Fiat Palio 1.2: To Keep or Not To Keep?

[aneesh.mohan]

Hi all, Im new here so sorry for any mistakes.
I had brought a second hand Fiat Palio 1.2 last year and it has done 14 months in my hand. Had bought it for 1Lakh.
Now the car is a 2002 model, done 68000kms...Yea its old. Had bought it basically to learn driving(didnt want to spend on a new one and ruin it) but then I fell in love with it. The built, the performance, the space all are top notch even for a car which is 11 years old..
Now I'm at a crossroads. I have got a job in Bangalore and will be shifting there. No one knows driving at my home so I have two choices : Take the car with me to Bangalore or sell it off.
I have a fellow whos willing to give 1.5lakh for the car and considering the price I paid for it, seems a good deal.
On the other hand, I really love the car..The engine is butter smooth even now, and besides some small problems and niggles, I havent faced any big issues till now. What do you guys suggest? If I keep the car and spend some money on mods(better seats, alloys, just to make it look better) , will I be in trouble? What would you do ? Will the car suddenly start giving me problems? Its after alll quite old so Im a bit apprehensive. Really confused

The only major issue I can see from the car is a small, very very thing hairline crack on the valve cover. The crack is quite small and the mech guy says its in a non pressure area so shouldnt be a problem but it does leak some oil overtime.

Suggest me please ..on the pros and cons of keeping the car vs selling it...

(in bangalore I will be using it once a week for short and occassional long drives)

 

[Releesh]

Re: Fiat Palio 1.2 : To keep or not to keep ?

If you will get 1.5 lakhs for a Fiat palio 1.2 which you bought at 1 lakh and used for 14 months, then sell it at the earliest. You can buy new and better models at that price.

 

[freakdude]

Sell it ASAP as you are getting such a sweet deal. Then look for a Palio 1.6, though hard to find but not impossible. I am suggesting this only as you have loved your 1.2 so the 1.6 is going to blow your socks off. Though Palio's have there own share of niggles but the sheer power and drive-ability a 1.6 gives is not even had in a civic. One has to drive it to believe it.

 

[aneesh.mohan]

Ok thanks guys..even I'm leaning towards selling..But I dont generally trust second hand cars and feel Im lucky to get a trouble feel car in this one. That's the reason Im getting 1.5 for it..My friend just drove it a few time and was begging me to give it to him

anyways a technical question :
As I mentioned, there's a small hairline crack on the valve cover..The valve cover gasket(padding) was leaking oil when I bought it and the mech opened the cover to put a new gasket which stopped the leak but after that I noticed a small crack on the cover..I suspect the screw was put back a bit too tight causing it to crack..I leaks a bit of oil..Every time I drive and open the hood after, I see droplets of oil coming out small bubbles..The amount is tiny and oil level never drops too much...is this is a major prob? Aside from the ugly, oily look it gives to my engine and parts below it, I dont face other problem. Will the oil damage my other parts ?

 

[Shantanu.lko]

As told by other members too, It is better if you sell the car. As you are getting 1.5L for the car, you can get better models in that money. Also if you are not taking the car to Bangalore then its better to sell it. There are many TAIans in Bangalore who may help you in sourcing a good second hand car.

But if you are really in love with the car and the car is trouble-free and giving a good mileage and want to use it in future (say for next 10-12 yrs) then keep it. But remember, in the next few years there will be scarcity of palio parts and you may have to invest in stocking few parts.

Regarding your rocker cover, It can be repaired by welding. I'll ask about this to my mechanic and post here.

 

[VivekRj.Dieselhead]

Ok thanks guys..even I'm leaning towards selling..But I dont generally trust second hand cars and feel Im lucky to get a trouble feel car in this one. That's the reason Im getting 1.5 for it..My friend just drove it a few time and was begging me to give it to him

anyways a technical question :
As I mentioned, there's a small hairline crack on the valve cover..The valve cover gasket(padding) was leaking oil when I bought it and the mech opened the cover to put a new gasket which stopped the leak but after that I noticed a small crack on the cover..I suspect the screw was put back a bit too tight causing it to crack..I leaks a bit of oil..Every time I drive and open the hood after, I see droplets of oil coming out small bubbles..The amount is tiny and oil level never drops too much...is this is a major prob? Aside from the ugly, oily look it gives to my engine and parts below it, I dont face other problem. Will the oil damage my other parts ?

See buddy i know its hard sell a fiat but if you are getting good price for it then why not. And regarding that used car thing, i think you should search for a scrap car and then rebuilt it one of my friend bought a S10 worth of 50grand only and spent nearly 50 grand on engine and other mechanical parts and believe me buddy his car rocks now, no car in the market can compete a FIAT's 1.6l machine. Though he needs to spend another 20-30 grand on the aesthetics of the car and she would then rock in the looks as well.

 

[SankarNarayanan]

Hi all, Im new here so sorry for any mistakes.
I had brought a second hand Fiat Palio 1.2 last year and it has done 14 months in my hand. Had bought it for 1Lakh.
Now the car is a 2002 model, done 68000kms...Yea its old. Had bought it basically to learn driving(didnt want to spend on a new one and ruin it) but then I fell in love with it. The built, the performance, the space all are top notch even for a car which is 11 years old..
Now I'm at a crossroads. I have got a job in Bangalore and will be shifting there. No one knows driving at my home so I have two choices : Take the car with me to Bangalore or sell it off.
I have a fellow whos willing to give 1.5lakh for the car and considering the price I paid for it, seems a good deal.
On the other hand, I really love the car..The engine is butter smooth even now, and besides some small problems and niggles, I havent faced any big issues till now. What do you guys suggest? If I keep the car and spend some money on mods(better seats, alloys, just to make it look better) , will I be in trouble? What would you do ? Will the car suddenly start giving me problems? Its after alll quite old so Im a bit apprehensive. Really confused

The only major issue I can see from the car is a small, very very thing hairline crack on the valve cover. The crack is quite small and the mech guy says its in a non pressure area so shouldnt be a problem but it does leak some oil overtime.

Suggest me please ..on the pros and cons of keeping the car vs selling it...

(in bangalore I will be using it once a week for short and occassional long drives)

Sell it off and buy a Palio 1.6 dude. If you are in love with Palio 1.2 then you will surely be blown off by Palio 1.6.

Regards,
Sankar

 

[anshuman8]

Sell it off for 1.5 L and get yourself a Palio 1.6/1.3 MJD or put some more money get a Fiat Punto. You will love driving these cars.

 

[aneesh.mohan]

thanks guys I'll sell it then and hopefull get a 1.6
if anyone clear my query about crack will be great else this thread maybe closed

 

[freakdude]

That crack is surely a bad news buddy. It is only going to get bigger as it would expand when engine would get heated and the cool off when car is switched off. Repetitive cycles would lessen it's strength eventually. Moreover, since you are selling it to a known friend, strongly suggest him to change the cover and not just weld it.

 

[Shantanu.lko]

That crack is surely a bad news buddy. It is only going to get bigger as it would expand when engine would get heated and the cool off when car is switched off. Repetitive cycles would lessen it's strength eventually. Moreover, since you are selling it to a known friend, strongly suggest him to change the cover and not just weld it.

+1 to Freakdude The crack will get expanded with repetitive heating and cooling. I also asked my mechanic regarding this, but he said welding is not a permanent solution. Better search the scrap yard or nearby garage for a head cover.

 

[nitin_k]

wrt Fiat i will repeat OLX 's tagline 'Bech de' i.e sell it.

last year around june i sold my 2002 model 1.6L S10 1600 cc for 60k, so IMHO, anything above 60k is a bonus

 

[VivekRj.Dieselhead]

wrt Fiat i will repeat OLX 's tagline 'Bech de' i.e sell it.

last year around june i sold my 2002 model 1.6L S10 1600 cc for 60k, so IMHO, anything above 60k is a bonus

You actually lost a great car buddy, btw my friend rohit bought an S10 somewhere around june is that yours.

 

[amippjpr]

Dude, sell it ASAP if you are getting good price. I lost a big amount maintaining this crap, and never got parts on time. then I lost big amount when sold it. I don't want to say more, just quoting a part of a post which I made in another thread :

But one thing I always appreciate about Fiat company is that doesn't matter how small the market share they have, they always succeed in keeping the hope alive in their existing customer's minds.

I have said a forever-goodbye to Fiat long ago, the company which isn't even capable of supplying basic parts for their cars now making false promises of supplying performance kits for diesel car, LOL. The company which has expressed inability in supporting their own cars like Palio and other old models, which they have been selling couple of years ago. I have seen and heard many horror stories about many companies but never seen such a big cheater company in my life.

Never again a Fiat in my life.

 

[nitin_k]

You actually lost a great car buddy, btw my friend rohit bought an S10 somewhere around june is that yours.

if its number is 5657, it was mine
it had started giving me issues though i miss the brute force that beast had.