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Off Topic Another interim option

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Off Topic Another interim option

306maxi said:
Tbh I disagree about buying an A500. I think the MiTo is probably the better car to drive. It's got better brakes, a more sophisticated chassis and enough go.

I can't help but feel that a lot of people allow the fact that they've owned a 500 to cloud their judgement a little when it comes to the A500. Don't get me wrong, it's not a terrible car or anything, but whilst the 500 comes in for a lot of praise from the media, the A500 is outclassed by a good deal of the cars in its class.

A standard 500 does a great job of being a cheapish little car which is fairly cheap to run and which is nice to look at and nice to be inside. For me personally the A500 doesn't carry this off nearly as well as the 500.

I think the MiTo 155 strikes the perfect balance between performance and looking nice. To me it's the logical move from a 1.2 500 to a nice looking car with performance and a nice interior.
Click to expand...

Good unbiased comments... agree A500 is not the end all. I was saying as Michael was very keen on the A500 and if that is what he wanted, to hang on. I like the A500 and its rawness (minus all stickers) as it takes me back to 205gti days, but you know what we will sell the Rav4 in future and end up with a 320dTourer.

Hope were are not loosing you both from the forum.
 
arorat said:
Good unbiased comments... agree A500 is not the end all. I was saying as Michael was very keen on the A500 and if that is what he wanted, to hang on. I like the A500 and its rawness (minus all stickers) as it takes me back to 205gti days, but you know what we will sell the Rav4 in future and end up with a 320dTourer.

Hope were are not loosing you both from the forum.
Click to expand...
Oh don't worry it's not replacing the 500. The 500 is a lifer :)
 
arorat said:
Good unbiased comments... agree A500 is not the end all. I was saying as Michael was very keen on the A500 and if that is what he wanted, to hang on. I like the A500 and its rawness (minus all stickers) as it takes me back to 205gti days, but you know what we will sell the Rav4 in future and end up with a 320dTourer.

Hope were are not loosing you both from the forum.
Click to expand...

That was the plan but I realised just before Christmas that the Euro crisis was going to deepen so as regards importing a A500 it was off the table.
https://www.fiatforum.com/500/274198-little-thump-today-pearlescent-9.html?p=2924367
The one that I would be interested is here and if I lower my expectations it's not worth paying 50% more for an '09 A500 over a '09 Mito 155TB.

£ = €0.8256 today's rate

2010 A500SS 7K miles
st£12600
€15257
€3250 VRT
€18507

2009 A500 20K miles
st£10000
€12116
€2500 VRT
€14616
+ expenses of 'going over'

Thanks for you kind words arorat but you haven't got rid of me yet ! :)
Good luck with the hunt for a 320D Tourer (y) I was always partial to estates - they make much more sense than a SUV.
 
Melanabb said:
I know I'm a bit biased, but are there any Grande Punto Abarths for sale in Ireland? That way you get to drive an Abarth until the A500 turns up...;)
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There's none of them here but there is a Punto Evo Abarth for sale in that garage that used to have that esseesse (the one that sold that had the roll cage). Given the current exchange rates his price isn't too bad but it I would lose too much money if I had to sell it on.
The Mito (which I haven't got yet) at €10k for a '09 is probably the nearest 'thing'. Given that it is a GP and with similar outputs of 155bhp I would say that it as close as I can get.
When I spoke to the garage owner about a year ago (& more recently) he had both the PE & the A500SS and he preferred the PE Abarth and uses it as his 'daily' drive. He's looking for €18K and wouldn't take any less. This one will come up for grabs at some stage.
The OH has got used to the idea of a white Mito (she has a red MJ Mito) - I haven't got 'my head around it yet' but at least mine with have the petrol engine.:yum:
 

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A little update to close off the thread...
Got the MiTo late yesterday. Apprehensive about the pickup. Service done minis the Spark plugs - can live with that & will do them myself. Manuals re-issued with a new up-to-date service book stamped and signed – that’s out of the way. No proof of the brake fluid and oil change with a proper printout but re-assured that it would be forthcoming. Dents on the side 'taken out'. Barely noticeable. Front - not done well with the wrong white colour tip up paint used - can live with it. Noticed this morning that the rear bottom part of the bumper is a different colour (too white) so it must have been replaced - can live with that.
Not overly excited about the car. Lacks the passion of the 500 and in particular the occasion and excitement of driving the Abarth 500. I don't expect to have the worry of missed oil changes or the fact that it had been rallied around the Dublin mountains or Mondello. So hopefully it will serve me well.
I have consoled myself with the fact that it still has the same 1368cc engine of the 500 under the bonnet and has the exact same IHI VL37 spec turbo from the A500 but has been tweaked to 153bhp (close to the esseesse). Given the extra weight it needs just a little extra. Have been playing a little with the DNA possibly leaving it in Dynamic mode a bit too much. Average readout had climbed from 17.8mpg from being in the garage to 21.3mpg. Nothing to worry about for the moment until I start putting petrol back into the decent sized tank. I have reserved the last remaining Tom Tom B&Me Live 2 at the dealership at discounted price :eek: of €299 (I have the dashboard plug in) which might help to keep the licence intact.
Might end up spending a little money on it to personalise it with possibly a vinyl wrap on the roof, better filter / breathing and doing a Veloce (copy cat job) on the rear bumper.
Came across a Youtube where MiTo drivers were ‘classified’ as metrosexuals.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=metrosexual
When I looked up the definition I might have ticked points 9 & 10 (I prefer ‘normal’ wine doesn’t need to be a good vintage) so it’s quite possible that it would be hard to pigeon hole a 500 driver. I’ll leave you with a clip (there are English captions) that would be as close to the model that I have. Despite what appears to be a German guy driving an Italian car it somehow seems to work.
Many thanks to all for your gracious inputs. I’ve just got to go through a ‘re-adjustment phase’ and re-acclimatise to size of the car. TG it has rear-parking sensors – it needs them.
 
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