There is another recent thread on here about people downsizing from larger cars to the 500. I saw it in the flesh a couple of Sundays ago and ordered one on the following tuesday.
My Honda Civic (new diesel version) was hardly being used and was costing me £400 and £115 tax plus servicing to insure. Although I lost a lot, I decided to get rid and it sold to a private buyer last night. The quote for my 1.3 500's insurance was only £190 plus £35 road tax, so my running costs will reduce quite dramatically. I'm looking forward to getting it in two weeks time.
I used to have a Mini, the first generation BMW one and used to think it was lovely. It was however unreliable, needing a new gearbox, new steering column and new steering motor. Looking back on it, although it was a hoot to drive, it actually had no purity or class about it and it was extremely badly packaged to boot. Bloated and overrated. Sorry Mini fans.
The Fiat on the other hand is much more honest. It is well packaged and looks as if it will be reliable. Even Which rate the Panda's reliability, although diss the brand in general. Once I've had it for a few months I will be able to make a better judgement about whether it fulfils the criteria of what a small car should be. It needs to make a couple of journeys from The South East to Scotland a couple of times a year and the crunch point will be seing how well it performs at this task. I had a 53 reg Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 litre with semi-auto gearbox, like the Fiat system, and although the car was widely criticised in the automotive press, it was honest and great fun to drive. It was utterly gutless and handled like a pig. I drove it to Newcastle from London a couple of times, and half the fun was keeping the revs as high as possible to achieve reasonable performance. It had a top speed of about 85mph and needed careful forward planning to maintain momentum on motorways. I suspect it would be very similar drive in the 1.2 Fiat 500, although the Fiat will be better due to its handling abilities, therefore even more fun....
One further point. I would like to predict something too. I hope I am wrong about the prediction: only time will tell. The Mini had great residual value, there is no doubting that. I believe that the 500 will fall at this hurdle once it becomes more widely available, say in a couple of years time. Once the supply has caught up with demand, i suspect Fiat will be up to its old tricks and start discounting heavily as it has done with the Panda. This will make it depreciate more quickly unless you have managed to get one at a good discount initially. Also, I think the perception of Fiat in the UK needs to change. I realise it is probably as reliable as VW for example but some of the dealers really need to pull their socks up! This is just a gut feeling and a hunch that has inspired this doubt.
As I have purchased the car from the Fiat showroom in Central London, who have not opened their service centre (in Battersea) yet, can anyone recommend a good dealer, preferably in the Midlands area within a 100 miles drive of North London? Servicing generally tends to be cheaper in the midlands and I would rather visit a dealer with a good record. Is the dealer in Warwick (Grays) any good? Recommendations please!!
Doug
My Honda Civic (new diesel version) was hardly being used and was costing me £400 and £115 tax plus servicing to insure. Although I lost a lot, I decided to get rid and it sold to a private buyer last night. The quote for my 1.3 500's insurance was only £190 plus £35 road tax, so my running costs will reduce quite dramatically. I'm looking forward to getting it in two weeks time.
I used to have a Mini, the first generation BMW one and used to think it was lovely. It was however unreliable, needing a new gearbox, new steering column and new steering motor. Looking back on it, although it was a hoot to drive, it actually had no purity or class about it and it was extremely badly packaged to boot. Bloated and overrated. Sorry Mini fans.
The Fiat on the other hand is much more honest. It is well packaged and looks as if it will be reliable. Even Which rate the Panda's reliability, although diss the brand in general. Once I've had it for a few months I will be able to make a better judgement about whether it fulfils the criteria of what a small car should be. It needs to make a couple of journeys from The South East to Scotland a couple of times a year and the crunch point will be seing how well it performs at this task. I had a 53 reg Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 litre with semi-auto gearbox, like the Fiat system, and although the car was widely criticised in the automotive press, it was honest and great fun to drive. It was utterly gutless and handled like a pig. I drove it to Newcastle from London a couple of times, and half the fun was keeping the revs as high as possible to achieve reasonable performance. It had a top speed of about 85mph and needed careful forward planning to maintain momentum on motorways. I suspect it would be very similar drive in the 1.2 Fiat 500, although the Fiat will be better due to its handling abilities, therefore even more fun....
One further point. I would like to predict something too. I hope I am wrong about the prediction: only time will tell. The Mini had great residual value, there is no doubting that. I believe that the 500 will fall at this hurdle once it becomes more widely available, say in a couple of years time. Once the supply has caught up with demand, i suspect Fiat will be up to its old tricks and start discounting heavily as it has done with the Panda. This will make it depreciate more quickly unless you have managed to get one at a good discount initially. Also, I think the perception of Fiat in the UK needs to change. I realise it is probably as reliable as VW for example but some of the dealers really need to pull their socks up! This is just a gut feeling and a hunch that has inspired this doubt.
As I have purchased the car from the Fiat showroom in Central London, who have not opened their service centre (in Battersea) yet, can anyone recommend a good dealer, preferably in the Midlands area within a 100 miles drive of North London? Servicing generally tends to be cheaper in the midlands and I would rather visit a dealer with a good record. Is the dealer in Warwick (Grays) any good? Recommendations please!!
Doug
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