General 124 Spider over and out?

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General 124 Spider over and out?

With regards to the Tipo T-Jet SW, the lack of stock is probably because it's a slightly unusual choice - most SWs will sell in diesel form because it's a more economical load lugger. I have the hatch version of the T-Jet - performance is very good and I'm very happy with the Tipo generally, but it's barely got above 31mpg in the 3000 miles i've covered so far, so I'd go with the 1.6 Multijet if I were you. I would if I was choosing again.

Had a two Stilo MW mjet for 4 years each. Huge choice at the time, lots to test drive after 2 years after launch. Tipo SW been around since 66 plate, now two years along and at 68 plate less than a dozen UK wide. Stilo MW was an unusual choice for some, but was a keen car. I am sure the Tipo SW is as well. But in a t-jet format in lounge spec seems super rare. Would not have a diesel again, been there and lived with the problems twice, besides Diesel engine cars are in free fall at the moment as are residuals across the board, hence petrol for the time being is the way to go. I would have a 124 for sure, but I already have a sorted 20VT Coupe. I am not one for PCP, though the deals I see for a 124 are very tempting as a Fiat or Abarth badge on the bonnet.
 
The best deals on 124s at the moment seem to be on a PCH (lease) rather than PCP, so no issues with balloon payments etc. As long as the total cost to lease over given period is less than what you'd lose in depreciation over the same period if you bought new, you're in clover (assuming that the alternative would be to buy new, of course.).

One of the things making me hesitate is that I already have a Barchetta, but I don't use it much anymore, other than for shortish local trips in the summer. I quite fancy the idea of the occasional top-down Grand Tour sur le continent before I'm too old and knackered to do it, but I'd be nervous about attempting that in the B.
 
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Had a two Stilo MW mjet for 4 years each. Huge choice at the time, lots to test drive after 2 years after launch. Tipo SW been around since 66 plate, now two years along and at 68 plate less than a dozen UK wide. Stilo MW was an unusual choice for some, but was a keen car. I am sure the Tipo SW is as well. But in a t-jet format in lounge spec seems super rare. Would not have a diesel again, been there and lived with the problems twice, besides Diesel engine cars are in free fall at the moment as are residuals across the board, hence petrol for the time being is the way to go. I would have a 124 for sure, but I already have a sorted 20VT Coupe. I am not one for PCP, though the deals I see for a 124 are very tempting as a Fiat or Abarth badge on the bonnet.

I think the key is the engine. There were probably a lot of Stilo MultiWagon's around in diesel form but not many in petrol. With the Tipo SW, of 77 SWs available nationally on AutoTrader, 47 are diesel and 30 are petrol, so the balance isn't too bad but I suspect because of it being a price-focussed model, the majority of the petrols are the cheaper 1.4 normally aspirated with the rest being diesel. There are a few T-Jets as you say, but despite the massive negative press surrounding diesel they still make sense in certain types of cars like estates and SUVs so that's probably why there are more diesel Tipo SWs. Ultimately that's the issue we face when buying from the used market.


The best deals on 124s at the moment seem to be on a PCH (lease) rather than PCP, so no issues with balloon payments etc. As long as the total cost to lease over given period is less than what you'd lose in depreciation over the same period if you bought new, you're in clover (assuming that the alternative would be to buy new, of course.).

One of the things making me hesitate is that I already have a Barchetta, but I don't use it much anymore, other than for shortish local trips in the summer. I quite fancy the idea of the occasional top-down Grand Tour sur le continent before I'm too old and knackered to do it, but I'd be nervous about attempting that in the B.

Would the 124 be replacing the Panda or as well as? Might be a bit of a compromise to have two convertibles if the Panda was going? If the Panda's staying go for it I'd say! :p
 
The Panda's staying. I need it for the winter (we're along an isolated farm track that gets tricky in the wet, and is a major challenge if there's any snow). The problem with keeping the B as well is less down to cost - it owes me nothing, and the insurance is under £100 pa - and more down to storage. I wouldn't want to keep a convertible outside, and I haven't got room in the garage for 2 (well, not without throwing out a lot of stuff, including the ride-on!)

Decisions... :confused:
 
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The Panda's staying. I need it for the winter (we're along an isolated farm track that gets tricky in the wet, and is a major challenge if there's any snow). The problem with keeping the B as well is less down to cost - it owes me nothing, and the insurance is under £100 pa - and more down to storage. I wouldn't want to keep a convertible outside, and I haven't got room in the garage for 2 (well, not without throwing out a lot of stuff, including the ride-on!)

Decisions... :confused:

Hmm. It's obviously an itch that you need to scratch, although the 124 will be around for a while I imagine (at least the Abarth one), whereas Barchetta's are a rare car now - once you've got rid of it it's gone, so I'd want to be 100% sure that I'm happy with that prospect first. Maybe wait a month or so & get a 124 just before the good weather should start (and when dealers should be falling over themselves for a deal for end of Q1), then you could leave it outside over the summer whilst getting used to it. If you decide to keep it then you could work out a plan of action like selling the Barchetta or clearing the garage. But if you decide it's not all it's cracked up to be then you could get rid and still have the Barchetta - obviously the former is a better outcome financially!
 
I kind of feel sorry for the current owners of the new 124 Spider. I looked many times at this car but it was not for me of my wife. No offence meant but not as cute as the old Barchetta which we have, and in comparison quite a large car. Also some of the ergonomics (e.g. handbrake height) were not ideal. Nothing wrong but not quite the shoe fit for our f(l)eet.

My concern for the owners is that Fiat have a long track record or parts supply issues with those lesser sold models. Often the killer items come down to not basic mechanical parts, as these are often common with other vehicles, but in the body interior and exterior trim departments.

My suggestion is that if you have one of these new 124 models and plan on keeping it for a long time (5 to 10 years+) then if it is a specially badged version (e.g. Spider 124 Deluxe …. I've not followed the marketing versions) then you may want to want to start acquiring some of those "my model specific" bits and bobs.
 
It does look like the UK 124 has now gone - it might come back but I think with the recent sales success of Abarth they will just stick with that.


Reason PCP's have been low is because you pay for the depreciation, and 124's hold their money.


Cheapest way to own a 124 however by my calculations was an outright purchase, taking the generous discounts on offer.
 
FCA must be giving the dealers some hefty financial support on the 124 Spider for those cheap PCH and PCP deals. The residuals only look good if you calculate them on the discounted price, not the RRP. I mean, a brand new £33k Abarth 124 for only £21k? Sheesh!

But as you say, the good news for those buying outright is that it will probably still be worth around £16k in 2 years, so 'only' £5k depreciation, not £17k, and longer term its rarity value should help to keep the residuals up.
 
I have been rooting for the 124 Spider and Abarth version since it was introduced here in the States. Unfortunately the sales figures here have plummeted and Fiat is in deep trouble. This may be the last year of Fiat’s existence in the USA and that makes me very sad.(n)
 
Apparently, production of the Abarth 124 has stopped. Fiat dealers are saying that they can't take any orders for factory-build.

What a way to run a company.
 
Came within a whisker of signing up for one of the last 124 Abarths on a PCH today, but got cold feet.

The deal on the table was £246 per month over 2 years for 8k miles pa, including Bose and Metallic paint, and only 3 months up front. That's silly money for a car with a list price well north of £32k. It works out at £6400 over 2 years, which is well short of the likely depreciation on a new purchase, even allowing for a very generous discount. But they only had metallic blue with Garryboy (sorry, Heritage) pack left in stock, so I left it. I'm already beginning to regret that decision. Need to keep reminding myself how everyone (family, friends, work colleagues) would have ripped the p*ss out of me if I'd taken it. :(

According to the salesperson I spoke to, the Abarth 124 has been killed off because of a dispute between FCA and Mazda over the production costs in Japan. Hmmmmm....
 
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According to the salesperson I spoke to, the Abarth 124 has been killed off because of a dispute between FCA and Mazda over the production costs in Japan. Hmmmmm....

Very interesting ! Here in the colonies, they are overcrowding the dealer lots, not sure if they would take an order. Here, the dealers usually swap out their vehicle stock within a 600-mile radius, so likely anything a buyer wants can be had.

Unfortunately, the dealers load up their new cars with every single option, then start adding decals, mudflaps, and other crap to boost the price.

I picked up my fully-optioned 2019 124 Lusso for the price of an un-optioned one. I fear that FIAT will once again fade from the US scene again, just as in 1981..... When I bought my 1981 STRADA brand new, they were having a Two-for-One sale just to clear the lots.
 
Having started this thread I read all replies with interest.

I do, however, also read with absolute sadness that FCA appear to have mismanaged this project so badly that 3 years later it’s pulled from the UK and the Abarth now follows suit.

I’m just so glad that I bit the bullet and bought a Fiat 124. Always planned to replace it with a higher spec model or even an Abarth if the deals were right.

Sadly that’s all pie in the sky now.
 
Having started this thread I read all replies with interest.

I do, however, also read with absolute sadness that FCA appear to have mismanaged this project so badly that 3 years later it’s pulled from the UK and the Abarth now follows suit.

I’m just so glad that I bit the bullet and bought a Fiat 124. Always planned to replace it with a higher spec model or even an Abarth if the deals were right.

Sadly that’s all pie in the sky now.

An honest and true obituary for the 124. It is destined to become a secondhand bargain, like the Barchetta, while the MX5 goes from strength to strength, backed by the unshakeable confidence of its manufacturer.

It could have been so different. Frankly, if the sh*tshower that are running Fiat couldn't crack the cheap(ish) RWD convertible market where, MX5 aside, there is no competition, what hope do they have of succeeding elsewhere? Apart from the ageing 500, the rest of the current Fiat product range is, at best, decidedly Meh (and I speak as a relatively contented owner of a Panda Cross).

I give Fiat, at best, 5 years before it is finally put out of its misery. So sad, and totally unnecessary.
 
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It was a nice try to get a foothold in the market - but, in all honesty, did people really want their MX5 with a Fiat badge? Yes, we did, but most didn't!

And the market for a cheap-ish RWD convertible or coupe is tiny. Toyota / Subaru haven't managed to crack it with their joint venture, either.

Even the relatively strong market for ragtop hatchbacks is shrinking - I believe VW may not replace the Golf Cabrio when the Mk8 launches.

Trouble for Fiat right now is that they're known for city cars and superminis - the 500 range still sells and covers a lot of these bases, whilst the mid-range sector is dominated by SUVs / crossovers - and they have Chrysler / Jeep doing that for them.

With BMW switching the 1-series to FWD, if I were Fiat, I'd be concentrating on launching a decent family hatch under the Alfa brand. The Giulietta is ageing, and although it still looks good, it has fallen behind the 1-series, A3 and A-Class.
 
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