Fiat 500?

J

jackknife

Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Messages
17,508
Anyone got one, or know someone who has one?

Wife and I thinking of buying one for a weekend fun car. But I worry about the old "Fix it again Tony" reputation of the cars back in the 60's. Test drove one just for yuks, and it was like a go cart with a great stereo. Fun.
 
Me and my wife were seriously thinking about them, especially the Abarth. When we realized that super-hot sexy Italian model from the commercials didn't come with the car, we lost interest in it. We ended up with a Mini Cooper, and love the hell out of it. Haven't regretted the Mini for one second. Have you considered those?
 
I talked to a guy with one a few months ago. He traded his Mini Cooper in on it. He wanted his Mini back.
 
I met someone last summer who had one and he loved it. My brother-in-law bought one six or seven months ago. He's crazy about it but says it has some body roll. It's not a Mini Cooper.
 
Go with the Abarth...or wait for the 500L...either way, much more fun than a Mini.
 
The 'Fix It Again Tony' acronym still applies.

Also keep in mind; FIAT now owns the Chrysler Corporation.
 
I have had dealership experience with French, Italian and British cars. They were all pretty bad, if not downright
horrible.

There is no way I would buy an Italian car.
 
Fix It Again Tony?
I always thought it stood for "Feeble Italian Attempt at Transportation.
Anyway, I think they look, (how should I say this in a politically correct manner) "appearance challenged" :D
I'd much rather have a Mini.
But to each his own.
Lenny
 
Bought one for my wife in 2011.
Still no problems and it is fun to drive.
But I do feel like I have to check my man card in when I drive it.
 
Bought a VW GTI. Handles like a little race car and leaves the Mini and the Fiat in its wake. Seats 4 people semi comfortable, and puts a grin on my face every time I drive it. Might want to look at one. I'm sure it's cheaper than a Mini, not sure about the Fiat. I don't know what they are currently bringing.
 
In heaven, they say, all of the chefs are Italian, all of the cars are German, and all of the police are British. In hell, all of the chefs are British, all of the police are German, and all of the cars are Italian.





I also think that the "new" 500 is a stupid-looking car. If you want a little car like that, Get the Mini.... which is made by BMW... or a Mercedes SLS; now that's a fun weekend car.
 
Gollnick said:
In heaven, they say, all of the chefs are Italian, all of the cars are German, and all of the police are British. In hell, all of the chefs are British, all of the police are German, and all of the cars are Italian.
Click to expand...

I heard it as hell was German Chefs, Italian police and British Cars. There's an incredible amount of supercars being driven in Hell if the cars are all Italian. That thought might be more appropriate if the weather in Hell was also British. Italian cars/bikes tend to have unburstable engines (Italians redline evrything ,everywhere) and superb styling, their weaknesses are/were lack of rustproofing and electrics that fail in the rain. DUCATI was short for "Don't Understand Climate Anyway, Those Italians"

Edit: While I know more people who own/have owned the new Mini, I know a significant proportion of them have had service/reliability issues. I only know a few with the "Cinquacento" but none of them have had any complaints. The styling is quirkier than the Mini and I can't imagine it would evoke very much nostalgia in the US, as the original was tiny, about half the size of the old Mini. Hardly the "Retro nostalgia" effect evoked by the Dodge Charger or the Shelby GT500.
http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/cargrouptests/234172/abarth_500_esseesse_v_mini_cooper_s.html
 
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Carl,
thank you for introducing me to the "fix it again Tony" thing :D
Yes, Fiat cars are obviously common here, and their reliability (especially in the electric dept) has never been their strong point. However, it seems that some of the newer Fiat models (at least here) dont offer the "Christmas tree effect" (lights going on and off casually); I know quite a bunch of people who own the 500, and I've never heard of big issues. As for style, I admit I always saw the 500 a bit as a "lady" car (most of Fiat's publicity seems to be women-oriented), but it's a matter of personal taste.
I would not compare it to a Mini; I see them as very different cars, the Mini being much more a sports car, while the Fiat is much more a cute, casual, and surely more stylish car. But taste is taste.
As for Italian motors, and although I'm not really the kind of person who takes much pride in my country (not on this subject anyway), well, fortunately there's more than just Fiat in the history (and present) of Italian motors. But, again, taste is taste, and personal experience is, as always, personal. :)

:cool:
 
In my long standng love affair with Vespa motor scooters, I've never wasted any time or lost any sleep worrying about if it was a manly machine. Too busy having fun to care what people think. But I have found that Italian motors do like to rev, and driving them hard does not seem to bother them. And once Vespa came out with the P series in the 1980's, the electrical problems seemed to go way down.

For several years now, the family has had group rides and some of them have been 150 miles in a single afternoon. Sister in law Diane, Brother in law Roger, my better half Karen, adn myself have covered a lot of ground on Vespa's, and the reliability has been way better than the Harley-Davidson's we wasted time on in the late 90's to 2001. The Italian scoots have never needed a tow, something that can not be said about the '95 sportster or 97 super glide.

The better half and I got interested in the Fiat from our Vespa experience. We're not getting any younger, and at our age, we know we will not be on two wheels that much longer. So we were thinking of just a fun little convertble for the weekend jaunts in the country. We chalked off the Mini for a couple of reasons. A few friends who have them have had some serious issues that cost some big $$$. Also, my experience with BMW motorcycles was one of outrageous parts cost, and weird problems. And it was a real PITA to get the BMW parts as they had to be got from the "Authorized BMW' dealer.

The photo below is one of our family Sunday brunch rides. Roger in the red rides the black Piaggio 500, Diane in the blue next to her LX150, and me in the dark blue with my old gray PX150. Karen took the pic standing by her green GT200. So the Fiat would be just an extension of our love for all things Italian!

9087956479_140fec7916_c.jpg
 
We have had the Mini since early January, my wife commutes 60 miles a day with it. 37 mpg, and nothing has broken.
 
Scion FR-S was really impractical but a fun test drive nonetheless. Our primary car is a V6 Highlander.
 
Think of it as a car that doubles in value every time you fill the gas tank.
 
My sister has the Fiat 500 ( Cinquacento ). She bought it as soon as they became available in the US, even though I told her it was probably a bad idea. :)

But she has had it for over a year and uses it as a commuter car. It's been driven over 15k miles without a hitch.
(in contrast, my 2011 BMW 328i has a few annoying gremlins that can't be found by service)

I took the 500 for a spin when it was new and I liked it.

The pros are:

- When driven, it doesn't feel small.
- it handles reasonably well
- the interior styling is actually nice.
- it was inexpensive.

The cons:
- the regular engine feels underpowered
- the exterior styling is quirky.
- compact spare is an option ( that she doesn't have and didn't know about)

My father has a Mini Cooper and also has had good luck with the car. He's had it for about 3 years and I've driven that car too.
IMO , and not to insult anyone who owns a mini. The driving experience between a base mini and a 500 is not all that different. Yes the overall quality of the mini is better and it has much better resale value, but it is also more expensive.

If I was in the market for an inexpensive weekend car and didn't care about resale value in a few years , I 'd have no problem buying a convertible 500. ( I'd get the convertible) :)
 
Never driven the Fiat but have driven the naturally aspirated and supercharged Mini's many times. The supercharged and turbo charged mini's are an absolute blast but both friends who own the mini's have terrible dealer stories. My friend who had one of the early "new" Mini's had the auto transmission go after about a month of ownership, then there was the time the rear door/hatch fell off (yes, fell off while parked) and because the car was past its warranty period mini didn't honor any sort of repair work. I want to drive the new abarth myself.
 
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