Thought I would try a bit of Italian

[Paul.M]

Bit of a random purchase to be honest, a good friend of mine had one of his cars on ebay, I know the car well and know the full history of it, I was stood is pets at home when with 5 seconds left when I thought why not, whacked a bid in and ended up winning it so I now own this thing:


advert 1 by Paul Morgan, on Flickr


Advert 2 by Paul Morgan, on Flickr


advert 4 by Paul Morgan, on Flickr


advert 5 by Paul Morgan, on Flickr

The above pictures are from the advert, if you know these cars you will notice what a massive spec it is, you will also probably realise that it is originally a normal grande punto, the car has had the full abarth treatment though....this also meant it was a bit of a bargain compared to the lower spec real thing.

I picked it up last Saturday and took it to Somerset for a few days at the end of the week, here are some dirty shots I got of it:


IMG_9720 by Paul Morgan, on Flickr


IMG_9721 by Paul Morgan, on Flickr


IMG_9725 by Paul Morgan, on Flickr


IMG_9726 by Paul Morgan, on Flickr


IMG_9728 by Paul Morgan, on Flickr

First thoughts are that I like it much more than I expected to, it makes great noises and is a really nice motorway cruiser, it doesn't corner as well as the clio but I find myself feeling much more relaxed driving it, it's also a lot better built than I expected.

Plans are to swap the plates over to normal ones as it currently has pressed ones on that I'm not a massive fan of, give it a good service and detail, refurb the wheels and replace the side skirts as they are pulling away slightly and then my girlfriend is going to use it.

The good news is that he gave me a boot full of spares, everything from 3 sideskirts, 2 arch extensions to injectors, fixings/ bolts and even a spare handbrake, 3 boxes full of stuff.

Cheers!

 

[leeds_182]

I quite like that!

 

[withoutabix]

Keep an eye on the gearbox buddy my mate went through two in no time at all, luckily all under warranty!

 

[Paul.M]

Keep an eye on the gearbox buddy my mate went through two in no time at all, luckily all under warranty!

I've read that they seem to be a bit problematic, luckily it won't be getting abused much so fingers crossed it hangs on, if we have any major issues it will just get broken for parts :smile:

 

[Paul.M]

I quite like that!

I was surprised when I actually started to really like it!

 

[imprezaworks]

Got to be honest.

I really no likey. Sorry dude.

 

[Ol’ Tarby]

Love the seats!

 

[Smiffyboy1990]

Same M32 Gearbox that’s used in Vauxhall’s i believe, so regular Oil changes will keep it good.

Love them Seats.

 

[Clio_fool]

I've always liked these grande punto's. I like the smooth no fuss shape and the abarth ones manage to look sporty without adding too much clutter.

 

[Mr Burns]

Well I like it!

 

[Lctr]

Nice one like it ,so much better than the 500.I test drove one when they came out but couldn't afford it,I had a grande Punto sporting 130bhp diesel instead with a tuning box on it and had the Speedo needle off the clock ! ,Was a great car.

 

[Knuckles]

So is this a rep? Or can you make a grande punto into an abarth with bolt on parts? I know nothing of them but do love the looks.

 

[Mr R.]

Looks Good, I like it.

Are they cheap?

 

[Paul.M]

Looks Good, I like it.

Are they cheap?

They are usually quite expensive for what they are and I personally wouldn’t pay the full premium for one, this one saying Fiat on the log book meant I got it for 3k which when you add the parts cost up is a bargain, only 47k on the clock too

Got to be honest.

I really no likey. Sorry dude.

Well that settles it, up for sale it goes haha!

So is this a rep? Or can you make a grande punto into an abarth with bolt on parts? I know nothing of them but do love the looks.

All bolt on bits and the engine drops straight in, i’ll post the spec when I get home, in essence it is still a ‘rep’ though, because of that I actually got kicked off the abarth punto group on facebook which was funny!

 

[Knuckles]

They are usually quite expensive for what they are and I personally wouldn’t pay the full premium for one, this one saying Fiat on the log book meant I got it for 3k which when you add the parts cost up is a bargain, only 47k on the clock too :smile:



Well that settles it, up for sale it goes haha!



All bolt on bits and the engine drops straight in, i’ll post the spec when I get home, in essence it is still a ‘rep’ though, because of that I actually got kicked off the abarth punto group on facebook which was funny!

Flol! I thought clio owners were bad!

 

[Paul.M]

Flol! I thought clio owners were bad!

They are unbelievable, I’ve been on groups for most marques and never faced a welcome like it!

 

[Knuckles]

They are unbelievable, I’ve been on groups for most marques and never faced a welcome like it!

I should really follow suit and restrict your access on here for owning a different marque now

 

[massiveCoRbyn]

I like an Abarth Punto. One of those cars that I'd like to own, though not sure I will ever get the chance. Hilarious that you got rejected by the club, how ridiculous. If you've got essentially the same car for less money, good luck to you. I think these are a great looking thing.

 

[Gally]

Definitely Italian!

 

[Mr Burns]

They kicked you off for owning a rep that's identical to the genuine article!? Hilarious! It's a Punto ffs, they should be glad of another like-minded enthusiast!
Forum and clubs are funny places, I remember my brother saying the MR2 owners club were a bunch of weirdo's too!

 

[BigDaveRotary]

Welcome to the club. Proper love my little Abarth, and always thought the Punto looked good!

 

[Ian_182]

I love the seats they look really good.
If like you say your going to detail it and make it all nice and clean I would be tempted to get rid of the stickers.

 

[Paul.M]

They kicked you off for owning a rep that's identical to the genuine article!? Hilarious! It's a Punto ffs, they should be glad of another like-minded enthusiast!
Forum and clubs are funny places, I remember my brother saying the MR2 owners club were a bunch of weirdo's too!

Sadly yes that is true which went down to a lot of laughs amongst my close ‘car’ friends haha!

 

[Paul.M]

I love the seats they look really good.
If like you say your going to detail it and make it all nice and clean I would be tempted to get rid of the stickers.

I’m still undecided on the stickers, part of me likes them whereas the other part likes clean simple cars so is tempted by your route.

 

[Pint]

Looks good mate! I bought an Abarth Punto Evo back in jun.

They’re not bad for what they are.

 

[massiveCoRbyn]

View attachment 1345848 View attachment 1345849 View attachment 1345850

Sadly yes that is true which went down to a lot of laughs amongst my close ‘car’ friends haha!

While I'm not on Facebook, this would make me want to encourage all of my friends to post pictures of base model Puntos on their page, claiming they're Abarths. What a bunch of prats. Why on earth does it matter what it says on the logbook? It's not like it's a classic Ferrari or something. The Punto Abarth group can't be the biggest ever, they should be glad of the members.

 

[Mr Burns]

It's not like you're trying to join a Ferrari owners club with a bodykitted MR2 is it now... Bunch of fairies!

 

[Ian_182]

Your better off without that bunch I think.
Both of them in that club I mean lol.

 

[Smiffyboy1990]

What a bunch of softies.

Another reason why this is probably the best forum out there.

 

[imprezaworks]

Tough times.

 

[welshname]

That's hilarious. Also I have a bit of a soft spot for these

 

[Paul.M]

Looks good mate! I bought an Abarth Punto Evo back in jun.

They’re not bad for what they are.

View attachment 1345855

Lovely! I must admit I much prefer the looks of the evo ones :smile:

 

[Clio_fool]

Lance Litherland sounds like a right laugh. I want to go to their Xmas party! Should I buy a grande punto abarth or an abarth punto EVO to get an invite?
It sounds like Fiat, s**t sorry I meant Abarth, made it hard enough by making loads of difference models and option packs for the Lance to keep up with. No wonder he doesn't want punto replicas in his nudgers circle.
If you bought an Abarth and made it into a punto rep could you get in the club then.

 

[CrippsCorner]

I like these there's been round here for years.

Actually I tried searching for 500 Abarth's earlier... but can't work out to do it on AutoTrader. Under 500, Abarth isn't available as a model variant, and if you go straight for Abarth as the initial model, you only get 2 retro cars as a result. Weird.

 

[Pint]

I like these there's been round here for years.

Actually I tried searching for 500 Abarth's earlier... but can't work out to do it on AutoTrader. Under 500, Abarth isn't available as a model variant, and if you go straight for Abarth as the initial model, you only get 2 retro cars as a result. Weird.

I love the Abarth 500 but I just couldn’t own one. Far too small I think.

 

[PP200t]

THats awesome! How much abarth stuff is on it? The engine isn’t far off the same apart from the turbo etc.
Love the seats. Miss mine a lot as it was great fun to drive and didn’t look like anything special.
Also lol at the bookface group saddo’s throwing you off. It looks better than some genuine abarths out there!

 

[Paul.M]

THats awesome! How much abarth stuff is on it? The engine isn’t far off the same apart from the turbo etc.
Love the seats. Miss mine a lot as it was great fun to drive and didn’t look like anything special.
Also lol at the bookface group saddo’s throwing you off. It looks better than some genuine abarths out there!

The ebay advert is here:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fiat-Gra...M%2BgK7bziSHpPFcrJ6sg%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

That has the full spec list which as you can see puts it up there with the highest spec 'real ones'

 

[CrippsCorner]

View attachment 1345969

View attachment 1345970


I love the Abarth 500 but I just couldn’t own one. Far too small I think.

Yes... it's working now. I'm not joking though the other day it gave only 2 results! Really weird.

 

[Paul.M]

Thought I would update this.

I have been trying so sell the car along with my FN2 but I'm not getting anywhere so it looks like its staying for a while longer.

It's now on 61k, has been relatively easy to live with tbh, it has a couple of vibrations inside I need to look into but other than consumables it has been pretty reliable.

I gave it a good detail recently and I'm off to pick up some smaller wheels for it on Sunday, putting a set of the punto evo claws on which are 17's rather than these 18's.

I have recently given the wheels a DIY refurb to change them from white as it was a nightmare to live with but it's now tyre time so makes sense to go down a size as I have been planning it for a while, I find the 18's are just a bit too big even though everyone goes mad for the essesse wheels.

I also want to replace the side skirts, I have a brand new set luckily to go on. I say luckily as I had to replace the front passenger side arch trim after I lost it and that was an extortionate price for half a circle of plastic!

My girlfriend is using the car as a runabout so it only does about 5 miles a day during the week, which is handy as the seats are still mega uncomfy 😅.