JumpJet said:

This sounds like the UK's versions of our BringATrailer.com; the relatively new, ridiculous price garnering auction site. A recently restored 500 from Sicily sold for ~$29,000. There's currently a rather plain-lane '69 L up for bid, so it will be interesting to see what it goes for.

https://bringatrailer.com/fiat/500/

If this silliness continues, I might have to up my insurance coverage on little old Martina.

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Ours was a BaT acquisition...I knew what I was buying was what I was looking for, and also that the seller was likely leaving out some issues that were present. That said, I’m happy with the price paid for what we got.

Did I get wrapped up in the excitement of bidding?
Did I overpay a bit? Yes, and probably.

Does it matter? Nope. Seeing her face when she saw the gift was worth it!

LiteRye said:

Ours was a BaT acquisition...I knew what I was buying was what I was looking for, and also that the seller was likely leaving out some issues that were present. That said, I’m happy with the price paid for what we got.

Did I get wrapped up in the excitement of bidding?
Did I overpay a bit? Yes, and probably.

Does it matter? Nope. Seeing her face when she saw the gift was worth it!

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Oh no hate. BAT has some good deals from time to time too, and ultimately, "worth it" is all that matters. They do have more than their fair share of "WTF?" prices though. It's so hard to figure out the enthusiast market these days.

JumpJet said:

Oh no hate. BAT has some good deals from time to time too, and ultimately, "worth it" is all that matters. They do have more than their fair share of "WTF?" prices though. It's so hard to figure out the enthusiast market these days.

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I didn’t take it as hate! Just providing some commentary.

I bid on the orange one that was on there before mine. That one scared me, the seller happened to forget to mention that the car only had compression in one cylinder...20 minutes before end of auction.

BAT is a blessing and a curse. It’s great because (especially in the States), it can be hard to find unusual cars for sale like Cinquecentos. But the notoriety of that site brings lots of possible bidders. And more bidders means higher prices - always. If you’re buying in an auction, you want the sleepiest, most poorly attended auction ever. So on balance, BAT is probably more seller-friendly. The one thing I like about BAT is the robust commentary. Check out any listed late 60s-70s era Alfa Romeo, for example. The folks who comment on them know their stuff and are happy to ask all the right questions and point out the blemishes. In fact, the comment gallery is so powerful that sellers can rarely be dismissive or hostile - their feet get held to the fire.

Uaglio said:

BAT is a blessing and a curse. It’s great because (especially in the States), it can be hard to find unusual cars for sale like Cinquecentos. But the notoriety of that site brings lots of possible bidders. And more bidders means higher prices - always. If you’re buying in an auction, you want the sleepiest, most poorly attended auction ever. So on balance, BAT is probably more seller-friendly. The one thing I like about BAT is the robust commentary. Check out any listed late 60s-70s era Alfa Romeo, for example. The folks who comment on them know their stuff and are happy to ask all the right questions and point out the blemishes. In fact, the comment gallery is so powerful that sellers can rarely be dismissive or hostile - their feet get held to the fire.

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This is certainly true. I overpaid for my car likely due to the almost 50 bids that came in on the last day of the auction!

Uaglio said:

BAT is a blessing and a curse. It’s great because (especially in the States), it can be hard to find unusual cars for sale like Cinquecentos. But the notoriety of that site brings lots of possible bidders. And more bidders means higher prices - always. If you’re buying in an auction, you want the sleepiest, most poorly attended auction ever. So on balance, BAT is probably more seller-friendly. The one thing I like about BAT is the robust commentary. Check out any listed late 60s-70s era Alfa Romeo, for example. The folks who comment on them know their stuff and are happy to ask all the right questions and point out the blemishes. In fact, the comment gallery is so powerful that sellers can rarely be dismissive or hostile - their feet get held to the fire.

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I guess I didn’t overpay as much as I had thought. The one on BAT today sold for $15,500! Maybe the US market is improving lol

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1969-fiat-500l-lusso/

You used to be able to catch an occasional bargain on BaT. Last couple of year seem to have turned it into an ego showcase for rich old guys. One auction the guy literally said he was just going to keep countering the other guy no matter the cost because he could. Great for sellers I guess but really skewing the market.

As was mentioned there is some great vetting of vehicles by enthusiast communities, so in that sense paying a bit more is worth it. The prices lately are just nuts.

fiat500 said:

A very negative post. I hang my head in shame if this car was restored by someone here.

My email inbox is constantly replenished with Ebay Fiat 500's which come up for sale. The latest link directs me to an alternative auction website where there is a generous range of images of a car for which take note, "Prospective buyers, it’s time to get your magnifying glasses out. No, not because the 500L is so tiny, but because it’s so hard to find any possible fault with this stunning example." There is one minor problem, "the windscreen wipers which are beginning to show their age."

Well, I didn't even need my spectacles to see many faults with the engine bay...at least one of them is dangerous. The standard of finishing of underbody repairs is poor. I think it's to be expected that bodywork repairs which are currently hidden from view will leave something to be desired.

The classified price is at the lower end of what the vendors expect the car to make; it might be worth it in parts and work expended on it, but it's not worth it.

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Hi I read your thread with great interest, yesterday I drove over to Middle Barton Garage to pay for the work they expertly carried out on my car where MBG have rectified the problems I had, sitting in front of my little Ava (500L) was an exact same colour dark blue LHD 500l (mine is R/H) it looked great however i was astounded at the pristine looking condition until Tony explained the problem. The guy bought the car from an Italian so called restoration place. 1st the floor pan was full of holes filled with tape & sprayed over then the front had crease marks where it has had a front end prang all very cleverly hidden, there was a kink on the roof over the door, the engine was sitting at an unusual angle.The cost of repairing the whole car to make it roadworthy would have been over £20k! This just goes to show how careful you have to be when buying any classic car. My advise is if you want a GOOD classic only go to someone who you know or you are fully competent to be able to rebuild the car yourself. Be very careful when buying cars at £5&6K or even around £7/8K on the internet unless you really know what your doing. REMEMBER BUYER “BE AWARE” THERE ARE CROOKS OUT THERE!

I was very lucky, in one sense, in that my 500 didn't initially cost me too much. The problems occured when I changed from the original alloy wheels to the Cromadora alloys. It was only then that we could see that the font spring wasn't aligned correctly. What was originally thought to be just a 'spring-box' renewal turned into the renewal of the complete front end AND the floors AND the front bulkhead. Whever had previously 'repaired' the car had no welding skill, but a great deal of skill with a pop-rivet gun,coach-screws and roofing bolts! I was lucky in that I found a body-shop who WANTED to do the repair--we joked that it was for them to practice on, prior to attending to their own' in house, hospital job' 500. The body-shop did a superb job, on a jig, and rectified all the cock-ups of the previous repair---the car now handle very well. I won't say what it cost, just that it cost more than the initial cost of the car. Out of fairness to the vendor (who I am still on very good terms with, and do not hold responsible), the "bodges" were so well done that not even their (independant) MOT examiner saw the problems, nor did the next 3 MOT examiners.
The point is, you don't have to buy 'import' cars to find immoral, and dangerous, "complete restorations" The "joke" is that the body-shop who eventually repaired my car PROPERLY reckoned that it would have been cheaper for the initial 'repairer' to have done the job properly in the first place!

Out of all the classic cars ive encountered, i would sadly agree that the 500, has been the car more likely to have a substandard restoration or repair on. There has been a few 500's ive seen in person that were "restored in Italy" which were hiding some nasty repairs. The cost to properly restore these cars adds up quickly, either it be local for me or overseas back home. When i see a somewhat "good looking" 500's for sale in the sub 20Kcad range. There is definitely some chance of questionable repairs below the skin. The good ones are $$ and the owners know it.


It doesnt matter where the car comes from, to do a proper restoration on these 500's has a somewhat significant price tag to do them right. Being a uni-body car, every single piece is also very important to the structural integrity of the car. Bondo is not a structural material

I couldn't believe it when i began to cut the rockers out of my basket case, easily i pulled out over 15lbs of bondo.. Now shes a "Superleggera" im glad i didnt purchase it thinking it was a good looking/running car lol.


It would definitely be a tough pill to swallow for a unsuspecting new owner to pickup a "decent looking" 500 then realize it will require another 10K in repairs to get it proper and safe.

I'm happy to say I got my 500 in it's working clothes having read so many horror stories on Facebook. It's driving and presentable and is also mechanically sound.
Sills and floors are good, corners and arches need some attention but that's down the road a bit. Going to enjoy it for another couple of years before diving in deeper.