocked 1.46 Lakh km on Indian roads and which is nearing 10 Years of service life.
I am a maintenance freak and get the vehicle serviced every 2 to 3 months.

Hi Surya,

I was in the same boat as you in January. My pre-owned Grande Punto had a few rust spots that needed attention, front windshield needed to be resealed, suspension overhaul was needed, MID display died on me and also the car needed a good once over. It was reliable and no issues on that aspect. But I thought long and hard and realised it simply did not make sense to me to put in another 45k on getting the car back to mint condition. I had already decided to sell her in 2022 and buy a new car. I just advanced that to 2021 and sold my Punto.

I would suggest if you really do not need an upgrade and want a good replacement for the Punto with solid build and 90% similar dynamics you can check out the Altroz. I drove my friends Altroz NA petrol for a long 700kms recently and found it to be basically a modern version of the Punto. Of course you have to sacrifice the steering feedback and ride quality a bit. You can check out the iTurbo.

[Kosfactor]

Getting it back to a decent shape for sale in itself is going to cost you quite a bit.

My suggestion is to exchange it for another vehicle if any of the dealers are ready to accept it as a down payment.

Please stick to popular vehicles from popular brands for peace of mind, you lose nothing in the process.