Spookily I received a marketing letter from the dealer a couple of days ago with a 'secret' money off amount found by scanning a barcode which didn't work and saying I should call in.

Whilst the local dealer might be great and have great staff, the brand behind the dealer is a different story and I'm tempted to try another flavour next time because of the lack of help. Might only be one sale but it makes me feel better.

JohnyDeath said:

Whilst the local dealer might be great and have great staff, the brand behind the dealer is a different story and I'm tempted to try another flavour next time because of the lack of help. Might only be one sale but it makes me feel better.

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That's my take on it as well.

The dealers hands are tied by the brand's policies.

Is this a good time for me to plug the i10 lol! :devil:

http://www.yourfleet.co.uk/car_reviews/hyundai/road_test.php?report_id_10324

In some ways, we do miss the 500, both cars we owned were ok and as I said in another thread, we don't regret ownership, but it's been good to move on. No regrets with our new purchase, especially in the Premium model, cruise control, auto central locking, all round disc brakes, four doors (the handles don't fall off of these lol!) and built in door mirror indicators.

You could be right, have been very happy with the TA, the fun factor is right up there but do you get that with the i10? Whilst the i10 may be physically better in every way possible, will it mentally and psychologically keep me on a high as I drive it? Can I rag the i10 leaving BMW and Audi in my wake for a short time that I can with my 2 cylinder 875cc thoroughbred?

The quality of the car doesn't sell the Fiat, it's the ambiance, it's the sound, it's knowing that like the bumble bee this thing shouldn't do what it does, but it does.

JohnyDeath said:

The quality of the car doesn't sell the Fiat, it's the ambiance, it's the sound, it's knowing that like the bumble bee this thing shouldn't do what it does, but it does.

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Absolutely beautifully put.

I had no idea at all about how much fun-factor would be in driving a 500TA. I never want to drive anything else!

Regards to all 500TA drivers!
Mick.

JohnyDeath said:

You could be right, have been very happy with the TA, the fun factor is right up there but do you get that with the i10? Whilst the i10 may be physically better in every way possible, will it mentally and psychologically keep me on a high as I drive it? Can I rag the i10 leaving BMW and Audi in my wake for a short time that I can with my 2 cylinder 875cc thoroughbred?

The quality of the car doesn't sell the Fiat, it's the ambiance, it's the sound, it's knowing that like the bumble bee this thing shouldn't do what it does, but it does.

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I second Mick's post, beautifully put, I can't fault your feelings toward what is essentially, a very good looking vehicle. However imho, it's quality is lacking, it is over priced and doesn't come with the sort of options it should for a small car that costs the ridiculous amount of money it does new.

So yes, whilst the new current i10 will appear to many to all intents and purposes just look like a normal 'boring' everyday car indistinguishable from the general soak already out there, for us personally, its a far better quality built product, has a warranty period that shames Fiat and shamefully for Fiat, in 1.2 guise, the i10 doing the same journeys that our previous TA did, gets more mpg using exactly the same fuel.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely miss that roaring little growl of the TA when we took the ECO off, it absolutely tore down the road, something the i10 just isn't capable of, but then me an 'er indoors are now pushing the wrong side of 50, so we're happy with a more tame runner!

What I don't miss however, are the problems one shouldn't expect of a car that has been in production for as long as the 500 has. It's been out on the streets now for 8 years. The door handle issues should have been fixed long ago. Boot hatch wiring, I've never read of any other marque with as many issues with wiring as the 500 appears to have that lots of owners have had to suffer. Boot micro switch, again, I've never owned a marque of car where the boot micro switch fails in the way it does. And finally, the whole proxy alignment issue syndrome, dash pod failing etc. It just became too much for us in the end and I don't need or want to be paying for stuff like that once the warranty period has finished.

Wow! Looks like I've done a good job of slating a brand of car we did actually enjoy owning, however, I'm past Fix It Again Tomorrow! Still love the look of it though!

JohnyDeath said:

Spookily I received a marketing letter from the dealer a couple of days ago with a 'secret' money off amount found by scanning a barcode which didn't work and saying I should call in.

Whilst the local dealer might be great and have great staff, the brand behind the dealer is a different story and I'm tempted to try another flavour next time because of the lack of help. Might only be one sale but it makes me feel better.

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I think part of the problem with the dealers and the 500 is that the FIAT brand/FIAT UK has always historically been about discount retailing of more utilitarian cars; the 500 is (at least trying to be) a more premium product where people buying them don't expect to have to put up with little niggles whereas something like the 5 grand pandas they were shifting like hot cakes when I bought my 500 attracts a different set of expectations and customers.

zanes said:

I think part of the problem with the dealers and the 500 is that the FIAT brand/FIAT UK has always historically been about discount retailing of more utilitarian cars; the 500 is (at least trying to be) a more premium product where people buying them don't expect to have to put up with little niggles whereas something like the 5 grand pandas they were shifting like hot cakes when I bought my 500 attracts a different set of expectations and customers.

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To me the new 500X is trying to be a more premium product but it is expensive, the 500L was very marmite, I love marmite, even if the 500L was given to me free I would immediately sell it, horrible car - not that there is anything specifically wrong with it, I just have a complete aversion to it.

Any car which has an issue that could be considered poor design should have some acceptance from the manufacturer, we all know why they don't care - because it costs money both in cash terms and reputation of delivering a poor product, but wouldn't that reputation be significantly enhanced if they did care and at least offered the labour free?

If the 500TA was fitted out more plush and delivered that different set of expectations would it be the same car it is now? All the bells, whistles, niggles and foibles help to make a car what it is - the TA has additional character because of the engine, I'm not sure if the diesel and other petrol models have the same, we tried them all and ended up with the TA because it was exciting for such a small package (although that excuse hasn't always worked with the missus in other areas)

The cable fixing kit arrived quickly from Germany in 8 days for under £35 delivered compared to £390 from the stealer.

Excellent service from Autoteildirekt they even gave me a call to confirm details and to confirm that I had ordered the correct item.

JohnyDeath said:

The cable fixing kit arrived quickly from Germany in 8 days for under £35 delivered compared to £390 from the stealer.

Excellent service from Autoteildirekt they even gave me a call to confirm details and to confirm that I had ordered the correct item.

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Ah! I notice something very obvious in that photo!!......anyone else spot it!!!..























The cables are NOT tightly bound together in a WRAP. So one has to ask the question, is the WRAP the problem. IE if we were to pull back the grommit and rubber sheath, and peel off the wrapping, and let all the cables move freely within the sheath, would this stop the problem. If the cables are all tightly bound, then they cant flex at different lengths, as they are all tied together, therefore more strain on some than others!

yostumpy said:

Ah! I notice something very obvious in that photo!!......anyone else spot it!!!.

The cables are NOT tightly bound together in a WRAP. So one has to ask the question, is the WRAP the problem. IE if we were to pull back the grommit and rubber sheath, and peel off the wrapping, and let all the cables move freely within the sheath, would this stop the problem. If the cables are all tightly bound, then they cant flex at different lengths, as they are all tied together, therefore more strain on some than others!

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Yup true, also outers appear to be silicon so will give a little on stretching before breaking to expose the copper

I did a repair on a 500 last week and the cables were not wrapped, even so 4 wires had snapped, 3 had bare and parting wires (including the two very thick items) and 1 had a cut in it. I used silicone covered wire from reels spliced in to effect a repair. I have two spare sets of SenComs bundles for my Giulietta, I might get a spare bundle for the daughter's 500. SenCom list these repair bundles for quite a number of makes, not just Fiat and Alfa.

I wonder if grease(?) of some description could be injected into the wiring to provide a slippery lubricant to help the continual bending and bending friction?

Any comments?

Regards,
Mick.

Mick F said:

I wonder if grease(?) of some description could be injected into the wiring to provide a slippery lubricant to help the continual bending and bending friction?

Any comments?

Regards,
Mick.

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yeh I thought of that too but as JR rightfully pointed out it would certainly not help with the wires shorting out even with a minor break in the insulation

I might be wrong but I believe it to be a tightness issue weakened by the bending, if the bending alone was the cause then the individual cable insulation might split on the thicker wires but as the thinner wires are being snapped there may be darker forces at work.

The harness fix extends the wires and also gives the ability for individual wire insulation stretch by being silicon.

My rear wiper has developed a mind of its own for the third time so rather than bodge with solder and heat shrink I've bitten the bullet and ordered the Vemo kit. Before I have a crack at fitting it, do I need to disconnect the battery? I'm guessing no but wondered what everyone else had done.
While I'm at it I'll be sorting out the boot handle which is gunked up and not working - AGAIN - so I reckon it's time to take off the interior tailgate trim and take the whole handle assembly off for a really good clean.

Maisie said:

My rear wiper has developed a mind of its own for the third time so rather than bodge with solder and heat shrink I've bitten the bullet and ordered the Vemo kit. Before I have a crack at fitting it, do I need to disconnect the battery? I'm guessing no but wondered what everyone else had done.
While I'm at it I'll be sorting out the boot handle which is gunked up and not working - AGAIN - so I reckon it's time to take off the interior tailgate trim and take the whole handle assembly off for a really good clean.

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I would recommend you always disconnect the battery before undertaking electrical work, and double-check everything you've done before reconnecting.

My rear wiper is more than a joke sometimes it doesn't turn on at all. Luckily, in Greece it barely rains so to be honest, I don't even really need the rear windscreen wiper = )

Will deal with it in about 2-3 months during the car's next service.

One of the first things I did to UFI is remove the rear wiper and motor. Cleaner look, less weight and better perfromance.

As pointed out, definitely disconnect the battery before you start chopping wires about, give that most of them connect back to the body computer that's not a go idea to risk any stray voltages damaging it, otherwise you're looking at a very very costly repair