Hi all
Whilst not currently a Fiat owner, I was brought up on them - my parents have always owned Italian cars and my earliest experience of being behind the wheel of a car was sitting on my dad's lap in his Fiat 128 estate (complete with red vinyl seats and the fastest reverse gear I've ever seen).
Currently, I own a BMW 3-series, but I've owned a string of Fiats in my life:
Thus ended my affair with Italian cars - after that I bought a brand new Golf GTI, and since then I've had three BMW's and a Volvo.
So what brings me here? Well as much as I love my current-model 325i convertible, a change of circumstances has quintupled my childcare costs and I suspect I'll need to downsize - and right now the Fiat 500C is looking like by far the most likely candidate!
Whilst not currently a Fiat owner, I was brought up on them - my parents have always owned Italian cars and my earliest experience of being behind the wheel of a car was sitting on my dad's lap in his Fiat 128 estate (complete with red vinyl seats and the fastest reverse gear I've ever seen).
Currently, I own a BMW 3-series, but I've owned a string of Fiats in my life:
- My first car was a Fiat 127 1050, a fantastic little car that served me well. I do recall that the conversion from left to right hand drive meant the clutch cable was kinked and failed every 6000 miles or so. I used to carry a spare in the boot and could change it in 15 minutes flat!
- Then I had a Fiat Regata 100 i.e., a bit dull and full of rust but a very under-rated car with a great engine.
- After that came an Alfasud 1.3SC. Absolutely mint with 6000 miles from new (amazing back in 1996) and no rust. I would've wrecked it so I sold it at 9000 miles for twice what I bought it for. Hopefully some collector has this carefully preserved.
- Next was probably my favourite car ever, a Lancia Dedra 2.0ie. Great engine, ahead of its time and with a fantastic alcantara interior. I reckon it was clocked though, as it had a lot of expensive problems over its life.
- In an effort to recover from the expense of the Dedra, I bought a Punto 60EL 6-speed, a lovely little car with a buzzy engine and lots of character.
- When I got bored of the Punto I bought a nearly new Bravo 1.8HGT. This was a very decent car, but after about a year I fell in love with a Peugeot 306 Cabrio (Pininfarina designed and built)
Thus ended my affair with Italian cars - after that I bought a brand new Golf GTI, and since then I've had three BMW's and a Volvo.
So what brings me here? Well as much as I love my current-model 325i convertible, a change of circumstances has quintupled my childcare costs and I suspect I'll need to downsize - and right now the Fiat 500C is looking like by far the most likely candidate!
