Could I Modify a 99 Punto?

Bonesy.

Is it possible to Modify a 99 Fiat Punto and end up looking good? Working at a budget off about 1k, mind I havn't bought the car yet I just spotted it at a good price and wondering if it's worth it?

dar83

Horses for courses really. Personally I wouldn't buy a Punto let alone modify one, but there are others here that would get excited at the thought.

It all comes down to personal preference really but for a car like that you'll only ever realistically be talking visual stuff and not exactly any engine mods that are going to make it much better performance wise unless you want to throw money at it/away.

Damokc

I agree with the above post. Put whatever you have for the Punto + the 1K and put it towards something half decent with already good looks/mods.

Mech1

If replacing the head gasket is modifing, then yes I suppose youl have to:D

Bonesy.

Yeah actually I thought because it was 200 euro it was good but then putting 1k into it.. I could get a Civic Vtec for that with a bit of looking :P Thanks Any chance you lads would no the kind of price a 17 year old would be looking at for the insurance on a Civic Vtec? Or would I be better off getting a Fiesta for a year NCB then get it?

mathepac

You could take the engine out and modify the remainder into a low-tech frisbee, but people with real frisbees might laugh.

dar83

You'd be better off getting the Punto and using the 1k to pay for your insurance, tax and running costs. You'd be paying a ridiculous amount on a Vtec, if you'd even get a quite at all being 17 on a learned permit (guessing that's the case?).

colm_mcm

There's a 00 punto sporting on donedeal
Car is 'modified' from factory, better suspension, subwoofer, sports steering wheel, lower suspension, 6 speed gearbox, good cd player, Nicer seats, side skirts etc.

€1300

Better than buying a shed for 700, spending money on all aftermarket cheapo stuff and looking like a tool.

Happy side effect is that the 16v in these is more robust than the 8 valve and has 25hp more.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2896582?cid=2896582&

dgt

dar83 wrote: »

You'd be better off getting the Punto and using the 1k to pay for your insurance, tax and running costs. You'd be paying a ridiculous amount on a Vtec, if you'd even get a quite at all being 17 on a learned permit (guessing that's the case?).

Spot on

As much of a Fiat fanboy as I am, unless its a GT or 16v it ain't worth modifying. Even then I don't think I'd bother...

Use the 1k to buy service items (yes, I've heard the hg service item joke many times :rolleyes:) and you'll have a decent little runabout

Bonesy.

Yeh decided not to mod the Punto :P Still considering getting it though for insurance costs, which of these would be the cheapest to insure? Integra, Civic Vtec, Impreza wrx Sti(Heard some storys about some insurance company not insuring a friends friend on one of these till he was 30 :O )

dar83

At 17, none of them would be practical or realistic to insure, unless you have maybe €5-7k to throw at insurance?
(and that would probably be after going to the ombudsman to make one of the insurance companies give you a quote)

merc609

:eek: dont think any of the above would be cheap for a 17 year old.... only after gettin rid of my scooby wrx cause it was cripplin me... not only insurance ( im 30) but overall runnin costs. ya might not like the reality of it but a micra, fiesta, polo etc is where ya wanna start at...

Bonesy.

dar83 wrote: »

At 17, none of them would be practical or realistic to insure, unless you have maybe €5-7k to throw at insurance?
(and that would probably be after going to the ombudsman to make one of the insurance companies give you a quote)

No 18 after having a year experience with a smaller car, jesus tho..5-7k

dar83

Well that's a complete guess, you'll only find out when you ring around and ask. But it won't be cheap anyway.
With a years NCB and a full license then I guess you might be looking at about 3k.

focus_mad

Bonesy. wrote: »

Yeh decided not to mod the Punto :P Still considering getting it though for insurance costs, which of these would be the cheapest to insure? Integra, Civic Vtec, Impreza wrx Sti(Heard some storys about some insurance company not insuring a friends friend on one of these till he was 30 :O )

OP I can honestly say forget about all of the above mentioned cars as they would be mental money insurance wise.

How about considering;

Citroen Saxo
Ford Focus
Honda Civic
Mitsubishi Colt
Mitsubishi Mirage
Opel Astra
VW Golf

I did a quick car zone search with;

2003 or older
€1k or less
1.4l engine or less (insurance friendly)

Any of them tickle your fancy?

challengemaster

Bonesy. wrote: »

Yeh decided not to mod the Punto :P Still considering getting it though for insurance costs, which of these would be the cheapest to insure? Integra, Civic Vtec, Impreza wrx Sti(Heard some storys about some insurance company not insuring a friends friend on one of these till he was 30 :O )

The civic, because you'd get crazy quotes >3-4k on the teg and impreza.

Even still, civics go for stupid money (IMO), so you're talking about 7-8k for one year not including tax, NCT or maintenance costs... forget it at 18. And you do know they're all not exactly easy on petrol? Especially the impreza

All the above have plenty of black ticks from insurance claims against them, hence why insurance companies are reluctant to insure young drivers on them.

Get / Keep whatever is reliable and you can afford to run until you're 20/21. The age and extra 2-3 years NCB will stand to you a lot more.

The way I'd be looking at it is, you can get what you want NOW, and pay a fortune to insure it, or you can wait a while, spend the money you saved on a better car in a few years, and spend the rest of what you saved on petrol for it.

Graham_B18C

Bonesy. wrote: »

Yeh decided not to mod the Punto :P Still considering getting it though for insurance costs, which of these would be the cheapest to insure? Integra, Civic Vtec, Impreza wrx Sti(Heard some storys about some insurance company not insuring a friends friend on one of these till he was 30 :O )

There's some insurance companies that won't insure STIs or Integras, ever.

Buy a Punto or the like and learn to drive before worrying about insuring a powerful car