General Clarity on 500 build dates - does anyone know for sure??

Currently reading:
General Clarity on 500 build dates - does anyone know for sure??

seadragon

New member
Joined
Oct 24, 2007
Messages
170
Points
28
I have only ordered mine a few weeks ago and at the time I was told I would get it about May but after reading some of the comments on here no-one really seems to know for sure when they are getting their car, am I right??

When I got my Leon, I was told by the dealer what build week it was, ie, week 13 etc etc and then more or less when I would get it after it was built, ie 6 weeks later.

I need to sell my car before I get my 500 but would like to know when it is being built so I have a ball park figure so I know when to put my current car up for sale.
 
Good luck with that one, I sold my Honda Insight a few weeks back on the undertsanding that the 500 would be here on or around 21st Jan, & I bought a cheap BMW 525i to run in the mean time, I am now told that the dealer is expecting to deliver in March, meaning another 6ish weeks of 20-25mpg.

The service/info I have been given from my dealer is bloody awfull.
 
Good luck with that one, I sold my Honda Insight a few weeks back on the undertsanding that the 500 would be here on or around 21st Jan, & I bought a cheap BMW 525i to run in the mean time, I am now told that the dealer is expecting to deliver in March, meaning another 6ish weeks of 20-25mpg.

The service/info I have been given from my dealer is bloody awfull.

You comment on another thread is the main reason why I am asking :D. Do the FIAT dealers not actually give us a build week date then because if you were told Jan and then March then thats really digusting. Is this an example of the legendary Alfa/Fiat customer service I have been hearing so much about.

If I sold my Leon and then had to wait extra weeks or months I would be totally buggered as the public transportation in my area is totally crap, I would be shafted big time
 
I'll ask tomorrow for you lot.

It's not the dealers fault when Fiat give them wrong information remember..
 
I'll ask tomorrow for you lot.

It's not the dealers fault when Fiat give them wrong information remember..

Yes but then the Fiat sales people should give buyers some kind of warning, not just take peoples money and say they will get their car on 21 Jan if in fact they are only going to get it in March.

Thanks, greatly appreciated. It would be a shame if buyers were chased away due to being given misleading info.

BY all accounts the 500 is the car of the year for Europe, England and a few other countries over the world, it would be a shame if Fiat didnt pull up their socks and grab the opporunity to to reallly 'give it to Mini'.
 
Hiya,

Not sure if this helps, but the info I was given when I ordered a couple of months ago, which ties in with what Scrogg mentioned over on the nf500 forums, is that on 21st Jan, each dealer will have their 3 demo cars plus 2 additional cars. These 2 additional cars, unlike the demos, can be sold. Personally, I'm getting one of the 2 additional cars from my dealer as I was the first buyer to provide full spec / pay deposit etc (apparently) so my build has filled one of those slots, so am confident that I'll be okay for 21st (but to be honest, take it all with a pinch of salt and wouldn't be surprised if it changes - getting it on 21st is important to me though as it's my birthday!) - I guess it depends if your order filled one of those 2 slots, or if it's in a later batch.

Hope that helps.
 
Hiya,

Not sure if this helps, but the info I was given when I ordered a couple of months ago, which ties in with what Scrogg mentioned over on the nf500 forums, is that on 21st Jan, each dealer will have their 3 demo cars plus 2 additional cars. These 2 additional cars, unlike the demos, can be sold. Personally, I'm getting one of the 2 additional cars from my dealer as I was the first buyer to provide full spec / pay deposit etc (apparently) so my build has filled one of those slots, so am confident that I'll be okay for 21st (but to be honest, take it all with a pinch of salt and wouldn't be surprised if it changes - getting it on 21st is important to me though as it's my birthday!) - I guess it depends if your order filled one of those 2 slots, or if it's in a later batch.

Hope that helps.

I just spoke to my dealer and he reckons NO-ONE will be getting their cars on 21 Jan, it just the launch date, first orders will only be arriving in March.

He also reckons there is no delay with orders, all is going to plan and the first batch of cars are currently getting their extras fitted at the factory.
 
I dont know know taking either of the 2 dealers extra cars, I didnt ask him about that.
 
looks like all sorts of hassle going on at tychy:

http://www.italiaspeed.com/2007/cars/fiat/12/500_production_italy/2112.html

fiat appear to have severely underestimated demand, or are playing things tight to keep intrest on the boil. either way, if misjudged, and buyers are being messed around, they may decided to spend their hard earned elsewhere.

oh and this paragraph may well be cause for concern too...
italiaspeed said:
When production was kicked off at Tychy, there was talk that Fiat had picked the Polish site because of the country's labour costs that were lower than Italy's. However, now some of the volume will be moved to an Italian site. In the meantime, Fiat Auto Poland unionists have started a preliminary strike action, demanding more pay. Workers say the company has already promised them a pay rise before eventually scrapping the deal.
 
I hope there are no strikes, it will affect build date of my car.

My dealer has confirmed 500s only available from March not 21 Jan. People might be able to buy one of the demo models from their dealers but this will be very hard because the dealers will then have to wait a year to get any more.

My dealer reckons they wont be selling any of their demo's, because they want to keep the different versions for customers to look at and test-drive, because if they did they would affect their own sales and thats not really viable.

My dealer is getting a 1.4 sport, 1.3 Lounge and 1.2 Sport as demos. They should have arrived yesterday he reckons, no sign of them :yuck:.
 
I'm off to test drive a 1.4 sport at my dealer in about half an hour or so - will see if I can get any additional info from him while I'm there.
 
Just spotted your sig and what you've got on order - I'm jealous as I couldn't get the sub-woofer or 16" alloys I wanted as was advised they aren't available until later in the year and would delay my order. You'll have a fab car with all that on it! Sounds like you've gone for very similar optional extras to mine, other than I'm going for a sport rather than a lounge (and it's yellow!).
 
Just spotted your sig and what you've got on order - I'm jealous as I couldn't get the sub-woofer or 16" alloys I wanted as was advised they aren't available until later in the year and would delay my order. You'll have a fab car with all that on it! Sounds like you've gone for very similar optional extras to mine, other than I'm going for a sport rather than a lounge (and it's yellow!).


Thanks, I hope I get it all. The sub-woofer is a prob as you cant get it from the factory yet, you can only get it from parts at your dealer, so I will have to wait for it.

As far as the rest my dealer hasnt said i cant get any of the others. I dont want any other alloys except for the 421's so if I cant get them on my car I wont be very happy.

The car as standard is amazing but I thought I would treat myself to some of the extras while I can afford it, so thought I better make the most (y)

Good luck with the test-drive, I am jealous
 
Back from my test-drive.

No further info on release dates I'm afraid - he still thinks I'm on for 21st Jan but won't guarantee it 100%, which is fine as that's been the same all along; as I said, I take it with a pinch of salt and will be pleasantly surprised if it happens!

Re the 16" alloys - I know there was a letter to all Fiat dealers saying that 16" alloys would delay build of a car to March / April time (there's a post about it somewhere on here or nf500 forums) and I heard my dealer telling some prospective dealers the same thing.

Re the test drive - compared to the Panda 100bhp, the 500 seemed a little slow on pick up (we were 3 up though as we had the dealer in the back!) and needs quite high revs to avoid stalling. High clutch, responsive brakes. Handles nicely with the sport button on. Beautiful build quality and thank god the seats in the Sport are lower as my hubby didn't fit in the Lounge in the showroom - his head was against the sunroof (he's 6' 2")! Ride is not as firm as the Panda, comfortable and sporty. Handling is less frantic than the Panda.
 
Back from my test-drive.

No further info on release dates I'm afraid - he still thinks I'm on for 21st Jan but won't guarantee it 100%, which is fine as that's been the same all along; as I said, I take it with a pinch of salt and will be pleasantly surprised if it happens!

Re the 16" alloys - I know there was a letter to all Fiat dealers saying that 16" alloys would delay build of a car to March / April time (there's a post about it somewhere on here or nf500 forums) and I heard my dealer telling some prospective dealers the same thing.

Re the test drive - compared to the Panda 100bhp, the 500 seemed a little slow on pick up (we were 3 up though as we had the dealer in the back!) and needs quite high revs to avoid stalling. High clutch, responsive brakes. Handles nicely with the sport button on. Beautiful build quality and thank god the seats in the Sport are lower as my hubby didn't fit in the Lounge in the showroom - his head was against the sunroof (he's 6' 2")! Ride is not as firm as the Panda, comfortable and sporty. Handling is less frantic than the Panda.

I hope the car will be ok for me as I am 6'1'' and am getting a lounge but none of the reviews I have read have said anything about lack of space in front, so I will take my chances :D.

The 500 will be so different that what I currently drive so I am not going to think about the differences too much :rolleyes:. The fuel economy will be improved from my current 28 average mpg to about 65ish but my BHP will be going down from 240 to 75 :(.

Thats the price you pay I guess, I want a car that looks amazing and has all the gizmos but is cheap to run, cant get any better than the 500 thats for sure.
 
hey guys,
as a dealer it is very hard being the man in the middle.
the 500 is out selling the factory production, that is something that we cannot do anything about.
I do worry about dealers who make promises for delivery, If they are doing that then they are silly. I always give a rough idea but it is a month that it will be delivered, not a specific date.
All dealers will have a build date shown, usually a week number, from this they can roughly guess when it will get to them.
I am in NZ and we can guess roughly so why a UK dealer couldnt i dont know.
I know all NZ cars were built last week and so we shall get them in roughly 7-8 weeks after that.
 
It certainly looks amazing, so no problem there at all!

If the dealer hadn't been in the back it might be parked outside my house right now! ;)

You'll probably be okay at 6' 1" - with the driver's seat all the way down and the steering wheel up, you should be fine. My hubby used to be 6' 1", then they took out 3 vertebra, replaced them with titanium, making him an inch taller and giving me a great excuse to order the sport for the lower seats! :)
 
Back
Top