Can't wait to see the Abarth!!

I'm told there's a batch of 10 left hookers coming to UK (Sept) to be resold to eager Uk buyers. PRICES AND DETAILS UNKNOWN YET.

Already on sale from Itilian dealers on www.ebay.it at a discount to list price! Oh dear, people didn't pay a premium for long!

Daily Telegraph seem to like it too: Sat 7th Jul issue - Motoring section.

Very cute little car good for fiat. its as the original it should be a really big seller for them but hey GUYS come on its CAMPER THAN A ROW OF PINK TENTS far toooooooooooooooooooooo girly.

jassyo said:

Very cute little car good for fiat. its as the original it should be a really big seller for them but hey GUYS come on its CAMPER THAN A ROW OF PINK TENTS far toooooooooooooooooooooo girly.

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It is quite "cute", but I think if you get in the "right" colour and choice options, and an Abarth version, you'd be more than OK.

Maybe?

Camp my arse!!

Its not camp... IMHO !

Like NF500 said get the colours and spec right and it'll look gorgeous

jetweed said:

Camp my arse!!

Its not camp... IMHO !

Like NF500 said get the colours and spec right and it'll look gorgeous

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i will reserve judgement on your "arse" your right its so MACHO how could i have been mistaken..........???

It is camp as christmas, cute as kittens and therefore my bro will not want to keep borrowing it.
Yeeeeeeeeeeesssssss. Wot a result.

More camp than Clary maybe but men buy the nissan micra dont they-maybe this 500 is Ideal for men who carry a handbag and insist that it is actually a *manbag*

I am looking forward to seeing the 500 back on the roads again. Although my heart is with THE original :slayer:

Fiat dealers and Fiat UK need to get their arses in gear and improve their reputation before they can sell shed loads of these and before Fiat can be seen as a premium brand in this country.

Dealers will have a lot to do with the success or otherwise of this car in the UK for sure.

They keep comparing it to the MINI, but part of what attracted many buyers to the MINI was the belief it was a "small BMW" and that you would become BMW customers, which most see as a good thing.

It may seem harsh, but it's a reality that many people "aspire" to own BMWs, not many aspire to own Fiats. So they will have a harder time to sell this car than they ever did the MINI.

NF500 said:

Dealers will have a lot to do with the success or otherwise of this car in the UK for sure.

They keep comparing it to the MINI, but part of what attracted many buyers to the MINI was the belief it was a "small BMW" and that you would become BMW customers, which most see as a good thing.

It may seem harsh, but it's a reality that many people "aspire" to own BMWs, not many aspire to own Fiats. So they will have a harder time to sell this car than they ever did the MINI.

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I mostly agree with you on the MINI/BMW thing - BMWs ownership of MINI had a very big influence on my decision to buy one, but how many of the "It's so cute, daddy can I have one?" types bought their MINI because of the BMW connection?

I think it was autoexpress that compared the MINI to the 500 and the 500 won hands down

people who are buying the mini which i aint a fan of big time,are buying them because the beeemr facto,thats why the fiat 500 will always be 2nd best to it.personally i dont think there is is any comparison.ounce the new NOVELTY FACTOR wears off the 500 it will be just like any other fiat,just look at the grande punto the most important make or brake model for fiat in a decade or so.its all hype conjured up by the motoring press

Jazzy Jase said:

I mostly agree with you on the MINI/BMW thing - BMWs ownership of MINI had a very big influence on my decision to buy one, but how many of the "It's so cute, daddy can I have one?" types bought their MINI because of the BMW connection?

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Quite a few I bet, because Daddy was getting his X5 serviced at the dealer when they got to crawl over the MINI.

At least MINI dealers treat customers like humans not complete imbeciles.
Fiat dealers are fairly cr%p in comparison. I remember now why I used to use indie garages for servicing my old Cinq and keep well away from Finger In Anal Tract dealers.

I agree , unless FIAT have sorted any problems they may have with this vehicle,,,,,,
just look at the mini and the bug ,do you know of there problems?
No but even if you did you wont here about it. because people dont talk about there problems with BMW and VW.But mention a FIAT and people like to talk
So lets hope this vehicle is the best
Not like the GP with its 3 miillion miles tested ? but not on the basic items.

SO COME ON LETS ALL GET BEHIND THE 500

and the new FIAT customer relations centre

The new Mini is a reliable car, although the early models had a few gremlins (most notably the gearbox - I know about this having owned one for a while), but there again the Seicento I had as a hire car for two months was completely fault-free.

Fiat ought to send threatening letters to its dealer network in relation to after-sales service (if they haven't done so already), and back this up with the increased use of mystery shoppers. Also the sales force ought to be reminded that there's no need for high pressure sales techniques with the 500 - you don't get this sort of thing in a Mini showroom and it was most offputting when I was enquiring about a Grande Punto not long after it had launched.

They know they are not perfect at Fiat UK. Look at some of the replies they are giving on their own (fiat.co.uk) forum to UK customers.

We recognise that Fiat customers haven’t always been at the top of our agenda in the past so can understand your sentiments. However, internally, there is a real drive for change now and a focus on improving the customer experience. This, coupled with a significant increase in product quality is how we plan to match/exceed the experience offered by other volume manufacturers.