General I think I'm done with my 500

Currently reading:
General I think I'm done with my 500

Status
Not open for further replies.

Luxy

New member
Joined
Aug 27, 2009
Messages
39
Points
6
I have had it for eight months now and I've had enough of it, it has to be the most disappointing car I have ever owned. It is just so damn uncomfortable to drive, it has the driving dynamics of a bar stool on castors.

If it were not for the seatbelt I would fall off the seat every time I went round a corner.

This was going to be a keeper, small and cheap to run, seemed a sound second car choice. Do you think I will make much of a loss on it? 5k miles, perfect condition (but very dirty).

What to replace it with though? I'm thinking Polo.
 
I have had it for eight months now and I've had enough of it, it has to be the most disappointing car I have ever owned. It is just so damn uncomfortable to drive, it has the driving dynamics of a bar stool on castors.

If it were not for the seatbelt I would fall off the seat every time I went round a corner.

This was going to be a keeper, small and cheap to run, seemed a sound second car choice. Do you think I will make much of a loss on it? 5k miles, perfect condition (but very dirty).

What to replace it with though? I'm thinking Polo.
Did you buy a lounge or pop spec car? I would have thought you would have noticed the fact that the seats aren't uber supportive. I originally ordered a sport because I liked the seats and when we changed to a Lounge I went for leather because the seats are more supportive.

There is a red leather interior going on ebay here -> which would really make a difference if you've got standard pop/lounge seats.

As for the dynamics, all cars these days have driving pleasure carefully engineered out. A set of lowering springs would go a long way to helping to sort this for you.
 
I have had it for eight months now and I've had enough of it, it has to be the most disappointing car I have ever owned. It is just so damn uncomfortable to drive, it has the driving dynamics of a bar stool on castors.

If it were not for the seatbelt I would fall off the seat every time I went round a corner.

This was going to be a keeper, small and cheap to run, seemed a sound second car choice. Do you think I will make much of a loss on it? 5k miles, perfect condition (but very dirty).

What to replace it with though? I'm thinking Polo.

Not much fun but unlikely to go that wrong, unless you get the rotten apple of the bunch as it can happen to all makes: Honda Jazz, Toyota Yaris, VW Polo are the first on my mind.
 
It is a lounge, sure, when I drove it I knew it wasn't the most ... refined car ever, but I thought as a cheap second car I could live with it, seems not!

Changing the springs may help (if you say so!), but can I be bothered!? well I guess it would be easier than changing car. But I would still be left with the seats, although would need less buttock clenching to stay on them!

There is a VW garage opposite the office, might take a look around Polo later.
 
Not much fun but unlikely to go that wrong, unless you get the rotten apple of the bunch as it can happen to all makes: Honda Jazz, Toyota Yaris, VW Polo are the first on my mind.
A friend of mine had a Polo rental a few months ago and he said it was one of the worst cars he's ever driven, no engine and IMHO the ride was possibly even stiffer than the 500's ride.

All modern small cars are crap today in terms of dynamics.
 
It is a lounge, sure, when I drove it I knew it wasn't the most ... refined car ever, but I thought as a cheap second car I could live with it, seems not!

Changing the springs may help (if you say so!), but can I be bothered!? well I guess it would be easier than changing car. But I would still be left with the seats, although would need less buttock clenching to stay on them!

There is a VW garage opposite the office, might take a look around Polo later.
Think about that leather interior. If it goes cheap it'll certainly be worth going for.
 
A friend of mine had a Polo rental a few months ago and he said it was one of the worst cars he's ever driven, no engine and IMHO the ride was possibly even stiffer than the 500's ride.

All modern small cars are crap today in terms of dynamics.

Exactly! I owned a Polo before, and currently still drive a Mini Cooper, and it is true that both are outrageously stiff, but some like it the german way.

My granparents own a 2008 Yaris and thinking of it at every roundabout I ended up on the passenger seat, so forget about my previous post if that is what annoys most. But reliability-wise and cheapness to run, it is brilliant.
 
Exactly! I owned a Polo before, and currently still drive a Mini Cooper, and it is true that both are outrageously stiff, but some like it the german way.

My granparents own a 2008 Yaris and thinking of it at every roundabout I ended up on the passenger seat, so forget about my previous post if that is what annoys most. But reliability-wise and cheapness to run, it is brilliant.
Yeah modern cars are pretty bad :)

I had a Micra rental in Finland and I took in on gravel and I was petrified that the thing was going to fall off the road and I'm an extremely confident gravel driver.
 
I think the Post from the OP is just about the closest I have seen on this Forum to someone actually saying :-

"I chose the wrong car for my needs & expectations..."

I'd suggest sporting seats in whatever is chosen next as a keeper 2nd car, I'd go for the Hy... Hyu.... nah I cant actually say the brand but its model designation is i10...

Now back to fun & charismatic but quirky Fiats eh? (y)
 
I think the Post from the OP is just about the closest I have seen on this Forum to someone actually saying :-

"I chose the wrong car for my needs & expectations..."

I'd suggest sporting seats in whatever is chosen next as a keeper 2nd car, I'd go for the Hy... Hyu.... nah I cant actually say the brand but its model designation is i10...

Now back to fun & charismatic but quirky Fiats eh? (y)
A lot of problems are certainly the result of choosing the wrong spec or not speccing options which would have made the car better suited to the individual.

I don't like the ride on my 16" wheels but I bought the car with the intention of sorting the suspension out in the future. Things I couldn't do without though are supportive seats meaning either leather or sports seats and air conditioning which is absolutely essential for demisting in the winter. On cold mornings you'd have to stand for at least 5 minutes to get the thing up to temp so you can demist with the heater and I want to spend my time and fuel driving, not sitting idling!
 
Mr Maxi. In what way are you going to sort out your suspension? I also have the 16" multispokes. This is something I may consider in the future. Not something I would do myself.

cheerio
 
Aww poor little 500, why dont u look at the MiTo they were nice to drive and have good supportive seats :)
500 has supportive seats if you spec them ;)

Further to my post above I think when buying a new car you should always add all the options you feel you might want or need so that the car is exactly how you want it. No point in paying 10k and skimping on spending another few hundred pounds on something which would make the car absolutely perfect for you.

If I were in the OP's situation I'd find a 2nd hand leather or sport interior and get some springs. Ride will be better and the seat issue will be sorted.
 
Mr Maxi. In what way are you going to sort out your suspension? I also have the 16" multispokes. This is something I may consider in the future. Not something I would do myself.

cheerio
Well i'm going to buy the Bilstein B14 setup that sealobo has on their car. Heck I might even go the whole hog and get the rear beam off DraigFlag87's Abarth when he prangs it :p The ride in the 500c that I testdrove was perfect and if I could have that but perhaps a little sportier I'd be rather happy.
 
Well i'm going to buy the Bilstein B14 setup that sealobo has on their car. Heck I might even go the whole hog and get the rear beam off DraigFlag87's Abarth when he prangs it :p The ride in the 500c that I testdrove was perfect and if I could have that but perhaps a little sportier I'd be rather happy.

If the Bilstein was to be fitted would that invalidate the warranty?

You could even wait for Sikersh. Seems he had the Fiat prang-magnet fitted as an option.

ta
 
Unless you buy the Abarth they are never going to have fully supportive seats as its meant to be a city car not a racing car, perhaps it was the way you were driving it that meant you were ending up in the passenger seat as i never do
 
If the Bilstein was to be fitted would that invalidate the warranty?

You could even wait for Sikersh. Seems he had the Fiat prang-magnet fitted as an option.

ta

Bilstein kit would have it's own warranty (y)
The only thing Fiat might wriggle on is if other suspension parts then fail (e.eg drop links), but it's a risk I would take.
They would not decline a clain on say the engine as suspension could have no effect on that. Hope this helps.
 
Bilstein kit would have it's own warranty (y)
The only thing Fiat might wriggle on is if other suspension parts then fail (e.eg drop links), but it's a risk I would take.
They would not decline a clain on say the engine as suspension could have no effect on that. Hope this helps.
Slightly OT but I'm actually wondering if it's worth seeing if we can get a third party company to do things like uprated bushes, droplinks etc for the 500. I've been looking into aftermarket stuff for the Subaru and there are a couple of companies doing good quality stuff like for instance these alloy ARB droplinks for Subaru's which are just a tad better than the standard plastic ones.

droplinks.gif


I'm sure if they were supplied with an original part for the 500 that they could manufacture something better. One company also does adjustable ARB's, kits which add a bit of caster to the front suspension and various other bits and bobs and with the 500 being a popular model still in production and one likely to be modified in the future I'm sure it would be economical for them to make bits. They'd have to have a development car to do ARB's and anything which alters geometry of course but things like droplinks and bushes they could surely work off OE parts?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top