Hi all,

My name is Jeroen (dutch version of the old Hiëronymus), granddad of 58 and Abarth owner since the 21st of june.
Drive Fiat's since 1989 (Tipo, Tempra SW, Tipo, Brava, Brava, Stilo, Marbella, Stilo and a Panda 100HP for the last 8 years) and sort of love them.

Had my heart set on a Campovolo Grey Esseesse with white striping and a Pano-roof, but ended up with a very nice Campovolo 135HP without the pano, but with black leather and Xenon.

Intend to have a lot of fun here and maybe learning a thing or two.

gr J

Hi and welcome, I'm new too and this is my very first Fiat (unless you count post-Marchionne Alfas as Fiats)

Guess you must be used to their quirks and rather like them judging by the number you've owned

Quote from: mj2k on October 29, 2021, 12:38:31 am

Hi and welcome, I'm new too and this is my very first Fiat (unless you count post-Marchionne Alfas as Fiats)

Guess you must be used to their quirks and rather like them judging by the number you've owned

A simple case of "better the devil you know"..
Before '89 I had a few Opel Kadett E (that would be Vauxhall Astra's on your side of the channel) companycars and when I needed to buy a private car I was pretty disappointed by the rust they had after 3 - 4 years. So the boss (my wife) told me to go look at a galvanized body. Thus entered the Tipo.

gr J

My prev experience with Fiats was in the 80s, when rustproofing wasn't quite so good. I nearly bought a 127 Sport (I guess the 70s equivalent of the Abarth) but the steering seemed a bit vague and totally out of character with the car. Opened the bonnet and peered at the steering rack - one mount had completely rusted away from the body! And a 131 / Mirafiori was great fun on a test drive until I tapped the sills and realized there was no steel in them whatsoever. Final one I checked out was an Argenta (132) - it was only 7 years old, but when I opened the bonnet one of the hinges snapped, so that was the last Fiat I looked at for a while...

During the dismantling of my Abarth I've been very impressed with the level of rustproofing though, so looks like things have improved and awful lot