500 First time 500C Owner

[azzuro80]

While driving home from an appointment in another city in our big Fiat (Ram Promaster Campervan) aka Ducato my wife and I spotted a mint green 500 convertible zipping down the road, top down on a beautiful September day. We had almost new VW Golf and a vintage Triumph TR7 at home and the TR7 was getting a bit long in the tooth and I had been thinking of selling it. The Golf 1.4 Turbo 8sp auto was a disappoint from day one for me, although my wife liked it. The bug had bit! By mid October we had sold the TR and the VW and acquired a 2014 Fiat 500C Lounge with a reasonable 70K km from a private sale. Fully loaded with even the navigation it has been a pleasure to drive and now there is lots of room in the garage to boot. We really like the colour combo on this one. It is so "perky" and fun to drive I don't miss the horsepower.

 

[Daiton]

Hello my friend,welcome to the forum.
I'm loving that colour combo you have got on your little 500,did you never consider the abarth version

 

[azzuro80]

Actually I stayed away from the Arbarth during my search for a couple of reasons. First and most importantly my wife and I are in our seventies and I no longer harbour any desire to be a boy racer. Secondly few Arbarths seem to be convertibles here in Canada so the pickings were pretty slim. Thirdly, the few Arbarths I did look appeared to be driven hard and had higher mileage that I wanted. This little car doesn't have to travel far (maybe 10K km/year) and it kind of flies in the face of some my sports car friends that they may be taking cars, and themselves too seriously. Lastly, Mrs. says it's "adorable".
Now I just have to find some white-wall tires for it. Pictured here is our current "

Fiat Fleet"

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

Lovely little car. I take your point about the Abarth, fantastic performance but a bit too intense.

 

[mj2k]

Hi and welcome, I have an Abarth (rescued) which had the same colour interior as yours, I rather like the brown leather and it looks good with that shade of blue

It is definitely fun to take it easy in an open top car and enjoy the summer countryside, my favorite of the 'harem' of Peugeot 306 cabriolets I owned a few years back was also the least powerful (albeit the prettiest and rarest); cruising along country roads on one of our few sunny days was always a great pleasure in it, whereas I didn't notice as much in one of it's more powerful siblings which needed more driver concentration (you're also less likely to end up with an Einstein hairdo at lower speeds), so I can see where you're coming from there.

 

[Troubles with 500c]

Lovely looking car.

I tend to find these 500c’s give a very similar driving experience to a 2CV because of the lack of power and open top.

You’re rewarded by maintaining the moment on A Roads, which encourages a smooth driving style. No need to drive it like a sports car.

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

That one would be a 1.4 so I'm sure it's plenty powerful enough. My twin's got more than sufficient to keep up with the traffic when the turbo cuts in, even if it can't blow 'em into the weeds. Seriously though; there's nothing like top down motoring, mine's open nearly all the time I'm on the road whatever the weather. The only exceptions are actual rain or, in this part of the world, midday sun at anything over 30C.

 

[jrkitching]

Now I just have to find some white-wall tires for it.

They can be found - try BF Goodrich, but they aren't cheap; over £1000 for a set of 4 in the UK (ouch!)

 

[Troubles with 500c]

Look up Atlas White Wall Portawall inserts. Turns your existing tyres into whitewalls.

 

[Gina500]

Lovely car and colour combination !
We have a similar Combo with a Ducato
+ a 1952 MG TD and a 30yr old Vitara aka Geo tracker which is made in Canada (CAMI). The latter is probably the most reliable car of the four, although the newcomers haven‘t had any issues so far, but have yet to prove they can survive that long.

You‘re lucky to get the seats with armrests, which are n/a in Europe. Just great, esp, with that leather tone.

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

Look up Atlas White Wall Portawall inserts. Turns your existing tyres into whitewalls.

Thanks for the idea, I'll look into that!

 

[Gina500]

Be careful though and do some reading beforehand. These whitewall imitations apparently cut into the tire due to permanent slight movements between the tire itself and the whitewall ring. In Germany, they are not legal because of that.

 

[azzuro80]

We had a 1994 Suzuki Sidekick (4 door) for years! One of the most practical, reliable cars I've ever owned. Simple transfer case 4WD with lockout hubs, we also towed it behind a big Winnebago motorhome for years. Wind up windows, no air conditioning, but totally useful and reliable.

 

[Troubles with 500c]

Be careful though and do some reading beforehand. These whitewall imitations apparently cut into the tire due to permanent slight movements between the tire itself and the whitewall ring. In Germany, they are not legal because of that.

… but will let you drive at any speed you care to.

As my Dad always you used to say to me “You’ll only have the one accident on the Autobahn”.

On a more serious note. You should always have them fitted by someone who knows what they’re doing.

The alternative in this country is to go and visit Mr Whitewall and he will paint them on your existing tyres.

 

[philnewby]

Hello azzuro80,
Thanks for joining and welcome here,
Your blue lady looks beautiful, Take care of her,

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

Be careful though and do some reading beforehand. These whitewall imitations apparently cut into the tire due to permanent slight movements between the tire itself and the whitewall ring. In Germany, they are not legal because of that.

Fair point. Given my low monthly mileage and relatively modest speeds I wouldn't expect any issues but I'll investigate.

 

[puntodeltathema]

Lovely car. You have the "proper" automatic gearbox which we are sadly denied in Europe!