Its funny, but i am noticing a trend on this forum that more and more people are complaining about not being happy with their Fiat 500.

I am thinking that this is due to the fact that the Fiat 500 is feeling increasingly out of date compared to its latest rivals.
The fact that the price of the model has actually gone up over the years instead of gone down despite basically remaining the same car also does not help things.

As i mentioned in another post, in the current form of the car, there is no way i would buy one new. I bought my Fiat 500 new over 4 years ago now, the marketplace was different back then.

Just noticed on the fiat gr website, 2000 euro discount on all models of the fiat 500.

As with anything, the number of complainants will go up proportionally to the number of owners, so more people are complaining because more people own them.

Eklipze3k said:

As with anything, the number of complainants will go up proportionally to the number of owners, so more people are complaining because more people own them.

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i doubt it. we have had many members come and go over the years, and i am getting to feel that the environment is becoming more and more negative.

And how often do you visit a website to sing the praises of a company/product?

The thing you need to understand is that forums by their very nature tend to attract and focus complaints - normally exaggerating the situation

I have noticed a few more newbies that join to research an issue and seek advice - have a whinge and then fade away. Happens of most car forums

What I also have noticed is some people now on their 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc........ and other people who multiple 500 in the household .............. so I do not see increasing unhappiness. I still adore mine

People see what they want to, perhaps that says more about ahmett's experience with his 500 than it does about the overall impression from all owners.

My OH, will take delivery of her new 500 1.2 Lounge next month and this will be here 3rd one (the other 2 were demo models). I in turn owned a TA Lounge followed by an Abarth A500. Most enjoyable motoring throughout.

Across the spectrum we were involved in 2 x warranty jobs, both done to our satisfaction and without further issue.

My only reason for changing to an Alfa Romeo with TCT Auto Box was that I wanted another A500 but the MTA box was not to my liking.

I wouldn't buy a new one either, but thats no slight on the 500, I wouldn't buy a new car full stop because the depreciation costs for me far outweigh the pleasure of having a 'new car'.

The 500 is one of the most popular cars on the road at the moment, people don't tend to come on to forums and say 'Hey, I have a 500 and I love it, it's never gone wrong and it's brilliant!' but they do come on to forums to say 'help, I have a problem'.
The nature of the beast sadly, you'll always hear more bad tales.

For the record, I fall into the 'I love it, it's never gone wrong and it's brilliant!' Camp, though now I've said that prepare for imminent failure.....

Surely the 500 is not really representative, because it's a cult thing.
A real love/hate relationship, which you don't get with the average small car offering.
Possibly that's why Fiat in their mercenary corporate wisdom have kept the price artificially high. Compare specs/performance with other small car offerings, and you'll see what I mean.

The 500 has very little competition in the charm department, i10 or Up! anyone? The Mini has it but is way more expensive. The Twingo will give the 500 a good run for it's money I reckon but thats a good thing as it will encourage Fiat to up their game with the 500 spec etc. As said millions of times already, the 500 is generally bought with the heart not the head!

The 500 soldiers on here and I love driving it.

Our daughter is now the main driver and my wife now has a Panda 4x4 TA which is great fun too, and very useful round these here parts.

Brought my 1.2 pop new back at the beginning of 2008, one of the first ones JSC had in. Cost £7600 cash. Never had a warranty claim, only ever replaced wear and tear items, never missed a beat in 53000 miles. It lives in the garage now and only comes out to play at weekends but still puts a smile on my face. I think they'll have to bury me in it

muttleysdad said:

Brought my 1.2 pop new back at the beginning of 2008, one of the first ones JSC had in. Cost £7600 cash. Never had a warranty claim, only ever replaced wear and tear items, never missed a beat in 53000 miles. It lives in the garage now and only comes out to play at weekends but still puts a smile on my face. I think they'll have to bury me in it

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exactly my point. the same car now costs 10,400 GBP!

Very happy with my 1.4 Sport, which has been totally reliable in 6 years of ownership by me and the friend I bought it from. Still the best looking supermini IMO, great to drive and accommodates my 6' 3" frame with ease and total comfort. Best motorway mini I've ever driven, thanks mainly to the 6-speed box and the very supportive half-leatherette seats. Long journeys are a comfortable pleasure in this tiny, easy to park little motor. Love the peppy little naturally aspirated 100hp engine with the nicely weighted steering (sport mode is always left on). I doubt many other small cars could offer the same quick, high revving, great sounding, instant throttle responsive fun as my Sport.

I'd have it over any rival in the same size class, even if many of them offer lots more for the money. None of 'em have the same style, fun factor and character.

I'm still completely happy with my 500C after a year, though if I were to go looking to buy a new car right now, it wouldn't be an easy automatic choice of going for another 500.

I agree the 500 and Abarth offerings are stale. It's overdue for a proper redesign, and by that I don't mean the exterior looks

Hint to FIAT: a reach-adjustable steering wheel sure would be nice.

But the 500s that are on the road are collectively ageing and gathering more miles every year.

Inevitably there will be more cars that are having issues...


Ralf S.

Fiat's latest advertising for the Pop calls it the 'mark 3' or 'phase 3' (or something similar, I don't remember) but it's really no different except in colours offered and perhaps minor specs. Fiat painted themselves into a corner with the retro style - if they leave it untouched people will get bored with it; if they change it too much it will no longer be a '500'.

I don't care, I love mine and it's made driving fun again, despite the warranty problems - I actually look for excuses to go out in it and I haven't done that for years. I also tend to keep cars for a long time (13 years for the last one and 25 for the one before that) so aging design is really a non-issue for me. Of course, whether the Fiat will last that long is yet to be seen

No issues with my 500s, would gladly buy another, have owned Alfas and Fiats in the past, this is by far the best.

We're on our 2nd 500 and still really happy, it's the first time I've ever bought 2 cars the same, so they must be doing something right. The first 500 was out first Fiat, it introduced me to a marque I was unfamiliar with and wouldn't have looked at probably. I've subsequently bought an 07 Panda 1.2 for my son to drive, which is a brilliant little car, with bags of character and a hoot to drive, so much so, that for most journeys I choose it over my Volvo XC60, whenever I get the chance.

It may now be a tad expensive, but balanced against low-cost finance, low depreciation and reasonable running costs, the 500 still stacks up nicely against the soulless competition.