It is with sadness that I post this, as I truly love this awesome wee car, but unfortunately there are problems with it that ultimately spell the end of our ownership after just 18 months.

The 128 failed its second WOF (MOT test) in our ownership last September, having only done less than 700km since coming back on the road last March, due to rust (what else in a Fiat?) The warrant tester refused to do the test upon inspection of the rust, on the basis that there was no point in continuing the test and it sat for 3 months until around Christmas when we got a professional rust repairer around to look at it. He came to the conclusion that one of the previous owners has tried to fix the problem in the past but not done a brilliant job of it. He was amazed it even got a WOF in the first instance which was the first sign of danger.

I had to weigh up the options. He estimated that to properly repair all the current rust and various failed patch-up jobs, it would need to be fully stripped-down and repaired, at great cost I suspect, and even then there would be no guarantee it would all be resolved. In the process it would also lose its original paint and unrestored charm, which I was loathe to let happen under my watch.

His advice was that if I wanted to keep it a long time, have the work done and it would be worth it. Unfortunately I don't have any definitions of what a 'long time' is, and I may not have the space to keep it long term. So, the decision has been made to cut our losses and sell. It breaks my heart but I don't have the time, money or intention to keep it forever. It runs beautifully, but in true Fiat fashion - something that makes me smile - the rust just can't be kept away. =)