Right, some of you may remember I was asking about the C3 Pluriel last week, well after seeing one at the weekend with (surprise surprise) a leaking roof, I finally managed to make the g/f see sense and look for something else.
We are now considering the Ford Ka 1.3 Style or the Grande Punto 1.2 Active.
There is about £800 difference in the price, but more toys on the punto for the extra.
Not drove either yet, but both look like nice little cars.
She thought she had decided on the Ka for less money, but I have just discovered that the Ka only gets 2 year warranty but the Grande gets 3 years....
With all the extra little quirks and the extra year warranty, I am thinking the Grande might be worth the extra £800... any thoughts?
M
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Surely all Fords have a 3-year / 60,000 miles warranty, and I can't see why the Ka should be an exception. As with many other makes, the 3rd year may be dealer-provided, and this may be the source of the confusion.
She should try both to see which she likes. I've never driven a Punto but Kas are still great fun to drive even though the design is 10 years old now. Not all Foats are unreliable but it seems there's still a higher chance of getting a bad one than with most others. Fiat dealers have had a bad reputation but again that won't apply to all of them.
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What's wrong with a non-Pluriel C3, no leaks and less money?
Are the Ka and the Punto both folding roof jobs too? If so they too will leak.
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Ka seems like one of the few cars around not galvanised.
Grande Punto seems to have lots of persistant build faults, MK2 /2b seem a bettter bet but head gaskets on the 1.2 petrol seem to go around 35,000 miles.
New model Panda with the multijet diesel is the best IMHO, only obvious downside being the scratchable looking grey plastic trim.
Some people seem to have bought a new one for £6,000, that, kept long term and benefitting from a 8 yr corrosion warranty and 2 year full manufacturers warranty seems a good bet to me.
I once had a rag top, fun at first and then just a liability as the novalty wore off. After a few years of that it was great to appreciate the virtues of a solid roof. Then that novalty wore off too. (I think we used to call it response habituation about 200 years ago in university :)
The new Fiat 500/newKA looks interesting. Reportedly built in a Fiat factory so likely to benefit from Fiats galvanising.
I expect the Fiat version to look best, but being the same car.. Can be serviced with Ford without invalidating the warranty and of course Ford having all the diagnostic kit too, as well as next day parts delivery ( unlike Fiat)
This to me has to be the best way to buy a Fiat. Having the assured might of Ford behind the car for parts and servicing.
I wonder whether anyone at Fiat thought of this and what the seemingly patchy dealer network think of it?
Regards
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Thanks for all the replies guys...
I must admit, I was surprised to read on the Ford website that the Ka only has 2 years warranty so I will ring them today and double check that...
Think I have convinced her to avoid the soft top roof in whatever form. We aren't exactly flush for cash so can't afford a bad car (who can?)..
Whats this about the new Ford Ka?... I have seen about the new Fiat 500 but wasn't sure when it was out, and though the Ka would be a better bet given that its been around 10 years (niggles ironed out, cheap spares...)
Truth be told, the car will be kept 3 years and then sold / traded in, thats why we wanted something cheap like the Ka or Grande... start off dirt cheap and all of a sudden, depreciation doesn't seem too bad!
If it is 3 years warranty on the Ka, I think she will want that (depending on test drive) but I am after a small cheap car for me too and I like the Grande...
BTW, what does a galvanised body do that a non-galvanised doesn't?
Cheers
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Galvanising= no rust, at least for a long time barring accident damage. All Fiats galvanised.
NEW Ka and 500 effectively the same car, like Citroen C1/Toyota aygo/Peuget. Not yet on sale.
Ford manufactures warranty only 1 year. Fiat 2 years . Remainder of both warranties is dealer warranty.
If considering the current Ka, suggest searches on terms such as " Ford KA rust"
If you are interested in the Grande Punto, suggest you look through this forum for current owner problems and in particular at issues such as `water in boot lid`
www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto-technical/
Regards
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New Ka:
tinyurl.com/2dg2sd
New Grande:
tinyurl.com/377nw2
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Which or whatever you buy go for the diesel and with aircon because they are the only ones that will be worth anything at all when you come to shift it on .
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We bought a new Ka in 2003. No problems, and quite happy.
Ka will depreciate less than a Grande Punto over 3 years, since it costs £1500 less to buy.
Personally speaking, if I were buying today, I would probably go for a Fiat Panda rather than a Ka.
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The big advantage of the Fiat Panda, is that the multijet diesel has chain drive camshaft rather than a cambelt.
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Thanks again for the help guys....
@ Andy Bairsto, I wish we could afford aircon and diesel... unfortunately not though!
So given that the new Ka is out in September, is now a good, bad or indifferent time to buy a Ka?
RE: Panda... don't think the o/h will want a Panda...
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fiatsupasaver had panda diesels going for 6k. 60-70mpg and chain cam. Your G/F will hardly have to visit a fuel station! Not sure if you can get the skydome with the diesel though - that would give her most of the open top experience without the hassle.
If new Ka is out in September then previous models will depreciate much more.
teabelly
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is now a good bad or indifferent time to buy a Ka?
Difficult question. Some possible factors
1) o/h may prefer appearance of current Ka to new one - but I don't know whether we know what the new one will look like.
2) new Ka will probably be better in several respects
3) new Ka will be an unknown quantity in terms of reliability - and there may be early bugs that need sorting out
4) price of new Ka is an unknown, but in early months, discounts on it will be minimal.
5) There may be discounts on the current Ka when the new one is introduced, but I personally doubt that the discounts will be any better than those that are currently available.
6) The introduction of a new model may mean that residuals of current Ka may suffer a little - but I doubt that it will make much difference.
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