Opinion's on the Fiat 500

[pmacc]

My Mum has decided that she wants the new Fiat 500 Gucci edition; does anyone on the forum own or know someone who owns a Fiat 500? All the reviews say good things and I haven’t heard of any horror stories with faults, servicing, and cost or availability of parts.

[Cheese3]

Well everytime I see the add on TV with the scorpion it makes me think it's not a bad looking car or I was hoping the scorpion would take more cloths off the girl

[sgt_doofey]

The guys from Top Gear like it.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[Wretched]

I had the Fiat 500 Ferrari Tributo edition.
Review can be found here http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11375105

They're a nice car but small, I mean you can fit 4 people at max in there but the passengers on the back seat would be cozy. Depends on how your mum would use it, how many would be in it at one time, etc. Overall they are a good car, a lot of fun to drive and copious amounts of character. Now with the price drop they should be a good buy.

[pmacc]

Originally Posted by Wretched

I had the Fiat 500 Ferrari Tributo edition.
Review can be found here http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11375105

They're a nice car but small, I mean you can fit 4 people at max in there but the passengers on the back seat would be cozy. Depends on how your mum would use it, how many would be in it at one time, etc. Overall they are a good car, a lot of fun to drive and copious amounts of character. Now with the price drop they should be a good buy.

it will pretty much be to the shops and to the hairdressers etc. im just unsure if over time they will be a basket case like some of the other euros can be

[Yellow_Festiva]

The base model is 14K drive away.... almost fell off my seat when I saw the add last night.

Very tempting.......... will make it Fiat number 2 in the garage ;)

[Crazy Dazz]

How old is your mum, and will she be driving friends? Is she looking at the Hatch or Cabrio?
Fiats are a fun LITTLE car, but the 2 doors are a PITA. I think the “Gucci” addition is also towards the pricier end of the range. They’re limited, so I think dealers are stinking to their guns, which would mean you’d be looking around $25k+.
For that sought of money, there are a plethora of quality small hatches out there. If she wants to stay “European” I’d be looking at a Polo, otherwise the Mazda 2.

Look, if she can afford European, go for it. It will cost more to service, etc, but that's the same in buying a Mazda over a Kia.

My only concern would be that if the AUD tanks too far, and the Euro starts to recover, not only do parts become expensive (for all imports) but some of the smaller Euro brands will pack up and go home again.

[Burnout]

It will be an expensive little junker in 2 years.

[MagnaVRX]

My GF has a 2008 500 Sport. The gearbox hydraulic pump needed to be replaced under warranty, an abarth one got fitted as a standard fix.

Other than that its just got normal small car quality issues like a squeak in the dash and little sound deadening in the hatch door, if your sitting in the back you can hear the cars comming up behind you from the tyre noise.

Oh, there is actually a suprising large amount of room in the back of them for passengers.

If your gonna get one get a manual is all I say and get the parts from overseas. Brembo discs and pads from fiat (only genuine avaliable in australia) for the front only were over 1k and that was me fitting them. Got them off ebay from the UK, paid $280 all up for brembo front discs and EBC pads.

[Burnout]

/\ Sorry an expensive little junker in two years that has almost no re-sale value.

[fte50]

Originally Posted by MagnaVRX

If your gonna get one get a manual is all I say and get the parts from overseas. Brembo discs and pads from fiat (only genuine avaliable in australia) for the front only were over 1k and that was me fitting them. Got them off ebay from the UK, paid $280 all up for brembo front discs and EBC pads.

Try European Auto Imports http://www.eai.net.au/

[kevino]

Be wary.
In Nz in 2002 I bought a 1.6 Fiat Stilo 5 door hatch for $29995 traded it on a Peugeot 307 2 years later -same dealer at 12k. It had a few electric gremlins which were all done under warranty but not the sort of car you would trust past 50000km. Was marvellous on the open road revved to a squillion revs but a pain round town as no torque developed till a squillion revs.
By comparison the 307 cost $36000 and 2 years later sold it at $22000 a much lower loss of value than the Fiat.

Ever since then (moved to Oz 2007) I have gone back to Ford, Fiestas and Focuses.
Less to buy means when they depreciate you lose less. they go and handle as well as any other Euro and are probably better built than most.

[pmacc]

Firstly thanks for all the Replies. I'm going to test drive it later on in the week so if there is anything else to look for please let me know so i can add it to my list of things to inspect.

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

How old is your mum, and will she be driving friends? Is she looking at the Hatch or Cabrio?
Fiats are a fun LITTLE car, but the 2 doors are a PITA. I think the “Gucci” addition is also towards the pricier end of the range. They’re limited, so I think dealers are stinking to their guns, which would mean you’d be looking around $25k+.
For that sought of money, there are a plethora of quality small hatches out there. If she wants to stay “European” I’d be looking at a Polo, otherwise the Mazda 2.

Look, if she can afford European, go for it. It will cost more to service, etc, but that's the same in buying a Mazda over a Kia.

My only concern would be that if the AUD tanks too far, and the Euro starts to recover, not only do parts become expensive (for all imports) but some of the smaller Euro brands will pack up and go home again.

Mum is 51, if she does probably only 1 friend, Hatch, we have a Sunroof in her current car which only gets used by me so spending another 3k on a Cabrio seems a waste. Yep it the top model and because they only had 18 left in Aus as of last Thursday only room for price negoiation is Dealer delivery which im still not happy about. I've allready rang the salesman to tell him that i don't want their 'detailer' to touch the car even with a hose (I worked at dealership over a summer few years back and boy did i see a lot) so the Dealer del I believe shoud be renogiated. Withouth the glorified wash the only thing thats left is a saftey check, a tank of 91 which for a 35L tank is nothing and some admin work.

VW, I've never liked there looks, prices, equipment levels, their $600 servicing costs and their belief they are a 'premium' car so havn't even told mum about the Polo. Then because mum needs a Auto she will have to have the DSG box and i know about alot of previous costly issues with that box long before it become a headline story.

I agree there are plenty of Japs that are good and even the Koreans make a fairly decent car now but she doesnt like the look of them. I tried the Facelift Fiesta which I would get if i had to downsize but she didnt think much of it.

On the Euro economy, from what I read and get from my Uni Professors is that we have got a few more years before the euro gets back to .50-.60 Euro's per AUD

Originally Posted by MagnaVRX

My GF has a 2008 500 Sport. The gearbox hydraulic pump needed to be replaced under warranty, an abarth one got fitted as a standard fix.

Other than that its just got normal small car quality issues like a squeak in the dash and little sound deadening in the hatch door, if your sitting in the back you can hear the cars comming up behind you from the tyre noise.

Oh, there is actually a suprising large amount of room in the back of them for passengers.

If your gonna get one get a manual is all I say and get the parts from overseas. Brembo discs and pads from fiat (only genuine avaliable in australia) for the front only were over 1k and that was me fitting them. Got them off ebay from the UK, paid $280 all up for brembo front discs and EBC pads.

Thanks for that I'll add those issues to my list of things to inspect when i test in later on this week. Looks like i have to go for a treasure hunt on the web about this hydraulic pump to see if its a common issue. Unfortunatley only the Auto is offered, I'd imagine the Manual would make it alot more fun to drive. Yeah like most things eBay and some other sources seem to be the way to go for parts for non Aussie cars. Done it a few times with the BMW we currently have and saved alot in the process

Originally Posted by Burnout

/\ Sorry an expensive little junker in two years that has almost no re-sale value.

From what redbook says (which i take with a grain of salt) its a 2-3 grand worse off that the equivelant mazda 2 which with small cars isnt that bad. Dont get me wrong no one likes losing money but depreciation is one of things we have to accept. ive allready lost 10k according to redbook with my FG

Originally Posted by kevino

Be wary.
In Nz in 2002 I bought a 1.6 Fiat Stilo 5 door hatch for $29995 traded it on a Peugeot 307 2 years later -same dealer at 12k. It had a few electric gremlins which were all done under warranty but not the sort of car you would trust past 50000km. Was marvellous on the open road revved to a squillion revs but a pain round town as no torque developed till a squillion revs.
By comparison the 307 cost $36000 and 2 years later sold it at $22000 a much lower loss of value than the Fiat. Ever since then (moved to Oz 2007) I have gone back to Ford, Fiestas and Focuses.
Less to buy means when they depreciate you lose less. they go and handle as well as any other Euro and are probably better built than most.

From what ive read and been told, the electrics in Italian cars are much better than they used to be. Probably the fact they use more reliable German made Bosch parts. I prefer the Fiesta especially the upcoming update and pushed its case but Mum doesn't like the look of it and the end of the day she's the one that has to drive it. I havn't test drive it yet, won't till later on in the week but ive been told they are quite fun.