Hello! American in Germany here, looking to get a 126

[pyrrhic]

Hi! My name is Renato, I am in the US Army stationed in Germany, and looking to get a 126 sometime very soon. I learned to drive on a Fiat and grew up on a Fiat family in Brazil, so I am naturally drawn to small Italian cars, I just have never owned one.

I recently sold a 1987 Saab 900i that was extremely reliable (my third Saab, they have all been great cars), and I am looking to get something different, and I am looking towards a 126. I have owned small, underpowered cars before, just not 23 hp ones. The Fiat 147S I learned to drive on and that became my first car had about 45 hp. The 147 is the Brazilian version of the Fiat 127, ours had the 1.3 liter engine with five speed gearbox as the only option. It was bright red and looked fast (although it wasn't!). I also lived in Korea for six years and owned a tiny Daewoo Tico with a three cylinder 650cc engine there, so slow motoring is not beyond me.

Tomorrow I will be looking at two different 26 for sale. One is a year 2000 model, a Fiat 126 Maluch Town, with Polish papers, 56,000 km, being sold for 560 Euro. This car is green and comes with the vinyl interior. The other one is a 1999 Fiat 126P, also Polish papers, with 100,000 km, red paint, cloth interior, being sold for 600 Euro. Despite the low mileage of the green car I am more drawn towards the other one because it's red and has a cloth interior. I imagine in our German winters a vinyl interior must be miserable and seat covers will be needed. Both are aircooled cars.

I plan on buying one of these cheaper 126s to see if I can indeed live with a 23 hp car. If I can, then next year, in the end of the winter, I might look for an older (at least 25 years old), 126 in good shape, and will probably be ready to spend 1500-2500 Euro for one, and I might bring it back to the USA with me when I return in 2015. Perhaps I'll add one Bambino to the US streets.

So, as a last minute request, I am looking for a quick "buyer's guide", as to what to look for when checking out these cars. What are the big red flags? I know to look for corrosion under spare tire bucket, headlight buckets, door sills, etc. Engine and transmission leaks, etc. Anything else 126-specific? I searched on this site for some sort of buyer's guide and could find nothing yet. Could anyone point me in the right direction?

[andyzeetec]

Hi,

Try this..

http://club126uk.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=5569.0

 

[pyrrhic]

I have seen that thread before. That's not a proper buyer's guide, more like a short intro to the car. Here is what a buyer's guide should be like: http://205gtidrivers.com/info/buying2.html

[Hazey-n-Marc]

All buyers guide are similar, just take the bits of the pug one that are irrelevant to the 126 and replace them with the bits from the 126 one. Look out for rust, obvious engine and electrical issues. 1st is noisey on a 126, straight cut and no synchro.
It is really hard to write a car specific buyers guide that do not sound like all others.

Oxidization happens, as does wear on moving parts.

I will hopefully, Bauer Media permitting, be getting mine on here soon, it isn't that much more insightful than the other one to be honest. If you know cars then the info in  http://club126uk.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=5569.0 should suffice.

Marc

[Amateb8]

Hello! I would go for a 126 prior to 1992. It seems the 1993 model year onwards appear to rust more easily, and use thinner metal.

[Seabee1978126]

Hey Renato, hit me up if your ever up in the north east of the US! Navy Seabee here... soon to be vet. I have a 1978 126 personal 4. Doing a Abarth theme to her, nothing too crazy, just oil pan and valve cover for the most part. I picked mine up here in Sicily, Italy. I'm taking her back with me to NY.