General 17 year old daughter first car - 2012 FIAT 500 lounge advice

[skyrat]

My 17 year old daughter is looking for her first car and found the following on Facebook Marketplace...

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1411709819643408/

I am looking for advice on what to look out for when viewing the car and whether this is a good buy.

Am I correct in saying the engine uses a timing chain rather than a timing belt, in which case does the timing chain last the lifetime of the car ?

With her being 17 the insurance is a killer, so this is why she is looking at something like the Fiat 500.

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi

Its a twinair

So a timing chain..tend to last well

 

[The Panda Nut]

No its a belt and needs changing around 4 year / 48 000 miless. Diesel engines have timing chains. I would suggest you will get a better deal on a Panda and also 4 doors which I prefer as the doors are easier to open wider in car parks. I hazard a Panda might be slightly less on insurance too, partiucularly if you go for the 1.1 engine which seems to loose little to the 1.2 . My daugter didnt want a Panda, but is as obsessed by them as am I and loves it. 500 is may be more trendy but has a few more issues mechanically if my garage man is to be believed, He says he does not like working on 500s but doesnt mind Pandas. EIther are a good bet as a starter car. Allow £300 for the belt change to be safe and get it done as apart of the sale if from a garage. This price includes doing the water pump. Biggest thing to check is the rear axle spring seat pans are not rusting badly as failure on either of these cars can occur if they have been neglected.

Just noticed the engine size so yes its as Varesecrazy says, a chain ....and electro hydraulics. Where did I get the 1.2 bit from??

Personally I would go for a 1.2 as its a simpler engine design and will also do 48-60mpg. I still suggest Panda as a cheaper and just as good solution.

Price seems Round the right level

 

[varesecrazy]

Only cam Belts are 4 cyl petrols..

875 cc and 1248cc are chain ;-)

 

[varesecrazy]

@skyrat

I own 2 x twinairs.. AND LIKE THEM

But buying a 500..I went with the 1242cc FIRE.. tough and simple

Points to watch : in disaster order (cost)

Rear axle (spring pans rust out)
Clutch - gearbox issues
Poor engine running (unusual..but costly)
Front suspension rebuild

Tailgate wiring ( odd faults..but cheap)


The Twinair is a tough MOTOR..and cheap to run and insure

BUT, its a turbo AND uses flash technology to do the fuelling

So needs proper oil on a regular schedule





Its a 500 Lounge trim ;-)
The 500l is a 4 door mpv (popemobile)

 

[Dan at Adrian Flux]

Hi.
If you need any help with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.

 

[skyrat]

Hi.
If you need any help with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.

Yes I do, can you offer a policy that isn’t a stupidly ridiculous price like most quotes I’ve had ?

 

[skyrat]

Hi.
If you need any help with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.

Is this some kind of joke ?????

 

[Dan at Adrian Flux]

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Is this some kind of joke ?????

Hi.
So how does this compare with the other quotations you have been getting? Is it a lot more expensive?
Regards,
Dan.

 

[AndyRKett]

View attachment 428632

Is this some kind of joke ?????

This is motoring for a 17 year old who is buying there first new car unfortunately.

Did you put yourself on as a named driver, that can help bring the costs down.

 

[The Panda Nut]

I asked for a quote for my 4 cars a few years back and the cost was so high it was actually funny. We had a total of 70 years NCD at the time too My existing insurer was something like £3000 less so this does not suprise me. Its up to them which groups of motorists they want and how much they charge but I will NEVER ask again for a quote again from Flux.. My neighbour says he can only get insurance for his 17 year old daughter from an American company, and then hes paying £294 for 500 miles only and with a monitoring box in the car. How the hell is anyone supposed to learn to drive? I think these prices seem an outrage. I have paid for multiple cars for many years and had I think 5 claims in a combined total milage of 2,000,000 3 of these claims were no fault and the other three on company cars which were all self funding policies so zero cost to the insurer. 2 claims, one for a pheasant strike and one when I backed into a short post in a car park and split the plastic tailgate on a CItroen estate and a handful of windscreens are so far the sum total of the payouts. That does not stop the insurers from hiking the costs yeat on year. Holding and advanced drivers certificate is also almost a waste of time as they dont give a monkey and certainly dont allow a discount. My car is equipped as an extra with CBC and this too makes no difference to them. They gain a lower risk and I get not a penny back. They are all complete wasters in my opinion and a grand sort out of this cartel driven industry is well overdue. Most insurers dont know much at all about the variations between makes, let alone models. There are a few hallf decent firms in the business that dont hike chagres on the elderly and unsuspecting but the rest are unsrupulous **** as far as I can see, My mother, insured for nearly 60 years with NFU was being grosly overcharged when I took over her affairs and put a stop to it. 65% cost reduction and a better policy to boot in that case. Another company to avoid if you dont want to be fleeced. As to Admiral multi car policies these too are a con. Start OK and accelerate costs out of control within 2 or 3 years. We saved nearlyu 200 on each car by parting from them. Buyers beware!

 

[The Panda Nut]

Is this some kind of joke ?????

Only if you take them up on it.
Do be scrupulously honest when applying for insurance though as the theiveing so and sos main expertise is wriggling out of paying out when you need them! Try a range of good brokers would be my main tip.

 

[varesecrazy]

Try a range of good brokers would be my main tip.

I posted this years ago..

But insuring a 17 year old learner
( expensive)
in a 6 year old 1.1 panda (cheap)

We used the comparison sites to see what ACTUALLY effected the price

It was cheaper to add TWO LEARNERS..!!

So 2 forty somethings with long clean licences..and 2 beginners

Made all the basic learning easy and convenient

Once they pass a test they have 12months as a named driver with no claims..
So a Percentage reduction on their new vehicle policy


I believe our Panda went from £200 to £700 (WAS £900 with 1 learner)

Also meant only needed six lessons and a test .. so potentially £400/£600 saved on lessons ( x2)

Press Articles now in 2023 say average car insurance is over £500 so £1500/£2000 quotes dont seem 'unbelievable'

Usual reply.. do your research and shop around

 

[skyrat]

This is motoring for a 17 year old who is buying there first new car unfortunately.

Did you put yourself on as a named driver, that can help bring the costs down.

Yes I put myself down as a named driver but the cost is still extortianate

 

[skyrat]

Hi.
So how does this compare with the other quotations you have been getting? Is it a lot more expensive?
Regards,
Dan.

A rip off..... like all the other quotes. Many thanks for your help though Dan !

 

[getawayhs2]

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Is this some kind of joke ?????

They are. Cheap for my 40 year old kit car. I tried them for modern and classic Jags and they were double the price I could get elsewhere. They also seem to have adopted hackneyed sales techniques of dodgy double-glazing outfits, very pushy, not nice.

 

[FiatMatt94]

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Is this some kind of joke ?????

When I was 17 I bought a Pink S reg 899cc Cinquecento out of the local Friday Ad for around £300 & my insurance was more than that, just for the deposit was more than I paid for the car & then £250 a month totalling just under £3k all in, it got written off after about 8 months, then I got a Bravo although the engine was bigger being a 1242cc 16v the insurance dropped by a big chunk after the first year to about £750.

 

[vexorg]

Has she passed her test yet?
We started insurance policies for ours when they were still learning. Was only about £400 a year for a 1.2 corsa, and 1.2 micra on their first year. With it being in their name then it builds their no claims. And 1 year no claims makes a big difference (turned out to be 3 years with the micra before passing their test thanks to covid shutting things down then stupid waiting times).