.....but am thisclose to ordering a 500 1.2Lounge. My question, if anyone could assist me, is this: are these cars really big enough for everyday use with a 10 year old and a 5 year old in them? I desperately want one and have taken my kids to the dealership and tried it out with them in it - they certainly seem to have the space. But I'm concerned that in 2 months time I'm going to be disappointed and feeling like I should have gone for a bigger car instead.

Can anybody give me solid advice on having this car when you have kids? Is it a practical, sensible choice?

Thanks.

lillypurple said:

Can anybody give me solid advice on having this car when you have kids? Is it a practical, sensible choice?

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With kids in the plural, then IMO, no.

Sorry if this isn't what you want to hear, but if more than 2 people are using a car regularly, you'd be far better off with 4 doors.

A Panda would be way, way more practical for your needs.

Btw, I've got both a 500 & a Panda. The Panda beats the 500 for practicality, hands down.

But most would say the 500 is better looking.

Concerning the 500, what sort of price is the dealership you've been to quoting on the road?

Having just bought a new TA after having done a national search, I paid significantly less by travelling to go and get one. As an idea, is this the sort of price you have been looking at?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...at/advert-type/standard-listing?logcode=ucbnp

Whilst I agree with the advice given, it's completely up to you as to whether it works.

If you're one of these mums who has to carry every single little thing that mothercare sells then no, the 500 will not do at all. But if you can deal with not having all the paraphernalia that the modern mother sometimes carries around needlessly then you can get by, a woman at work has one as does her daughter, her daughter has one and two small children about the age of yours and she deals with the lack of space because she loves the car so much.


If you're the sort of person who doesn't travel light then it's not going to be for you.

When I was a baby my family travelled around in a Honda Civic, me, parents and two brothers 6 and 7 years older than me.

frupi said:

As an idea, is this the sort of price you have been looking at?

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Frupi, there's something not quite right about that ad.

It's listed and pictured as a lounge, but the price appears to be for a pop.

Be interesting to see if they'd honour the price, but remember it's for a 2013 prereg car, so you'd likely be looking at arond £1000 less when the time came to trade it in.

lillypurple said:

.....but am thisclose to ordering a 500 1.2Lounge. My question, if anyone could assist me, is this: are these cars really big enough for everyday use with a 10 year old and a 5 year old in them? I desperately want one and have taken my kids to the dealership and tried it out with them in it - they certainly seem to have the space. But I'm concerned that in 2 months time I'm going to be disappointed and feeling like I should have gone for a bigger car instead.

Can anybody give me solid advice on having this car when you have kids? Is it a practical, sensible choice?

Thanks.

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Hi lillypurple,

Welcome to the forum first of all

Generally speaking, I agree with what jrkitching said first of all. The 500 is basically a Panda anyway, and the new version of the Panda is the one we now have (used to have a 500 1.2 Pop). It beats the 500 hands down in terms of ease of use, practicality etc, and it drives and feels exactly the same as a 500 (arguably it's a little more refined on the road IMO, but certainly no worse).

But...I'm not going to lie to you, if we could have a 500 once again, we probably would. It's just we found life hard going with a small baby as it was difficult for my wife to get him in and out of the car due to her joint condition.

So...will the 500 really be too small for you? If I am honest, I think the fact your kids are 5 and 10 is a good thing here (as of course you don't need the massive group 1 car seats, pushchairs etc). I have no real concern that the back of a 500 will be any problem for them for at least the next four or five years.

Ultimately, only you will know how much stuff you need to carry round with you on a daily basis. But I firmly believe where there's a will, there's a way. And the 500 has got a decent enough boot; when we had our 500 at the time our little boy was born, it just needed that extra 5-10min planning when loading up a full boot. It's not really a hardship IMO. Post 56 and 58 on this thread will give you an idea of what is possible!
https://www.fiatforum.com/500/236121-babies-fiat-500-a-4.html

The final point I want to make is really to do with practicality - practicality in terms of cost. A 1.2 Lounge will set you back £30 a year in tax, and will do 45-50mpg on average without any real effort. So it will certainly save you money compared to a bigger family hatchback. Think this point is often overlooked!

jrkitching said:

Frupi, there's something not quite right about that ad.

It's listed and pictured as a lounge, but the price appears to be for a pop.

Be interesting to see if they'd honour the price, but remember it's for a 2013 prereg car, so you'd likely be looking at arond £1000 less when the time came to trade it in.

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This is how I got my own car at such a significant discount. The price is undoubtedly correct for the model advertised. I paid over 3k less for my TA, but admittedly, the car was pre-reg, but then again, I aint no number plate snob lol! There are dealers out there who will offload stock they've had for a while for very big discounts, it all depends on whether you are prepared to travel. I was and I'm pleased I did.

I doubt I'll lose a significant amount of money when I come to trade in on this one. We got almost 6k in PX for the 2011 POP for the new TA and I thought that was pretty good to be fair.

By the way, I only paid an extra £450 on top of the price on that car in the add for our new TA.

Super Uwe said:

The final point I want to make is really to do with practicality - practicality in terms of cost. A 1.2 Lounge will set you back £30 a year in tax, and will do 45-50mpg on average without any real effort. So it will certainly save you money compared to a bigger family hatchback. Think this point is often overlooked!

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:yeahthat:.

Of course, the same comment applies equally to the Panda, only more so since it'll likely cost you at least £2k less to buy an equivalent spec 1.2 Panda.

I don't know much about the Panda, but is this a good price?:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...sr/advert-type/standard-listing?logcode=ucbnp

First of all, thank you everyone who has offered advice and opinions to my question. It's not an easy decision to make! I so love this car and have wanted one ever since Fiat brought them out.

I figure since my kids can get in and out of the car unaided, a 3dr won't be an issue. The majority of the time it will just be me in the car going to and from work - kids will be in it at the weekends for days out but not much through the week. And I'm one of these women who leaves the house with a handbag and that's it!

In response to frupi - the cash price I've been quoted is £12,608 - that's for the 1.2 Lounge, ready for 1st March. I've NEVER had a brand new car before so I am not used to dealerships and as much as I'd like to shop around, I live in Cumbria so it's a trek to get anywhere! If you want to point me in the right direction, I'm happy to internet shop!

Thanks again everyone

frupi said:

I don't know much about the Panda, but is this a good price?:

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Fiatsupasaver are advertising prereg 1.2 pop Pandas for £6495 (new car motoring doesn't come much cheaper than this), and 1.2 500 Lounges for £10360.

I've also found Perrys Aylesbury are usually willing to negotiate a decent deal.

When I bought the 500, it was just about the only decent looking £30 RFL petrol car out there, but now there are other worthy contenders. In the OP's position, I'd also take a long look at the Swift, and if you can wait a while, the new Twingo might be interesting ....

Although I did not buy from them I found Perrys Aylesbury the cheapest and would deliver free.

jrkitching said:

I'd also take a long look at the Swift

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This, +1000. We have a swift and the 500 in the family, and the Swift outclasses the 500 in most places (esp. engine, handling, kit and dealers). Suzuki get 94hp (versus 69 in the 500) out of their 1.2, and it shows compared to the 500. I think Suzuki are usually doing them "VAT free", so they start under 9 grand.

I guess the main issue could be the small boot, but that's a result of them maximising the interior space and the 500s is hardly cavernous

If the kids aren't part of your daily commute and school rounds then it might be fine. 2 door cars can be a drag if you need to constantly get anyone in and out of the back seat...sounds like it might be fine for you. Just go for it...

lillypurple said:

In response to frupi - the cash price I've been quoted is £12,608 - that's for the 1.2 Lounge, ready for 1st March. I've NEVER had a brand new car before so I am not used to dealerships and as much as I'd like to shop around, I live in Cumbria so it's a trek to get anywhere! If you want to point me in the right direction, I'm happy to internet shop!

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The advert I linked to earlier, the dealer is in Glasgow, which to be fair is an easy run up the A74/M74 from Cumbria and is about the same distance I travelled to go and get my own car.

I can only recommend saving yourself 3k over buying the latest plate car from your local dealer. The 500 is a great car, just not imvho, worth the OTR price that comes with the latest plate from the showroom. I have no regrets buying the way I did. I still bought a new car from a Fiat dealership, just 150 miles away from where I live.

Buying a brand new car can be a daunting experience for anyone who hasn't done so before, so get someone to help you out is my advice. Sometimes it also helps to be utterly ruthless in the showroom, trust me done that a couple of times. If they don't like it, they'll tell you to go away, but more often than not, they'll want to make the sale. You're the customer and it's your money they're after, so make them sing for it.

To try to answer the original question: I had the 500 as only car with 2 adults and 6 month old baby. I do freely admit it was a pain to manoeuvre the infant seat to the back seat of the car and to have to dismantle the pram to go in the boot but you are not having babies so I think it will be fine. Leg room might be a bit of a worry if you have gawky teenagers but you are still some way off there. Sure, you can always buy more practical or cheaper cars but if the 500 pulls your heart strings, go for it! (says person who traded in 500 for a Grande Punto )

frupi said:

The advert I linked to earlier, the dealer is in Glasgow, which to be fair is an easy run up the A74/M74 from Cumbria and is about the same distance I travelled to go and get my own car.

I can only recommend saving yourself 3k over buying the latest plate car from your local dealer. The 500 is a great car, just not imvho, worth the OTR price that comes with the latest plate from the showroom. I have no regrets buying the way I did. I still bought a new car from a Fiat dealership, just 150 miles away from where I live.

Buying a brand new car can be a daunting experience for anyone who hasn't done so before, so get someone to help you out is my advice. Sometimes it also helps to be utterly ruthless in the showroom, trust me done that a couple of times. If they don't like it, they'll tell you to go away, but more often than not, they'll want to make the sale. You're the customer and it's your money they're after, so make them sing for it.

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Great post frupi.

I admit I was shafted the first time buying a used Audi A2 as a 19 year old myself from a used car trader, I was completely clueless. Luckily the car worked fine for me, it was just the sales price which, looking back, I could have helped a lot.
With my Fiat 500 I had bought it before the crisis took place in Greece, so didn't get as good a deal as I would have liked, but at least I got free interscope stereo and foglights included.

It may not be the most cost effective way of doing it but if you are seriously in love with the 500 but concerned about practicality with the kids, have you thought of hiring one for a week and seeing how it goes? Last time I hired a car in the UK it was for 19 days so I'm not sure what a week would cost you (potential bankruptcy perhaps ). But it may be the cheaper alternative to ending up with a car that just doesn't suit.

There would be nothing worse than missing out on a car you love because you weren't sure and at the same time it would be awful to start resenting it because it was difficult.

Hope it works out for you!

lillypurple said:

First of all, thank you everyone who has offered advice and opinions to my question. It's not an easy decision to make! I so love this car and have wanted one ever since Fiat brought them out.

I figure since my kids can get in and out of the car unaided, a 3dr won't be an issue. The majority of the time it will just be me in the car going to and from work - kids will be in it at the weekends for days out but not much through the week. And I'm one of these women who leaves the house with a handbag and that's it!

In response to frupi - the cash price I've been quoted is £12,608 - that's for the 1.2 Lounge, ready for 1st March. I've NEVER had a brand new car before so I am not used to dealerships and as much as I'd like to shop around, I live in Cumbria so it's a trek to get anywhere! If you want to point me in the right direction, I'm happy to internet shop!

Thanks again everyone

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No probs at all, glad we could help

Based on what you've said, I'm fairly certain the 500 will be absolutely fine for you. But hiring one for a week would still be a good idea if you really wanted to make absolute certain. Up to you though

As for where to get some good deals on top of frupi's suggestion, you might want to try places like Motorpoint or Broadspeed.

Have never bought a car from either so I can't give any personal experience, but Motorpoint have got loads of 63 plate 1.2 Lounges with a few thousand miles on the clock for less than £9,000:
(edit: the link doesn't work when you click on it, but their website is easy enough to use).

I have had some initial dealings with Broadspeed who seemed competent enough (just didn't proceed further as wasn't quite ready to buy). Their website is really easy to use, you just go through the various stages and then wait for them to contact you. There's no obligation on your part until you actually decide to order.

Anyway, it's all worth having a look at. Appreciate you may just want to have a brand new car rather than one with a few thousand miles on the clock.

306maxi said:

When I was a baby my family travelled around in a Honda Civic, me, parents and two brothers 6 and 7 years older than me.

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Now that explains a lot!!:devil: