General Thinking of buying this 2002 with 15,000KM

[jamiestarr]

Hi there,

I have just seen this Barchetta advertised in the press. Pics attached. I don't know what specification was available here in Dubai, but understand the basis spec was imported. With cloth seats, no a/c etc. I'd be grateful if someone could advise me of the likely spec. I believe the alloy wheels may be a give away - I can't tell. Also, I've noticed that the wing mirrors are different colour to the body (this may be due to bringing the spec up to local standards perhaps); I haven't seen this on others cars before.

The chap is asking for around £3,000 ($5,500) for a 2002 model, which he claims has only covered 15,000KM.

Any help would be greatly appreciated before I view it.

Are there any guides on the forum that may help me when viewing the car?

 

[Rustbucket]

Not a huge variation in B specs..have a look at the guide here

https://www.fiatforum.com/barchetta/134410-factfile.html

which gives you the detail differences between models. Most obvious difference is the Mk2 has different bumpers front and rear. The one in the picture is a Mk1 which was built by an independent company Maggiore. They went bust in 2002? and the remainder
of the cars were built by Fiat and there have been reports of quality control issues while Fiat learned how to put the car together.

All B's are very similar with the same 1747cc engine from the Punto HGT. My immediate thought would be heat..you'll cook in a B there without aircon.

 

[jamiestarr]

Thanks, very helpful.

Does this mean that this 2002 is the unreliable batch? (ie the one made by Fiat)

Also, just spoke to the owner and he confirmed that an after-market a/c has been installed. I take your point that otherwise I'd bake here. In his words, the car has hardly been driven.

 

[Rustbucket]

I don't think any of them are unreliable, its just the earlier cars seem to be screwed together better (there are only around 1,500 Mk2's anyway out of 57k total production). Fiat did a bargain clearout of later B's, no leather interior, steel wheels etc and lopped 3k off the UK price tag, possibly to shift them.

B's are reliable enough if you look after them. Fine as a runabout. the engine is good so long as its serviced properly. Bodywork is very lightly built and the paint itself is a horrible eco lead free formula that chips easily and leaves a white scab. If you drive it in a dusty, sandy stony place (Middle East?) then I guess the bodywork will suffer.

B is a great little car but needs plenty of TLC.

 

[jamiestarr]

Thanks, I'll give it a miss because I can't see myself giving it plenty of TLC unless the price is reduced further - the vendor doesn't seem keen to do this.

 

[ricky952]

looking at your photos i can see the mirrors , front lip spoiler and back bumper lip are in silver these were all features on the naxos edition which are scarce .

 

[McKoval]

yep. this is a naxos version
o the last mk1 out
it should also have an original windstop with "naxos" written on it

 

[paganeli panda]

ddi the Naxos come in silver? And if yes what colour where the spoiler and the wing mirrors?

 

[barchingmad]

I owned a 'jag blue' naxos about 5 years ago. reliable enough, but i much prefer the 96 mark one b that i have now...

think they also did the naxos in red. not sure if they did any more colours?

and yes, i did replace the silver headlights... when i bought it from mangoletsi it had one silver and one black... i prefered the look of the black!

 

[McKoval]

ddi the Naxos come in silver? And if yes what colour where the spoiler and the wing mirrors?

nope, only red and jag blue
http://www.barchetta-lexikon.de/?artikel=n001
here you can find a prospect

cheers

 

[KC3]

hi, its not a bad price at £3000, thats very reasonable for that model and its milage. I,d say it was a good buy..

 

[staffs74]

Seems like a keen price

 

[desert rat]

Hi,

Just seen your post. If it's any use to you I bought a 1999 B in Bahrain a couple of years ago for BD 1500. (about DHS 15,000) . It was origionally imported here from Dubai, it has high mileage and was quite shabby compared to your pics. (bought if from a saudi... may explain a few things)!! but it did come with a hard top. (which spends 11 months of the year occupying the spare room). So yours seems a good price in comparison

The car has been quite reliable since i've had it. most problems occur when not driven for a month or so. Condensation on the spark plugs, PAX window motor stops working, needs a good hard slap on the door panel to sort it out..!

If you are going to buy Check that it has had a second radiator fan fitted (for the A/C. Take it take for an "enthusiastic" drive at mid day with the air con on just to make sure it doesn't overheat and leave it sat at idle for a good 30 mins after. I used to have problems with this untill I found the 2nd fan resistor broken, now it's fine even in August!! My A/C compressor is origional but I found it is also fitted to Toyotas so there should be spares.

Not sure who or if there is a dealer in Dubai at the moment. It used to be Al Ghandi but I don't think they deal in them anymore? I would be interested in knowing who the dealer is now?

We don't have a Fiat dealer in Bahrain (have heard rumours about 1 in Al Kobar, Saudi.) But I have managed to source most parts for services from other cars.

Best thing about owning a Bee here is no one has seen one before.... I get so many comments on how nice she is and who makes it and do I want to sell it....
Worst thing is sitting in traffic and looking at the size of that land cruiser or Envoy that screached to a halt inches away from your back bumper...

If you decide to buy it i'm sure you will love owning it will not be as trouble free as buying a Toyota but it will be a hell of a lot more fun !!