General Fiat 500 Cha Cha Azzure with Cream Leather Interior

[multispoke]

As a new comer to this Forum I have found 99.9% of members to be very pleasant. I cannot expect it to get any better than than. But to be hounded and criticised for giving an opinion is a different matter particularily when I can back up the information that would be benefical to the 90% of individuals who don't feel confident to contribute to these 'discussions'. Statements along the lines of red leather doesn't get hot, creating a safety issue for cars suggesting that individuals rotate their tyres which would result in worn ones going on the back, not to mention the hugh number of contradications...you're really not worth it.

 

[RobinPJ]

As a new comer to this Forum I have found 99.9% of members to be very pleasant. I cannot expect it to get any better than than. But to be hounded and criticised for giving an opinion is a different matter particularily when I can back up the information that would be benefical to the 90% of individuals who don't feel confident to contribute to these 'discussions'. Statements along the lines of red leather doesn't get hot, creating a safety issue for cars suggesting that individuals rotate their tyres putting which would result in worn ones going on the back, not to mention the hugh number of contradications...you're really not worth it.

But you did say that ANY dealer would put alloys onto a Pop before selling it, which is certainly not my experience and certainly does not seem to be the case judging by a search on the Fiat website or Autotrader - plenty of Pops changing hands with steelies (probably because of people like Rachel who love the 500 shape {not the Panda's though} but do not even notice the wheels. These sort of people are called "women".

 

[DraigFlag87]

My friend Hannah once said to me:

"what does alloys mean? Does it mean they've got gaps in them yea?"

 

[multispoke]

But you did say that ANY dealer would put alloys onto a Pop before selling it, which is certainly not my experience and certainly does not seem to be the case judging by a search on the Fiat website or Autotrader - plenty of Pops changing hands with steelies (probably because of people like Rachel who love the 500 shape {not the Panda's though} but do not even notice the wheels. These sort of people are called "women".

Adding on options on buying a 500 from the dealer is not deemed a modification since it has been supplied by the 'factory'.
If you are buying a Pop without the alloy wheels it will heavily compromise resale. Any Fiat garage that gets a Pop back in with the steelies put a set of Alloy wheels on to sell the 500. If I am questioned on the correctness of this I will happily PM the name of the dealer.

Well let's re-phase which you're no stranger to .

If you are buying a Pop without the alloy wheels it will heavily compromise resale. Any Fiat garage that gets a Pop back in with the steelies have been known to put a set of Alloy wheels on to sell the 500. If I am questioned on the correctness of this I will happily PM the name of the dealer. In addition, the experience from garages selling Pop 500c is that they are difficult to sell both new and secondhand without alloys.

 

[TwinAir Newbie]

I have a question, and hope it may also be of use to the OP.

How much would you save and what would you have to miss out on if you tried to spec a Pop up to a Lounge?

 

[zanes]

The issue about insurance increasing by specifying alloy wheels on a an order from Fiat on a POP increasing your insurance is not correct.

Also, alloys over air con on a new build? Really?

 

[multispoke]

Also, alloys over air con on a new build? Really?

Ye. Really. I have rarely seen aircon on a 500 pop on the secondhand market www.carzone.ie
If someone is looking for Aircon they generally go for the lounge/sport model. Markets may be different over there. Our POPS are priced very competitively but the extras only very recently have been packaged where you can get the wheels, chome kit and the blue & me for under a grand. The difference to 'go up' is €2K.

 

[zanes]

Ye. Really. I have rarely seen aircon on a 500 pop on the secondhand market www.carzone.ie
If someone is looking for Aircon they generally go for the lounge/sport model. Markets may be different over there. Our POPS are priced very competitively but the extras only very recently have been packaged where you can get the wheels, chome kit and the blue & me for under a grand. The difference to 'go up' is €2K.

Ah. The UK go up price was about £1400 when I was buying- pretty much the price of aircon, blue'n'me and alloys but you got bags more extras.

Not sure what the market is like in Ireland but I think air con is fast becoming standard over here- Looking at small cars recently all but the base model on most small hatchbacks here have aircon and some marques are fitting it as standard to all (Hyundai spring to mind)

 

[multispoke]

Ah. The UK go up price was about £1400 when I was buying- pretty much the price of aircon, blue'n'me and alloys but you got bags more extras.

Not sure what the market is like in Ireland but I think air con is fast becoming standard over here- Looking at small cars recently all but the base model on most small hatchbacks here have aircon and some marques are fitting it as standard to all (Hyundai spring to mind)

The best buy is still a 1.2 lounge in Ireland even at the €2,000 premium. The 15 inch multi that comes with the Lounge cannot be bought for the POP. Personally I don't like them (as a man) for a woman they prefer them plus the tyres are cheaper than the 16s and give better ride comfort. If you look back at the Alfa 147 on the Lusso model it came with 16s but if you went for a lesser model you could only 'upgrade' to 17s - higher running costs and for most individuals unnecessary. My wife ended up buying the 147 Lusso that lasted 6 years before the cambelt snapped prematurely.

 

[arorat]

This topic seems to be getting pedantic for no major reason. The OP has had her answer, perhaps in too much detail.

 

[lilrachiebaby89]

Hi guys, yes the answers on here have been really helpful, to 'upgrade' to the lounge is £2,000 on top of the cost price for the POP and at least £300 a year more to insure which being a 21 year old in a not fantastic postcode I'm already looking at just short of £800 to insure a POP.

I appreciate the people telling me to go for the Panda, but I'm afraid if I'm going to go for a brand new car I'm going to get something I want. Perhaps call me superficial, but I would much prefer to be driving around in a pretty little 500 than a Panda.

I am definately going to go for the PCP with the thinking I will take out a loan in 3 years to pay my balloon payment. I'm going to leave off the alloys and take the risk that when I come to sell, there will too be another woman like me who a wheel trim is a wheel trim to.

I have used the Configurator on the Fiat website and for the POP with the Volare Blue, Ivory Ambience, Blue & Me, Leather Steering Wheel, & Leather Gear Stick is £10,385 which is still less than the Lounge and around £800 to insure.

I spoke to a salesman from a garage last night and he didn't seem to think I would have any problems in getting finance on a 500 POP for £130 a month with minimal deposit. The only thing he did say was to definately not hand the car back after the 3 years because Fiat 'guarantee' that after 3 years their valuation is what the car is worth, I'm looking at around £3,500-£4,000 but if you look on the internet at 3 year old 500's they are selling for £6,000+ so in effect I would just be giving the finance company £2,500 for nothing! Please correct this if anybody disagrees.

Sorry for the essay, thanks for reading if you're all still awake after this amount of text!

 

[RobinPJ]

At the end of the term you have three choices:

1, hand it back - which you do if it is worth less than the balloon payment (and you do not have to pay anything else at all);
2, trade it in for a new car (using the "equity" - the amount by which the value of the car exceeds the balloon - towards your deposit); or
3, pay the final payment and own the car.

 

[306maxi]

i personally don't think a pop would be worth 6k in three years.

 

[Super Uwe]

At the end of the term you have three choices:

1, hand it back - which you do if it is worth less than the balloon payment (and you do not have to pay anything else at all);
2, trade it in for a new car (using the "equity" - the amount by which the value of the car exceeds the balloon - towards your deposit); or
3, pay the final payment and own the car.

Nicely summed up.

My take on the dealer's view is that it is probably best for all parties if option 2 here is taken up (i.e. you start a new PCP at the end of the three year term).

Handing back the car would mean that (a) you no longer have a car and (b) Fiat no longer have a customer paying a regular monthly payment to them. But it is nevertheless an option which would leave you without any financial commitment at the end.

All I would say with the PCP (as I have one) is that you just need to be sure that you can cover all of the monthly payments. Petrol and insurance are the main costs, but you will also need to bear in mind servicing, GAP insurance etc.

 

[lilrachiebaby89]

At the end of the term you have three choices:

1, hand it back - which you do if it is worth less than the balloon payment (and you do not have to pay anything else at all);
2, trade it in for a new car (using the "equity" - the amount by which the value of the car exceeds the balloon - towards your deposit); or
3, pay the final payment and own the car.

Thankyou, I didn't realise you could use the equity in the car if there is any. Again that's been really helpful.

Maxi I don't know what a POP will be worth in 3 years, but the guy from the garage was correct in what he was saying, I've seen a couple, only a couple, as there are hardly any old ones on sale, on 08 plate and they start at £6,000 going upto £6,800. All I'm saying is it does appear it wouldn't be in my best interest to hand the car back, as others have said before. However at 21 years old and the job I do, I do imagine (hope dearly!) that my wage will be considerably higher in 3 years, alot can change, and for now I don't have to worry about the balloon payment until then so I would reassess the situation when it is almost due

 

[lilrachiebaby89]

All I would say with the PCP (as I have one) is that you just need to be sure that you can cover all of the monthly payments. Petrol and insurance are the main costs, but you will also need to bear in mind servicing, GAP insurance etc.

Again apologising for my lack of knowledge, does the servicing not come free with the car for the first 3 years? and what is GAP Insurance and why would I need it?

I can definately cover all of the monthly payments if I get the £130 a month I want, I could stretch to £150 but don't really want to! Haha!

 

[306maxi]

You would need to service the car, put tyres on it etc etc.

 

[lilrachiebaby89]

You would need to service the car, put tyres on it etc etc.

Ok thanks, that shouldn't be a problem. I'm assuming the tyres being for a 'supermini' as they call them won't be much different from the standard tyres I currently buy for my peugeot 106. And a service is about £100 isn't it, only needed yearly. I should have no problems coping with that.

 

[fifi77]

If your car is stolen or written off, and you are forced to file an insurance claim, the insurer would only pay out against the value of the car at the time the damage was done, as opposed to the price you paid for the vehicle.

GAP insurance protects against this shortfall, covering the gap between the insurance payout and the value of the vehicle at the time you bought the car insurance policy.

Some insurance companies will cover the replacement cost of a brand new car in the first year as a standard part of their policy, but I think you mentioned earlier that you're with Diamond and they don't. So you would need a GAP policy to cover you for 3 years.

GAP is a must-have on a new car, really. Annoying that you have to, in effect, pay for insurance twice, but it's a case of better be safe than sorry. Don't accept it from the dealer (who will charge you £400+), shop around online for GAP policies, you could probably get one for about £200.

You will need to pay for a service each year and it will cost more than £100. For a new car, you really need to get it serviced at a dealer so that your warranty is protected. I would work on the assumption that the first service would cost around £150+, the second £250+ and £300+ for the third. They may well not cost you quite that much, but they can and it's always better to overestimate rather than underestimate.

Ask the Fiat dealer about their service packages. You can spread the cost of the services across the 3 years with your car payments, so all you have to worry about is insurance, tax for years 2 & 3 and fuel.

 

[lilrachiebaby89]

If your car is stolen or written off, and you are forced to file an insurance claim, the insurer would only pay out against the value of the car at the time the damage was done, as opposed to the price you paid for the vehicle.

GAP insurance protects against this shortfall, covering the gap between the insurance payout and the value of the vehicle at the time you bought the car insurance policy.

Some insurance companies will cover the replacement cost of a brand new car in the first year as a standard part of their policy, but I think you mentioned earlier that you're with Diamond and they don't. So you would need a GAP policy to cover you for 3 years.

GAP is a must-have on a new car, really. Annoying that you have to, in effect, pay for insurance twice, but it's a case of better be safe than sorry. Don't accept it from the dealer (who will charge you £400+), shop around online for GAP policies, you could probably get one for about £200.

You will need to pay for a service each year and it will cost more than £100. For a new car, you really need to get it serviced at a dealer so that your warranty is protected. I would work on the assumption that the first service would cost around £150+, the second £250+ and £300+ for the third. They may well not cost you quite that much, but they can and it's always better to overestimate rather than underestimate.

Ask the Fiat dealer about their service packages. You can spread the cost of the services across the 3 years with your car payments, so all you have to worry about is insurance, tax for years 2 & 3 and fuel.

Thankyou