im taking my sister to fiat tonight to have a look at a 500 1.3 M-jet. i know the engine is good because i had one in my old GP active.

Is there anything i should be looking out for ???
Any special deals ??
any major problems ???

I just dont want her to get all excited about buying a 500 and then find out its no good for her

Concider the choice of the diesel vs the 1.2. I own the diesel and whilst I enjoy the torque, if you going to do mainly town driving its not brilliant choice. Mpg isnt great (45~55) and the particulate filter (DPF) isnt happy without a long run to clean its self. Plus diesel has gotten far more expensive than petrol to the point you will nvr recoup the initial cost.
I travel both town and long drives and so havent experience any issues the the DPF but others have. You certanly notice it when its regenerating though as the cars rpm rises it all gets loader (its pretty load already tbh) and mpg drops to 30's also the exhaust get real hot and smelly !! Not great when your stuck in traffic with the windows open.

Jake

I would agree with the previous post, we test drove the 1.3mj and the 1.2, there wasn't much to choose in performance, but the diesel was very noisy and much more expensive to buy in the first place.

We went for a 1.2 and we are very happy with it.

There are loads of spec options, so take your time and make sure you get everything you want if you are ordering from scratch - have fun

and don't disregard the 1.4 16v - it is an epic little engine:devil:

RobW said:

and don't disregard the 1.4 16v - it is an epic little engine:devil:

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He's right it is

well i went to fiat with my sister, as the 500 is for her, and i test drove the 500 1.3 mjet.... i loved it but i felt a bit worried for other people on the road if she was to have this engine. i had the 1.3 in my old gp and it was brill. so told her shes having the 1.2 if anything just waiting to here back from a couple of her job interveiws before we buy one but over all im impressed
shell be getting a pop version

GP1416valver said:

well i went to fiat with my sister, as the 500 is for her, and i test drove the 500 1.3 mjet.... i loved it but i felt a bit worried for other people on the road if she was to have this engine. i had the 1.3 in my old gp and it was brill. so told her shes having the 1.2 if anything just waiting to here back from a couple of her job interveiws before we buy one but over all im impressed
shell be getting a pop version

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No one has said a bad word about any of the engines as far as i can remember. Thre is certanly discussion as to whether the £1500 increase is justified and if the 1.4 is that much better than the 1.2 etc - plenty of threads and a good read.

I bought the POP too but spec'd it up a lot because i loved the seats. Not again the best use of money and neither was my choice of engine but im still very happy. I would probably been as happy with the 1.2 too as I wanted a low tax and insurance car with high MPG.

I would look at the B&M as an option as its brilliant being able to play off a memory stick and talk hands free and also the ESP- the hill holder is worth it in its own. I also added alloys AAC and chrome trim etc but would thats when the economy was more flush !!

Originally we were set on the Diesel, but after thinking about how much more expensive it is, and the dealer telling us that the MPG doesn't live up to the Official Figures, (for the most part this seems to be true judging by the forums), we went for the 1.2. Just a thought. I imagine the 1.2 sounds better. I love the noise of the 1.2

I think the 1.2 suits the car very well and unless you have a major jones for either a bit more poke or a bit more economy (theoretically) then the 1.2 is not a compromise. Buy it, drive it italian stylee and its good fun and economical too. Plus, if I only could have afforded a basic pop with one option, I would have chosen the Blue & Me. Its fab. Best thing Ive had in a car that hasn't caused me to have to wipe down the seats!

Well i would like to give my insights into the 500, i only drove mine for about 150 miles and took it back, have been away working since then. Here are my initial views.

The car looks greta from every angle and is well designed inside, however more attention could have been given to storage (i have leather seats so miss a bit). The seats by the way are terrible i can feel a bar digging in to my ass on longer journeys. The ride is very agricultural and the power from the engine is weedy (1.2) when compared to a citroen 1.1 C2 however is dosen't complain as much when been driving harder. The reported ipod compatibility is stretching the truth as well. The optional extras on the car are all great value for money and mark the car as a higher end small car however i am concerned that the residuals will not bear this out, why? Well most are scoring it agianst the mini, i have BMW as well, they build the mini; everything works first time and carries on working. The 500 i think is not going to last, things will break quite often. Obviously eager to try my little 500 out i have read nearly every post on here and from my experience (limited) so far i believe although the 500 is pretty and well designed stylistically, from the engineers point of view it has been poorly tested. Badges fading after less than a year, seatbelts rattling, seats sagging, lights ineffective etc etc.

I bought this knowing all these faults, well not all! I hoped that it would follow in the mini footsteps, everybody loves the cars at the mo, there aren't that many around yet as i think Fiat and the press would have us believe. On the whole thou there are some times and some things in life that if you want one, you just have to buy it, so what if i could of had a C1 for nearly half the price, the fact is i would have felt like i wasted that money and would have always regretted it.

I've read every post in the forum and the underlying message is that you buy a 500 for the heart and to be fun and stylish not because your head tells you to. Like my ALfa you love it, it will still let you down but you'll defend and love it. HAppy motoring!

so you say you drove it 150 miles and took it back... do you mean you returned the car for a refund? So you no longer have it? Just clarifying!

nottsfiat07 said:

so you say you drove it 150 miles and took it back... do you mean you returned the car for a refund? So you no longer have it? Just clarifying!

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No, i took it back to sort the steering out and the lights, all fixed now just off to pick it up. Not great engineering in this car but great design.

Diesel Power said:

Not great engineering......but great design.

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That's Italy all over

Diesel Power said:

Badges fading after less than a year, seatbelts rattling, seats sagging, lights ineffective etc etc.

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All of which 99% of owners have not had trouble with. The only reason you see lots of it appearing on here is because people will post about that whereas people won't come on here and post a thread saying 'My 500 is running completely fine' as there is no discussion to be had from it.

Also, leather will sag after a while anyway. It's the characteristics of the material

Referring to the OP; I've got a 1.2 Lounge and it's been brilliant. A good choice of options matched with an economical but fun engine mean I get the best of both worlds. If I could go back now, however, I'd have gone for a more unique colour and the leather seats in tan colour.

My 500 is running completely fine.

so is mine, have you not seen the new mini on watchdog ???

white 500 said:

so is mine, have you not seen the new mini on watchdog ???

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what about the new mini on watchdog? is it failing to proceed?

nottsfiat07 said:

what about the new mini on watchdog? is it failing to proceed?

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there is a power stearing pump failure which affects 2001-2007 cars

very common problem on minis, strange thing was they issued a recall then stopped it,according to my local dealer. Had quite a few gearbox & water leak faults on minis recently aswell.

nottsfiat07 said:

My 500 is running completely fine.

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So is mine, the seats are fine, the Blue and me is fine, the ride is brilliant it has no faults or issues and it makes me smile like a fool whenever I look at it!!!