Hi,
I'm new to the group, I'm here to learn and help if poss.
I bought my first Fiat Punto (not new ) a few weeks ago.
I started to have problems last week, trying to get reverse gear.
Sometimes the gear would go in ,but it meant being forcefull
with the gear stick. Eventually I couldn't get reverse at all.
It was time to get my hands mucky !!
I removed the gear stick knob, and found the plastic splines inside
had broken, small pieces of plastic had dropped between the knob
and the liftable collar that is used to enable reverse gear.
The bits of plastic was enough to stop the collar travelling high enough
to engage reverse gear.
After I had removed the plastic bits, I fixed the gear knob back on
with some araldite, and it's not been a problem since.
Hope this may help someone who is experiencing a simular problem.

Cheers
Little-Mick