General 2 different faces of Fiat

[Madasadad]

So, 2 days before my warranty ran out i left my car in for a service, mentioned a bit of hesitation under acceleration, bit of a whine from third gear, couple of my steering wheel buttons had stopped working in the week previous. I was quoted £105 for the service (43k miles)
Resulting in a new turbo being fitted, gearbox stripped and 3rd and final drive bearings replaced, new button panel for the steering wheel.
The dealer was superb, kept me informed, provided a loan car for 2 weeks. It was service quality of the highest levels
Then the other side of the coin. Im left now with a massive wedge of doubt over the long term reliability of the car. I owned it for 1.5yrs without any issues, untill now. Thankfully the warranty saved me.
So i started to look about changing the car. Bottom book price off Parkers £5.4k, webuyanycar £4.8k, fiat dealer £4.5k! For an absolute immaculate car.
I expected depreciation, but wow, not at this level! Purchase price in mar 11 for the October 09 car, £9k, now exactly halved its price in another year and ahalf!
Its just a pity Fiat doesnt have a bit more faith in its own cars, in an attempt to raise second hand prices. Im afraid its time to move on, Id drive it into the ground if i had confidence in it, but unfortunately thats not the case

 

[PROV]

Its a no brainer for me, the car was reliable, you have had some parts changed under warranty and with no real hassle as the dealer was excellent. Coupled to that is the fact that you will take a hit on the car.

Keep it! Give it a few months, you will get your confidence back.

As for the depreciation, you would be surprised at how poorly all makes of car depreciate, some more than others admittedly, but owning any car, particularly for a short space of time is very costly depreciation wise...

 

[ascott92]

We paid £7200 for mines back in Nov 2009. Almost exactly three years later, the car is now four and a half, I got £2750 trade in (there's a few faults with the car) the main being the gearbox.

I upped and ran because spending half as much as a car is worth on one part alone for me is not a smart move, especially with insurance and service also due. However, now you have new parts, I personally wouldn't be too worried, as they are fixed, for free.

Personally, if I had a warranty, I'd have no hesitation to keep it, especially with some Bravos now over 120,000 miles, with no real faults.

 

[PROV]

Personally, if I had a warranty, I'd have no hesitation to keep it, especially with some Bravos now over 120,000 miles, with no real faults.

Make that over 140,000

 

[aurick86]

You've already lost 4500 on the car; if you'll keep it for the next 2-3 years you will lose what, another 2000?
That is in depreciation alone. Take in account that you might have to pay for a few faults in the future (maybe not a major fault like engine or gearbox).

If you buy another car a new one you will lose more that that (2000+costs to repair even an major fault) in depreciation alone in the next 2 years.

As you said, you have "an absolute immaculate car"; so why lose any more money?

p.s.
A car isn't an investment. The fact is you will always lose more money when buying new cars, as apposed to second-hand ones.

If you just WANT to change the car because you are bored with it just do it! Don't try to find ways of rationalizing it.

 

[Tad-bravo]

So, 2 days before my warranty ran out i left my car in for a service, mentioned a bit of hesitation under acceleration, bit of a whine from third gear, couple of my steering wheel buttons had stopped working in the week previous. I was quoted £105 for the service (43k miles)
Resulting in a new turbo being fitted, gearbox stripped and 3rd and final drive bearings replaced, new button panel for the steering wheel.
The dealer was superb, kept me informed, provided a loan car for 2 weeks. It was service quality of the highest levels
Then the other side of the coin. Im left now with a massive wedge of doubt over the long term reliability of the car. I owned it for 1.5yrs without any issues, untill now. Thankfully the warranty saved me.
So i started to look about changing the car. Bottom book price off Parkers £5.4k, webuyanycar £4.8k, fiat dealer £4.5k! For an absolute immaculate car.
I expected depreciation, but wow, not at this level! Purchase price in mar 11 for the October 09 car, £9k, now exactly halved its price in another year and ahalf!
Its just a pity Fiat doesnt have a bit more faith in its own cars, in an attempt to raise second hand prices. Im afraid its time to move on, Id drive it into the ground if i had confidence in it, but unfortunately thats not the case

Good luck with other brands; there are ferraris that explode just 10 miles after purchase so I really don't understand why you're bitching about a small fault that has been fixed without hassle by an incredibly friendly dealer.

Cars sometimes have problems, all cars, not only fiats.

 

[STILO NEWBIE]

So, 2 days before my warranty ran out i left my car in for a service, mentioned a bit of hesitation under acceleration, bit of a whine from third gear, couple of my steering wheel buttons had stopped working in the week previous. I was quoted £105 for the service (43k miles)
Resulting in a new turbo being fitted, gearbox stripped and 3rd and final drive bearings replaced, new button panel for the steering wheel.
The dealer was superb, kept me informed, provided a loan car for 2 weeks. It was service quality of the highest levels
Then the other side of the coin. Im left now with a massive wedge of doubt over the long term reliability of the car. I owned it for 1.5yrs without any issues, untill now. Thankfully the warranty saved me.
So i started to look about changing the car. Bottom book price off Parkers £5.4k, webuyanycar £4.8k, fiat dealer £4.5k! For an absolute immaculate car.
I expected depreciation, but wow, not at this level! Purchase price in mar 11 for the October 09 car, £9k, now exactly halved its price in another year and ahalf!
Its just a pity Fiat doesnt have a bit more faith in its own cars, in an attempt to raise second hand prices. Im afraid its time to move on, Id drive it into the ground if i had confidence in it, but unfortunately thats not the case

well, part of the reason why the 2nd hand value is so low is there are so many ppl like you out there, thats why no one willing to pay more, sell up (someone will get a bargin!!!) and with the money you get from it, going get urself a 8yrs old base model Audi and it will cost you more money if it gone wrong!!!

 

[Madasadad]

I cannot argue with the logic of, it wont have the same level of depreciation in the next 18 months, true. Its had new parts so why worry, true. I rationialised all the arguements over and over again. Poor second hand values are not the fault of someone like me who moved to a Fiat with my heart and not my head. They are the product of both the history and misunderstanding of the brand. Ive owned a lot of cars in my time and ran many to 100k+ miles, all without either a turbo or gearbox giving trouble. My heart said keep it, my gut said Honda, so thats what i bought. Yep i lost money, we all do, every time. Thats not a problem. I just didnt fancy the hassle of everytime i heard a squeak or rattle, it causing me to wonder if it was something to worry about. Who knows, maybe the Honda will cause me sleepless nights too, but i hope not. I did get the Parkers trade in price after all, just not with Fiat, strange.
Thanks for a great forum, educational, witty and great craic.
Now, if only i couldve afforded a 500 Abarth, like my sisters! Oops, there goes the heart again!

 

[aurick86]

Some people have to sell there cars so people like me ( that cannot afford brand new cars) can buy good cars for change.

Glad to here you made up your mind.
Hope you have many trouble-free miles with your new car.