Fiat 500....yes or no?
Discussion
hepy said:
My daughter had a low speed crash (10 mph) and the insurer has written off the car.
Only thing that would concern me about her getting another would be how good they were in a higher speed crash.
I understand your concerns regarding the structural integrity. It's something that has been in the back of my mind ever since I bought my 1st Smart as they didn't have a great reputation. However, all cars are built to a certain specification. I'd imagine it's probably safer then my Impreza as that design is almost a 1/4 Century old!Only thing that would concern me about her getting another would be how good they were in a higher speed crash.
Given it was written off at such a low speed, it may explain where there's quite a few Cat C/D/N's for sale
Out of interest, where abouts was the impact?
nikaiyo2 said:
Had 3 Abarths since 2009, they are great cars.
Do everything you could want, literally never had any kind of a problem. I think in that time 1 set of front pads, a suspension thing under warranty and about 4 tyres. Will miss mine!!!
Must resist, must resist....................... Do everything you could want, literally never had any kind of a problem. I think in that time 1 set of front pads, a suspension thing under warranty and about 4 tyres. Will miss mine!!!
avenger286 said:
Also look out for door handles snapping as that's another common fault.
MrGTI6 said:
Make sure the door handles haven't fallen off.
After giving my positive review of Fiat 500's above, I read both these comments and thought, "WTF" does that mean?This afternoon, Mrs R returns from Morrisons in the Fiat and announces that the driver door handle has broken
Fancy that!!Google tells me I can fix it myself in 45mins for a tenner in parts. The main dealer wants £80 plus VAT. Either way it's not a disaster but talk about coincidence!
OP.. make sure the door handles are ok. Common fault apparently
#live'n'learn
Roman Moroni said:
Valgar said:
The twin air is not at all as economical as they would like you to believe.
I drove a 1.2 for a while, it's pretty slow, like something is holding it back, personally I liked the styling though.
Ta I drove a 1.2 for a while, it's pretty slow, like something is holding it back, personally I liked the styling though.
Edited by HTP99 on Saturday 17th February 23:31
We went from a 500 to an Up! after the 500 was written off. My daughter walked unscathed from the Fiat which was a good thing. The Up! is a better drive and is better built but lacks the fun looks of the Fiat. My daughters called the Up! a fridge when we first got it but it is an ideal car for youngsters and a useful small runaround.
We’ve got a 15 plate 1.2 lounge which we’ve had since new
It’s actually ok and quite nippy around town if your prepared to rev it
It will cruise ok at national speed limit and can be be quite fun to chuck around
It’s economical and comfortable ... great little town car, very easy to park and scoot through gaps
Boot is tiny but folding back seats down gives plenty of space
Ours is used for knocking about in and not as a main car
But it has been faultless and seems solid and well built
It’s hard to gush about it tbf but it’s a decent little car that just gets on with it
It’s actually ok and quite nippy around town if your prepared to rev it
It will cruise ok at national speed limit and can be be quite fun to chuck around
It’s economical and comfortable ... great little town car, very easy to park and scoot through gaps
Boot is tiny but folding back seats down gives plenty of space
Ours is used for knocking about in and not as a main car
But it has been faultless and seems solid and well built
It’s hard to gush about it tbf but it’s a decent little car that just gets on with it
Earthdweller said:
We’ve got a 15 plate 1.2 lounge which we’ve had since new
It’s actually ok and quite nippy around town if your prepared to rev it
It will cruise ok at national speed limit and can be be quite fun to chuck around
It’s economical and comfortable ... great little town car, very easy to park and scoot through gaps
Boot is tiny but folding back seats down gives plenty of space
Ours is used for knocking about in and not as a main car
But it has been faultless and seems solid and well built
It’s hard to gush about it tbf but it’s a decent little car that just gets on with it
It sounds not too dis-similiar to the Smart & appears to tick all the right boxes for me.It’s actually ok and quite nippy around town if your prepared to rev it
It will cruise ok at national speed limit and can be be quite fun to chuck around
It’s economical and comfortable ... great little town car, very easy to park and scoot through gaps
Boot is tiny but folding back seats down gives plenty of space
Ours is used for knocking about in and not as a main car
But it has been faultless and seems solid and well built
It’s hard to gush about it tbf but it’s a decent little car that just gets on with it
My greatest fear now, is if I'm going to fit into a 500. I'm 6ft4 and north of 17 stone. I've never had any trouble getting in and out of the Smart, the drivers seat goes back far enough and there's plenty of headroom. I suppose there's only one way I'm going to find out......
sawman said:
i have been running a 500 (1.2s) for the last couple of months, it's actually destined to be my daughters car, but we are sharing it until later in the year. I started out looking at 5 year old examples, but viewed many and didnt find one that had all features working (they are probably out there just not in my area!)
Ended up buying a nearly new one figuring that a couple of years manufacturer warranty might be useful.
it's not a bad drive, the 1.2 petrol it not going to break any speed records ( i would have preferred a twin air) but have covered nearly 2k miles and it comfortable enough, and not a bad steer, ours has a black leather wheel and sporty seats both of which make it a bit less girly. The radio is rubbish though, and ours has DAB, which I have yet to hear working
It's made me think about an abarth next.....
I wouldn't even get an Abarth. Mine has been so unreliable and like your 500, my radio has never worked. It's even been replaced under warranty and I've had the aerial replaced twice too! Ended up buying a nearly new one figuring that a couple of years manufacturer warranty might be useful.
it's not a bad drive, the 1.2 petrol it not going to break any speed records ( i would have preferred a twin air) but have covered nearly 2k miles and it comfortable enough, and not a bad steer, ours has a black leather wheel and sporty seats both of which make it a bit less girly. The radio is rubbish though, and ours has DAB, which I have yet to hear working
It's made me think about an abarth next.....
P4D said:
I wouldn't even get an Abarth. Mine has been so unreliable and like your 500, my radio has never worked. It's even been replaced under warranty and I've had the aerial replaced twice too!
I’d say this is quite an isolated issue, on here the only real negative posts have been from P4D and on the owners clubs there are very few complaining of warranty issues. Yes door handles are well known to be an issue but that’s about it.
Reference the size issue for the OP I’m 6’3” and fit fine in my 500.
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