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Technical Fiat 500 slated in Auto Express

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Technical Fiat 500 slated in Auto Express

i do feel that the overall 500 package is missing something tho, in my opinion, i really do... weather its the harsh crashy ride, driver/seat comfort. knees touching the dash, hard interier plastics, having the tailgate drilled for the number plate, when holes are factory provided, loosing the underseat storage when speccing the sub wuffer, over pricing of the car/accessories were all paying, dealer service, long waits for delivery, not being able to fit a roof rack on the sun roof model/fixed roof... but there a lovely shape car, inside and out, so just carnt put my finger on it.... sorry... :(
 
grungdog23 said:
the harsh crashy ride, driver/seat comfort. knees touching the dash, hard interier plastics, loosing the underseat storage when speccing the sub wuffer, over pricing of the car/accessories were all paying
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All of which can be discovered on a test drive and a quick browse through the brochure.

Are people not test driving cars before they buy them anymore?! If your knees are touching the dash the car is too bloody small for you!
 
I think one of the main things now is the fact Fiat are selling to people with proper expectations for proper money. £8200 seems plenty to me for a small base level 1200 hatch.

It was easy to forgive problems when the cars are cheap as in the panda but as the suspension buses, heater fan, wiring, central locking motors, steering rack, maf sensors etc... are the same and have been going wrong for a few years now on that car there is no reason they wont on the 500.

It is a fact of selling to a different demographic, LandRover had it when they starting selling the Discovery, the buyers were not farmers and needed tauter handling and gearbox that could do 90mph all day long.

As said earlier every car manufacturer has it problems but its how well they are sorted and it seems a few of the dealers cant be relied on. (a by product of selling low margin/volume cars for years)

I am sure we will still end up getting one anyway!!
 
grungdog23 said:
i do feel that the overall 500 package is missing something tho, in my opinion, i really do... weather its the harsh crashy ride, driver/seat comfort. knees touching the dash, hard interier plastics, having the tailgate drilled for the number plate, when holes are factory provided, loosing the underseat storage when speccing the sub wuffer, over pricing of the car/accessories were all paying, dealer service, long waits for delivery, not being able to fit a roof rack on the sun roof model/fixed roof... but there a lovely shape car, inside and out, so just carnt put my finger on it.... sorry... :(
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I waited 8 weeks for my 500 1.4 Sport and 7 Weeks for my Abarth, I think thats very reasonable for factory built cars.

The interior is going to have some cheap plastics, because its a cheap car! The overall interior in my opinion is superior to cars costing £10-15k more.

Some people will never be happy with the car, which is upto them I suppose. Me, I love my current Abarth 500 and loved my old 500 1.4 Sport, I had a few niggles, but thats life, the car makes up for anything thats gone wrong :)

Si
 
Our 500 has been in the garage 3 times since getting it 2 months ago (2400 miles). Depsite this we are considering getting another one next year (probably a 1.4 or dare i say it... an arbarth) because of how it makes me feel when i sit in it. Its only a 1.2 but it puts a massive grin on my face. No Fiesta, Clio or Yaris can do that. Besides, if Honest John has one they can't all be that bad. :D
 
Some interesting comments here. AE really rate the 500. It wins every group test in enters. These scores in the survey mentioned are from actual owners.

Also, as I understand it, it came 86th, making into the top 100 (which isn't bad). It scored 82.95% -v- 85.75% for the 43rd placed car & 91.18% for the top placed car. Hardly a massive spread of scores.

You can't blame the mag for what real owners think (or at least those who voted).
 
As a non 500 owner, i was amazingly shocked to see the 500 in the bottom end of the survey. Even with the few shortcomings mentioned on this forum, i had to question who had responded to this survey because it was so far away from the experiences id read on here.

The Grande Punto came one place lower than the 500 and i was expecting that, as there seems to be continuous posts regarding issues of one form or another on the GP. Similarly the excellent 22nd position for the Bravo was no surprise to me either, but the 500 result (along with results for several other cars) really made me wonder who replies to these surveys.

However, i think the hostile response to the person who may or may not have been from Auto Express was a wrong move. The enquiry from them may have been due to their disbelief at the result aswell. I may be totally naive on that, but gut instinct says that the response given by people on here was out of order, particularly as Auto Express rated the 500 with 5 stars in their own reviews and these survey results are meant to be a reflection of what owners say, not the view of the magazine itself.
 
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As a long trem Fiat customer/owner I can tell you why Fiat always come so low now that Ive deviated!

Ive had five brand new Fiats, from four different dealers. All arrived weeks after they first promised. All came with defects from new that a good dealer should have spotted at the pdi stage, dents, paint chips, overspray, poor paint repairs, scuffed interiors and more. To get these things rectified has often involved lengthy disscussions and much heartache. The faults havent been minor either but very obvious ones, if Mark Elvin had seen my Panda in 04 he would have died!

After buying the cars, only once in 1997 did Fiat ever contact me to ask how things were, Ive not once had a dealer ring to see how things are going with the car.

In the past few weeks we have bought a smart and a Pug 107, the smart wa delivered earlier than they said and the Pug was in stock. Both cars were delivered with no flaws at all, no paint issues, no damage and immaculately presented. Since buying, the smart dealer has rung twice, smart have sent two customer satisfaction surveys for different things. Peugeot have sent a similar form and rang this week. The dealer rang after delivery too.
Peugeot take all their cars back after a month for a free check up too.

So far, I am amazed that this has all happened, OK its nothing major but it gives you faith in the manufacurer, Im sure over time both the smart and the pug will give trouble but for now we are both really happy, and both cars are finished off as youd expect for the money, as was the 500 but the others have matched dampers and springs unlike the 500!!!

I doubt very much that I could buy another Fiat, when I think back at the aggro the dealers have given I must have been mad to buy again after the Panda really.
Back to the AE report though, the one I did fill out was mostly positive about the 500.
But, its hard to be honest as the form doesnt ask the right questions, the JD power one was better.
 
JTD_Liam said:
The Grande Punto came one place lower than the 500 and i was expecting that, as there seems to be continuous posts regarding issues of one form or another on the GP. Similarly the excellent 22nd position for the Bravo was no surprise to me either, but the 500 result (along with results for several other cars) really made me wonder who replies to these surveys.
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Bravo did what now? :confused:
 
1 year down the line - and i still drive round with the fiat 500 grin:D

I find any excuse to drive the car - and have done more miles in the first year than in any other car i've had.
So far the reliablilty has been excellent and apart from the odd knock or rattle which i've sorted myself all has been perfect.
I like the driving position, I like the gear knob position.
The ride and handling were a little hard to come to terms with at first but (as i've mentioned here before) for thirty quid and 10 minutes fitting time you can buy a lower strut brace that all but irons out the ride and roll problems.
It is now a very fun car to drive.

I if i were asked by anyone i would give the car a glowing report.

I do think some of the problem is people are speccing their car up to the hilt and paying 11-12k for the privelige, then expecting 11-12k car quality - for gods sake people :bang: the basic car is a 7 grand car - which fiat then dump another grand + on because they know people will pay.

No matter what engine or leather or toys you add is not going make the rest of the car any better made. (Abarth not included)

For a 7 grand car it's excellent - If you want 11-12k car quality buy a Focus.

I paid £7800 for Bj straight out of the showroom - and i think i got a bargain:D
 
I was in the magazine aisle at Sainsbury's when I picked up AE and read the survey report. I was a bit dismayed and surprised, as I've not really had any major issues with my 500, and still feel extremely happy and positive about it.

I then went to the section in AE where it lists all the makes and models of new cars, and started counting (sad, I know). Over all the different manufacturers, there are something like 247 different models available to buy in the UK (and most models have x number of variants/specs).

So I see it this way: The little 500 has made it into the top 100 of those 247 or so models and has come 86th out of 247ish, so there are 161 'worse' cars.:)
 
Littala said:
I was in the magazine aisle at Sainsbury's when I picked up AE and read the survey report. I was a bit dismayed and surprised, as I've not really had any major issues with my 500, and still feel extremely happy and positive about it.

I then went to the section in AE where it lists all the makes and models of new cars, and started counting (sad, I know). Over all the different manufacturers, there are something like 247 different models available to buy in the UK (and most models have x number of variants/specs).

So I see it this way: The little 500 has made it into the top 100 of those 247 or so models and has come 86th out of 247ish, so there are 161 'worse' cars.:)
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i like the cut of your jib(y)
 
Littala said:
I was in the magazine aisle at Sainsbury's when I picked up AE and read the survey report. I was a bit dismayed and surprised, as I've not really had any major issues with my 500, and still feel extremely happy and positive about it.

I then went to the section in AE where it lists all the makes and models of new cars, and started counting (sad, I know). Over all the different manufacturers, there are something like 247 different models available to buy in the UK (and most models have x number of variants/specs).

So I see it this way: The little 500 has made it into the top 100 of those 247 or so models and has come 86th out of 247ish, so there are 161 'worse' cars.:)
Click to expand...

Me likey too! :D I'd give you a toffee if I had one!
 
as i did buy my fiat 500 only for its gorgous looks both inside and out, which i have aready said on here, is there any other real reason to buy one? im being honest tho... just a thought... comments please...
 
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