General Advice - soon to buy a Fiat 500 :)

[moonbunz]

So after much debate and looking around, my partner and I have decided to get a Fiat 500 [roar of cheers from the crowd, woo, yeah, good choice, woo].

We went away for the weekend to Hastings, which is very higgly piggly hills and little roads. We hired a 500S and it was just so fun! Nipping about, managing all the little roads, and we could park in such small spaces! We were totally converted!!

So we ordered the brochure, and have decided upon the following [any help with the queries would be greatly appreciated!]:

-Fiat 500 Lounge with fixed glass roof

-second hand, probs one or two years old. Looking to buy a model with less than 19,000 miles

-Either white or red. Some debate in our house as to what will be the easier colour to find in a car park!

-either the 1.2 or TwinAir 85 engine. The 1.2 is more common, but I feel holding out for the TA85 would be better - I believe it's a it nippier plus you don't pay road tax?

-Italia stripe over the top of the car plus a spoiler [we can get these added on at a dealer right? Would a red spoiler cost more than a white one?]

-Also, has anyone ever had experience with fitting a DAB radio to your Fiat 500?

We're hoping to properly start looking for our car in a few weeks. We are getting so excited! and it's so cool to find a forum dedicated to these lovely cars!

 

[TrevC]

Good choice, Moonbunz. I've had my Lounge from new and it's now 4 years old with no issues yet. I've got the Twinair engine, which I love, but as you'll find all over this forum it does have different characteristics to the 1.2, so worth a good test drive to see if you get on ok. The 1.2 has better real-world economy, unless you drive the TA really gently. It's also worth making extra sure that a used TA has been properly serviced - use of the correct oil with annual changes is very important with this engine. Have fun looking!

 

[Noxide]

[roar of cheers from the crowd, woo, yeah, good choice, woo]

White is always easy to find, espcially when half the roof will be black or covered with a stripe. I'm very biased though.

I should think a dealer could at least supply a spoiler which you could have fitted and painted elsewhere if you want, not sure if they'll do it inhouse. Some vinyl work (for our dealer at least, has been outsourced, too). I got my one done satin black for my 500 - came supplied with primer, ready to go. Paint colour didn't matter in my case.

Enjoy the search, and welcome to the family!

 

[moonbunz]

thank you for your lovely replies! I really appreciate it.

I'll keep you all posted on when we get Gigi! [yes, we've named the car already. Surely the whole point of getting a car is to give it a name and cover it in stickers and sit in it eating chips with the radio on]

 

[Noxide]

I'll keep you all posted on when we get Gigi! [yes, we've named the car already. Surely the whole point of getting a car is to give it a name and cover it in stickers and sit in it eating chips with the radio on]

Gigi is a great name!

I wholeheartedly agree on all those points. My poor Lilith has too many stickers and has had far too much food eaten in. :yum:

 

[moonbunz]

Also another question - and maybe I should post this under the twinair thread - but in regards to getting a twinair vs 1.2 - which is louder? and when you're on the motorway, is it so loud you have to turn the radio up much more? I was in the 1.2 and it was fairly noisy, which you would expect, but just wondering if the twinair is quieter in your opinion

ta

 

[Noxide]

Also another question - and maybe I should post this under the twinair thread - but in regards to getting a twinair vs 1.2 - which is louder? and when you're on the motorway, is it so loud you have to turn the radio up much more? I was in the 1.2 and it was fairly noisy, which you would expect, but just wondering if the twinair is quieter in your opinion

ta

I've never driven the twinair so I can't comment on that.

But if the radio is the key issue, my Fiat has a setting which increases the volume with speed, so higher speed = louder volume.

 

[alexGS]

Gigi is a great name!

I wholeheartedly agree on all those points. My poor Lilith has too many stickers and has had far too much food eaten in. :yum:

Eating is BANNED in our shared 500, after I discovered how difficult it is to clean the Lounge seats (checkerboard pattern) The material is strong and resilient, but the moment it is damp, it looks perfectly clean - it's only when it dries that you realise the ever-so-slightly darker blotches are STILL there!

-Alex

 

[alexGS]

Also another question - and maybe I should post this under the twinair thread - but in regards to getting a twinair vs 1.2 - which is louder? and when you're on the motorway, is it so loud you have to turn the radio up much more? I was in the 1.2 and it was fairly noisy, which you would expect, but just wondering if the twinair is quieter in your opinion

ta

As mentioned, the speed-dependent volume is a feature of the standard stereo.

I really doubt you will find engine noise to be a problem - it's tyre noise that is by far more irritating in our 500. My sound level meter also proved that engine noise accounts for less than half of the total. Engine sound (noise?) serves to give it character (you can tell how the engine is doing) and the Twinair sound is a distinctive putter unlike any other car.

Tyre noise, on the other hand, is a constant roar that doesn't offer any character at all except perhaps to identify the level of grip offered by the road surface. I expect the models with 16" wheels are worse in this regard. In England I drove a 1.2 Lounge with standard 15" wheels and it seemed very refined.

-Alex

 

[Noxide]

Eating is BANNED in our shared 500, after I discovered how difficult it is to clean the Lounge seats (checkerboard pattern) The material is strong and resilient, but the moment it is damp, it looks perfectly clean - it's only when it dries that you realise the ever-so-slightly darker blotches are STILL there!

-Alex

Aha it's shared, so that's fair enough. I've got a black interior - and for good reason. That's a pain about marks staying though!!

My rules are, no feet on the dash, and you may touch the radio, but god help if you touch those heating controls! :devil:

 

[TrevC]

As Alex says above, most of the noise is from sources other than the engine. Our twinair Lounge is perfectly ok on the motorway, certainly no worse than the Mini that preceded it. Just don't expect big car levels of refinement.

 

[JTD_Liam]

We have a 500 TwinAir (85) Lounge in the family, and I've driven 500 1.2's as courtesy cars. My observations were that the 1.2 was quieter when pulling away/revving, but got a bit boomy at higher speed, as you could hear the engine working.

The TwinAir on the other hand is quite raucous when pulling away, particularly when not in Eco mode, but once up to speed you can barely hear the engine. I think it probably revs lower at high speed than the 1.2.

The 500's biggest noise intrusion is from road noise which unfortunately will be present regardless of which engine you choose. I'd imagine the standard 15" wheels on the Lounge (and I believe most other models) will be a bit quieter than the optional 16" ones though.

As said already, the 1.2 is a bit more economical - I got into the mid 50s mpg going steadily, but if you work the engine expect 48-50mpg. Our TwinAir usually hovers around 48mpg but will go into the 50's if being careful and drop to around 45mpg if pushing it a little. Overall the TwinAir seems more susceptible to driving style for delivering good mpg than the 1.2.

Also be aware that some 63 plate & 14 plate 1.2's have had issues with revving smoothly and getting up hills (thread below) therefore if you're looking at cars of this age, drive the actual car before agreeing to purchase. Alternatively, given the price difference is often quite small after the initial years' depreciation, I'd probably go for a TwinAir. Free tax rather than £20-30, more performance, similar MPG and no cambelt to change (TwinAir 85 is chain-driven, so shouldn't need replacing).


https://www.fiatforum.com/500/33982...sponse-hill-start-issues-watchdog-report.html

 

[moonbunz]

wow thank you for all of your amazing advice. you have really helped us!!!

yesterday, we put a deposit down on a red Fiat 500 1.2 lounge. it is second hand, one previous driver and is two years old, 14000 miles on the clock. It is being inspected today by our mechanic, and we are waiting to hear if the bank will loan us the money to buy it. all fingers and toes crossed!

thanks again

 

[frupi]

wow thank you for all of your amazing advice. you have really helped us!!!

yesterday, we put a deposit down on a red Fiat 500 1.2 lounge. it is second hand, one previous driver and is two years old, 14000 miles on the clock. It is being inspected today by our mechanic, and we are waiting to hear if the bank will loan us the money to buy it. all fingers and toes crossed!

thanks again

Do yourself a huge favour, when you get the owners handbook, make sure you look in the back of it and tear out the slip for the third year warranty, fill it in and pay the 27 quid it will cost you as the second owner. Please ignore anyone that tells you not to! You really do want to get that third year warranty for peace of mind, it saved me a small fortune (over 1k on warranty work in the third year) on our first POP bought second hand from an independent reseller. We also paid the £27 when we bought our new pre-reg TA from a Fiat dealership for exactly the same reasons. You will get certified paperwork back from Fiat UK once they've processed it.

As you're also buying the car from what I'm assuming is an independent dealer, I'd personally get the car into a Fiat dealership for a low mileage two year service, irrespective of what the garage tells you has or hasn't been done. Make sure you look at the service sheets, if it hasn't been to a Fiat dealership since it was picked up, it may well have diagnostic updates and possible under dash wiring recall work. I'm not trying to cause you unecessary worry, I think they're great little cars, but they're not without their issues. We're clearly on our second one and we're very pleased with it.

 

[moonbunz]

thank you Frupi, that's great advice!!!!!!

Fortunately, we live near a Fiat dealer, and made the choice to go for one of their cars. It's probs a few hundred more expensive to purchase than at an independent place, but they have done a full service [and shown us], and will be doing a full valet, and removed a couple of minuscule dinks - all for nothing.

Plus we are buying a spoiler to fit to it aswell, so they can do all that there.

The dealer said that as the car is only two years old, Fiat will give us an extra year of warranty, and when that runs out we can make a deal to extend it too. From what you're saying, I think it's probs worth doing that!!

Our mechanic went to Gigi [the car] yesterday and checked it over - all is well. So now hoping and praying the bank approve the loan and let us bring Gigi home

Overall I've been pleased with the level of service from the Fiat dealer. Basically, I'm a bit in love with Fiat in general!

 

[frupi]

Ahh, I see, well done. Yes, ok, you would undoubtedly have paid a bit more buying second hand from a Fiat dealership, but yes it will have been serviced iaw the Fiat handbook and any diagnostic/recall issues dealt with.

Things may well have changed in the 18 months since we bought our TA 3rd year warranty wise. If you have the third year as standard without paying extra, that's good news. As far as extending the warranty when the 3rd year expires, think very very carefully on how to proceed. You can often buy alternative extended warranty cover cheaper than from dealerships. One thing you may wish to purchase, is Return to Invoice Cover, in some ways, a bit like GAP insurance, but again can be had for far cheaper from a good internet based provider.

As far as servicing the vehicle in the future is concerned, just be aware of the amount of miles you'll likely cover per annum. If it's 6k a year or less, a low mileage service will be sufficient. Dealership servicing can be on the expensive side. Never accept the first quote, always phone around a couple of dealerships if you intend on sticking with Fiat servicing and haggle if you are fortunate enough to live in an area with more than one dealership. Also, don't dismiss a good independent, will be cheaper and if they use Fiat branded service items during warranty, then there shouldn't be any issues.

Anyway, hope all goes well and good luck!

 

[PocoBeep]

Well done, Frupi. My new second-hand car is going in for work under the warranty tomorrow and I didn't know to tear out the slip! I also didn't know to test the Stop/Start before I bought (new to the 500) and it doesn't work!

 

[moonbunz]

Happy to say the finance came through for the car, so now we have Gigi parked outside our house and we are very happy! need to post a pic soon

We had a spoiler fitted to him and he looks grand.

now have an issue that the passenger window wont open [gah], but that's another thread for another day! Still in warrenty so the fiat garage should be able to sort the electrical connection and all will be well. i thin it's a fairly common fault and fairly simple for them to fix.

anyhoo - we are really happy! thank you to all lovely fiatforum people for all your replies and help! xx