Hello everyone,

This is my 1st post, so please go easy

It was announced during this week that BSM have signed a deal with Fiat to supply them with there new tuition vehicles. The deal with Vauxhall that supplied them with Corsa's and Astras came too an end.

BSM will be using the basic 1.2 pop (with no air-con) and for longer serving instructors they will use the 1.2 Sport.

Instructors giving Automatic lessons will be using 1.4 Grande Punto's.

As I've never even sat in one of the new 500's I'm curious to gather your opinions on if it would make a good car for learning to drive in. And also what are the good/bad points of it.

Are they proving reliable ?

You can see a picture of BSM's 500 on the ukdic website


Regards,

PistonBroke

side to side-rear visibility is pretty crap, makes pulling out of some junctions v. tricky.

very reliable

Wow. I guess they didn't read the driver instructor/clutch woe thread on here. Maybe we should forward them the link?

pearce_jj said:

side to side-rear visibility is pretty crap, makes pulling out of some junctions v. tricky.

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I'd agree with that. A week and a half with the 500 has had me practically sticking my head out the window when I change lanes or want to pull out at a junction! In a way that makes it a good car to learn in because you're FORCED to turn your head

306maxi said:

I'd agree with that. A week and a half with the 500 has had me practically sticking my head out the window when I change lanes or want to pull out at a junction! In a way that makes it a good car to learn in because you're FORCED to turn your head

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Strangely enough I had someone who is a driving instructor tell me that turning your head during the test is a fail mark. You should have your mirrors adjusted so you never turn your head far. Scary. I was always taught having a quick look was a good thing.

And for the record I don't find the side/rear visibility all that bad. I've driven far worse. WB panel vans for instance

Thanks for the info so far everyone

jnoiles said:

Wow. I guess they didn't read the driver instructor/clutch woe thread on here.

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Knowing BSM ? then probably not

crap visibility in the 500 - great car but would definitely NOT want to learn in one of these!!

jnoiles said:

Wow. I guess they didn't read the driver instructor/clutch woe thread on here. Maybe we should forward them the link?

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one report! hardly a oversight into a cars reliability. As someone who sees & deals with these cars everyday the number of faults are fractional to the numbers on the road...most faults I see are blue & me issues mainly down to owner not reading the manual. For a new model (lets compare it to the GP) there has been very few issues.

I think the 500 is a good choice of learner car, easy to drive, clear controls, user friendly just what a learner needs.

T14086 said:

one report! hardly a oversight into a cars reliability. As someone who sees & deals with these cars everyday the number of faults are fractional to the numbers on the road...most faults I see are blue & me issues mainly down to owner not reading the manual. For a new model (lets compare it to the GP) there has been very few issues.

I think the 500 is a good choice of learner car, easy to drive, clear controls, user friendly just what a learner needs.

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One report indeed. But a report that's very indicative of Fiat's attitude to the customer post sale. Yes there are a good and bad reports but there do seem to be awful lot of bad ones out there. The results in the surveys would indicate that it's not jut Forum people affected. And it's the sort of report I'd want to see if I was about to buy a fleet of these for driver instruction. If I was considering a fleet and I had to factor in clutch @ 12k miles times X number of cars I'd be cranky. If Fiat assured me that wouldn't be the case then our other poster would surely have a clear case for a refund

pearce_jj said:

side to side-rear visibility is pretty crap, makes pulling out of some junctions v. tricky.

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this would work in bsm's favour because they can get more lessons out of you due to the poor visibility. i also agree with maxi you have to do a "life saver look" when pulling into another lane on the motorway or dual caridgeway, if it is true that bsm are getting a fleet of 500 learners then i'm afraid our's will probably be going as it will kill what descent resale is left in them imho, and even worse it will be tagged as "one of those learner car's" although it could work against them as lads of 17/18 yrs old will deffo not want to learn in a 500.

Although I agree with the rear visibility view I have to say that the mirrors on the 500 are extremely good and provide excellent rear visibility.

As someone who often has to drive vans and lorries using mirrors is a way of life and I never feel the need to turn my head when reversing or overtaking.

with regards to visibility in the 500. We do teach too use all round observation by using a combination of mirror checks and blindspot checks, well most of us do anyway Time will tell if it becomes an issue.

white 500 said:

if it is true that bsm are getting a fleet of 500 learners then i'm afraid our's will probably be going as it will kill what descent resale is left in them imho, and even worse it will be tagged as "one of those learner car's" although it could work against them as lads of 17/18 yrs old will deffo not want to learn in a 500.

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BSM will be having over 3000 car's per yr from fiat. Each instructor will keep there car for 1yr or 26000 miles I believe. BSM will also have some spare cars floating about and certain members of staff and trainers will have one.

I don't find the visibility too bad at all and I am sure there are many modern cars that are just as bad or worse , with the current trend for high sides and narrow windows. The 500 does after all have mirrors the size of a small house.

I too have no problem with visibility. Don't have to turn around to look at all, just use the mirrors.

jnoiles said:

Strangely enough I had someone who is a driving instructor tell me that turning your head during the test is a fail mark. You should have your mirrors adjusted so you never turn your head far.

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My brother recently failed his test for not looking round to see his blind spot during reverse parking! :bang:

I don't find it a problem, I think they would make a great car for a learner. Easy to manouver, the gearstick is a nice height too meaning you don't have to look for it.

The mirrors are huge too.

One thing to remember is that this will hammer resale values in a couple of years if there are thousands more out there for sale!! Even if they are basic spec they will drag the others down with them.

not much you can do about that though is there? I don't expect BSM factor that in