Should I buy this car?

colm_mcm

LuckyStar wrote: »

If he bought it for his own wife then it must be pretty decent!

Had you not listed all the items that went wrong on the car in the time he'd owned it that might be more credible.
It's messy buying cars from friends of friends, especially when they tell you to get stuffed if something goes wrong. which it is likely to on a Punto of this age.

By the by, if this guy is in the trade he knows the trade price of such a car is 200-300, I'm guessing he paid buttons for it when he bought it - you're basically financing his wifes new Fiesta.

Esel

colm_mcm wrote: »

Had you not listed all the items that went wrong on the car in the time he'd owned it that might be more credible.
It's messy buying cars from friends of friends, especially when they tell you to get stuffed if something goes wrong. which it is likely to on a Punto of this age.

By the by, if this guy is in the trade he knows the trade price of such a car is 200-300, I'm guessing he paid buttons for it when he bought it - you're basically financing his wifes new Fiesta.

Agree.

It is a standard story when a small-time trader (mechanic, whatever) is selling a car for him to say he bought it for his wife, but she doesn't like the shape/colour/size etc. etc. An excuse really.

unkel

colm_mcm wrote: »

if this guy is in the trade he knows the trade price of such a car is 200-300, I'm guessing he paid buttons for it when he bought it - you're basically financing his wifes new Fiesta.

That's a cynical view of the world, Colm. But you could very well be right

@LuckyStar - best of luck with the car

I would have bought it too for the same reasons you did. Good chance the mechanic with his good reputation will see you right if there's a problem. No car in that budget can be expected to be reliable, be it a Toyota or a FIAT

Evil_Clown wrote: »

I would rather drive an 89 civic or corolla than drive a 97 fiat punt

Drive? The Punto is a far superior drive compared to any same generation Japanese supermini. Let alone those that are twice as old :eek:

colm_mcm

unkel wrote: »

No car in that budget can be expected to be reliable, be it a Toyota or a FIAT

I guaruntee you that a 1996 Starlet that is anything other than reliable is an exception to the rule. If I was paying that sort of money for a car that old, I'd go for something other than the one of the least reliable superminis of that age.

Re:the superior drive, an old shape 8 valve punto is hardly sporty or nice to drive.

LuckyStar

It was his wife's car, she drove my mother's best friend around in it every week.

I mean I'm not going to have it for very long, its just to learn in. A year at most.

eringobragh

colm_mcm wrote: »

I guaruntee you that a 1996 Starlet that is anything other than reliable is an exception to the rule. If I was paying that sort of money for a car that old, I'd go for something other than the one of the least reliable superminis of that age.

Re:the superior drive, an old shape 8 valve punto is hardly sporty or nice to drive.

+1

eringobragh

LuckyStar wrote: »

It was his wife's car, she drove my mother's best friend around in it every week.

I mean I'm not going to have it for very long, its just to learn in. A year at most.

I brought my first car from the 'mechanic' friend of a friend (1995 Corsa). Fuel pump went. Huge job on emissions. You learn as you go.

Just so you know. There's no such thing as a friend in the motor trade.


OT but Personally if i was selling my car in the morning i wouldn't sell it to a friend as if something did go wrong its easier to tell a stranger to f off then a friend. Plenty a friendship has gone sour from a bad car!

But if you feel confident about it go for it, 1200 is way to much even 900/1000 is if you got him down to 900 or so maybe

FIATs are renowned for there poor engineering / failure record.

FIAT - F**ked Italian Automobile Trash
FIAT - Fix it again tomorrow
FIAT - Fix It All The Time
FIAT - Failure In Automotive Technology
FIAT - Fails In Attempted Turns

unkel

colm_mcm wrote: »

I guaruntee you that a 1996 Starlet that is anything other than reliable is an exception to the rule

The cheapest '97 Starlet on carzone with a below 100k mileage has an asking price of €2350. And it's a private sale. Caveat emptor - no come back. The OP is buying a similar age /mileage car from a mechanic he trusts (which might imply some come back) for half the money!

colm_mcm wrote: »

Re:the superior drive, an old shape 8 valve punto is hardly sporty or nice to drive.

I don't disagree with you there. It's a much better drive than same era Japanese superminis though. And remember, a decade ago a Punto SX (leccy windows and the works) sold for £8k on the road, which was a very good deal indeed. It's a pitty that many of the people buying them back then never bothered to service their cars

colm_mcm

a lot of those Puntos were sold on 0% finance deals to people who couldn't give a Punto th e maintanance it needs. If I was looking for a Starlet or any older car I wouldn't be looking in Carzone. Buy and sell is the place to get them.

unkel

colm_mcm wrote: »

a lot of those Puntos were sold on 0% finance deals to people who couldn't give a Punto the maintanance it needs.

Indeed. I highlighted "couldn't". Before the Celtic Tiger those people did not and could not have owned a car. During the start of the Celtic Tiger, they had the opportunity / were required to own a car so en masse they opted for this great deal. I have personally witnessed typical owners scratching for and finding pennies to put some fuel in. They didn't even think about checking the oil or having the car serviced. At the other end of the scales, expensive Japanese cars like Civics and Starlets as bought by teachers and nuns, were serviced at the main dealer religiously

Need I say more?

LuckyStar

We had the exact same model as I am getting, we bought it new in 1995. We chose a Punto because it was cheap, my parents didn't have a lot to spend on a car at the time. However my father would be good about getting a car serviced. We had our Punto for 6 years with no trouble. Before the mechanic bought this car in May it had only 2 owners in 10 years. The last one being a lady driver.

I don't know much about cars but I do know that you see Puntos everywhere you go. Maybe it's just because they're cheap, but surely if they were that bad, they'd have faded into obscuity by now? Also maybe a lot of them aren't in good shape because their low price means they are bought by boy racers?

unkel

LuckyStar wrote: »

We had the exact same model as I am getting, we bought it new in 1995. We chose a Punto because it was cheap, my parents didn't have a lot to spend on a car at the time. However my father would be good about getting a car serviced. We had our Punto for 6 years with no trouble

And now you're sharing that bit of anecdotal evidence with us!

eringobragh

LuckyStar wrote: »

I don't know much about cars but I do know that you see Puntos everywhere you go. Maybe it's just because they're cheap, but surely if they were that bad, they'd have faded into obscuity by now? Also maybe a lot of them aren't in good shape because their low price means they are bought by boy racers?

You get what you pay for.

A Punto is fine for the likes 'Mary Murphy' doing runs to the shops and the hairdressers, they run fine for people who run low mileage. There just a bad car IMO

Look at your one its only 84000 or it thats 8400 miles per year and the amount of stuff thats gone wrong with it. Thats no where near high mileage

oh and forgot to mention i reneted a 07 punto on holidays , it was lovely to drive loaded with features ...but the gauges died on it and wouldn't come back didn't know what speed petrol levels etc for a day or so.

Speed_Mad

I would'nt buy that car in Fiats if the head gassket goes first and is replaced that means the car was'nt looked after properly and with its age only more and more will go wrong. Its cheap to replace things on a Punto but you dont want to break down on a carraige way. The car is old stay well clear, with your money go to a dealer most dealers will give you 3 or 6 months warrenty (depending on age of the car) and you will get a good toyota starlet for that money.

eamon234

LuckyStar wrote: »

Corsas are nice looking cars. My mother thinks I would be better off getting the Punto because the man I would be buying it from is a mechanic and bought it for his wife from a dealer's. She reckons I would be better off aswell because the parts under the bonnet are new? Having said that my mother doesn't know a lot about cars.

Exactly - she doesn't which is why this guy is pushing a Punto on her for stupid money - Not all mechanics agree on what's a good car and just because he's a mechanic doesn't necessarily make him an expert (there are a lot of chancers out there) may just mean that he's worked on a lot of Puntos and can fix it cheaply if it goes wrong in the first few months - I know a lot of mechanics who'll swear by Citroens and Renaults too but I sure as hell wouldn't buy one at least not from that time period anyway.

Also - if you do end up buying it - make sure he has the red master key - if he only has a blue one forget about it - you have to have both otherwise you need to spend serious money if you lose the key later.

LuckyStar

eamon234 wrote: »

Also - if you do end up buying it - make sure he has the red master key - if he only has a blue one forget about it - you have to have both otherwise you need to spend serious money if you lose the key later.

What's the red master key? If it's only needed if I lose mine, I won't, I don't lose stuff often.

I had the car checked by a different mechanic yesterday and he said it was fine.

It is no more expensive than other Puntos

http://www.buyandsell.ie/browse.php?quicksearch=punto&textopt=all&ofr_wan=ofr_wan&priv_trade=priv_trade&area=0&s=12&g=00704&price1=&price2=&daysonline=0&automake=0&automodel=0&caryear1=1980&caryear2=2007&bSearch=Search

pm.

If i got it for free id scrap it, i had 1 a few years back and it broke my heart and my bank account.

L1011

eamon234 wrote: »

Also - if you do end up buying it - make sure he has the red master key - if he only has a blue one forget about it - you have to have both otherwise you need to spend serious money if you lose the key later.

Only a certain year-range of Puntos have the red key, I can't offhand remember what range though. The rest have a code-card instead.

LuckyStar

mine is the 95-99 range as far as i know.

TJJP

You seem to have your mind made up so good luck with it.

Useful review and 'what to watch out for list' available here.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=94&

Looking at whats available when you up your budget to 1,500 suggests maybe you should look around a bit more before you finally decide.

Volvoboy

The red master key was only on the second gen punto 99-04.



Lucky Star i wish you the best of luck with your little Punto and the start of your motoring career. If ya need advice on anything with your Punto i'm sure we can assist.:)


-VB-

LuckyStar

you's have no idea how nervous i am about buying this car or any car, i just want to get it over with now, i should have the car on tuesday and will have my first (official) driving lesson on friday night. I drove the Punto on Saturday, couldn't agree to buying it without driving it myself so i'd be happy with how it goes. was amazed at how much faster it is and how quicker it turns and brakes than my boyfriend's Pajero Jr (that is the only other car I have driven). People keep saying to me that it's not the end of the world if it isn't a good car- I'm gonna have it a year max and it only costs 2 week's salary.

BeardyGit

Volvoboy wrote: »

The red master key was only on the second gen punto 99-04.



Lucky Star i wish you the best of luck with your little Punto and the start of your motoring career. If ya need advice on anything with your Punto i'm sure we can assist.:)


-VB-

I'll second that. Everyone has their likes and dislikes, and NO car is immune to failures. A pal of mine has a first generation Punto with 120k on it and he's never had any trouble with it.

Good luck and stay safe. Make sure you get a few lessons now.

Gil

IncredibleHulk

colm_mcm wrote: »

By the by, if this guy is in the trade he knows the trade price of such a car is 200-300, .

How do you know the trade prices. Is this available to the public, not just for Puntos?
Thanks

colm_mcm

Volvoboy wrote: »

The red master key was only on the second gen punto 99-04.
-VB-

The 99-04 punto only ever came with 2 keys. the red master key never featured on that model. Definately.

IncredibleHulk wrote: »

How do you know the trade prices. Is this available to the public, not just for Puntos?
Thanks

I just get the impression that the OP is getting shafted. I know the trade prices because I'm in the trade.

annmarie124

Dont touch it dont touch it dont touch it!!!!!!!!

Volvoboy

colm_mcm wrote: »

The 99-04 punto only ever came with 2 keys. the red master key never featured on that model. Definately.

I just get the impression that the OP is getting shafted. I know the trade prices because I'm in the trade.

Is the op in the trade? The OP has some secuirty on buying the car being that the sales person is a well known friend of a friend, the OP has her heart set on a Punto, she got somone to have a look around it and said its a good 'un, like all cars you look after them and they'll look after you!!


-VB-

Volvoboy

annmarie124 wrote: »

Dont touch it dont touch it dont touch it!!!!!!!!

Please type a more credible point, do you have 1st hand ex of a Punto Mk1?




-VB-

Iago

well we've just sold our '01 punto (or at least we will have once the '08 cars start arriving in Jan!) and had 0 problems with it in the 4 years we've had it. You can get lucky and unlucky with any car, but in our experience there were no problems with the punto at all.

LuckyStar

thats exactly what one of the health & safety guys in my work said- he organises the fleet of company cars. He basically said you can be lucky or unlucky no matter what the make.