I don't think it's because of a mechanical problem with the vehicles, certainly hadn't heard anything until you mentioned it.
I did highlight the apparent over supply of pre registered cars and vans, all with minimal mileage relative to virtually all the Fiat range, (with exception of Stilo), a few weeks back.
Also read an article in the Financial press recently regarding the poor performance of the Fiat group generally, perhaps they just need the 'dosh'!
Mark.
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According to an article in Car magazine, Fiat's European market share has dropped from 14% to 9% in ten years. Warranty costs are 50% more than its competitors, the new Stilo isn't selling well, and there are rumours that Fiat pre-registered 100,000 cars across its European dealer network to prop up the sales figures.
Sounds like they might be in some slight financial trouble, and why GM wants to buy the company is anyone's guess.
Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com
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We had a zero miles punto gearbox given to us (college) by our local dealer, which was replaced under warranty. It had one of the diff bearings missing, and the crownwheel/ diff was just flopping about. Says a lot for the quality control, so undersized pistons would not suprise me at all.
Mike
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I bought a new Fiat Seicento 2 yrs ago.
It came from a Km/h speedo (it took 3 months to get a replacement mp/h one) and the paint chipped at the slighest touch (which fiat refused to fix under warranty).
Overall the car was extremely poor all round.
As a result of this I will never buy another fiat. Ever!
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Yes, I know you\'ve probably heard it before BUT:-
FFFFFF I A TTTTTTT
F I A A T
FFFF I A A T
F I AAAAAAA T
F I A A T
Fix It Again Tony
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Yuk, that didn't come out as I intended it to.
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It takes out multiple leading spaces. In future you'll do better using fullstops.
.............L........I........K.......E
.............T........H........I.......S
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Been here before....
"Fix It Again Tommorrow" is another!
There's a website somewhere detailing lots of these 'sayings' for all manner of car manufacturers
MG-Rover Questions? Click on www.mg-rover.org
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There's a website somewhere detailing lots of these 'sayings' for all manner of car manufacturers
Goto Google and search "fix it again tony" There are quite a few sites around.
The couple I particularly liked were
"Failure in Italian Automotive Technology"
"Feeble Italian Attempt at Transportation"
I'll shut up now as this is now airing on the side of discussion, not technical. Sorry mediators.
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Sorry mediators.
Or even moderators!! D'oh.
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Getting back onto topic, can anyone offer confirmation the question re possible undersize pistons in the Punto 80s please ?
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I seriously doubt that FIAT would ever let this out of their hands, let alone telling the dealers
I think we'll never know
MG-Rover Questions? Click on www.mg-rover.org
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ATTN ATTN HJ.
Thread has just appeared on the Cars from Italy web site forum.
Lady complains her new (2 days) Punto Sporting 1.2 is sounding like a diesel and she asks, "Should she take it back to the dealer ?"
This may be of interest to you in respect of the reason for your posting your thread.
Best regards, Pete.
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Hello HJ.
www.carsfromitaly.com select Forums, go to forums and look for thread \"Unleaded 1.2 engine sounds like a diesel\"
Regards, Pete.
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Don't know whether this helps, but....
A few years ago both mother and self had Puntos (hers old-model 85 SX 16v, mine new-model Sporting 16v). Both nice cars.
Queried with (then) local dealer re. noticeably differing oil consumption of what amounted in purely mechanical terms to two examples of the same bit of kit (mother's vehicle drinking the stuff, mine using none whatsoever).
Local dealer's service manager told me that they have 3 sizes of piston & when the blocks are cast, they bung in whichever size fits best.
I have no idea whether this is complete cobblers or Gospel truth - suspect probably the former, but wouldn't be wholly surprised if it was the latter.
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Its absolutely true. Piston size is chosen to give the correct piston-to-bore clearance. Virtually all manufacturers do this. Piston is often stamped with a 'grade' indicator which indicates size.
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That certainly explains a lot. So, presumably the problems mentioned above are the result of the factory incorrectly fitting pistons that are too small? (forgive halfwitted question, I'm what you might call an end-user rather than an engineer...)
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