I bought my Fiat Punto in 2003 and kept it about 10 months. The car was ok'ish, and as this was the first newish car I had bought, I was very pleased with it. The car never gave me any mechanical problems and always started first time, however after having the car 3 months I realised just how basic it was inside, but then again, I did buy the basic model!!!The gears are terrible in them. As I use my car to and from work- and as in any city centre (Crawling traffic) the gearbox cant handle changing gears while moving slow. I had to either leave it in 2nd and feel it jump and struggle or stop the car completely before putting it into 1st (Hope that makes sense!). The inside is very plastic and bits did start to fall off things. Like I say the car never gave me any problems mechanically but I certainly wouldn't buy another one- or another Fiat for that matter!!!