General Thinking of buying a 500! Any advice?

gill08x · May 3, 2012

Hey guys!
New to this forum, but I've been creeping on the 500 and Punto Grande boards for a wee while. I'm thinking of buying a new 500, here's a bit of backstory:

I've always driven Fiat cars, I began my lessons in a Panda (although switched to a Toyota Yaris after realising my instructor was swindling me for more money) and when I passed, drove my mum's Punto Grande for a year and a bit. When the Punto was close to death my mum wanted to trade it in, and in the dealership, I fell in love with the Fiat 500's. Cue lots of bargaining from me to my mum asking if she could trade the Punto for the 500, and lots of refusing to buy such a small car. Also, cue the salesman recognising my desire for my own vehicle and trying to get me to buy there and then... (I'm 20 btw.)

Anyway, I'm no longer on my mum's insurance policy to allow me to save up for my own car, and basically, I thought I'd pop in here because although I've got my heart set on a 500, and I know I definitely want a new one (my friends have had numerous problems with used cars and I'm not going near an auction), I'd like some advice on what feratures I should be looking for.

I'm probably gonna go for the basic car, a white 1.2 pop, it'll be either a 12 or 62 plate, but if you guys could give me some advice on what to look for features wise, I'd appreciate it so much

(help out a girl who is rubbish with cars here haha?)

Also, does anyone know if insurance comes in cheaper at certain times in the year? I'm not sure if the quote I have just now is the cheapest I'm gonna get and for a 20 year old, it really matters how much the insurance costs haha

xxx

loveshandbags · May 3, 2012

gill08x said:
...I'm probably gonna go for the basic car, a white 1.2 pop, it'll be either a 12 or 62 plate, but if you guys could give me some advice on what to look for features wise, I'd appreciate it so much

Welcome to the forum gillo8x.
There are a few gals on the FF - probably more so that any other section and hopefully they'll chime in.

From your posting get the impression you want as new as possible and you probably have a 'upper limit' as to what you want to spend.

If you're comfortable in giving that figure a few kind souls on here might point you in the right direction to get the 'right' car.

Blue & Me probably would be the one option that you would like to tick but it might limit the 'good value' options out there. Also getting a 'cheap' 500 at the moment isn't so easy to come by.

Best of luck in your hunt for a 500 !

frupi · May 3, 2012

gill08x said:
I'm probably gonna go for the basic car, a white 1.2 pop, it'll be either a 12 or 62 plate, but if you guys could give me some advice on what to look for features wise, I'd appreciate it so much (help out a girl who is rubbish with cars here haha?)

Hi and a warm welcome.

You might want to take a look at these:

http://finance.autoexposure.co.uk/s...&MaxMileage=Any&Colour=Any&Fuel=Any&Trans=Any

Might help to keep costs down for you. Not sure where you live, but it may be worth travelling. There are some good deals out there on second hand and certainly better than franchised dealer prices.

Good luck!

gill08x · May 3, 2012

Hi guys!

Thanks so much for replying!

I've got an insurance quote right now for £584 for the year - given I only passed my test in October 2010, and I'm a 20 year old female, that's the cheapest I've come by and seems really good (nice low excess etc) but I want to see if my old insurance company can match it before I buy anything. That was with me inputting the car details myself, and its for the new car, so not so bad! If I buy the car, I'll probably pay the insurance upfront this year.

Other than that, I'm a student so bearing in mind that I'll probably be scraping the pennies when I graduate, I am of course looking for the best deal I can get (one of the reasons I opted for white, although on seeing the white car I AM a little bit in love with it.) A local dealer has let me in on the PCP deal that's £135 deposit/£135 per month then obviously extras but I'm not really sure if that's gonna be a good plan? A few friends took that one out and they say it's great, but then, they're only in their first year and haven't had to pay the lump sum at the end... So all in all, I'm probably looking at £200/month max since I'm only a part-time student haha!

As for Blue&Me, what does it really do? We looked into it for the Punto but it didn't seem to be a huge problem if we didn't have it if I remember right... but then I'm not well-versed in what it does so I'm not sure.

frupi, thanks very much for that link

but I'm in Glasgow, so Nottingham is a 6 hour drive away and I doubt my parents would be willing to take me that far for a car

xxx

frupi · May 3, 2012

gill08x said:
frupi, thanks very much for that link but I'm in Glasgow, so Nottingham is a 6 hour drive away and I doubt my parents would be willing to take me that far for a car

To be honest, with the savings that can be made here it would be worth the drive, but I understand that travelling can be a 'mare for some. I'm used to travelling ridiculous distances to buy cars. Best one so far for me was when I bought my Cadillac, 650 mile round trip in a day, but I saved ten grand, so it was more than worth it!

gill08x · May 3, 2012

Saved TEN GRAND?! That's incredible haha!

Nah for me it's just finding someone who's willing to come with me/let me pay their petrol for a car from down south

xxx

loveshandbags · May 3, 2012

gill08x said:
Other than that, I'm a student so bearing in mind that I'll probably be scraping the pennies when I graduate, I am of course looking for the best deal I can get (one of the reasons I opted for white, although on seeing the white car I AM a little bit in love with it.) A local dealer has let me in on the PCP deal that's £135 deposit/£135 per month then obviously extras but I'm not really sure if that's gonna be a good plan? A few friends took that one out and they say it's great, but then, they're only in their first year and haven't had to pay the lump sum at the end... So all in all, I'm probably looking at £200/month max since I'm only a part-time student haha!

As for Blue&Me, what does it really do?

Would suggest getting the cheapest deal possible and leaving money in the kitty to enjoy yourself. B&Me is for the handsfree for the mobile and has a USB & AUX input for MP3s either from a mobile or a USB key. Not really essential but it adds around £370 to the cost of the car since it needs the multi-functional steering wheel.

Personally I'm not a fan of the finance deals and if your parents have the cash to buy a 'new' one at a 'cheap' price I would go with it. Others on the FF would differ to me. IMHO suggest travelling to get the 'right' one.

frupi · May 3, 2012

gill08x said:
Saved TEN GRAND?! That's incredible haha!

Nah for me it's just finding someone who's willing to come with me/let me pay their petrol for a car from down south

xxx

Yup, I was smiling from ear to ear

Another alternative for you, one way or return flights can be had dirt cheap bmibaby.com from Glasgow to East Midlands. If you were to become serious about buying from this outlet, be cheeky and ask if they'll pick you up from the airport. I would! The least they can say is 'No'.

gill08x · May 3, 2012

loveshandbags said:
Would suggest getting the cheapest deal possible and leaving money in the kitty to enjoy yourself. B&Me is for the handsfree for the mobile and has a USB & AUX input for MP3s either from a mobile or a USB key. Not really essential but it adds around £370 to the cost of the car since it needs the multi-functional steering wheel.

Personally I'm not a fan of the finance deals and if your parents have the cash to buy a 'new' one at a 'cheap' price I would go with it. Others on the FF would differ to me. IMHO suggest travelling to get the 'right' one.

Yeah I'm sure we looked at that for the Punto, but I don't think I'd need it tbh... I don't talk on my phone at all in the car, so the handsfree would be a bit redundant and I can always put MP3's on CDs, haha

it's just a lot of extra cost for something I don't know if I'll use tbh!

With regards to finance, it's really the only way I'm going to afford the car. Obviously over a four year period I'll hopefully have graduated and found a full-time job and managed to get some savings, but a car is something I should really be looking at right now with regards to getting to work and uni :/ and if I go back on the old insurance then I surrender to the fact that the car is actually my mum's and I can't use it to get to work!

xxx

gill08x · May 3, 2012

frupi said:
Yup, I was smiling from ear to ear

Another alternative for you, one way or return flights can be had dirt cheap bmibaby.com from Glasgow to East Midlands. If you were to become serious about buying from this outlet, be cheeky and ask if they'll pick you up from the airport. I would! The least they can say is 'No'.

Haha that's sly, I never even thought of that one! It's definitely something I'll consider

I'm not actually putting any money down until June/July, I'm going on holiday until 31st May so the pennies will be in the bank after that hehe

loveshandbags · May 3, 2012

gill08x said:
Yeah I'm sure we looked at that for the Punto, but I don't think I'd need it tbh... I don't talk on my phone at all in the car, so the handsfree would be a bit redundant and I can always put MP3's on CDs, haha it's just a lot of extra cost for something I don't know if I'll use tbh!

With regards to finance, it's really the only way I'm going to afford the car. Obviously over a four year period I'll hopefully have graduated and found a full-time job and managed to get some savings, but a car is something I should really be looking at right now with regards to getting to work and uni :/ and if I go back on the old insurance then I surrender to the fact that the car is actually my mum's and I can't use it to get to work!

xxx

If you're going the Finance route and you don't need the B&Me you can now get the Leather steering wheel with audio controls - much nicer wheel than the standard POP wheel IIRC it's around £110. Only just available.
I like the alloys but leave them off the list since they get scuffed and marked and some don't even notice them.
Body coloured mirrors possibly.
And that's it.
Hopefully that will keep the repayments down.

gill08x · May 3, 2012

loveshandbags said:
If you're going the Finance route and you don't need the B&Me you can now get the Leather steering wheel with audio controls - much nicer wheel than the standard POP wheel IIRC it's around £110. Only just available.
I like the alloys but leave them off the list since they get scuffed and marked and some don't even notice them.
Body coloured mirrors possibly.
And that's it.
Hopefully that will keep the repayments down.

Thanks for your help, you guys really have been really helpful

now I know what B&Me actually is haha!

Yeah the leather wheel is about £110/120 I think!
Alloys aren't really my cup of tea, and my friend had a car burnt down for them before so I'll probably steer clear of those

Thank you so much!

xxx

The Littlest Hobo · May 3, 2012

A few little suggestions here from someone who has sold finance for years and worked in the motor trade for years.

1) There is nothing wrong with PCP type products but do not tailor them for the salesman, tailor them for yourself. Do not expect them to be the cheapest way of buying a vehicle, they are not but with the fiat offers they can be worked to be the most convenient and competative way.

2) IMO (Just mine others will dissagree) you shouldnt waste you money on spec. If you read this forum you will see repetative complaints which usually are around 'options'. It seems the more you spec the more you have to complain about. The 500 isnt a cheap car so some of these guys have spent £13,14,15k on a car which at the end of the day is a little town car with the engineering to do less than they expect from it.

3) You are a student. Do you 'need' such a car. If so then there are various avenues. New is good but there are plenty of second hand ones. The reason i was put off second hand was my point about people expecting too much from them. I reckon you may be buying big bills if you get a 3-4yrs old example with 40,000plus miles on.

Anyhow, i will give you an example of my thinking on the pcp type package.

1) Dont go for the minimum deposit. You are in a crappy situation from day one. If this is the case then really, you cant afford the car and walk away. Negative equity from day one. Big monthly payments and big GFV at the end. Its their way of getting you tied into their cars.

2) Put a decent deposit down of at least £2-3K that way your monthly figures will be low and you can always save some extra towards the GFV at the end.

3) Put the mileage as high as physically possible. I put mine at 18,000 per annum even though we will be doing 3-4,000 per annum. This has the effect of pulling the GFV down as they will value a car at the end with 54,000 miles lower than they would a car with 12000mls. This gives you more equity in the car.

4) Based on the above and the fact they are doing the finance at 0.02% flat rate finance. Even when the £285 final document fee is taken into account you only end up at about a total cost for borrowing of £300 which for about £8k of borrowing works out as a real cost of 1.3% per annum which makes it madness to pay cash. What would £8k earn you in the bank?

5) At the end of 3 yrs you have a low mileage car which has a chunk of equity in it and you have the power to keep it, sell it or change it for a new one on your own terms.

The main point is not to go for the low deposit/high monthly. You will end up regretting it

The Littlest Hobo · May 3, 2012

Sorry my figures were based on 3 yrs. It can easily be based on 4yrs though

frupi · May 3, 2012

Littlest Hobo's post is great re finance.

I respect Littlest Hobo's own decision for not buying second hand, but I wouldn't let it put you off, especially buying a 500 with only a thousand or so miles on the clock. From my own experience, it was a fantastic buy. Admittedly I didn't have to worry about finance, our PX and cash payment in full negated any finance.

Another thing to remember too, is don't get sucked in to buying GAP insurance via a dealer. It can be had for a far cheaper price via the internet. Myself and others on this forum will testify to that.

I wouldn't bother with alloys either. Yep they do look great, but from what I understand, they can contribute to a harsher ride and good tyres will be more expensive than regular 14 inchers. Not only that, if you scuff 'em, they'll look crap. 10 quid to replace a wheel trim is better than 50 to 70 quid on an alloy refurb. Plus your insurance will probably be cheaper.

gill08x · May 3, 2012

The Littlest Hobo said:
A few little suggestions here from someone who has sold finance for years and worked in the motor trade for years.

1) There is nothing wrong with PCP type products but do not tailor them for the salesman, tailor them for yourself. Do not expect them to be the cheapest way of buying a vehicle, they are not but with the fiat offers they can be worked to be the most convenient and competative way.

2) IMO (Just mine others will dissagree) you shouldnt waste you money on spec. If you read this forum you will see repetative complaints which usually are around 'options'. It seems the more you spec the more you have to complain about. The 500 isnt a cheap car so some of these guys have spent £13,14,15k on a car which at the end of the day is a little town car with the engineering to do less than they expect from it.

3) You are a student. Do you 'need' such a car. If so then there are various avenues. New is good but there are plenty of second hand ones. The reason i was put off second hand was my point about people expecting too much from them. I reckon you may be buying big bills if you get a 3-4yrs old example with 40,000plus miles on.

Anyhow, i will give you an example of my thinking on the pcp type package.

1) Dont go for the minimum deposit. You are in a crappy situation from day one. If this is the case then really, you cant afford the car and walk away. Negative equity from day one. Big monthly payments and big GFV at the end. Its their way of getting you tied into their cars.

2) Put a decent deposit down of at least £2-3K that way your monthly figures will be low and you can always save some extra towards the GFV at the end.

3) Put the mileage as high as physically possible. I put mine at 18,000 per annum even though we will be doing 3-4,000 per annum. This has the effect of pulling the GFV down as they will value a car at the end with 54,000 miles lower than they would a car with 12000mls. This gives you more equity in the car.

4) Based on the above and the fact they are doing the finance at 0.02% flat rate finance. Even when the £285 final document fee is taken into account you only end up at about a total cost for borrowing of £300 which for about £8k of borrowing works out as a real cost of 1.3% per annum which makes it madness to pay cash. What would £8k earn you in the bank?

5) At the end of 3 yrs you have a low mileage car which has a chunk of equity in it and you have the power to keep it, sell it or change it for a new one on your own terms.

The main point is not to go for the low deposit/high monthly. You will end up regretting it

Hey, thanks for replying

just a few points to add to what you've said, I'll add the numbers at the start so you know which point I'm replying to

2. Spec and extra features aren't a huge dealbreaker for me, this was pretty much just to check if there was anything major that I'd missed, but there doesn't seem to be to be honest!

3. As a student, I know a lot of people say I don't 'need' a car, but the reality is, I do. My travel to and from work and uni costs me more monthly than it would for me to pay a car on finance, and in the situation that student loans are in just now, I'm not in any position to get that money back, ever. It probably works out better for me in the long run to pay that little bit extra for the petrol and have a car instead of relying on trains that don't show up

Regarding the PCP;
I won't be going for the minimum deposit. It won't be a huge deposit, certainly not £3k, but it will certainly be substantially more than the minimum

I've saved up a fair bit, and can afford to put down a larger deposit and also to pay my insurance off in full.

Thank you for your reply, I really appreciate it and I'll make sure I keep your advice in mind

xxx

306maxi · May 3, 2012

The only thing I would add is this, you're a student, do you really need such a new and expensive car?

With PCP finance you will end up having paid all that money for something which you will have to then give back if you can't afford the balloon payment. With the economy/job market at the moment could you guarantee that in 3 or 4 years time you'll walk out of uni/college and into a job and be able to put the balloon payment down? Probably not sadly. You could take a loan out to cover the payment but that's just more debt.

We're all materialistic in our own ways, but I really just don't see the point in buying on PCP if you can't afford to buy on hire purchase, as others have said, it's their way of locking you into a cycle of new car after new car after new car and ensuring that they have a stock of 3 year old used cars to pop on the forecourt. I love the fact that once August arrives we will own our 500 outright. Tbh we could have paid it off a year or so ago but there have been good reasons for keeping our cash in the bank rather than paying the car off.

As someone who went to university I would much rather have a cheap car and have that extra money in my back pocket to spend on enjoying the experience of being at uni.

You do need a car by the sounds of it, but do you really need one that costs almost 10k? Do the typical student thing and get yourself a diesel 106 or something similar and you won't be worrying so much about your car getting dinged, broken into or having a pissed friend doing a technicolour yawn all over the nice new seats in your 500 after a night out.

Everyone who's posted in here (aside from the OP of course) either owns a 500 or owned one at some point and we all know how nice they are to own, drive and look at. But if you ask my honest opinion I think you're better off with something a bit older and a bit cheaper to run.

Ulpian · May 3, 2012

Hi Gill,
I know you have your heart set on a 500, but if you want a cheap, and good, new car you can still get the last model Panda, but new with A/C and five doors, for well under £6000. It is still being made for some markets but from what I understand no more new ones are being imported here, because Fiat is concentrating on the new model, which is excellent of course.

The extra doors would be handy for a student, and after you finish your degree you would have paid for it and be in a position, maybe, to replace it more easily with another new car.

But if you have your heart set on a 500...

306maxi · May 3, 2012

Ulpian said:
Hi Gill,
I know you have your heart set on a 500, but if you want a cheap, and good, new car you can still get the last model Panda, but new with A/C and five doors, for well under £6000. It is still being made for some markets but from what I understand no more new ones are being imported here, because Fiat is concentrating on the new model, which is excellent of course.

The extra doors would be handy for a student, and after you finish your degree you would have paid for it and be in a position, maybe, to replace it more easily with another new car.

But if you have your heart set on a 500...

Agree. Far better idea for someone on a limited income and who is going out into the wide world in a few years where the employment situation could still be dismal....

Just my 2p worth though....s

gill08x · May 3, 2012

306maxi said:
The only thing I would add is this, you're a student, do you really need such a new and expensive car?

With PCP finance you will end up having paid all that money for something which you will have to then give back if you can't afford the balloon payment. With the economy/job market at the moment could you guarantee that in 3 or 4 years time you'll walk out of uni/college and into a job and be able to put the balloon payment down? Probably not sadly. You could take a loan out to cover the payment but that's just more debt.

We're all materialistic in our own ways, but I really just don't see the point in buying on PCP if you can't afford to buy on hire purchase, as others have said, it's their way of locking you into a cycle of new car after new car after new car and ensuring that they have a stock of 3 year old used cars to pop on the forecourt. I love the fact that once August arrives we will own our 500 outright. Tbh we could have paid it off a year or so ago but there have been good reasons for keeping our cash in the bank rather than paying the car off.

As someone who went to university I would much rather have a cheap car and have that extra money in my back pocket to spend on enjoying the experience of being at uni.

You do need a car by the sounds of it, but do you really need one that costs almost 10k? Do the typical student thing and get yourself a diesel 106 or something similar and you won't be worrying so much about your car getting dinged, broken into or having a pissed friend doing a technicolour yawn all over the nice new seats in your 500 after a night out.

Everyone who's posted in here (aside from the OP of course) either owns a 500 or owned one at some point and we all know how nice they are to own, drive and look at. But if you ask my honest opinion I think you're better off with something a bit older and a bit cheaper to run.

Again, thank you, I really do appreciate your input.

The only thing I would state is that this thread was started to help me work out if I'd missed any deal breakers on the 500, not for folk to decide for me that I can't afford the car, or to bash me for being a student. Without any disrespect, you don't know where or what I am studying so really, I would appreciate if you didn't tell me that I 'probably' won't get a job.

I'm not saying a new car is the be-all-and-end-all here; I'm happy to look at used ones too, but I'm trying to keep my options open and so that's why I'm looking at new ones.

Ulpian said:
Hi Gill,
I know you have your heart set on a 500, but if you want a cheap, and good, new car you can still get the last model Panda, but new with A/C and five doors, for well under £6000. It is still being made for some markets but from what I understand no more new ones are being imported here, because Fiat is concentrating on the new model, which is excellent of course.

The extra doors would be handy for a student, and after you finish your degree you would have paid for it and be in a position, maybe, to replace it more easily with another new car.

But if you have your heart set on a 500...

I've actually looked at a Panda, but I'm not sold on it yet :s

xxx

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