Northern Auto Tech - ECU and Blue & Me Repairs

General Brill afternoon in my lovely 500!

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General Brill afternoon in my lovely 500!

nottsfiat07

nottsfiat07

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As there are posts on here regularly pointing out the shortcomings of the car, I thought I would do one to say what a lovely afternoon I've had in my 500. Visited a friend in Mansfield, and decided to have a pootle round on the way home, so went a scenic route through Sherwood Forest, the Welbeck estate and Clumber Park. The sun was shining through my glass roof, bathing the cabin in light, as I breezed along in fifth gear, the engine purring happily, taking hills in its stride. With some great music being played from my memory stick, the air con kept me cool and the leather seats supported me comfortably without a squeak or rattle to be heard. All with an average of 55 MPG from my 1.2.

Just all confirmed to me why I loved the car when I first saw it and why nearly six months on, I still do.
 
Was just thinking the same,

Just got back to Sutton, from visiting Friends in Bilsthorpe, via a trip down to Tesco at Hucknall, I know its not the closest but on a day like this who cares more time in the car the better.

Had a smile on my face the whole journey (What more can you ask!)
 
Have to agree, the car is an absolute joy to drive in the sun, with the light pouring in through the glass roof and the air con blowing a cool breeze at my face with some good music playing on the memory stick. Simply awesome. :worship:
 
I had mine up on axle stands, wheels off getting rid of all the lumps of French tar that had got thrown up under the wheelarches and everywhere.

Finished off with claying and rude waxing the car. Took it for a drive after and thought, "what a wonderful day".
 
nottsfiat07 said:
As there are posts on here regularly pointing out the shortcomings of the car, I thought I would do one to say what a lovely afternoon I've had in my 500. Visited a friend in Mansfield, and decided to have a pootle round on the way home, so went a scenic route through Sherwood Forest, the Welbeck estate and Clumber Park. The sun was shining through my glass roof, bathing the cabin in light, as I breezed along in fifth gear, the engine purring happily, taking hills in its stride. With some great music being played from my memory stick, the air con kept me cool and the leather seats supported me comfortably without a squeak or rattle to be heard. All with an average of 55 MPG from my 1.2.

Just all confirmed to me why I loved the car when I first saw it and why nearly six months on, I still do.
Click to expand...

Sounds great ...so pleased you had a lovely day :) ...hope I can have that experience soon ;)
 
grimwau said:
I had mine up on axle stands, wheels off getting rid of all the lumps of French tar that had got thrown up under the wheelarches and everywhere.

Finished off with claying and rude waxing the car. Took it for a drive after and thought, "what a wonderful day".
Click to expand...

Have you had the lights off to get out the French dust?

I shall be cleaning and rude waxing her tomorrow, weather permitting... drying towels, rude wax and application cloths generously provided by Grimwau Inc! :slayer:

Watch yourself Suzey, if you're anything like us, you'll get addicted to cleaning it! We have lots of suggestions for the right way to do it if you want any advice (Lloyd is the leading amateur fettler on here) :D
 
I can't believe I offered to cover my friend's shift for him today, when I saw the sun shining outside and I was stuck inside clearing tables I was gutted. :( My car is coated with a light layer of pollen from the trees where I park and needs a rinse but I'm working the same shift tomorrow.

I think he should cover my afternoon so I can wash my car! I covered his just so he could go to a bloody football match :mad:

EDIT: Just had a text from him, he said he wants to go home at 12 tomorrow instead of doing his full shift! If he gets away with that I'll be having words with the management! Sorry, I'm ranting now, just very annoyed..
 
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I didn't use my 500 for a few days while it was raining, and even though it had been cleaned the rain must have been really mucky as the car was covered in a layer of fine sand... probably the Sahara migrating over here again! I'm glad I got the best of the weather today for my road trip as driving in the rain with a grey sky is a bit depressing even in the most cheerful of cars! Luckily the glass roof does maximise the amount of light in there though.
 
We are just back from a week's holiday & the little 500 was great for the 3 of us. Managed the motorways well, with just the longest hills slowing it a little (but it was FULLY loaded). The aircon kept us cool, it was great fun buzzing round the twisty A roads & was pretty economical too given that it spent lot of the time at 80mph. Also, it was very comfy....

Once home the leather was even a breeze to clean up after a week of abuse & crumbs from a two year old with a severe biscuit habit (y)

To be honest, if I used it for motorways on a daily basis I would probably go for the diesel (as I would in most cars) but I don't, & the 1.2 is a joy in traffic & on country roads.
 
yep i agree with all that - i wasnt even planning to go out anywhere on saturday but was so nice and sunny early evening that i popped out for a 25 mile round and about trip in the abarth..and all was well with the world :)
 
Just treated myself to an hour and half blast round the country lanes :devil:, weirdly only saw 1 other 500 as I headed back to the supermarket in town. Gave em a little flash of the lights but I don't think they responded/saw me :cry:
 
nottsfiat07 said:
Watch yourself Suzey, if you're anything like us, you'll get addicted to cleaning it! We have lots of suggestions for the right way to do it if you want any advice (Lloyd is the leading amateur fettler on here) :D
Click to expand...

Hahaha :D ...am sure I will be as addicted as you when I get mine ..will look forward to some expert 'shine' advice (y)
 
Gosh this has got to be the nicest forum on the whole wide web.

A thread like this with no anger, no problems, just joy and pleasure in driving a lovely car - where else would you find it?

And by the way I just came back from a nice day of at least 250 km driving in a bit of rain and a bit of sun but always with the wide 500 grin on my face:D

P.S. Love the dogs in your avatar Suzey!
 
We too spent the day out in the glorious sunshine we're having up in West Yorkshire today. Bepe was washed, polished and waxed yesterday, so is looking spectacular, even though I say it myself. We saw 1 other 500 in white or blue, that really needed a good wash. Got lots of admiring glances and pointed at a few times. It was just nice to drive out and 'look' at things in garden centres and Red Brick Mills in Batley and Salts Mills in Saltaire, and have something to eat out. The we'll finish off the day watching Britain's Got Talent semi-finals and having a Chinese Take-away. No work tomorrow either - !
 
Andreadoria56 said:
Gosh this has got to be the nicest forum on the whole wide web.

A thread like this with no anger, no problems, just joy and pleasure in driving a lovely car - where else would you find it?
Click to expand...

i think normally on these car forums you always find some people that dont like something about the vehicle for whatever reason and post about it all the time, which is fair enough i suppose...but id does appear that EVERYONE likes their 500's!

most of the negative stuff ive read has been about the dealers/fiat and their customer service - and as we all know, there's nothing new there so best we accept that side of things and carry on enjoying the cars.

fortunately its appearing that they're as reliable as the panda - so we shouldnt even have to bother with the dealerships much anyway...fingers crossed.
 
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Gave my toy boy a goood wash and polish today. I really agree about the driving experience. Not a very experienced driver yet but I have 2 routes to work - A27 then A23 or A27 then a more cross country route with wind-y roads and I am favouring the second as its just nice to drive, rather that sit on the A23 doing 65 waiting for some willy wonka to pull in infront of me. Must be the car . I actually LIKE driving the bends and hills rather than the boring A23
 
Well I have just returned from a superb 200 mile round trip in my new car, and I can honestly say, it lived up to all my expectations and more. The 1.2 I did not find left me wanting at all, being so much smaller and lighter than my previous 1.6 and being 6 years newer no doubt helped, but it went like a dream.

Also on Friday I had my first eureka waving experience, as a lady drove by also in a Pasadoble red, we both were grinning from ear to ear, as we rode side by side for a minute or so.. it was terrific. I also got a wave from another lady on Saturday, so I'm doing well so far, and haven't encountered any grumpy 500 owners.

One happy gal!:)
 
So lets all give a resounding thanks to Mick for starting this unerringly positive feel-good thread... oh that's me! :ROFLMAO:

I've never been this involved in a forum before, and in large part its due to the great people who inhabit it and their mutual love for their cars. Owning a Fiat is a "unique" experience in many ways and its great to be part of such a vital community.

As someone mentioned suzey's dogs, Bhindi has chickens etc and I have 2 dogs, 5 cats and numerous fish... does anyone think it would be a good idea to start an animal owners social group on here?
 
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