My little Seicento is a fun little car to drive, very nippy and bouncy, but the repairs are getting a bit silly, and with its age it's probably a write off next time anything goes wrong. There are ongoing (not really fixable) problems like it gets too hot in traffic, it's got a slow fuel leak, it's a pig to start in the cold. Then there are repairs it has needed, like a new fuel tank (yes it still leaks!), a head gasket when it was about 8 or 9 years old (maybe 70 thousand miles?), the gearbox soon after, something like the starter thingy or something around that, and electrical things. The hand brake has also gone a couple of times, and generally doesn't work that well. I tend to leave it in gear.
Why have I kept it? Well like I said it's a nice fun car to drive, and apart from the repairs it is very economical to drive, I'd say 40 miles a gallon in town, quite a bit more on motorway driving, although maybe these days it's a wee bit less what with the leak. Insurance is about as cheap as it gets. It's really easy to see out of as well. I tried a friend's Astra recently and I was genuinely scared I could hardly see a thing! It was so low down and everywhere I looked there seemed to be bits of car (not glass) in my way, what?! So I love the Seicento for that, very easy to see, and park, and move about.
It struggles a bit up hills poor baby, but that's to be expected really as it's only got a diddy little engine. It's ok really, but does complain a bit if it's full of people. Actually, thinking about that, there isn't very much space in the back so it's not so good for moving four adults on a longer trip. I should also say it's pretty bad in cold/wet conditions, maybe the Italians don't expect it!!
Inside the car it is lots of fun. I like the dial that pokes out of the dashboard, and the funky colourings inside (this probably varies between cars though. It's a bit of a pain that there isn't a door covering the glove box, it's just open so it's not good for security. I leave the stereo under the seat most of the time. The boot is a bit of a daft size, not that bad though, I always managed to get the pram in there plus shopping. It just wouldn't be much good for taking luggage for a holiday (we always just get my mum to drive us to the airport anyway).
I think I'll probably sell this (or maybe more likely scrap it) when my little boy gets taller than the back seat, because it hasn't got head rests in the back, which would be important in a crash.