1stly welcome to Clubfiat/fs-oc.

damn it Dan beat me to it but please do give us some more info about the car but the main things are service history very important on a stilo, check for recalls on springs be very carefull of one that's had many owners and cambelts check it's been changed every 36000 miles iirc

91k on 8 years is a fair mileage. 5 owners is about right too.

All the main bits have been covered already. Seems that the selespeed gearbox likes to be used, many faults occur on lower mileage cars, or ones that have stood for a while.

Do be aware that these cars have a serious thirst problem! They come as standard with 170bhp, but the cars are heavy and won't feel hugely quick. Selespeed abarths came with every conceivable toy, they should all work. Drive it from cold, it may judder a little bit at step off, but lots is a poorly gearbox actuator or more likely poorly coil packs. When you drive it, it has two shift patterns, the first is the normal leisurely shift pattern that is used at slight to moderate throttle openings, roughly equivilent to a normal manual being shifted gently. Then if you really give it some stick, keep the accelerator flat and shift up late, the shift should be significantly faster.

On the down shifts, the car should blip the throttle to exactly match engine speed to road speed. If it doesn't and you get a jolt through the transmission, the system needs re-calibration at a dealer.

The fluid in the selespeed tank should be a light brown honey colour, if it is dark and horrid looking, or looks thicker then brand new engine oil, there is something wrong.

I bought a 5dr about 6 months ago, and after looking at a fair few, both 3 and 5 dr they are easy to spot a poorly one. If you are buying privately, check everything.

Windscreen wiper motors are a weak point and will either not work at all, or will park at random places on the screen.

The engine should have had a cambelt change with all tensioners and ideally a new water pump within the last 3 years or 36 thousand miles. (Fiat originally said 6 years or 72 thousand miles, but revised this some time ago.) This job can be costly, so is worth adding to the barter when you get going.

The rear wheel alignment is not adjustable and locked, so if the rear tyres are oddly worn, ie inside edge or outside edge, you're looking at new suspension arms, shocks and or springs or body damage to rectify it.

Many Abarths have had hard lives, they weren't bought for anything other than ragging about! Stone chips on the bonnet and the front of the rear wheel arches may look quite bad, but are normal.

There are lots about, but the right combo of good colour, good spec and good interior aren't common!

Enjoy shopping.

Andy

That post was spot on Andy! Impressive stuff and yeah, very helpful!

I know when I first started looking at Stilos, the Abarth was top of the list (Is probabily on everyones lol!) but like has been pointed out, alot of the jobs are costly with the bigger engine and nothing is cheap when you take it to Fiat... Which is why I avoid them as much as possible lol! Let us know how you get on and with a bit of luck, you'll end up with a decent example if you decide to buy it! Listen to the car on start up too... If it sounds similar to a diesel for a couple of seconds then that'll most likely be the alternator on the way out.