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General Is the Fiat 500 a frail, unreliable old banger

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General Is the Fiat 500 a frail, unreliable old banger

fiat500

fiat500

Patinated Peter
Parked in the garage Written a guide
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Seasoned regulars of this Forum will know of the cyclical nature of queries which come up around here. I get the impression that for many new owners the unfamiliar layout of the machine and it's pre-1960's mechanical design is so different from what they are used to that there is a presumption that the car is complicated, fragile, unreliable and quirky.
I think it's a good time to point out that only that last adjective is true of the Fiat 500 and I suspect it to be the major reason why newcomers are attracted to them. As has been shown very recently, the chances are that even if you have bought one that looks good it will require quite a bit of "shakedown" before it achieves its full magnificence. Even when you have it perfect, whether you then use it or not it will gradually fall back into bad habits. So it will repay any owner to become familiar with and to relish dealing with all of the issues the car can present you with. Properly adjusted and maintained this is a superb car to drive around in; its attractions go far beyond its appealing looks.
It surprises me that a significant number of the issues that do get asked about relate to the engine performance. This means that most matters have been discussed in amazing detail many times and from many angles. I wonder if there is a way to create an editable, collaborative set of documents that bring together everybody's ideas and experiences on each of the issues so that the valuable explanations and solutions which have been given, that are somewhat difficult to distill on a "search", could be made into a set of "stickies"?

Maybe we need a Wikipedia entry?
 
I was thinking you may get a record for the longest tread on a forum ever! Never the less as many problems my 500 gives me, I still love it!
 
This one is tricky. I’m a forum and IT regular for years on many sites over time, but the search function doesn’t always find what you want here. For example when I was trying to find how to change the gearbox oil, it just took forever, in part because the main discussion was on the “transmission oil”, and another useful discussion had a spelling error in the title of the thread so also missed my keyword search!

I was thinking of a sticky with all the oft seen posts such as
- tappet gaps
- carb leak check
- timing

And many more I’ve forgotten but do crop up regularly


Or else a way to just tag keywords in these existing threads / posts so that people find them!
 
fiat500 said:
Seasoned regulars of this Forum will know of the cyclical nature of queries which come up around here. I get the impression that for many new owners the unfamiliar layout of the machine and it's pre-1960's mechanical design is so different from what they are used to that there is a presumption that the car is complicated, fragile, unreliable and quirky.
I think it's a good time to point out that only that last adjective is true of the Fiat 500 and I suspect it to be the major reason why newcomers are attracted to them. As has been shown very recently, the chances are that even if you have bought one that looks good it will require quite a bit of "shakedown" before it achieves its full magnificence. Even when you have it perfect, whether you then use it or not it will gradually fall back into bad habits. So it will repay any owner to become familiar with and to relish dealing with all of the issues the car can present you with. Properly adjusted and maintained this is a superb car to drive around in; its attractions go far beyond its appealing looks.
It surprises me that a significant number of the issues that do get asked about relate to the engine performance. This means that most matters have been discussed in amazing detail many times and from many angles. I wonder if there is a way to create an editable, collaborative set of documents that bring together everybody's ideas and experiences on each of the issues so that the valuable explanations and solutions which have been given, that are somewhat difficult to distill on a "search", could be made into a set of "stickies"?

Maybe we need a Wikipedia entry?
Click to expand...

Hi Peter, I've heard a lot of words to describe the 500 and it's good and bad points and the only one that hits the nail for me is that I Love my car! (y)
Even though I am just through my second full engine rebuild and my first full gearbox rebuild I relish the thought of working on the 'quirky' thing. I agree with the term 'shakedown' and for me this has taken years, I'm not sure that anything on my car is standard :eek::eek: The more I fix the more I find different. She must be looked after though as brakes, tappets, kingpins, timing etc require constant adjustment. I feel that the vast majority of new owners buy this cute car as a statement and are not prepared for the work required, it's as if it is considered as reliable as a modern vehicle and not something from the 50's and post war. My car is running again after a lot of time and money, and I consider this all part of classic ownership. My car has scars, lots of them, it is not a perfect example I except that, I think a lot of new owners should find out as much as they can about what they are getting into as it may be a very steep hill to climb to happy ownership.
Ian.
 
Bleeding Knuckles said:
Hi Peter, I've heard a lot of words to describe the 500 and it's good and bad points and the only one that hits the nail for me is that I Love my car! (y)
Even though I am just through my second full engine rebuild and my first full gearbox rebuild I relish the thought of working on the 'quirky' thing. I agree with the term 'shakedown' and for me this has taken years, I'm not sure that anything on my car is standard :eek::eek: The more I fix the more I find different. She must be looked after though as brakes, tappets, kingpins, timing etc require constant adjustment. I feel that the vast majority of new owners buy this cute car as a statement and are not prepared for the work required, it's as if it is considered as reliable as a modern vehicle and not something from the 50's and post war. My car is running again after a lot of time and money, and I consider this all part of classic ownership. My car has scars, lots of them, it is not a perfect example I except that, I think a lot of new owners should find out as much as they can about what they are getting into as it may be a very steep hill to climb to happy ownership.
Ian.
Click to expand...

I endorse that fully. It's reassuring to hear that there are other people who have the same opinion and attitude as me. I know everyone on here is a fan but not everyone may be a fanatic.:D
 
Bleeding Knuckles said:
----------------------
-----------------------------------
----------------------------- She must be looked after though as brakes, tappets, kingpins, timing etc require constant adjustment. I feel that the vast majority of new owners buy this cute car as a statement and are not prepared for the work required, it's as if it is considered as reliable as a modern vehicle and not something from the 50's and post war. ----------------
----------------------------------------
------------------- I think a lot of new owners should find out as much as they can about what they are getting into as it may be a very steep hill to climb to happy ownership.
Ian.
Click to expand...

Ain't that the truth.
But it's not their fault, many have only been used to 'modern' cars, with generally good reliability and long service intervals.

Best advice I could give a new owner of e.g. a classic Fiat 500 would be to get hold of an original Owner's Manual/Handbook. Fiat used to give all the information in this on how to fully service the car incl. valve adjustment, points, ignition timing, carb. adjustment, etc.etc. Well worth reading and following.

AL.
 
I am becoming more and more convinced that a number of "Cinquecentos" are being bought as "cute fashion accessories". The 500 is not, and never will be (as most modern cars are expected to be) a "turn the key and go any-time and every-time" car. It is a car that will always require "time of manufacture compatible" maintenance and TLC. Looked after in the manner it was designed to be, the 500 can be a reliable car. I ran a 500 for a number of years--in and out of London, up and down the A1 and finally around Edinburgh. Only once did it breakdown and, due to the car's simple design, I was able to effect a proper road-side repair---something that would have been impossible on a modern car.
As 'Al' pointed out, the original 500 "Owner's handbook" advises you how to look after the car and adjust all the 'adjustables', whereas a modern car's handbook seems to concentrate on how to work your way around round the vast (and mostly unnecessary) array of electronic "guff". It must never be forgotten that the 500 was (A) designed and built to put Italy back on its feet--cheaply and, (B) sold to customers who EXPECTED to have to carry out their own routine maintenance--even when the 'mechanic' was not technically experienced. Am I a fan of the 500?---definitely YES. Am I a fanatic?---possibly--and yes, I do love my little "wee beastie", and working on it (y):)
 
the hobbler said:
I am becoming more and more convinced that a number of "Cinquecentos" are being bought as "cute fashion accessories".
Click to expand...

I am convinced that you are right about that. But the beauty of it is that the sneaky little car has a habit of forcing its owner to choose whether to learn how to attend to its many needs, to keep paying tons on money for someone else to sort it out, to leave it in the garage doing nothing because of dubious reliability or breakdown, or to sell it on.
The great thing is that whatever their original motives for buying the car, so many owners decide on the first course of action and then come to this Forum for help and advice.
I think it would be great if there was away to collate the most informative of the threads that cover technical subjects in a more logical way, under general headings such as "Ignition Timing", "Engine Stalls After Warming Up", "Choosing Engine oil", etc. ; maybe I need to ask Ben directly?
It's just that I see myself and others constantly repeating information which I sometimes think has already been explained better by themselves, by other people or even, very occasionally, by me.:eek::D:bang:

Incidentally:
https://www.goodwood.com/goodwood-estate/estate-news/the-mouse-that-roared/
 
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My 10p...
I guess like most classics, they become fashionable and then the "Quick"restorers see an easy profit, and of course no warranty or such is provided....
You look on ebay and see "Ground up Restorations" "everything that needed replacement was replaced".... for less than £10,000
I spoke to a company a while ago and asked about the idea of a Modern Fiat 500 Classic, that is taking a Fiat 500, and doing a total ground up restoration, incorporating little bits of new technology, LED lights and modern rust proofing etc... and make it almost as reliable as a modern car... "Sure" it's possible and the price they quoted to give a 6 months warranty was an eye watering.... almost £30,000. People may say this is extremely high, but Jaguar offered Factory Restored Etypes starting from £285k
So a completely restored 500 for £7,500 I can't see it.

I do agree that we need to act as a collective and pool the knowledge we have here, I don't claim to be an expert on anything, but there are many threads I have read and thought "wow that's interesting....... never thought that..." but have often spent ages trying to find something I read months ago...
 
Re:- my suggestion to read and follow the Fiat 500 Owners Manual in an above post -

I've just noticed that this Users Manual is available in downloadable pdf form in the 'Sticky' section for the Fiat 500, thanks to our ever-helpful member from downunder - "Bambino".

Good onya Mate!

Al. :)
 
fiat500 said:
I endorse that fully. It's reassuring to hear that there are other people who have the same opinion and attitude as me. I know everyone on here is a fan but not everyone may be a fanatic.:D
Click to expand...
I would certainly describe myself as a fanatic maybe bordering on weird/lunatic ,I love my F500 more than the girlfriend, I have probably crawled over the 500 more than I have the girlfriend. I know every inch of her, I restored her from a delapidated shell stuck in a parking lot ,9 years under the baking hot spanish sun,wind and rain into the beautiful thing she is today. I'm constantly touching, repairing things on her ,but I wouldn't want it any other way.
 
El cargador said:
I would certainly describe myself as a fanatic maybe bordering on weird/lunatic ,I love my F500 more than the girlfriend, I have probably crawled over the 500 more than I have the girlfriend. I know every inch of her, I restored her from a delapidated shell stuck in a parking lot ,9 years under the baking hot spanish sun,wind and rain into the beautiful thing she is today. I'm constantly touching, repairing things on her ,but I wouldn't want it any other way.
Click to expand...

So where did you find the 500 and what work have you done on it then?:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
(I believe a pronoun applies to the last noun used)
 
Near my home in Orihuela, Alicante. I replaced all rubber and plastic and consumables and or repainted Fiona.jpgfiona1.jpgfiona3.jpgIMG-20180120-WA0007.jpeg
 

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I’ve found the best way to search the forum for something you think you read sometime

Google using “quotation” marks to search phrases

“Fiat forum” “500 (classic)” then the topic.
This usually narrows the results to something useful.

I did this the other day to find the info about where all the cables pop out of the tunnel and also how to put a door back together. ( both now added to my favourites)

Cheers
Geoff
 
The good thing about this forum is not only that you can find what you are looking for, but also have the ability to discuss with all of you guys here which i enjoy very much. It will be nice to have a good search engine but sometimes i prefer to discuss things that are written already. Every time time we are discussing the timing issue something new is coming up, of course in the end it goes like ''adjust it by ear'' but that's the fan.
 
Good idea!
Another search string that also seems to work well is like this: Fiatforum: 500-classic: [then your search words, like “brakes”]. This formatting (using a colon) tells Google you want to search in this website, the 500 (classic) subsection. Using quotes will work too, but you’ll bring up other sites that just use those words.
 
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