Hi All

I have been browsing this forum for a week or so now and have been impressed with the amount of advice on offer. I have recently purchased a Brand New Vauxhall Corsa Limited Edition in Carbon Flash which I love! It has given my Fiancee the car buying bug! And she has her heart set on a Fiat 500 1.2 Lounge.

I am in the fortunate position where I am able to spend up to £1800's on options, accessories completely free of charge.

So I have had a little sit down with the other half and this is what we are after:

Fiat 500 1.2 Lounge
Colour: Funk White
Wheels: Upgraded 15" Alloy Wheels
Chrome Finish Door Mirrors
Body Coloured Side Rubbing Strip with 500 badge
Front Fog Lights
Interscope Hifi System
Leather Gear Knob
Black/Grey Sail Cloth Interior
Automatic Climate Control
Black Ambience

What I am after however is peoples reviews or thoughts on the options and whether I should change some of the options dependant on if they are worth having i.e do the chrome door mirrors scratch or blemish easy...you get the idea..

Many thanks in advance!

Welcome.

Personally if I was going to blow £1800 on options I'd go for climate, hifi, red leather seats and if there was enough left, the opening sunroof. Those are the options that might be worth something in the future (or at least make it sell quicker).

Also with your car's colour I'd suggest ivory not black ambience.

The Lounge has colour coded mirrors so no "need" for the chrome.

Plus, do you mean 16 inch wheels?

Hi

She is entirely put off by the ivory and what didn't help was how dirty the wheels looked in the showroom! As much as I tried to persuade her she is not having it and wants the black...

I totally agree about the leather seats but she is worried that they will easily age as they wear in.

I am a little concerned that if she was to get the funk white that if there was any issues later down the line where the paintwork needs repairing then it would cost an absolute fortune!

In terms of the wheels there are some really nice looking 15" wheels which are optional extra and although she likes the standard retro alloys as do I, I do think that from looking around on this forum and elsewhere the other wheels do look slightly better.

Nice spec although I do think ivory ambience would look better than black.
Multi spoke 16" wheels look great on a lounge too.
Cheers,
Ian.

Get her to look at the dealer's stock of used 500s with ivory interiors. they really do cope with it fine, assuming she is not a gardener or something.

The same cannot be said for the lounge seats (if that is what you mean by "sail cloth" interior). the standard lounge seat fabric marks very very easily. Leather would be a much better choice so long as you don't mind it being hot in summer and cold in winter.

Re the colour - yes, Funk would be harder to fix. Personally I'd go for (free) BN white, or a more colourful colour - like Volare blue.

Finally, 16 inch wheels will look a lot better as the car does have big wheel arch gaps.

deepee121 said:

Hi

She is entirely put off by the ivory and what didn't help was how dirty the wheels looked in the showroom! As much as I tried to persuade her she is not having it and wants the black...

I totally agree about the leather seats but she is worried that they will easily age as they wear in.

I am a little concerned that if she was to get the funk white that if there was any issues later down the line where the paintwork needs repairing then it would cost an absolute fortune!

In terms of the wheels there are some really nice looking 15" wheels which are optional extra and although she likes the standard retro alloys as do I, I do think that from looking around on this forum and elsewhere the other wheels do look slightly better.

Click to expand...

Yes retro 15" wheels very nice too.
My wife was set on Funk White but when she saw it up close she wasn't as keen and went for BNW instead. Will be easier in the long term I'm sure.
Had a look at sail cloth interior just now. Looks very classy.
You'll love the 500. We have two!
What engine you looking at? ( sorry edit, you wrote 1.2)

I think her problem is that she has too much choice! If it was my decision I would probably stick with the climate control and leather seats and see what I had left.

Weirdly, (I never thought I would say this, but I never considered this car for myself 6 months ago and part of wishes I did as I was very impressed!).

Her current car is a 13 year old Ford KA which you can hear before you see and very unlikely IMO to pass its next MOT so its definately time to get rid.

Also may I ask for those who had theirs built to order, how long did it take to deliver to dealership?

It looks like a great spec that will sell on easily.

If it was me, I would share your concerns on the paint, get leather seats but not the leather gear knob, climate control or chrome mirrors. But, that is just personal taste, and actually I would get the Sport.

To be honest, white Lounges with a nice comprehensive spec seem pretty popular. Go for it! Well done on getting the freebies....

deepee121 said:

Also may I ask for those who had theirs built to order, how long did it take to deliver to dealership?

Click to expand...

About 8 weeks, both times.

That is good to know, we can't put pen to paper until 1st April hence why I am asking for peoples own opinions. Especially as neither of us have ever had a Fiat nor do we know anyone that does which surprises me considering how many of these we see knocking about.

Most important thing is buy the car how you like it, as it's you (or your other half) that has to live with it. That's especially true if you don't plan to chop the car in for another whilst the rate of depreciation is at it's greatest - I put a couple of grand's options on my car, because I plan to keep it for many years.

bgunn said:

Most important thing is buy the car how you like it, as it's you (or your other half) that has to live with it. That's especially true if you don't plan to chop the car in for another whilst the rate of depreciation is at it's greatest - I put a couple of grand's options on my car, because I plan to keep it for many years.

Click to expand...

She would be looking at keeping it for a good few years, and I totally agree with what you say, its also nice to see peoples opinions on the options and their experiences.

In case you're interested, I bought:

TA Lounge (ordered May 2011) with:

Volare Blue paint
Automatic Climate
ESP
Bi-Xenon lights (that's what FIAT call them before you HID nazi's start!)
Photochromatic rear view mirror
16" O Spoke wheels
Ivory trim with dark grey cloth (should have stumped up and bought the Tan/Ivory leather tbh!)

I couldn't get the Interscope/hifi at the time (supply issues) and wished I could, but I'm working on retrofitting it (it's a big wiring job, but I like wiring!)

The climate is nice - but can see it's not essential as long as you have a/c.
The lights *are* for me, I currently have a loan 1.2 with standard lights, and they're crap!
The rear view mirror *is* for me; it's silly, but it looks a lot nicer, and works very well, and I don't like the optical distortion I see on the standard one in the loan car I have. (and it looks cheap)

Cost me just a tad over £14k, and all in all I'm delighted with it! Some might say I paid over the odds for what's essentially a cheaply made little car, but I'm not planning on buying a new car every couple of years, so figured getting it in the state I really want it (or as close as) is money well spent.

I totally agree with the red leather...I recently purchased 500 TA Lounge in Funk white and was fortunate enough to have a brother that works at Pirelli so got the £1800 upgrade, here's the extras I had....had to add a little more to it but it was well worth it...
Colour funk White £700ish
Red Leather £700ish
Side strips with 500 on £100ish
Leather gear knob £80
Sensors £270
16" 5 o spokes
Fogs

And it's absolutely perfect...the leather inside is different now as there are more stitch lines
On the seats so I feel they will hold their shape better as the old style did tend to sag a little.
And the cream ambience red/cream leather sets it apart....it looks rich and expensive

Good luck

Oh also the predisposition for the sat nav.....which I might add is now on order..

Took 9 weeks built to order, received it 5th January Nd the TA lounge already had Automatic climate control on spec.

Zante said:

Took 9 weeks built to order, received it 5th January Nd the TA lounge already had Automatic climate control on spec.

Click to expand...

That's a good point - when I ordered mine, it wasn't.

deepee121 said:

So I have had a little sit down with the other half and this is what we are after:

Fiat 500 1.2 Lounge
Colour: Funk White
Wheels: Upgraded 15" Alloy Wheels
Chrome Finish Door Mirrors
Body Coloured Side Rubbing Strip with 500 badge
Front Fog Lights
Interscope Hifi System
Leather Gear Knob
Black/Grey Sail Cloth Interior
Automatic Climate Control
Black Ambience

Click to expand...

bgunn said:

In case you're interested, I bought:

TA Lounge (ordered May 2011) with:

Volare Blue paint
Automatic Climate
ESP
Bi-Xenon lights (that's what FIAT call them before you HID nazi's start!)
Photochromatic rear view mirror
16" O Spoke wheels
Ivory trim with dark grey cloth (should have stumped up and bought the Tan/Ivory leather tbh!)

Click to expand...

I would combine the two above and go with items in Red... Ivory is fine, keep a packet of moist wipes in the car they work fine.

Forget the glass opening roof, open the windows instead, 16" spokes, leather seats if you can and lastly parking sensors, they are a bliss. Oh also ask for the Sat Nav slot option which is chargeable now and the Armster Armrest.

bgunn, you bought ESP !! I had high regards for you as a top mechanic, biker etc well well well esp eh

Good point on the 68R option (sat nav slot) - it was free (but had to be requested) when I ordered.

Agree on the roof, just stay with the fixed glass (as it's a Lounge), I don't think the opening one is worth it (and just adds the possibility of rattles and leaks!).

ESP, indeed. It wasn't expensive (couple of hundred quid IIRC, the HIDs cost way more!), adds no extra weight as the ABS unit is already there, and gives the hill holder. Only get the light flashing under extreme provocation anyway

Auto Climate... does that heating side work at the required temp with the AC off ?