[The Observer]

Originally Posted by stadimet

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.

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

I have a Fiat as well and get it serviced at Krithi car care, Bengaluru. A good number of friends who own fiats also get it serviced with Krithi and are very happy.

Though part costs are reasonable some of it may take longer to source, thanks to FCAs general style of working here.

https://www.krithicarcare.com/

Suggest you to check with Krithi car care about your car and probably even a service with them might actually resolve all your issues. A decision to sell or keep could be made post that.

Best wishes.

[Alfaholic]

I am in the same boat, albeit with a 2010 Punto Emotion Diesel. This is probably the only car we have had an emotional attachment with and is hard to find a replacement too. Was very close to buying a city ivtec last year but dropped out from the idea last minute since I couldn't fathom the compromises I had to make in comparison to the Punto.

We were also lucky to have very minimal issues in all these years of owning the Punto and is still serviced at the Fiat A.S.S at my place, which is surprisingly competent. The only things we replaced/repaired other than the regular wear and tear items were the cooling coil and alternator pulley.

We have this habit of changing the car when it is too old/ have too many kms. But the Punto feels like it just drove off the showroom floor, making us hold on to it.

[KPR]

There's something called life in these fiat cars. If you do a car hunt now in market you will understand what Fiat gave us and what others give us.

Option 1: Instead of spending close to 10 lakh on a new car, spend over a lakh to bring Punto back to glory. Imagining every year a car depreciates by a lakh, so spending one lakh isn't a big issue for this petrol punto.

Option 2: If you need a change buy a used Abarth at close to 5L. 1L for selling this old Punto and 4L for Abarth. You can enjoy Abarth atleast for next 5 years for sure.

Option 3: If you're not for used car then try out new Scross (MT only). It has a good NA petrol mill and good dynamics as Punto.

[stadimet]

First Thanks a lot for all the feedback. Your feedback is just invaluable.

I now think after seeing all the posts will do the following:

[1] Will get the defective parts replaced within the limits of my pocket. Right now I am going to replace the Dickey glass this coming monday after driving to Kakinada which is 3 hrs drive from my Vizag from a FIAT authorized service center.
Next see if I can get other minor defects except the Odometer replacement, done at the same place.

[2] Wait until 2021 is complete and watch , read all articles on new cars in TeamBHP and get to know the esteemed members opinions on various cars.

By early 2022 I should form an opinion as to what to procure. I am thinking of giving this car to a friend if he accepts for city driving. I cannot have two cars as I can only park one in my house.

[3]
I am also thinking that given that I am 49 years young, I may need to change 2 more cars in my future, as fossil fuels will fade slowly and Electric V tech becomes more mature in the next 5 years. So next car can last only 5 more years depending on how the Petrol price rise happens and what happens to the world.

I am thinking of procuring a Hybrid if not the petrol version next year. I dislike Diesel.
So given the above background, I do not want to invest too much into a new petrol car as I am thinking of EV next. Better be less than 10 Lakh.

Some suggestions so far to consider for procurement.
- Tata Altroz ??
- Glanza ?? -- this one is suggested by my repair garage.
- Which one in Toyota or Honda ??

The farthest place I will drive to which I think is Hyderabad as of now from Visakhapatnam

I like the following in a new car in the following order:
-----------------------------------------------------------
Safety features
Build quality
good ground clearance
Comfort of steering and ride
Availability of spares



What do you all think about my choices or ideas in [3] above ?
--
Regards,
Surya@vizag

[puntOOs]

I have the 90HP 2011 Punto and done about 1.1 kms. Second round of timing kit, battery etc is being changed right now. Mostly trouble-free. Never broke down. The only difficulty is the wait for some of the non-regular parts.

A lovely ride but I want to upgrade for 2 reasons:
1. Safety
2. AT

And I want to do this without losing the Punto's good driving feel, ride and handling.

Ideally I want an EV but have to wait for another 2-3 years at least for that!

What is a good purchase that meets the above criteria within 10L. I am open to used cars.

[KPR]

Originally Posted by puntOOs

I have the 90HP 2011 Punto and done about 1.1 kms. Second round of timing kit, battery etc is being changed right now. Mostly trouble-free. Never broke down. The only difficulty is the wait for some of the non-regular parts.

A lovely ride but I want to upgrade for 2 reasons:
1. Safety
2. AT

What is a good purchase that meets the above criteria within 10L. I am open to used cars.

If you need safety, AT and feel of Punto only Europeans can give you that. So head straight to VW for Polo GT TSI at sub 10L.

[clevermax]

I love the Punto. It has the best ride quality and driving dynamics in its class. Steering feels so solid and nice to operate especially on corners. Overall the car feels rock solid than say even the C2 segment sedans and some models in the D segment - this is from a driver's perspective.

I would keep it as my second (beater) car. But I will not have that as the primary car now - the FGT MJD is way underpowered for leveraging its other capabilities. After driving the Verna (esp. after the remap), I literally keep FGT Punto's accelerator pedal floored in order to feel some acceleration while driving it.

[BrakeFree]

I am in the same dilemma with my July 2012 Fiat Punto Diesel (Dynamic) - The solid build quality, razor sharp cornering, suspension that just nibbles away the city potholes and the chilling air conditioner. It's registered in NCR and the clock is ticking. At 80k the clutch is still smooth and I just love taking this one out as compared to it's European siblings.

Will there be some respite in rules and I can get to keep it longer or will I be able to find it a new loving home? I don't need a replacement car if this goes away but I am not sure what to do next. Any suggestion or ideas that will help me make a sane decision?

[WasavaTyres]

Originally Posted by puntOOs

I have the 90HP 2011 Punto and done about 1.1 kms. Second round of timing kit, battery etc is being changed right now. Mostly trouble-free. Never broke down

Same story, I've had her since january 2010, 1.7 lakh kms on the odo and she's never died on me to date. I've driven her from Indore to Hyderabad , Chennai, Calicut, Goa, Wynad. Never a niggle. Post 85,000 kms service I have started getting her serviced a bit earlier at 12,000 kms. Also took off the Chipexpress tuning box she was on at around 1 lakh kms .
2 glow plugs, 2 sets of clutch plates, entire suspension and 3 of brake pads changed so far.
Non mechanical bits that have been replaced are both tailgate gas struts, both front headlights and the high mount stop lamp.
She had he first and only accident last june - a buffalo ran into the RHS warranting a fender & headlight replacement. But she's pottering along fine now. I intend to hold on to her for as long as I get the spares / the govt forces me to take her off the road.

[Ultim8]

Originally Posted by stadimet

First Thanks a lot for all the feedback. Your feedback is just invaluable.

I like the following in a new car in the following order:
-----------------------------------------------------------
Safety features
Build quality
good ground clearance
Comfort of steering and ride
Availability of spares

What do you all think about my choices or ideas in [3] above ?
--
Regards,
Surya@vizag

Congrats on owning the red Italian Stallion for 10 years & driving for almost 1.5 lakh kilometres sir!

Coming to the new car choices, Tata Altroz is one of the safest hatchbacks in the segment with 5 star NCAP rating, which ticks all your requirements, especially safety features.

Toyota Glanza is a re-badged Maruti Baleno, but with longer warranty & perhaps Toyota's reliability. But I'm doubtful about its body structure, especially since Maruti Baleno has thin & very light body structure.

Alternatively, you could look into Ford Freestyle, whose all variants have atleast 2 airbags, ABS, ESP, Traction Control & Hill Hold Assist. (Titanium Plus & Flair Edition variants have 6 airbags). The Freestyle is basically Ford Figo with raised ground clearance.

Another reason I'm recommending Ford is their lower maintenance & spare costs. We can check these costs for specific interval or parts accurate to a Rupee in their Ford India website.

If you want German flair & adrenaline rush worthy performance, Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI is a good choice around 10 lakhs. The Polo 1.0 TSI variants use Torque Converter automatic gearbox instead of the DSG gearbox found in GT TSI. The Torque Converter is more reliable & cheaper to repair/replace, though less exciting, compared to the DSG.

But, the Volkswagen Polo, being a VW, is slightly more expensive to maintain & less reliable in long term. I've read about Team-BHP threads mentioning frequent ABS sensor failures in older VW cars.

I've no idea whether it is rectified in new Polo. BHPians, please throw a light on this.

My recommendation choices in following order:

1) Ford Freestyle
2) Tata Altroz
3) Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI (not the GT TSI)

[reinhardt93]

I'm in the same dilemma too. I've got a 2011 Hyundai i20 Sportz Diesel which has done 1.28 lakh km's and I'm not sure whether to swap it for another second car as it is due for a clutch change as well as possible issue with the turbocharger. I need to get it looked at by a mechanic to get an estimate.

[AKSarkar1]

Personally, I've been a massive fan of the Punto and Linea series. Congratulations to you on owning the car for such a long time and giving it a good run for the money!

I absolutely love helping my fellow BHPians with such kind of decisions but I feel when the car is in the family for such a long time, it becomes almost like a family member. Sometimes the financial aspect might want to get rid of the car but the heart still wants it!

All the best with your decision!

[shancz]

I would say yes, do sell it.

We didn't want to sell our Matiz but had to after 16 years since the lack of spares and technicians rendered it unreliable.
Worst part was when "whoever was available" tried their hand at it, when it failed to start sealed the fate, it wasn't a pleasant sight.

These are the two scenarios and suggestions I have :
- If you're going to keep only one car, sell it.

- If you want to keep more than one car and want to keep this for sentimental value then keep it for good. Meaning all the maintenance to be done by you or a trusted FNG eventually aiming for the vintage plates.

As for new cars, TD the following and get the one which feels the best to you :
- Altroz Turbo
- Polo Turbo
- Baleno/Glanza : not sure about the difference except the badge, but since you mentioned I would suggest the Baleno assuming it to be more economical to maintain than Toyota.

Good Luck

[TrackDay]

Time to move onto a new car. Yes, from whatever I read so far, the car might not be trustworthy for those long highway trips. Don't worry about new cars not being up there on par with the standards of the Punto. You win some, you lose some. True the new cars might not give that old solid feeling, but they do make up with various others factors in terms on conveniences, ride quality or safety features. Do check out the new cars and go for a good ride. As for the Punto if you have space and second car is not an issue, do retain her.

P.S: Do post some detailed pictures of your Punto.

[kamilharis]

Sorry to say, but SELL it. If you want to retain the car at any cost, the only recommendation would be to spend a lakh or two to bring it in its best possible shape and retain it for minimal city usage.

You have many competent cars in the current market which is built well & safe and drives so well. Altro, XUV300, Polo/Vento/Rapid, etc are some cars under 10 lakhs which you should evaluate. Since you are a mile muncher, you should also look out for cars such as HARRIER if you have the budget for those. Altroz in its diesel Avatar is an excellent cruiser that is safe with amazing highway manners. You get the extra plus of better fuel efficiency as well when the fuel prizes are sky high these days.