P 1 TUD

was thinking of buying one are they any good?? reliable i mean. need a new runabout and know of a minter for sale.

Cupramax

The words "barge" and "pole" spring to mind. Mum had one for a while, great engine.. shame about the rest. I've never known a car have so many things go wrong/fall off/stop working. Twas a P.o.S. Perhaps the quality control guy now works for Renault

RALLYDRIVER7

Buy it mate, I had one and it was a stunning car and it held to-gethter very well, you just have to look after it. Good car, great MPG and quite a nice looker as well Go for it!! or maybe I will buy it from you if its cheap enough

Rokerlad

Bear in mind this car will have to have the £800 cam belt change at 6 yr old / 70,000 miles, same as the Fiat Coupe and Brava. Make sure this has been done.

Miles

Once had one as a hire car, thought the engine was knackered until I realised it was a five cylinder job . After that realisation thought the engine note was great

slimtim

Rokerland, its not £800. If its just the cambelt that wants chaging, you can get it done, for the fiat coupe for less than £300. PowerFiat for example in Essex do the complete cambelt change including water pump, tensioners aux. belts etc etc for £399.

Is it still such a hard job for the Marea?

Also the engine, is renowned for the great sound it makes. The 20v sounds better than the 20v turbo in the Fiat coupe.

[Edited by slimtim - 12/28/2003 12:13:17 PM]

[Edited by slimtim - 12/28/2003 12:15:28 PM]

lucky_strike

Ran the 20v Marea for a year or so as a company car a few years back. At the time it was the only 2.0 on the car list so I went for it. The engine was great, rev'ed nicely and sounded pretty good. Spec wasn't bad inside although I found the seats lacking a bit of support. Only had one thing go wrong with it although this was covered under warranty.

I've seen the prices 2nd hand and they seem like a bit of a bargain, guess it would only be the reliability that might put me off but if its cheap enough in the first place you could be lucky.

P 1 TUD

not too bothered about servicing, was more scared of breaking down alot and dodgy electrics, it has 63k ffsh so i was wondering whether to go for it.

RALLYDRIVER7

not being nosy P1 depends on the price, e mail me off line if you wish, I still think they are good cars

P 1 TUD

£1900 mate for an r reg. that sound ok ? i thought it was a good price considering its such nice condition.

RALLYDRIVER7

Too Expensive with that mileage I wiould have thought £1500 Max, my son sold his 1.8 Maree a few weeks ago it was 65,000 S reg and he sold it for £1250 so it makes yours look a tad expensive, but if you want it and its nice . Does it have full history and has it had the cambelt service? if not then you will have to allow approx £300 to £500 for this to be done.

AllanB

I've run Fiats for years and my ex has always had them and never had a single breakdown.

I've noticed too the Marea looks superb value and the 20v engine sounds great. The saloons tend to be a bit cheaper than the estates. If you went for it I doubt you'd regret it.

Fiats are generally fun to drive and whilst not the cutting edge of handling , certainly drive better than you average Eurobland box.


AllanB

P 1 TUD

it has ffsh and im not sure if that service has been done will have to ask. tbh i would have prefered one in red as this one is dark blue, will think about it now that you have said it seems a little expensive. cheers anyway guys.