Hello everyone,


After getting bored of people talking about oh no your car has high mileage it is worth nothing and it is rubbish, I was wondering;

How is the little 500 doing in the high mileage range, like 70,000 + miles?
Anyone on the forum beyond such a mileage?
I would appreciate it if they could give me their input of how the car feels, what they have had to change beyond the regular servicing intervals.
I plan on keeping my car for as long as she lasts as i really like her.

ahmett said:

How is the little 500 doing in the high mileage range, like 70,000 + miles?

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I've no story to tell about the 500 (well, not for a few years yet ), but I kept the last three of my previous vehicles for over 100000 miles without encountering any significant issues, and one of them had over 200000 miles on it when I finally let it go. All were running perfectly when I sold them on.

IMO mileage is a poor yardstick by which to judge a car's condition; journey profile, driving style and maintenance will have a much greater influence on its eventual lifespan and a carefully-driven well-maintained high mileage car is one of the few true bargains left in the world today .

The c240 merc I pxd for the 500TA had done 130,000 miles and sounded as good as the day I bought it. The stearing was s**t though ball joint thinggy not rack and pinion.

arorat said:

The c240 merc I pxd for the 500TA had done 130,000 miles and sounded as good as the day I bought it.

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Probably used just as much fuel as the day you bought it too . I chopped in a 10yr/100000 mile car not because there was anything wrong with it, but because the savings in fuel, tax & insurance will pay for the 500 over the next 10 - it was effectively a free new car .

jrkitching said:

Probably used just as much fuel as the day you bought it too . I chopped in a 10yr/100000 mile car not because there was anything wrong with it, but because the savings in fuel, tax & insurance will pay for the 500 over the next 10 - it was effectively a free new car .

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agreed I now need get rid of the Rav4 which is giving 18-20 around town, but we don't drive it as much now, what will replace a Rav4 ? i was thinking Touran as a safe bet, but its dull & boring right !!

arorat said:

agreed I now need get rid of the Rav4 which is giving 18-20 around town, but we don't drive it as much now, what will replace a Rav4 ? i was thinking Touran as a safe bet, but its dull & boring right !!

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Yes, 100% right. What are your needs/requirements?

arorat said:

agreed I now need get rid of the Rav4 which is giving 18-20 around town, but we don't drive it as much now, what will replace a Rav4 ? i was thinking Touran as a safe bet, but its dull & boring right !!

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Get a countryman, perfect replacement.

my 500 just ticked over to 108,000 yesterday and it's going well...engine is perfect. Still on original clutch & exhaust and only had to change the rear tyres once in that time.

The only cost I've had has been renewing the front suspension parts because of MOT failure. There have been other routine costs; tyres, bulbs, oil etc

At the moment the Air Con is broken and the boot handle micro switch is gone but i can cope without those features right now. The bonnet release is pretty dodgy and the drivers' door handle feels fragile now aswell.

After all this time my favourite feature is still the interscope hifi and the other thing which i love is the tiny turning circle! :woot:

!beepbeepbeep! said:

my 500 just ticked over to 108,000 yesterday and it's going well...engine is perfect. Still on original clutch & exhaust and only had to change the rear tyres once in that time.

The only cost I've had has been renewing the front suspension parts because of MOT failure. There have been other routine costs; tyres, bulbs, oil etc

At the moment the Air Con is broken and the boot handle micro switch is gone but i can cope without those features right now. The bonnet release is pretty dodgy and the drivers' door handle feels fragile now aswell.

After all this time my favourite feature is still the interscope hifi and the other thing which i love is the tiny turning circle! :woot:

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Thank you for your feedback, i knew there was a high miler on the forum somewhere! All of this sounds like standard wear and tear so this gives me confidence for the future with my fiat! None of the things you said that are broken are very big issues, except maybe the suspension (but i think suspension after 10' models are better?)

Another benefit of Fiat's; cheap parts, so many of these things can be replaced with ease!

ahmett said:

Thank you for your feedback, i knew there was a high miler on the forum somewhere! All of this sounds like standard wear and tear so this gives me confidence for the future with my fiat! None of the things you said that are broken are very big issues, except maybe the suspension (but i think suspension after 10' models are better?)

Another benefit of Fiat's; cheap parts, so many of these things can be replaced with ease!

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Why and how the air con broke? :S

RobinPJ said:

Yes, 100% right. What are your needs/requirements?

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Here goes, would love your opinions.

large boot space
carry min 5 passengers
good 40mpg around town
petrol would be better as doing short trips
take knocks & scuffs whilst I mange the property business, disposing occasional stuff left by tenants, garden waste, lugging wm, f/f etc from curry's
not have to take rear seats out
drivable in snow (as and when)
look good


sorry to side track from main topic !!

ahmett said:

Get a countryman, perfect replacement.

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Thanks, good idea. I saw those on launch. I wrote on FF a while back we could not put golf clubs in sideways and one back seat had to go down. Also when you opened the doors they sides looked rather naked/lacking a rubber seal - I can't recall fully but they looked cheap.

arorat said:

Here goes, would love your opinions.

large boot space
carry min 5 passengers
good 40mpg around town
petrol would be better as doing short trips
take knocks & scuffs whilst I mange the property business, disposing occasional stuff left by tenants, garden waste, lugging wm, f/f etc from curry's
not have to take rear seats out
drivable in snow (as and when)
look good


sorry to side track from main topic !!

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Front wheel drive Audi A4 estate?

!beepbeepbeep! said:

my 500 just ticked over to 108,000 yesterday and it's going well...engine is perfect. Still on original clutch & exhaust and only had to change the rear tyres once in that time.

The only cost I've had has been renewing the front suspension parts because of MOT failure. There have been other routine costs; tyres, bulbs, oil etc

At the moment the Air Con is broken and the boot handle micro switch is gone but i can cope without those features right now. The bonnet release is pretty dodgy and the drivers' door handle feels fragile now aswell.

After all this time my favourite feature is still the interscope hifi and the other thing which i love is the tiny turning circle! :woot:

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Great story!

Here's hoping for another 108,000 miles, haha!

!beepbeepbeep! said:

my 500 just ticked over to 108,000 yesterday and it's going well...engine is perfect. Still on original clutch & exhaust and only had to change the rear tyres once in that time.

The only cost I've had has been renewing the front suspension parts because of MOT failure. There have been other routine costs; tyres, bulbs, oil etc

At the moment the Air Con is broken and the boot handle micro switch is gone but i can cope without those features right now. The bonnet release is pretty dodgy and the drivers' door handle feels fragile now aswell.

After all this time my favourite feature is still the interscope hifi and the other thing which i love is the tiny turning circle! :woot:

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Glad to hear you've had a relatively pain-free 108,000 miles in your 500! Find it hard to believe it's still on the original exhaust right enough, I thought by the time they were 3 years old they were starting to fall apart (like mines ). Get the little niggles fixed while they are still little DIY jobs would be my advice

arorat said:

Here goes, would love your opinions.

large boot space
carry min 5 passengers
good 40mpg around town
petrol would be better as doing short trips
take knocks & scuffs whilst I mange the property business, disposing occasional stuff left by tenants, garden waste, lugging wm, f/f etc from curry's
not have to take rear seats out
drivable in snow (as and when)
look good


sorry to side track from main topic !!

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You're going to struggle with all those particularly petrol and 40mpg round town, our 500 only just manages that!

Our other car is a Volvo XC60 Drive 2WD diesel - it does all of the above (OK it averages 41mpg) but around town it's doing 35mpg.

Hi everybody, thanks for your replies!

a pipe in the air con split and it is going to be £££hundreds to fix!
Kind of wish i could gut out the air con completely now because i'm carrying around dead weight

yes, having cheap parts is a massive bonus! and I would love to have the revised suspension on the newer models, especially if it is more durable

will definitely be giving it some TLC in the new year to hopefully get another 108,000 miles out of it!

I think someone on the Panda section is approaching 200,000 miles and with the same mechanicals i don't see why it isn't possible!

stu0710 said:

You're going to struggle with all those particularly petrol and 40mpg round town, our 500 only just manages that!

Our other car is a Volvo XC60 Drive 2WD diesel - it does all of the above (OK it averages 41mpg) but around town it's doing 35mpg.

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:yeahthat::Offtopic:

My sister has a Suzuki Vitara (a bit bigger than a RAV4) and with the 'pressure' from her 20 year old daughter & 17 year old son she is looking to downsize. It was bought for camping & to carry 2 dogs around in but it has not 'happened' this year. She is now open to the idea of 2 small cars but all the kids can talk about is a Golf with a 1.2 engine (doesn't exist in the older models !)
I guess that you've made the decision to keep the motorbike and it's now done to a sensible choice on the replacement of the RAV4. The Kubo looks interesting but it is possible to pick up a Qashqai for resonable money both are economic engines. Estates are better for 'one man' loading and it would be hard to beat the load carrying ability of a Passat. Some have bought hatchbacks e.g. Mazda 6 because they're cheaper. The suggestion of an A4 was good and it looks better than a Beamer although it wouldn't be as nice a drive. For me the auction Marea Weekender will have to 'fill those boots' but the 500 has been surprisingly capable of carrying most of the stuff that's being thrown at it. If you could live with the look of a Panda it might leave room in the kitty for something a bit more desirable.

!beepbeepbeep! said:

Hi everybody, thanks for your replies!

a pipe in the air con split and it is going to be £££hundreds to fix!
Kind of wish i could gut out the air con completely now because i'm carrying around dead weight

yes, having cheap parts is a massive bonus! and I would love to have the revised suspension on the newer models, especially if it is more durable

will definitely be giving it some TLC in the new year to hopefully get another 108,000 miles out of it!

I think someone on the Panda section is approaching 200,000 miles and with the same mechanicals i don't see why it isn't possible!

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Great to see someone into the 6 figures on a 500 with very few problems. It's common for extras to give trouble later on so a POP might be a more sensible choice than I had taken it for. I was of the opinion than a 1.2 Lounge was 'hard to beat' but the POP might have the last laugh.

loveshandbags said:

:yeahthat::Offtopic:

My sister has a Suzuki Vitara (a bit bigger than a RAV4) and with the 'pressure' from her 20 year old daughter & 17 year old son she is looking to downsize. It was bought for camping & to carry 2 dogs around in but it has not 'happened' this year. She is now open to the idea of 2 small cars but all the kids can talk about is a Golf with a 1.2 engine (doesn't exist in the older models !)
I guess that you've made the decision to keep the motorbike and it's now done to a sensible choice on the replacement of the RAV4. The Kubo looks interesting but it is possible to pick up a Qashqai for resonable money both are economic engines. Estates are better for 'one man' loading and it would be hard to beat the load carrying ability of a Passat. Some have bought hatchbacks e.g. Mazda 6 because they're cheaper. The suggestion of an A4 was good and it looks better than a Beamer although it wouldn't be as nice a drive. For me the auction Marea Weekender will have to 'fill those boots' but the 500 has been surprisingly capable of carrying most of the stuff that's being thrown at it. If you could live with the look of a Panda it might leave room in the kitty for something a bit more desirable.

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The A4 is not a big car though, if that fits you for size then you might as well buy a Skoda Octavia estate (basically the same running gear at a more sensible price!). The Qashqai is a good suggestion and I would have bought one but for the fact that I could buy the Volvo for not a lot more than a fully loaded Qashqai.