Integroo's Fiat 124 Spider (and brief car history)
Discussion
This weekend I picked up my first ever brand new car, and my first ever soft top - a Fiat 124 Spider Classica.
First, a brief car history from when I owned my first car, less than two years ago. Yes, I name all my cars, what of it.
2001 1.0 Volkswagen Polo (49bhp) - 'Patsy'
Gifted to me for free from my brother on the basis I gave him it back when I was done with it. Charming little car. Hopelessly slow (I think it did 0 to 60 in 17.9s when new, never mind when 14 years old), terribly noisy (though I think it had a duff wheel bearing), but great to bomb about in. Nothing went wrong with it, though it did cost me 300 quid or so to get it through its MOT. Had it for about a year. Was sold for £200.
2014 1.8 Honda Civic SE Plus (140bhp) - 'Cecil'
Qualified at work so got myself a personal loan and went out and bought a 'proper' car. Really wanted a Type R, S2000 or 350Z but was told by my girlfriend and parents that it would be ruinous and should get something sensible, low miles (9k!) and a warranty. So I did. It was a great car, capacious, and (initially) felt like a rocket ship compared to the Polo. Could get two bikes in the back and two weeks of holiday stuff, which treated me well on a trip to Skye. Nothing went wrong with it.
Five months later, I was getting a bit bored. I had started to get much more interested in cars than I was six months ago, and decided I wanted something interesting. Much to my girlfriend's dismay (who still misses Cecil), I sold it for a grand loss after six months and 5500 miles (justified in that £167 a month is not that bad in the grand scheme of things).
2009 FN2 Honda Civic Type R (197bhp) - 'Ralph'
So I went out and bought the Type R. I considered EP3's but bought the FN2 as I could get a newer car for the money and thought it would be safer in terms of running costs. I bought privately, £6k on the basis it needed four tyres, full history, top spec including sat nav. Thought I had got a steal.
However, I was blinded by desire / an idiot and didn't really check it out properly. I tried to get an AA/RAC inspection but couldn't get them to do it where the car was (Scottish Highlands). It quickly became clear I had bought a dog. I put four tyres on (£600), it needed the alloys refurbed as they were oxidising (never buy diamond cut!) which would have been £400+ to diamond cut or £300 to powder coat, a new exhaust (as it rattled terribly at idle) which would have been £450. Then in the snow a poor previous smart repair came apart and the bumper/wheel arch trim was hanging off with massive gouges as the clearcoat came off in my hand. £200. There was minor paint bubbling elsewhere which suggested that bumper, splitter and both wing mirrors would need repainted - £500ish. The interior and especially the boot stunk of dog and was scratched to bits (not sure how I didn't notice this) .... despite trying every cleaning product under the sun and even dismantling the boot trim and power washing it, it barely helped. Then on boxing day a caliper seized and it cost me £500 on 27 December to replace caliper, front discs and front pads. The mechanic pointed out that the rear discs and pads were eBay specials and the exhaust was packed with foam to stop it from rattling - he suspected it had been off the car and dropped.
It also burned oil and the straw that broke the proverbial camels back was when it burned through all its oil in a 700 mile journey (despite regular checking - well, perhaps not regular enough ...) and left me on the side of the M6.
Sold it for a big hit after less than 5 months and 3500 miles (900 of that in one mega journey Glasgow to Plymouth!). It had cost me £2,500 in that time including the loss on sale, and it still needed plenty of work.
2018 Fiat 124 Spider Classica (140bhp) – 'Nico'
I decided at that point I was getting out of monthly payments and buying something cheap in cash. However, I refused to buy something boring. After considering a whole range of cars - either big engined or small and chuckable - nothing was coming up at all nearby that was even half clean. MX-5s was my best bet but they were all rust buckets. Then my brothers cheap MX5 catastrophically failed its MOT. I was pointed to excellent Fiat 124 Spider deals on this forum and took the plunge. My first brand new car. And on PCP! I thought I wanted out of monthly payments and I was always against PCP ...
But, it was cheaper to buy a brand new car than a lightly used one. It was a guaranteed cost each month with no hidden surprises (no need to find £500 for brakes on boxing day...). 0% APR. £5300 deposit contribution. £224 a month amortised. No brainer, right? Indeed, such a good deal that my brother bought an identical one...
Classica model i.e. no options - other than pearlescent white (a 795 quid option), as free white was out of stock and so was the metallic blue, but the dealer agreed to give me the top option pearlescent white for the same price. I decided it wasn't worth 40pcm to upgrade to Lusso (heated leather, touschreen, DAB, keyless entry).
So first impressions of my new Fiat 124 Spider …
It is my first roadster, and my first rear-wheel drive car.
First impressions are good: it is certainly less quick than my Type R, but it doesn't feel slow, and from a standing start to around 30 I suspect it isn't much slower at all given its traction advantages. Around corners it is certainly softer with more body roll. However, the low slung driving position, roof down experience means it doesn't really matter – it is more fun. It also has a lot more torque due to the turbo which means making progress is much easier – so on a back road when I am not giving it the beans (i.e. when I am being told to slow down due to my girlfriend being in the passenger seat), it is probably more usefully quick, and overtakes on fast roads can be done without dropping a few gears (though I have to say dropping to third and overtaking at 8000RPM is one of life's great joys).
I can't say I notice the RWD dynamics that much yet – I get the odd flicker from the traction control from heavy standing start acceleration, but even heavy handed throttle application out a wet roundabout didn’t unsettle it. I suspect the soft suspension, brand new tyres and the paucity of power is to thank/blame for that. Round corners I can feel myself getting pushed round rather than pulled, and it is certainly less fidgety than the Type R, which was so stiff that it bounced across rough surfaces rather than flowing with them – but I have never felt that the back end might break free. Not yet, at least. The ride is infinitely better than the Type R around town though (which on 19" tyres was truly dreadful, my biggest complaint).
It's also a bit better on fuel – 35mpg average (I averaged 27-31 in Type R), though when hooning it that goes down a lot – I averaged 21 in my first 40 miles.
It attracts positive attention, too. Possibly as they remain a rare sight. Stopped at a set of lights, a group of young boys exclaimed my car was "beast" - one of them thought it was a jaguar, the other corrected him it was a Fiat, but that didn't seem to make it less cool. Next door neighbour was also very impressed by it. Never got this reaction in any of my previous cars!
Dislikes?
I have the poverty-spec model. I don't wish I had leather – the cloth seats are actually really good. I don't have a touch screen, but that doesn't bother me much. What I do wish I had was: (i) automatic climate control, (ii) automatic lights and wipers, (iii) speakers in headrests, (iv) DAB. The problem with the audio is that with the roof down, it's hard to hear, so you turn it up really loud. Then you come into a village and you look like a complete t
t with your music up full blast. Lack of automatic climate control makes it tricky to get your temperature right when you put the roof up having had the heaters blasting hot air with it down.
Lack of storage space. Yes, it's a roadster and was never going to be the most practical, but why does it not have a glovebox or storage in the door cards, when there is plenty space for it? There are also no cupholders – well, there are slots to insert cupholders, but Fiat want £140 for two ….
Nowhere to rest elbows when cruising on the motorway – why is the door sill so narrow …
What now?
It's a brand new car and brand new car threads are pretty bloody boring, as nothing breaks, and it is on PCP, so nothing will be improved. I am doing the North Coast 500 next month however, so will try and take some nice photos to keep this interesting.
If anyone read this far, thanks!
Integroo
First, a brief car history from when I owned my first car, less than two years ago. Yes, I name all my cars, what of it.
2001 1.0 Volkswagen Polo (49bhp) - 'Patsy'
Gifted to me for free from my brother on the basis I gave him it back when I was done with it. Charming little car. Hopelessly slow (I think it did 0 to 60 in 17.9s when new, never mind when 14 years old), terribly noisy (though I think it had a duff wheel bearing), but great to bomb about in. Nothing went wrong with it, though it did cost me 300 quid or so to get it through its MOT. Had it for about a year. Was sold for £200.
2014 1.8 Honda Civic SE Plus (140bhp) - 'Cecil'
Qualified at work so got myself a personal loan and went out and bought a 'proper' car. Really wanted a Type R, S2000 or 350Z but was told by my girlfriend and parents that it would be ruinous and should get something sensible, low miles (9k!) and a warranty. So I did. It was a great car, capacious, and (initially) felt like a rocket ship compared to the Polo. Could get two bikes in the back and two weeks of holiday stuff, which treated me well on a trip to Skye. Nothing went wrong with it.
Five months later, I was getting a bit bored. I had started to get much more interested in cars than I was six months ago, and decided I wanted something interesting. Much to my girlfriend's dismay (who still misses Cecil), I sold it for a grand loss after six months and 5500 miles (justified in that £167 a month is not that bad in the grand scheme of things).
2009 FN2 Honda Civic Type R (197bhp) - 'Ralph'
So I went out and bought the Type R. I considered EP3's but bought the FN2 as I could get a newer car for the money and thought it would be safer in terms of running costs. I bought privately, £6k on the basis it needed four tyres, full history, top spec including sat nav. Thought I had got a steal.
However, I was blinded by desire / an idiot and didn't really check it out properly. I tried to get an AA/RAC inspection but couldn't get them to do it where the car was (Scottish Highlands). It quickly became clear I had bought a dog. I put four tyres on (£600), it needed the alloys refurbed as they were oxidising (never buy diamond cut!) which would have been £400+ to diamond cut or £300 to powder coat, a new exhaust (as it rattled terribly at idle) which would have been £450. Then in the snow a poor previous smart repair came apart and the bumper/wheel arch trim was hanging off with massive gouges as the clearcoat came off in my hand. £200. There was minor paint bubbling elsewhere which suggested that bumper, splitter and both wing mirrors would need repainted - £500ish. The interior and especially the boot stunk of dog and was scratched to bits (not sure how I didn't notice this) .... despite trying every cleaning product under the sun and even dismantling the boot trim and power washing it, it barely helped. Then on boxing day a caliper seized and it cost me £500 on 27 December to replace caliper, front discs and front pads. The mechanic pointed out that the rear discs and pads were eBay specials and the exhaust was packed with foam to stop it from rattling - he suspected it had been off the car and dropped.
It also burned oil and the straw that broke the proverbial camels back was when it burned through all its oil in a 700 mile journey (despite regular checking - well, perhaps not regular enough ...) and left me on the side of the M6.
Sold it for a big hit after less than 5 months and 3500 miles (900 of that in one mega journey Glasgow to Plymouth!). It had cost me £2,500 in that time including the loss on sale, and it still needed plenty of work.
2018 Fiat 124 Spider Classica (140bhp) – 'Nico'
I decided at that point I was getting out of monthly payments and buying something cheap in cash. However, I refused to buy something boring. After considering a whole range of cars - either big engined or small and chuckable - nothing was coming up at all nearby that was even half clean. MX-5s was my best bet but they were all rust buckets. Then my brothers cheap MX5 catastrophically failed its MOT. I was pointed to excellent Fiat 124 Spider deals on this forum and took the plunge. My first brand new car. And on PCP! I thought I wanted out of monthly payments and I was always against PCP ...
But, it was cheaper to buy a brand new car than a lightly used one. It was a guaranteed cost each month with no hidden surprises (no need to find £500 for brakes on boxing day...). 0% APR. £5300 deposit contribution. £224 a month amortised. No brainer, right? Indeed, such a good deal that my brother bought an identical one...
Classica model i.e. no options - other than pearlescent white (a 795 quid option), as free white was out of stock and so was the metallic blue, but the dealer agreed to give me the top option pearlescent white for the same price. I decided it wasn't worth 40pcm to upgrade to Lusso (heated leather, touschreen, DAB, keyless entry).
So first impressions of my new Fiat 124 Spider …
It is my first roadster, and my first rear-wheel drive car.
First impressions are good: it is certainly less quick than my Type R, but it doesn't feel slow, and from a standing start to around 30 I suspect it isn't much slower at all given its traction advantages. Around corners it is certainly softer with more body roll. However, the low slung driving position, roof down experience means it doesn't really matter – it is more fun. It also has a lot more torque due to the turbo which means making progress is much easier – so on a back road when I am not giving it the beans (i.e. when I am being told to slow down due to my girlfriend being in the passenger seat), it is probably more usefully quick, and overtakes on fast roads can be done without dropping a few gears (though I have to say dropping to third and overtaking at 8000RPM is one of life's great joys).
I can't say I notice the RWD dynamics that much yet – I get the odd flicker from the traction control from heavy standing start acceleration, but even heavy handed throttle application out a wet roundabout didn’t unsettle it. I suspect the soft suspension, brand new tyres and the paucity of power is to thank/blame for that. Round corners I can feel myself getting pushed round rather than pulled, and it is certainly less fidgety than the Type R, which was so stiff that it bounced across rough surfaces rather than flowing with them – but I have never felt that the back end might break free. Not yet, at least. The ride is infinitely better than the Type R around town though (which on 19" tyres was truly dreadful, my biggest complaint).
It's also a bit better on fuel – 35mpg average (I averaged 27-31 in Type R), though when hooning it that goes down a lot – I averaged 21 in my first 40 miles.
It attracts positive attention, too. Possibly as they remain a rare sight. Stopped at a set of lights, a group of young boys exclaimed my car was "beast" - one of them thought it was a jaguar, the other corrected him it was a Fiat, but that didn't seem to make it less cool. Next door neighbour was also very impressed by it. Never got this reaction in any of my previous cars!
Dislikes?
I have the poverty-spec model. I don't wish I had leather – the cloth seats are actually really good. I don't have a touch screen, but that doesn't bother me much. What I do wish I had was: (i) automatic climate control, (ii) automatic lights and wipers, (iii) speakers in headrests, (iv) DAB. The problem with the audio is that with the roof down, it's hard to hear, so you turn it up really loud. Then you come into a village and you look like a complete t
t with your music up full blast. Lack of automatic climate control makes it tricky to get your temperature right when you put the roof up having had the heaters blasting hot air with it down. Lack of storage space. Yes, it's a roadster and was never going to be the most practical, but why does it not have a glovebox or storage in the door cards, when there is plenty space for it? There are also no cupholders – well, there are slots to insert cupholders, but Fiat want £140 for two ….
Nowhere to rest elbows when cruising on the motorway – why is the door sill so narrow …
What now?
It's a brand new car and brand new car threads are pretty bloody boring, as nothing breaks, and it is on PCP, so nothing will be improved. I am doing the North Coast 500 next month however, so will try and take some nice photos to keep this interesting.
If anyone read this far, thanks!
Integroo
Edited by Integroo on Monday 23 April 14:05
Butter Face said:
I certainly hope you do have begger luck with this than the Civic!
Looks nice, no DAB?? It’s 2018!
As do I!Looks nice, no DAB?? It’s 2018!
I know ... poverty spec problems, but I decided it wasn't worth the extra 40pcm to effectively rent the mod cons for two years.
Anyway, less mod cons means less weight means faster, right
Interesting about the climate control. I found the opposite on the Boxster, the auto climate was useless with the roof down and spent most of its time either at full heat and manual fan speed or switched off completely.
I would've paid the extra for heated seats myself, but I love mid winter sub zero roof down time.
I would've paid the extra for heated seats myself, but I love mid winter sub zero roof down time.
Glad to see you're enjoying the car. I must say that i'm a little bit gutted i didn't go for one of the Abarth 124 Spider deals now. I didn't realise how good value they were at the time.
With that being said, i didn't really want a convertible and by the time i added paint to the car that wasn't black, i was paying the same as i did on the Scirocco. They do look and sound amazing though!
With that being said, i didn't really want a convertible and by the time i added paint to the car that wasn't black, i was paying the same as i did on the Scirocco. They do look and sound amazing though!
agent006 said:
Interesting about the climate control. I found the opposite on the Boxster, the auto climate was useless with the roof down and spent most of its time either at full heat and manual fan speed or switched off completely.
I would've paid the extra for heated seats myself, but I love mid winter sub zero roof down time.
I will caveat my climate control comment with the fact that I haven't driven one with the automatic climate control, so it might be useless. What I have found though is I will have the blowers at full heat with the roof down, then when I put the roof up the cabin is unbearably warm and it isn't easy to get it to the right temperature. I would've paid the extra for heated seats myself, but I love mid winter sub zero roof down time.
I did want the heated seats for that reason, but the leather seats seem a bit thin and I am not sure they would be more comfortable than the cloth, and would be too hot in summer and too cold in winter (albeit heated leather would resolve the latter problem).
I did really like the look of the tobacco leather though, and it would come with some leather on the dash which would lift the interior and make it feel a little more premium rather than hard plastics.
culpz said:
Glad to see you're enjoying the car. I must say that i'm a little bit gutted i didn't go for one of the Abarth 124 Spider deals now. I didn't realise how good value they were at the time.
With that being said, i didn't really want a convertible and by the time i added paint to the car that wasn't black, i was paying the same as i did on the Scirocco. They do look and sound amazing though!
I would really have liked the Abarth, just for the noise and possibly the diff - though I don't know if I would notice the difference on the road with the diff - and the 124 doesn't sound amazing but it's not half bad, at least up to around 5000 rpm. I think the Abarth is too expensive though at 30k - even with the discounts, I would have been over 120pcm more for the Abarth, and at that money there is some interesting cars in competition With that being said, i didn't really want a convertible and by the time i added paint to the car that wasn't black, i was paying the same as i did on the Scirocco. They do look and sound amazing though!
I really do think I got a remarkably good deal though. £224pcm for a car that RRP's at c. 21-22k. That wouldn't get me into a 13k Fiat Tipo (259 amortized from the same dealer). A 1.5l base MX5 with a lower list price was closer to 260-280 pcm with a 3-4k deposit.
Edited by Integroo on Monday 23 April 14:36
Integroo said:
I would really have liked the Abarth, just for the noise and possibly the diff - though I don't know if I would notice the difference on the road with the diff - and the 124 doesn't sound amazing but it's not half bad, at least up to around 5000 rpm. I think the Abarth is too expensive though at 30k - even with the discounts, I would have been over 120pcm more for the Abarth, and at that money there is some interesting cars in competition
I really do think I got a remarkably good deal though. £224pcm for a car that RRP's at c. 21-22k. That wouldn't get me into a 13k Fiat Tipo (259 amortized from the same dealer). A 1.5l base MX5 with a lower list price was closer to 260-280 pcm with a 3-4k deposit.
They do sound mental. That's one of the things that i liked. Like the 500 Abarth's, they don't come with silencers/resonators as standard and are just a straight through system from the factory. So, no wonder they're pretty loud! I think they've got some deals going on the 595's aswell.I really do think I got a remarkably good deal though. £224pcm for a car that RRP's at c. 21-22k. That wouldn't get me into a 13k Fiat Tipo (259 amortized from the same dealer). A 1.5l base MX5 with a lower list price was closer to 260-280 pcm with a 3-4k deposit.
They're not worth their RRP, i agree, but the deals on them were/are phenomenal. They definitely were't that much more than you were paying. In fact, the best i found was a 3+23 profile, 8k miles pa, £214 pcm, which is actually cheaper. However, the standard colour was black, which i wouldn't have wanted and metallic paint was not free. The cheapest was white, but was still fairly expensive, so it added up to be more like £235 pcm.
Anyway, i hope you enjoy the easy motoring!. You do pay a premium for it, but it's worth it for having less headaches and worries about when the next bill will show it's ugly head. Some of these deals are too good to turn down!
NorthernSky said:
Glad you found something rare and it'll be joyous to do the NC500 in it with the roof off, providing the weather holds. This epic road trip is on my bucket list and quite possibly might be doing it next month too...!
Indeed, don't see many about. If you are doing it in May, I would advise looking at booking accommodation sharpish! We just booked a few days ago and it was slim pickings, especially on the North-Western part - we paid £75 to rent a caravan for a night as it was the only thing we could find where we wanted to be. We are doing a mix of airbnb/hotel/caravan, campsite and wild camping.
Next challenge is fitting ten days of stuff including tents and hiking kit in a roadster...
Congratulations on the new motor. Fwiw I think you made totally the right choice in deciding to lease, especially with the great deals available on these cars. Nice to know that if any issues crop up, the only thing you've got to sort out is what day to book it in for warranty work! No hours to be wasted trawling eBay for parts or stuck on your back poking about under the dash. Better be careful, I'm almost talking myself into a lease!
cmvtec said:
Lovely - I'm considering one of these myself for when I get bored of the X-Type.
Are you from the North East, Integroo? Newcastle registered?
Wee bit further North in the wilds of Scotland. Travelled for the car as local dealerships had been making a brisk trade and were completely out of base trim Classicas. Are you from the North East, Integroo? Newcastle registered?
Trip home to get the three roadsters together this weekend ! Ventured out into the Scottish countryside too for some good roads. Shame the amount of rain we got.
Highlight was a S2000 joining us briefly in convoy then going past us both at 9k RPM!
Highlight was a S2000 joining us briefly in convoy then going past us both at 9k RPM!
Edited by Integroo on Saturday 28th April 21:38
Mr Tidy said:
Fantastic car OP. 
I really love the styling of the Fiat, even if the MX5 maybe has a better mechanical specification I couldn't have one with those looks!
Glad you are enjoying yours, and you are in the right part of the UK for some great drives!
Thanks I really love the styling of the Fiat, even if the MX5 maybe has a better mechanical specification I couldn't have one with those looks!
Glad you are enjoying yours, and you are in the right part of the UK for some great drives!
Really like it so far. Could maybe do with a little more power - runs out of puff a bit high up the rev range - and can get bogged down a little if you get caught in the wrong gear without the turbo spooled - but lovely little car. I agree with the looks too - though the pearlescent white is a nightmare to keep clean! Brother and I having some debate as to who has the best colour...
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff