I purchased a Fiat 500 Pop here in Australia. The dealer says that I need a service at 3,000 kms. He said that they change the oil & filter & that it must be Selenia. The cost, wait for it, $350.00 about 185 pounds sterling. I asked what is done apart from the oil & filter & was told "we tighten everything up".
Although the handbook says 30,000 kms.or 24 months before the first service it is not a bad idea to do an early oil change on a new motor. I changed the oil on my track car every 6 months using Mobil 1 5w-30. Therefore I will change the oil at 3,000 kms. & my question is, what is a good oil or should I stick with Selenia K P.E. I think it is 2.5 litres.

You don't need to take it to a Fiat dealer for the oil change. Does the manual state the type of oil you need? Good idea to change it though, but that's a crazy price....

$350 is pretty standard from a dealership. I was quoted $380 for a basic service (essentially, Selenia K Pure Energy oil + OEM filter, and they "check" the car).

I'm yet to have the pleasure of a Fiat service, but my wife's 2 litre diesel Cruze cost about the same- thought a smaller, less complex car would be a tad cheaper

Just as a comparison, my OH's 1.2 Lounge (6500 miles) has just had it's 1st service by an authorised independent. Oil & filter change plus safety check. £95.

nedkelly said:

I purchased a Fiat 500 Pop here in Australia. The dealer says that I need a service at 3,000 kms. He said that they change the oil & filter & that it must be Selenia. The cost, wait for it, $350.00 about 185 pounds sterling. I asked what is done apart from the oil & filter & was told "we tighten everything up".
Although the handbook says 30,000 kms.or 24 months before the first service it is not a bad idea to do an early oil change on a new motor. I changed the oil on my track car every 6 months using Mobil 1 5w-30. Therefore I will change the oil at 3,000 kms. & my question is, what is a good oil or should I stick with Selenia K P.E. I think it is 2.5 litres.

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The Fiat dealer is lying to you, you do not need a service at that time.
And the price? Well that's the fault of Australian accepting such prices. I have heard too many stories about Australians being ripped off, its time for you guys to fight back.
When you eventually need a service after 1 year of owning the car or by 30,000 km, go to these guys. They are an independent, but with Manufacturer expertise and updates as they produce most electronics for all cars in the world.

http://www.boschcarservice.com.au/

Those are the guys I use in Greece and they are far better and cheaper than my main dealer. All their techs are trained the German way.

So what I would do is;

1. Service the car after 1 year or 30,000 km.
2. When I service the car, go to Bosch Car Service.

Best of luck with the car!

nedkelly said:

I purchased a Fiat 500 Pop here in Australia. The dealer says that I need a service at 3,000 kms. He said that they change the oil & filter & that it must be Selenia. The cost, wait for it, $350.00 about 185 pounds sterling. I asked what is done apart from the oil & filter & was told "we tighten everything up".
Although the handbook says 30,000 kms.or 24 months before the first service it is not a bad idea to do an early oil change on a new motor. I changed the oil on my track car every 6 months using Mobil 1 5w-30. Therefore I will change the oil at 3,000 kms. & my question is, what is a good oil or should I stick with Selenia K P.E. I think it is 2.5 litres.

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Oh and one more word of advice.
Unless something breaks in your car that can be fixed for free under warranty, don't go within one mile of your Fiat dealer.

It doesn't need an oil change at 3k km's. End of story

To answer the OP's question, the type of oil should be 5W40, see this thread for more info:
https://www.fiatforum.com/500/341305-fiat-500-oil-type.html

44sunsets said:

To answer the OP's question, the type of oil should be 5W40, see this thread for more info:
https://www.fiatforum.com/500/341305-fiat-500-oil-type.html

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Depends on the engine, they are recommending 0w-30 on the new TA's.
Oh and Selenia is just overpriced PETRONAS oil so OP don't bother with Selenia.

Until I had an 09 Panda I used the same engine oil oil in all our cars and tractors, but as the Panda required a 10-40 oil I went to Shell Helix plus. The most recent drum I bought was labeled HX7, 10W40, rather than plus. It mentions all the Fiat specs on the label. I have noticed that on the new generation of engines the viscosity has come down to a 5 or 0. You would have to ask what oil specs you require.

Changing the oil at 3000 km seems too short to me, I do mine at 12000 miles or once a year. On my daughter's car, which does a limited mileage, I only change the oil every two years. Our local dealer still stamps my book even though I do all the servicing myself as he knows I do a thorough job, particularly after I found the gear box oil low, which they hadn't picked up.

Although I haven't seen any really bad oil on the market recently, I still stick a reliable, well known brand.

David

David Bliss said:

Changing the oil at 3000 km seems too short to me, I do mine at 12000 miles or once a year. On my daughter's car, which does a limited mileage, I only change the oil every two years.

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Changing the oil at 3000km is not a bad idea IMO, the new engine is starting to run in so there may be more gunk than usual. It's not necessary, just nice to have if you're really picky about these things like I am. I wouldn't pay $350 for it, of course -- take it to an indie mechanic etc.

And low mileage can be rough on the engine, especially if it's mostly shorter trips where it never gets a chance to fully warm up. So I'd do yearly oil changes in that case.

It was always traditional practice to have an oil change after the first few hundred miles . The idea being that perhaps bits of swarf and manufacturing detritus were hangining around in castings and so on. I think it is a matter of choice these days. As to oil I would buy any branded oil of the right viscosity index . In fairness, for most of us it, wouldn't matter much but if you live in a country with extremes of temperature then oil selection is probably more important than for someone in Basingstoke.

ahmett said:

Oh and Selenia is just overpriced PETRONAS oil so OP don't bother with Selenia.

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In AU we don't get Petronas, but I have found Liqi-Moly with the correct Fiat approvals (available at Auto-One stores- not sure if they're a national franchise). Some oils like Castrol Edge are a different spec to that in the UK so you have to do a bit of research. For a 1.2 though, I'd probably just use any oil that has the correct ratings. For the TA, it needs to be the exact right oil.

In Oz we don't need to worry about engine oils for overly harsh cold winters, motor oils for hot baking summers are more of a requirement.