Fiat Problems

You're absolutely correct, everyone should read the warranty document when they buy their new car, so they are well armed with the correct information should they need to claim against the warranty later on. You are also correct that it is probably an omission on Fiat's part that brakes were not excluded from the warranty, they probably got lost in the translation from Italian to English.

NOT much! They were sold here in the late '80s and really it was only unfortunate souls hooked on Italian cars who were foolish enough to buy them. They rusted, used oil, blew smoke and were generally fairly undesirable. Your son-in-law might get $1000, but should be happy to see it gone.

HYBRIDS are only a part of the picture. I'm not convinced they are the answer to our woes. We are still waiting for the long-term answer, which might be hydrogen fuel cells. A small diesel is almost as economical as the hybrid, it's just not as clean. The best solution for most people is to downsize to smaller cars powered by small petrol engines. As for the batteries, Toyota claims they last the life of the car.

IT'S really too early to speculate on the reliability of the present-model vans. I would be surprised if you needed a van as big as the Sprinter or Ducato to transport your 13-year-old daughter. I would take a look at the Vito, Transporter and Trafic before the Transit. The latter has a pretty ordinary reputation for reliability. Have a talk to the people at Capital Special Vehicles, who specialise in doing the conversions.