Fiat Doblo JTD

[waue1978]

Anyone got any experience of these, good or bad? Read a couple of scary reviews & seen a few comments about starting problems, but not a massive amount of info out there about them. What are the Fiat JTD engines like? Off to take a look at one over the weekend.

Seems to be a credible (& cheap) alternative to a Berlingo/Partner & the JTD seems to have 105bhp to the Berlingo's 90 (which I would also assume are hard to remap as I think they're Siemens), but the Berlingo has the bonus of being able to add bits more easily due to PP2000/Lexia & better parts availability.

[lozz]

Idont know about the Doblo,
but the JtDs that where in the fiat Youwillsees, Ulysees, where pretty much Bullet proof,

with fiats ithink its just a case of keeping on top of Cam belt changes ,

Whats up with the Bmw? Are you fed up with it already

[gumby6371]

Think what you will about the Multipla from the outside but the 110BHP 1.9JTD engine in my other halfs old car had masses of torque, when I drove it I never noticed any real turbo lag and for such a big car it pulled really well in every gear.
I would say in a smaller car it would give the 406 110 a run for it's money power wise.

From what I read when she first got it they can get a good chunk of extra torque and power from a remap but I never looked into it particularly as it was plenty for a load lugging family car.

Down side, the one she had would only give 33/34 MPG around town and didn't get a great deal more on a run.

She bought it at 6 years old and had it for 4 years, we had rear shocks, alternator, tyres and wiper blades so I'd have to say the engine never gave any trouble at all.
EML light and limp mode came on once but it turned out to be thick oil inhibiting the turbo, so changed the oil and all was well.

Hope that helps

[waue1978]

Whats up with the Bmw? Are you fed up with it already

Not too impressed with the sub 20mpg on my short runs if I'm brutally honest. Bloody good on a run as it'll easily break the 40mpg barrier even at higher motorway speeds, the 10-15mpg difference between the BMW & the old 406 on what is pretty much the bulk of my driving equates to more than £1000 a year on fuel. My initial calculations were based on the BMW achieving at least 20-25 on my local runs.

However, I also have to factor in that any savings made by changing car again would have to be substantial enough to offset what would be lost reselling the BMW after spending £440 on tax & maintenance (overdue service & a rear speed sensor).

Think what you will about the Multipla from the outside but the 110BHP 1.9JTD engine in my other halfs old car had masses of torque, when I drove it I never noticed any real turbo lag and for such a big car it pulled really well in every gear.
I would say in a smaller car it would give the 406 110 a run for it's money power wise.

From what I read when she first got it they can get a good chunk of extra torque and power from a remap but I never looked into it particularly as it was plenty for a load lugging family car.

Down side, the one she had would only give 33/34 MPG around town and didn't get a great deal more on a run.

She bought it at 6 years old and had it for 4 years, we had rear shocks, alternator, tyres and wiper blades so I'd have to say the engine never gave any trouble at all.
EML light and limp mode came on once but it turned out to be thick oil inhibiting the turbo, so changed the oil and all was well.

Hope that helps

That does actually. What do you get out of your 406 doing the same runs as your other half did in the Multipla? I have a feeling the poor long run economy on a Multipla would probably suffer more than most due to the shape of it. Those original Multiplas don't look too aerodynamic. My old 1.6 Zafira had a similar handicap, but with an extra factor involved. Returned just over 26mpg around town, but on a long run it couldn't really do more than 33mpg without driving like the pipe & slippers man. The gearing was just too short. Made it fantastic around town as it was so nippy for pulling out of junctions etc, but on a run it was screaming. Just about 20mph per 1000rpm in top.

[lozz]

waue,
im being honest here mate, so please dont take it as that im trying to pee on your camp fire,


if your looking at getting the doblo or anything of that style, pug partner /expert etc,
test drive one first,

As a van the partner drives well, but as car with windows in, it sounds and drives like a van,
very tinny, room wise idont rate them, there best off as what there desighned for, avan,

sorry just being honnest

[waue1978]

waue,
im being honest here mate, so please dont take it as that im trying to pee on your camp fire,


if your looking at getting the doblo or anything of that style, pug partner /expert etc,
test drive one first,

As a van the partner drives well, but as car with windows in, it sounds and drives like a van,
very tinny, room wise idont rate them, there best off as what there desighned for, avan,

sorry just being honnest

That's exactly what I'm planning to do this weekend. Have got a bit of experience with Partner/Berlingo, but none with a Doblo so want to have a good nosey round one before making one a contender.

The first time I drove a Berlingo Multispace I was really impressed with how good it was. Only had it for a weekend to clean it for someone & it wasn't even an HDi (1.9 normally aspirated), but I found that changing gear at around the 3k mark made it feel no slower than a turbo diesel. It was an X plate though, so had the jazzy red & green interior, but loads of cubbyholes everywhere (I called it a smugglers car). Sliding doors are also a bonus for getting the little man in & out of the back as there is always some retard that doesn't so much park as just swing the front of his car in the space next to you & then just abandon it leaving you naff all room.

Downsides though are that it would have to be a facelift Desire upwards Berlingo/Partner to be able to add cruise control, no electric rear windows (they're just like coupe pop-out windows in the back), lack of remapability on the facelift ones (but probably ok on older ones if I sacrifice the possibility of cruise). Not even sure if cruise is possible on a Doblo, but they are a lot cheaper to buy than similarly aged Berlingo/Partners.



May just end up sticking with the Beemer yet anyway as there's still a bit of scope to save money with it as there isn't much in terms of upgrading that I'd want to do with it compared to something more run of the mill, but I've always been one to explore other possibilities, so I want to check out one of these Doblos while there's one that isn't too far away.

[lozz]

ithink some of the mpvs are a waste of space, tbh.
eg, the picassos, gets me why did they make abigish mpv and have it as 5 seats, total waste of space, as of leg room there good tho,

atleast with things like the Mulipla you got 6 seats, big ugly motor but it serves its purpose,

[jasper5]

We had a Doblo as a motability car for my severely disabled brother.

It was a very good car for fitting his wheelchair in with him sitting in it and able to see out nicely, my sister, who used to drive it mostly, thought it was great.

One thing about the JTD engines is to never let the oil level fall too low and always do regular oil changes using fully synthetic oil.

The Berlingo Multispace are a brilliant machine, a genuine Tardis type interior, loads of room.Mechanically bulletproof, but never over-rev the engines.

[STALLED]

See below:



And

[plod]

^^^

[waue1978]

Popped out for a look at the Doblo today. Probably not for us if I'm honest.

Pros: huge inside, unexpectedly comfortable, bloody quick, most trim looks very simple to remove & clean/replace when necessary, rear windows can be opened from the front (even though they aren't electric) & the specific example I looked at has had a fortune spent on it in the past 5 years including timing belt, new gearbox, clutch & DMF.

Cons: very basic, the one I looked at didn't have air con or electric mirrors (& you can never get the passenger mirror right when you have to lean over for it), highlighted Lozz's point when I got in & saw lots of metal (the door card isn't a door card - it's an armrest fixed to the top half & a pocket on the bottom), this particular one also had a particle filter. Probably one of the first as it was a 54 plate & apparently Fiat fitted them from 2005.



Maybe the later ones, or higher spec ones might fit the bill (this one was an Active), but I reckon a Berlingo/Partner is probably an easier prospect to live with on a daily basis. That said though, somebody will get a bargain with the one I looked at because it was in very nice condition & has been looked after. I just think it seemed a little bit too utilitarian to drop into after a 406 & an E39.

[lozz]

Best way ithink to buy these kind of cars is at auction,

Ex mobilty ones, you can pick them up 1- 2k cheaper at auction, that way if you got bored with it you couid sell it on and not loose apenny,
auctions put people off, but you do get Warranty on some


http://www.british-car-auctions.co.uk/

[waue1978]

Best way ithink to buy these kind of cars is at auction,

Ex mobilty ones, you can pick them up 1- 2k cheaper at auction, that way if you got bored with it you couid sell it on and not loose apenny,
auctions put people off, but you do get Warranty on some


http://www.british-car-auctions.co.uk/

That may be the case up your way, but not round here anymore. Last time I went to Blackbushe, a lot of the stuff was making close to normal private sale prices. Hardly saw anything go through that I hadn't already seen cheaper on Ebay. Think we get too many private buyers & home traders for any bargains to go through. Anything that does go cheap up there is usually cheap for a pretty good reason too...

[lozz]

Best way ithink to buy these kind of cars is at auction,

Ex mobilty ones, you can pick them up 1- 2k cheaper at auction, that way if you got bored with it you couid sell it on and not loose apenny,
auctions put people off, but you do get Warranty on some


http://www.british-car-auctions.co.uk/

That may be the case up your way, but not round here anymore. Last time I went to Blackbushe, a lot of the stuff was making close to normal private sale prices. Hardly saw anything go through that I hadn't already seen cheaper on Ebay. Think we get too many private buyers & home traders for any bargains to go through. Anything that does go cheap up there is usually cheap for a pretty good reason too...

was they ex lease,/mobility or just general cars that where on auction?
ive been to loads of auctions, the usual cars that go in, eg dealers part exs cast offs go for silly money,
ive watched and bought ex moblilty /lease ones and got them for bargain prices even after paying the auction fees ive come home with a bargain,

[lozz]

one here going thru auction,

(Paddock Wood 2 May 2012)

fiat doblo paddock wood.jpg