The Motor Forum

Skyhook · Last edited by Skyhook on Mon Jul 20, 2009 3:38 pm; edited 1 time in total

Good to see Autocar have finally banished their prejudice about Italian cars...

http://www.autocar.co.uk/blogs/an...cy-a-fiat-or-elle-macpherson.aspx
_________________
Sleeping is giving in, no matter what the time is...

Giant · Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 3:30 pm Post subject:

Thats quite a 'character assasination' article isn't it, I wonder what FIAT did to Ruppert/Autocar to warrant that attack!

Boxer6

GonnaBreakABuggy

Skyhook

Boxer6

Skyhook

PhilD · Running In Joined: 10 Jan 2007 Posts: 406

Yeah when I bought my GP I remember thinking "Fiat made some shitty cars in 1978 so I best be careful 30 years later" FFS. Who didn't back then? Presumably he won't buy a Jag these days for the same reason?

Frank Bullitt · Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:09 pm Post subject:

So over-hackneyed it's like a black cab by the bow-bells.
_________________
Shame your mind don't shine like your possessions

TimR · Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:21 pm Post subject:

Martin · Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:30 pm Post subject:

Why isn't anyone answering the question that's in the thread title?

I'm struggling for an answer.......

I'm joking

_________________

PhilD · Running In Joined: 10 Jan 2007 Posts: 406

Martin · Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:38 pm Post subject:

Good enough for me Phil!

_________________

gonnabuildabuggy · Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:39 pm Post subject:

My only experience of Fiats recently was a GP loaner, and that was...not good. The inside door handle had stopped working so the only way to open the door was to wind the window down and use the outside handle.

The rear parcel mounting had broken as well.

It was 1 yr old.
_________________
Aint no substitute for cubic inches.

Stuntman · Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:40 pm Post subject:

Phil - is it, in fact, a Maserati? That'd look like a Maserati

_________________
Drifting through life

PhilD · Running In Joined: 10 Jan 2007 Posts: 406

Martin · Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 10:08 pm Post subject:

A wise move.

I didn't buy a Fiat because I remember falling off the back seat of a Panda hire car in spain when the back seat (hammock really) bounced off its mountings at the front.

That didn't look like a Maserati though!
_________________

Dr. Hfuhruhurr · Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 8:25 am Post subject:

Pkh72 · Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 8:33 am Post subject:

Eff One · Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 8:59 am Post subject:

I've had a Cinq Sporting, a Barchetta, a Mk1 Punto and a Coupe. Only the Punto gave me any trouble, and that was just wear and tear stuff at 90k miles.
_________________
"Racing is life. Everything before and after is just waiting." Steve McQueen

Nice Guy Eddie · Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:16 am Post subject:

Old ruppert is certainly taking a bashing over there now though. Good to see a lazy blog like that being given the treatment its owed.

Its a bit like my missus when we went to see the Mito and said to the salesman that all Alfas rusted and had dodgy electrics.
_________________

Dr. Hfuhruhurr · Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:19 am Post subject:

And now he's written a second blog that embodies the expression about not digging when you're already in a hole.

TimR · Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 12:10 pm Post subject:

ALF · Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 12:25 pm Post subject:

What nonsense, exactly the sort of tripe that made me cancel my Autocar sub after many years. The final straw for me was that stupid editorial in the letters page slagging off Alfa after someone pointed out that they, in fact, had launched the first compact diesel coupe - many years before the TT recently ruined by a diesel engine. Their response was something like "we meant credible cars". Wankers.

TimR · Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 1:43 pm Post subject:

maz · Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 2:20 pm Post subject:

Stuntman · Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 9:35 pm Post subject:

My first two cars were Unos - I owned them for nearly 3 years in total, with absolutely no issues.

I certainly wouldn't be put off buying a Fiat, or recommending one to anyone else.
_________________
Drifting through life

Gurney · Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 7:17 am Post subject:

More editorial anti Alfa crap in yesterday's mag. Someone rightly pointed out that the new Astra has borrowed an idea from the Alfasud and used Watts linkages to tie down it's non independent rear end. Autocar replied that Vauxhall had also considered making the car with string for a wiring loom and dissolvable bodywork. Pretty cheap and now very unnecessary.

They never seem to mention that mark 1 Golf GTi's were nicknamed 'Exocet' because nothing stopped em.

Rather useful brakes on a performance car.
_________________
A Gentleman: Def: A male of the species who can play the Trombone.

But refrains from doing so.

GonnaBreakABuggy · Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 12:57 pm Post subject:

Caution for FIAT lovers, please avert eyes

If you ever start working on a FIAT then you'll see why you don't want one, all the bolts are cheap, nasty and often unplated so they rust solid even on a car a few years old, electrical looms do two laps of the engine with 14,000 joints for no apparent reason other than to cause some poor bugger electric nightmares at some point down the line, the fuel injectors are bargain basement models with only mesh baskets rather than proper low-micron grade screen, so they gum up and foul often, causing random stutterings/hesitations.

I'm not done yet

Most of the support and structure at the front of them is the cheapest, lowest strength steel they could get away with using - great when it's first made perhaps, but after a little surface rust starts appearing they develop cracks around the engine and gearbox mounts leading to funny, almost untraceable knocking and creaking noises.
The most common sliding caliper they use for the brakes on most of the cars from about '96 to '01 had the steel sliders exposed to all the salt, grime and brake dust simply because the bean counters had decided to save 13p on rubber seals, which leads to the calipers sticking often, uneven and rapidly accelerated brake wear.
The clutch slave cylinders from the same model years on those cars equipped with hydraulic rather than cable clutches suffer from premature failure due to the cylinder bores simply being left as a machined surface rather than being honed afterwards to set up a proper sealing surface.
Cheap and nasty tripod type CV joints used on almost everything up to and including the 1.8L models - and I think even on the 2.0TD models on some of the bravo's - it's a design that's very cheap to make but wears far faster under high loads than a proper ball/socket CV joint - clicking and play at just 60-70k miles isn't uncommon.
The clutch release arms use unsheilded nylon washers - they tend to stick and the clutch gradually gets really heavy over time - most manufacturers have been using sheilded PTFE or Oilon/Nylube even from the early 90's.

There's loads more but I think you get the idea, I'm never letting any of my close family buy a FIAT unless it's a brand spanking one built on someone else platform, I drive an old french tin can and it's still built 10x better.
I just might be persuaded by a V6 Alfa though, so I'm not boycotting all italian cars

And just remember, an MOT is just a roadworthiness check, it doesn't mean the car is in decent nick

I bet I can find half a dozen things wrong even with that one that's just flown through it's MOT...
_________________

*Innocent Whistle*

simonp · Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 1:19 pm Post subject:

Well, I reckon they'll definitely be selling less of 'em if they go ahead with that Punto facelift!

Gurney · Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 1:21 pm Post subject:

GonnaBreakABuggy · Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2009 1:01 pm Post subject:

And the ring gear has just slipped in the diff rendering the car undrivable, apparently it's a common problem with Fiat 'cause they decided to save 50p by not bolting the crownwheel on.

Yay.
_________________

*Innocent Whistle*

Apex clipper · Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 2:23 am Post subject: