General Should I buy or should I not? 500 1.2 S on a 64plate

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General Should I buy or should I not? 500 1.2 S on a 64plate

silly

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Hi guys,

It will be my first post here so please excuse my noobiness ;)

After having countless problems with second hand cars in the last 2 years costing me way over £6k in repair bills and write-offs, I've borrowed £8k from a bank to get something decent and new that comes with a warranty....

After visiting number of showrooms and car dealers I quickly realised that for such a small amount of money the only thing that I can really afford on a 64/15 plate will be Fiat 500.

I think I have found a good deal from a franchised dealer - Fiat 500 1.2 S on a 64 plate with 5k miles on the clock. Still got over 2 years of warranty and will include 2 services. Also they will service the vehicle before I collect it for free.

My concerns are that is it too good to be true? Having been in a few other franchised Fiat dealers their customer service and sales people seemed really rude and dishonest. On pre-reg vehicles I was mostly offered stripped down POP....

I will be doing around 400-500 miles a week which leads to much bigger concerns such as fuel consumption and reliability

What sort of MPG I could realisticly expect out of it? Would you recommend buying it tomorrow?

I'm hesitating as this car will need to last me for the next 3 years and I won't have the funds to fix it if something goes wrong....

Many thanks,
 
I understand if you buy one of the brand new things Frupi says on finance and pay it off after a month you will get a 5 years warranty, which is not a bad thing.

We were at Wilsons in Epsom last week - Only browsing - and found the brand Frupi mentions surprisingly and refreshingly cheap and interesting if you take the view its just transport...

Anyway not much goes wrong with 500s, I would keep £500 as a reserve in the bank.
 
Hi guys,

It will be my first post here so please excuse my noobiness ;)


I will be doing around 400-500 miles a week which leads to much bigger concerns such as fuel consumption and reliability

What sort of MPG I could realisticly expect out of it? Would you recommend buying it tomorrow?

I'm hesitating as this car will need to last me for the next 3 years and I won't have the funds to fix it if something goes wrong....

Many thanks,

Hi, :)

petrol will do between 40 to 50 MPG..depending HOW you drive,
is it mainly m-way..??

pretty basic reliable cars, tyres, and most wear + tear parts are relatively cheap,
read the threads of people who've done that kind of mileage..
BUT tyre noise is a certain issue / irritation..,

Charlie
 
Personally, I think 400 to 500 miles per week in a 1.2 will become somewhat tiring hence why I think something like a 1.5 diesel, which is going to get the proper use the engine desires, would be a better option. Plus, with zero VED and potentially more mpg than the Fiat, something like the Dacia would seem more viable. With all Renault mechanicals using tried and trusted engines, there's a pretty big support network out there as far as servicing is concerned. I personally wouldn't get too hung up either on aethetics. Yes the 500 is a nice quirky little car and is well loved, but clearly it is expensive for what it is and as some owners find out and as I well know, stuff has a tendency to drop off the car....sodding door handles! :bang:

This will be our last 500 and the Cactus is looking ever more tempting...... ;)
 
These questions are very tough to answer as everyone has individual needs and desires. I have a 1.2S and I'm very happy with it. I feel good walking up to it and driving it. I do 500 plus miles per week with no issues and its doing around 54mpg. The only times I've missed my Alfa Giullitta is when I've done 4hr plus drives, I especially miss cruise control. Having said that there are undoubtedly better super mini's out there. I.e the VW and its clones which you can get for your budget.

If you just want cheap no worry transport I'd go for a Kia picantto or maybe a yaris. Rock solid warranty and especially the Toyota good dealership backup.
 
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if you still wanted a fiat how about a slightly older grande punto 1.3 or 1.9 mjet, or i think there was a 1.6 diesel punto evo I'd imagine they are better on longer trips than the 500

i took my 500 on a motorway journey today about 80 miles and got 45 mpg but wind and road noise was quite bad. so if your are going to be doing long journeys regularly i would suggest something a bit more refined
 
So you've got a small budget, are concerned about reliability, presumably want to keep it for a good length of time and are doing 25k miles a year.

Personally, I couldn't think of anything less attractive for that combination than a secondhand FIAT 500.

I'd second the recommendations above for something along the lines of (new) Kia, (new) Hyundai and (secondhand) Toyota. I'd also (predictably) throw new Suzuki in there- that budget should just see you into a new Swift (though their warranty isn't fantastic compared to Kia. Better than FIAT's though). I don't know much about Dacias other than that they seem to match your needs for utilitarian cheap transport and (as mentioned above) use well proven Renault components.

I'd personally keep away from a modern diesel for this sort of mileage- I think you're at the break even point where your savings in fuel could very easily be wiped out by any one of the multitude of diesel related failures.

£0 VED isn't really a big seller- pretty much every small petrol car is in £30 these days and even mine in the £145 band is small fry compared to the other costs of motoring.

As a real left field choice- have you explored leasing options?
 
So you've got a small budget, are concerned about reliability, presumably want to keep it for a good length of time and are doing 25k miles a year.

Personally, I couldn't think of anything less attractive for that combination than a secondhand FIAT 500.

I'd second the recommendations above for something along the lines of (new) Kia, (new) Hyundai and (secondhand) Toyota. I'd also (predictably) throw new Suzuki in there- that budget should just see you into a new Swift (though their warranty isn't fantastic compared to Kia. Better than FIAT's though). I don't know much about Dacias other than that they seem to match your needs for utilitarian cheap transport and (as mentioned above) use well proven Renault components.

I'd personally keep away from a modern diesel for this sort of mileage- I think you're at the break even point where your savings in fuel could very easily be wiped out by any one of the multitude of diesel related failures.

£0 VED isn't really a big seller- pretty much every small petrol car is in £30 these days and even mine in the £145 band is small fry compared to the other costs of motoring.

As a real left field choice- have you explored leasing options?

:yeahthat:

Excellent summary.

IMO the 500 is too fragile to realistically expect to be able to run a secondhand example for 75,000 miles without significant bills.
 
Hi there,

It's a difficult one. I am not surprised you are drawn to a 500 as they are cars that will make you feel happy (well, unless you have one that is a dud, lol:)).

I don't necessarily agree with the others that the 500 is a bad choice second hand. What price is the 64 plate 1.2 S up for? If you could let us know that would be handy so that we can advise further. Having some services thrown in as well helps to reduce future running costs, although it is worth checking with the dealer what exactly they plan to do for those services - sometimes they will try and blag some sort of generic service that doesn't actually fit in with Fiat's service plan.
 
Hi guys,

thank you for your advise, very helpful.

buying something like KIA or Hyundai probably can't be an option as I need something a bit more quirky for the work even though they seem more practical...

The Fiat I'm thinking of buying still have over 2 years of manufacturers warranty and been used as a demonstrator. the price will be £8k

As far as I understood about the Service it is standard Fiat service plan for which they offered at heavily discounted price...

Pfft.... I don't want to make a costly mistake, but my kind of theory is if its still got warranty I should have 2 years relatively hassle and cost free motoring apart from an odd brake pad or two?

Ah forgot to mention even though I'm doing a lot of miles they are relatively short runs of up to 50miles at a time.... suually 50 miles return trips.
 
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Hi guys,

thank you for your advise, very helpful.

buying something like KIA or Hyundai probably can't be an option as I need something a bit more quirky for the work even though they seem more practical...

The Fiat I'm thinking of buying still have over 2 years of manufacturers warranty and been used as a demonstrator. the price will be £8k

As far as I understood about the Service it is standard Fiat service plan for which they offered at heavily discounted price...

Pfft.... I don't want to make a costly mistake, but my kind of theory is if its still got warranty I should have 2 years relatively hassle and cost free motoring apart from an odd brake pad or two?

Ah forgot to mention even though I'm doing a lot of miles they are relatively short runs of up to 50miles at a time.... suually 50 miles return trips.

No probs!(y)

I mean if you are genuinely only keeping it for two or three years, then even adding 50-60k miles in that time shouldn't really be a massive problem. As you say, there will be some consumables that you will have to go through, but you would hope nothing too much?

Only a couple of other points:

1. With it being used, you will have to arrange for the third year of the warranty to be transferred into your name. So I would mention this to the dealer and see what they say. Think it's something like £27 anyway, so hardly going to break the bank. But if you can get away without paying it then you may as well ask.

2. Given the reg number and the fact it is a 1.2, do make sure you give it a good test drive, preferably finding some hills. You may well have come across this epic thread to do with some 1.2s which featured on Watchdog:
https://www.fiatforum.com/500/33982...sponse-hill-start-issues-watchdog-report.html
Again, just worth mentioning to your dealer for your own sake. I wouldn't worry about it too much, when you test drive the car you will soon know if it's a dud as you won't be able to pull away on a hill:rolleyes::D
 
I get 49.4 MPG and that's with virtually no motorway driving!

If you've got your heart set on it, well, you know.

People have raised good points, but the lil 500's definitely have character. See if you can get a good test drive and hill test as well!
 
Right.... went to see the aforementioned Fiat.... It seemed to be driven to the max for the last 5k miles.... wheels scratched, interior dirty and stinky... turns out it was used as a long term hire car.... I think that says it all so I walked away.

I was offered a brand new one with 10 miles for £9k so currently considering that instead.

Also whilst I was test driving the other one it seemed to rev quite high and was quite jerky.... is it normal?

Thanks for you help thus far.
 
Right.... went to see the aforementioned Fiat.... It seemed to be driven to the max for the last 5k miles.... wheels scratched, interior dirty and stinky... turns out it was used as a long term hire car.... I think that says it all so I walked away.

I was offered a brand new one with 10 miles for £9k so currently considering that instead.

Also whilst I was test driving the other one it seemed to rev quite high and was quite jerky.... is it normal?

Thanks for you help thus far.
rev high without moving fast? did you try it on a hill?
 
buying something like KIA or Hyundai probably can't be an option as I need something a bit more quirky for the work even though they seem more practical...

Hmm. 500 quirky? Maybe six years ago before every estate agent had one (which they since seem to have dropped and returned to their Minis...), but let's run with it.

If it's that essential that you have a quirky car for work, I'd be firmly suggesting they should be providing employees with vehicles.

Pfft.... I don't want to make a costly mistake, but my kind of theory is if its still got warranty I should have 2 years relatively hassle and cost free motoring apart from an odd brake pad or two?

This is an extremely expensive way of buying two years hassle free motoring (I'm not sure I'd call FIAT UK and their warranty hassle free either...). In addition, the third year warranty is insurance backed, so is somewhat problematic to deal with at times.

With the 500, there are several known faults that are a question of "when" they occur, not "if" they occur. Springing to mind are door handles breaking off (annoying, and somewhat comical), boot wiring breaking (inconvenient, and whilst we've not had any reports of related electrical damage from this it's not beyond the realms of possibility) and suspension components that are made of cheese.

After visiting number of showrooms and car dealers I quickly realised that for such a small amount of money the only thing that I can really afford on a 64/15 plate will be Fiat 500.
Without wishing to appear rude, you've not been around that many showrooms then.

Couple of minutes on manufacturer's websites have found me:

Choice of 15 or 64-reg pre-reg FIAT pandas for £7500-8000

Over 200 i10's and i20's for £7000-8000. Multiple pre-reg 15 plate i10's in there- Hyundai's warranty will blow FIAT's away

30 "under 1 year old" swifts.

Multiple Honda Jazz around a year old for just over budget (well worth it IMHO)

Several Toyota Yaris for just over budget- over 4 years warranty on some of them. Very low mileage (217- probably ex display) 15 plate one up in Durham for under 9 grand- 5 year full warranty.

And these are just the manufacturers that spring to mind.

Having been in a few other franchised Fiat dealers their customer service and sales people seemed really rude and dishonest.
Yep- this is FIAT for you. How do you think they will deal with you when you're not looking to spend 8 grand (which I would not call a small budget) but instead are asking them to fix something under warranty?

FWIW, I think the dealer's attitudes are somewhat understandable- as the EU6 mess illustrates, FIAT UK have no hesitation in hanging them out to dry when things go badly wrong.

I can understand you having your heart set on a 500. Don't expect it to be cheap motoring though- reliability is not the raison d'être of the 500.

Also they will service the vehicle before I collect it for free.

Any used car would have this.
 
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yes when pulling off, you can hear revs but its quite light on moving forward, it did pull away ok but the revs were quite high. Might be to due to the style I'm used to drive with large 2l diesels....

They didn't had any hills just low slopes wasn't really sure if it was ok or not... everything else on the car felt "used"....
 
Regarding "fragility", it's hard to know the proportion of cars affected by the well documented 500 weaknesses. Mine has now done 33000 miles since March 2011 with no faults, and my mate's which is a few months younger has completed over 50000 trouble-free miles. Hence, we've no experience of Fiat's customer service, which is probably just as well!
An alternative that no-one has mentioned yet is the new Renault Twingo. Similar cutesy styling, should be cheap to run and comes with a proper 4-year manufacturer's warranty. Far less common than a 500, too.
 
If you have £8000 then I would definitely buy new, unless you really need a large/heavy car for many adults/dogs/pulling= trailers that is.

Go on AT and there's enormous choice of sub-8k new ones.

FIAT 500 POP for 7500 even, but I would pick a Panda 1.2 at 6500 or the Punto 1,2 at 6999. Petrol preferable over a diesel, at 25000miles per year you could easily run into their expensive troubles over 50k, even with FIAT's and REANAULT's excellent engines. I am doing 50mpg in my Punto GP 1.2 average ( no motorways involved) , albeit on MOMENTUM 99 premium petrol always.

Beyond FIAT there are other excellent ones, PEOGEOT 208 1.0 VTI would be my choice: frugal engine ( I ran 55 mpg but in amuch lighte C1 so FIAT's 1.2 not bad at all given 20% more weight) and super reliable. There are 200k miles ones advertised on AT sometimes.

I just do not unnderstand why so many people spend 6-10k on 2nd hand cars when you can get new. If you, I would definitely avoid the uncertainty and hassle with expensive 2nd hand dealer cars.
 
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