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General 500, not an ideal instructors car?

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General 500, not an ideal instructors car?

306maxi

306maxi

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Someone on another forum mentioned being with BSM and I asked if he was a 500 driver and he said it was a truly awful car. Being my usual self I asked via PM why he felt that was and I have to say I agree 99% with what he's said. Sad to see someone working for an important customer (BSM) not getting good customer service..... one has to wonder if Fiat actually think about these things.

Massive blind spots with both the A and C pillars, poor visability through the rear screen, very cramped in the back, very difficult when you have a check test for the senior examiner to sit in the back during the check test lesson. Not being able to see clearly the pupils feet on the pedals from the passenger seat, not being able to see the first half of the speedo from the passenger seat, poor boot space for the roof box, gutless engine, dodgy electrics and probably the worst customer service I've ever recieved from a main dealer, and I've had both Vauxhalls AND Fords who I thought were the worlds worst until I came across FIAT.

As for other instructors being happy? They must be very much in the minority. Out of the 2600 BSM instructors surveyed in January, when BSM was taken over by Acromas (the people who own the AA) 79% of them said they wanted to get rid of the 500 and go back to Vauxhall Corsas and Astras. The decision was made and every BSM instructor will be in a Corsa by the end of this year.
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Have to say based on that I wouldn't want to instruct in a 500.....
 
I also agree the 500 may not be an ideal car to learn in.


I agree with the points he made on not being able to see the speedo or pedals from the passenger side etc..

But regarding the blind spots and poor visibility through the rear window... learners need to learn how to deal with that sooner rather than later when its too late.

Theres no point in learning to drive in a car with no blind spots, and no areas of poor visibility if after passing the test you buy a car like the 500.
 
An interesting take on matters, and I can fully understand where the instructor is coming from.

I don't necessarily agree that the engine is "gutless" - I've driven both 1.2 Fiestas and Corsas (new builds) and I don't think they are a patch on the Fiat unit myself. However opinions are opinions and I'm sure there are plenty of people who disagree with me.

As for the blind spots, let's hope no-one gets a new Ford KA. If you think visibility is bad in the 500 wait till you have a punt in one of those!:eek:

Overall though I agree that the 500 probably isn't the best all-round option. I'll admit I hadn't ever thought of things like being able to see the speed from the passenger seat etc.
 
Super Uwe said:
An interesting take on matters, and I can fully understand where the instructor is coming from.

I don't necessarily agree that the engine is "gutless" - I've driven both 1.2 Fiestas and Corsas (new builds) and I don't think they are a patch on the Fiat unit myself. However opinions are opinions and I'm sure there are plenty of people who disagree with me.

As for the blind spots, let's hope no-one gets a new Ford KA. If you think visibility is bad in the 500 wait till you have a punt in one of those!:eek:

Overall though I agree that the 500 probably isn't the best all-round option. I'll admit I hadn't ever thought of things like being able to see the speed from the passenger seat etc.
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Well I think gutless is a relative term, iirc he had a turbo diesel Passatt or something similar before.
 
mjsmke said:
Theres no point in learning to drive in a car with no blind spots, and no areas of poor visibility if after passing the test you buy a car like the 500.
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Yes, but this is where Fiat lose out. A truly staggering number of people pass the test and immediately go buy the car they learned to drive in. If you can be that brand you've potentially got a customer for life.
 
jnoiles said:
Yes, but this is where Fiat lose out. A truly staggering number of people pass the test and immediately go buy the car they learned to drive in. If you can be that brand you've potentially got a customer for life.
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Fiat have shown their attitude towards customers and it's not good. Funny how their UK marketshare is going down.....
 
306maxi said:
Fiat have shown their attitude towards customers and it's not good. Funny how their UK marketshare is going down.....
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If it were not for the fashionability of the 500, I wonder if it would even be worth it for FIAT to be in the RHD market at all. Most of the rest of what they sell here has to be sold on price, and that's rarely a route to profitability in the motor trade...

...and fashion is an ephemeral thing...
 
It's a marketing exercise that's gone a bit wrong for Fiat. I did think it was a odd choice at the time. The Panda has to be about the easiest car in the world to drive and would have made a much better choice with great visibility & 4 doors.
Like it or not the 500 could hardly be described as remotely macho and I suspect some instructors may also have had an issue with this.
 
Murano16v said:
It's a marketing exercise that's gone a bit wrong for Fiat. I did think it was a odd choice at the time. The Panda has to be about the easiest car in the world to drive and would have made a much better choice with great visibility & 4 doors.
Like it or not the 500 could hardly be described as remotely macho and I suspect some instructors may also have had an issue with this.
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Agree with you there. IMO it was certainly a marketing move to try and entice learner drivers to go with BSM instead of the the other main players within the market.

Would be interesting to know if BSM did actually see a surge in numbers learning to drive with them, or whether it was a bit of a dud in the end?
 
Haven't noticed any particularly bad blindspots in mine, and after 5 months of ownership from new my only contact with FIAT has been 3 phone calls (Dealer, FIAT UK and FIAT Italy) to check that I'm happy - we'll see how they perfom if I have any problems! You can't argue with the validity of some of the other comments made, though. Who on earth at BSM assessed the 500's qualities before deciding to buy loads of them? And if Ford and Vauxhall are bad, why consider them either? Toyota customer service is supposed to be the best, and I've had excellent treatment from Mercedes when I had an A-Class. I guess the car choice for these schools is left to the bean counters.
 
TrevC said:
Haven't noticed any particularly bad blindspots in mine, and after 5 months of ownership from new my only contact with FIAT has been 3 phone calls (Dealer, FIAT UK and FIAT Italy) to check that I'm happy - we'll see how they perfom if I have any problems! You can't argue with the validity of some of the other comments made, though. Who on earth at BSM assessed the 500's qualities before deciding to buy loads of them? And if Ford and Vauxhall are bad, why consider them either? Toyota customer service is supposed to be the best, and I've had excellent treatment from Mercedes when I had an A-Class. I guess the car choice for these schools is left to the bean counters.
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Tbh the blind spots in the 500 are terrible. The good side view mirrors help, but visibility isn't good.
 
306maxi said:
Tbh the blind spots in the 500 are terrible. The good side view mirrors help, but visibility isn't good.
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The Panda beats it hands down on visibility, especially if you have one of the later ones with the big mirrors. IMO a Panda would be far better than a 500 to learn to drive in, and it also has much to recommend it as a first car, too.
 
jrkitching said:
The Panda beats it hands down on visibility, especially if you have one of the later ones with the big mirrors. IMO a Panda would be far better than a 500 to learn to drive in, and it also has much to recommend it as a first car, too.
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Yeah but the sort of people who can afford a new car as a first car will buy 500's sadly.
 
I've always said to people how good visability my Panda has, my seicento before was probably as bad as the 500 is now. A 53/04 plate panda now, is within reach of many new drivers (y)

When i was learning to drive, i said to my instructor (before i had one) 'What about a Panda?' his words were 'Haha not a Fiat'. Typical ford man :p He went on to get the new Fiesta which i imagine is much like the 500 in regards to rear visabilty (n)
 
I think the point about criticising a car with wide A/B/C pillars is somewhat moot when talking about new cars.. this seems to be a trend with ALL of them. I reviewed various models of the new Volkswagen Scirocco for my club magazine and it's one of the things I commented on. In fact I found it borderline dangerous as in some cases it would completely obscure an entire entrance to a roundabout, or a junction..

Surely it's just the price you pay for a safer cabin in the event of an accident! Better strength in a rollover, and somewhere to stick the airbags!
 
chicaneuk said:
I think the point about criticising a car with wide A/B/C pillars is somewhat moot when talking about new cars.. this seems to be a trend with ALL of them. I reviewed various models of the new Volkswagen Scirocco for my club magazine and it's one of the things I commented on. In fact I found it borderline dangerous as in some cases it would completely obscure an entire entrance to a roundabout, or a junction..

Surely it's just the price you pay for a safer cabin in the event of an accident! Better strength in a rollover, and somewhere to stick the airbags!
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Thats why i think its important for learners to learn in a car with blind spots.
 
RobinPJ said:
Why does it make you sad that people who can afford to buy a new car as a first car will buy a 500 not a Panda (a car which you also chose to buy)?
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Firstly a lot of them can't really afford it :) But anyway, I was just saying that the Panda is a better first car. The insurance is lower, most have steel wheels so you can't curb your alloys. Just my opinion of course, people are free to drive whatever they want to :)
 
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