All generations and engines together · 33,349 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 44k
One of the worst superminis, by age and by mileage. Watch suspension and steering. A risky used buy. Check the MOT history for repeating suspension advisories before you go.
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
Grande Punto and Punto owners report the electric power steering motor failing, with a cluster of complaints appearing once cars ran just past the end of warranty, roughly from 5 years old. Steering goes heavy or the assistance cuts out, sometimes with a dash warning light. No official recall covers it, so out-of-warranty owners have had to pay for a new motor or rack themselves.
The Dualogic robotised manual (fitted instead of a torque converter automatic) is the biggest expense to watch on used Puntos with the auto option. The actuator that operates the clutch and gear selection can fail, both in and out of warranty, and Honest John records repair costs of roughly £1,500 to £2,500. One owner reported the replacement unit failing again shortly after. Doesn't apply to manual cars.
Owners of the 1.3 Multijet diesel have reported gearbox problems, mainly crunching or difficulty selecting gears, starting from around the 5-year mark. It is reported often enough on the Grande Punto to be a named pattern rather than a one-off, though Fiat has not acknowledged it as a design fault.
Honest John records a case of timing belt failure on a 1.4 MultiAir Punto at just 45,000 miles, well short of what most owners would expect from a cambelt, with a repair bill quoted around £1,290 once the knock-on engine damage is included. Whether this was a one-off or a real pattern isn't clear from available reports, so treat it as a reason to check belt change history carefully on this engine rather than a proven design fault.
A recurring but scattered complaint on the Grande Punto is trouble with the cabin door locks, doors failing to lock or unlock on command, or the central locking acting up. It shows up often enough in owner reports to be worth checking, but there isn't a single clear cause or fix reported, so it sits as a nagging electrical gremlin rather than a confirmed pattern.
Owner reports mention early front-end wear, one case of new driveshaft bearings, a front damper and a steering rack needed at just 5,000 miles, alongside general chatter about firm, crashy rides on Puntos with larger wheels. Suspension is also the fault that shows up most in this model's actual MOT failure data for the supermini class, so the folklore and the measured record point the same way: front suspension components are a genuine weak spot to check on a test drive, not just an urban myth.
Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.
Saveable checklistThe physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 4,565 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Same segment (Superminis), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.