RobW said:

sold my place 2 years ago and won't be buying again any time soon

house ownership isn't such a big deal in europe, buy a house for somewhere to live not as an investment

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i was careful with my money in my twenties, and paid my mortgage off last year, at age 37 - so best of both worlds...no worries about house prices, and no mortage or rent either.

part of the reason i can now work from home..AND splash out on toys like the abarth 500

gib1970 said:

i was careful with my money in my twenties, and paid my mortgage off last year, at age 37 - so best of both worlds...no worries about house prices, and no mortage or rent either.

part of the reason i can now work from home..AND splash out on toys like the abarth 500

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Good for you, not a statistic towards the debt burden!! I am in the same boat, having paid off 4 years ago. But I remain cautious about incurring new debt, don't really fancy taking out a loan or finance to buy 500 Abarth for the time being.

There is more satisfaction in paying for the car in full than do p/x and enter a repayment agreement.

Steve p said:

Im seriously looking to opt out of my company car, wait for it, I sell Lexus and really fancy the little 500 Am looking at the 1.2 Lounge!

The real shock for me was the saleaman telling me the first 10k service would set me back £279 and the 20k a whopping £479 !! Is this correct ??


Steve

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Steve, try a diesel.

Be wary, I opted out and have the 500 for commuting/fun and to supplement the car I bought for distances. Commuting is fine, but when you start doing a couple of hundred miles a day it can be a bit tiresome.

Just booked my 1.2 pop in for its 1st service as it is now 1 yr old. I asked for a low mileage service as it has done 6000 miles and the cost at Autoworld Chesterfield is £129 which I believe to be reasonable and another reason to be glad I didn't get Air Con as this added about £30 to cost of service, (I've always felt a little queazy in cars with aircon)

Mine is booked 10 days from now. £185 for low mileage service but I get courtesy car free. Not too bad I think... Might have been cheaper somewhere else but I've been very happy with the service so far so I'd rather stick with them

Melanabb said:

Might have been cheaper somewhere else but I've been very happy with the service so far so I'd rather stick with them

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I fully agree with this sentiment, although it is tempting to go for the cheapest I think it is very important to support garages that offer good service. Good call.

Melanabb said:

Mine is booked 10 days from now. £185 for low mileage service but I get courtesy car free. Not too bad I think... Might have been cheaper somewhere else but I've been very happy with the service so far so I'd rather stick with them

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I also agree - low cost should never be the decider, down this road lies madness. I pay more for quality and personal touch and get disapointed when this doesnt happen but think Im paying for it. I used my local Saab main dealer for years they charged like a wounded bull but replaced a blown engine just out of warranty.

Mine's booked in for next thursday for her 1st service at the Fiat dealers we bought her from, £120 for low mile service(done 6600) this includes having the air con done( £103 without), was quoted £248 to begin with before I asked whether they do a 'low mile' service, so alot cheaper, the only difference they said was that they dont change the spark plugs but do everything else. I was looking at taking her to our local garage as money is tight, but am really pleased I asked about the low mile one as they didnt mention it the first time I rang!! means I can get any software updates done as well

slimgimli said:

Mine's booked in for next thursday for her 1st service at the Fiat dealers we bought her from, £120 for low mile service(done 6600) this includes having the air con done( £103 without), was quoted £248 to begin with before I asked whether they do a 'low mile' service, so alot cheaper, the only difference they said was that they dont change the spark plugs but do everything else. I was looking at taking her to our local garage as money is tight, but am really pleased I asked about the low mile one as they didnt mention it the first time I rang!! means I can get any software updates done as well

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so what there saying is that the spark plugs cost £128 i might get low milage and change the plugs myself

white 500 said:

so what there saying is that the spark plugs cost £128 i might get low milage and change the plugs myself

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Yeh! thats what I thought??

Ok, I'm puzzled. I've got an 09 plate Lounge and in my manual there is no annual service for a 500. The service is every 18k/2 years or when the oil light comes on...Unless I'm misreading it?

Avallon said:

Ok, I'm puzzled. I've got an 09 plate Lounge and in my manual there is no annual service for a 500. The service is every 18k/2 years or when the oil light comes on...Unless I'm misreading it?

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Avallon, welcome to the forum. I assume you have the 1.3MJT based on the info above as both the 1.2 & 1.4 have an oil change each service AFAIK.

The requirement for servicing is every twelve months/18000 miles whichever comes first and if you have only covered a low mileage then there is a provision for that, just tell the service department when you book it in.

Also, if the oil light does come on it doesn't mean the car needs a service, just the oil and filter changing. Basically you have two service schedules on the diesel that don't need to be in sync, one for oil and one for all the rest.

With regards oil changing, on the diesel there will be a warning message along with a flashing oil light to tell you when it is time to change. How soon this happens is based on the type of driving you do.

It is theoretically possible to drive for two years without the light coming on, at which time you would have it changed and the ECU reset to show this but a lot of us have had it appear at varying intervals/mileages, some quite low and others at 10000+ miles.

grimwau said:

Avallon, welcome to the forum. I assume you have the 1.3MJT based on the info above as both the 1.2 & 1.4 have an oil change each service AFAIK.

The requirement for servicing is every twelve months/18000 miles whichever comes first and if you have only covered a low mileage then there is a provision for that, just tell the service department when you book it in.

Also, if the oil light does come on it doesn't mean the car needs a service, just the oil and filter changing. Basically you have two service schedules on the diesel that don't need to be in sync, one for oil and one for all the rest.

With regards oil changing, on the diesel there will be a warning message along with a flashing oil light to tell you when it is time to change. How soon this happens is based on the type of driving you do.

It is theoretically possible to drive for two years without the light coming on, at which time you would have it changed and the ECU reset to show this but a lot of us have had it appear at varying intervals/mileages, some quite low and others at 10000+ miles.

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Thanks Grimwau. I've got a 1.2 Lounge. In the 'Service and Warranty' booklet (valid from September 2008) on p.24 it states:
"Your vehicle's Maintenance Programme is based on clearly defined service intervals, however some (emphasis mine) items have a maximum time requirement."

Then on the 500 pages (pp. 25-26) it gives an overview of items to check/replace based on a 18k service interval. It also states that the oil and filter need to be replaced when the warning light comes on or every 2 yrs. In the case of 'heavy usage' or <6000 miles p/a this should be done every year.

Obviously a difference between the "Service and Warranty book" and the 500 handbook.

On P132 of the handbook it shows that all petrol versions require an oil and filter change at 18000 mile (30000km) intervals with annual oil changes if mainly used in the city and low mileage.

I thought the warning light only referred to the diesel engine and was activated only when the DPF had carried out a certain number of regeneration cycles.

Sorry if I gave you erroneous data but to the best of my knowledge it was correct.

Hopefully, one of the techs will be able to clarify the situation for you soon.

Had my 1st annual serviced today. Originally quoted £245 but when I questioned this, it was revised to £125 (low mileage service). The only difference again seemed to be spark plugs - not needed if you do less than 10000 miles a year.

Didn't even get it washed though as asked - was told the car had been given an FOC health check instead..................?

I though that was what I was paying them to do??? :shakehead:

Personally think low mileage services are a waste of time also if you shopped around you can get 1st (full) service for £125 (inc plugs)

T14086 said:

Personally think low mileage services are a waste of time also if you shopped around you can get 1st (full) service for £125 (inc plugs)

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Where???? I did shop around and didnt get anywhere near that figure which is why I went for the low mileage option!

Did 1st service on Mon - £145 low mileage service,not the best possible price but well pleased with the dealers so I decided to stick with them as an appreciation gesture of good service so far. I don't think I got any updates though...

Just had the 500 done, 18,000mile service, with the (probably pointless) oil & fuel sysetm flush "that Fiat reccommed" for the sum of £171. Pretty happy with that.

Mark Elvin said:

Just had the 500 done, 18,000mile service, with the (probably pointless) oil & fuel sysetm flush "that Fiat reccommed" for the sum of £171. Pretty happy with that.

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