General Looking for a fun 2nd car (£5k max) to drive around Yorkshire Dales in at the weekends. Talk me out of an old high mileage 2011-ish Fiat 500 TwinAir!

[AC43]

Couldn't agree more! I know there are many more sensible options out there - I could buy a 5 year old Kia with a couple of years warranty left on it for less, and the Up!/Mii/Citigo all review very well and do everything I'm after. Or I could get a Panda (the 4x4 is a little tempting actually!) which is way more practical. So I'm well aware I'm paying a bit more for a 500, just because I think it looks fantastic!

It's like having a dog. It makes everyone smile. My wife's friends, my petrolhead mates, everyone.

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

It's like having a dog. It makes everyone smile. My wife's friends, my petrolhead mates, everyone.

Likewise. There were far more practical vehicles available, for far less money, but with far less charm. A big attraction was the two-door design - I've never needed, nor ever owned, a four-door car. Older friends of mine prefer the ease of ingress/egress of my 500, with its big doors, to that of many much larger cars, and so do I!

And people love it; though I've been asked on several occasions if I'm driving my daughter's car...

 

[TrevC]

Completely agree on the styling, the 500 still looks good after all these years, even the new ev version has kept the DNA.
By contrast, I feel that each generation of Mini has looked worse since the R50 of 2000 ish. The lights have got cartoonishly huge, and I think the rear of the 5-door looks really clumsy.

 

[varesecrazy]

Ive had lots of FIATs.. but only just got a 500 long term.
Ive had a TA since 2013.. in a punto..and love it

Weve had a TA panda for 2 years

The 6 speed close ratio is perfect.. you really miss the 'overlap' in the 5 speed on the 85hp's

My 500 is a 1242 and its 69 hp 'limitations' are evident.. lugs very nicely.. but is flat on top

Seicento Sporting.. ...a real disappointment after the Cinq. Sporting that we had a few years before it...
And they all rot out in the boot floor- so will always be a project.

When did the 1.4 finish in the 500?

 

[AC43]

Likewise. There were far more practical vehicles available, for far less money, but with far less charm. A big attraction was the two-door design - I've never needed, nor ever owned, a four-door car. Older friends of mine prefer the ease of ingress/egress of my 500, with its big doors, to that of many much larger cars, and so do I!

And people love it; though I've been asked on several occasions if I'm driving my daughter's car...

I was worried about having a two door as one of the daily tasks the preceding Clio did involved picking up one of my daughter's school friends in the morning. But, coincidentally, that stopped around the time that the 500 arrived. So 95% of the time it's 1 up or 2 up and it's perfect for that. As you say, it's extremely easy to get in and out of the front seats.

One of the things that sold it to me was the ease of getting into the back compared to the MINI. It's night and day and makes life much easier if there ever is a back set passenger. I found the MINI almost impossible in comparsion.

 

[AC43]

Completely agree on the styling, the 500 still looks good after all these years, even the new ev version has kept the DNA.
By contrast, I feel that each generation of Mini has looked worse since the R50 of 2000 ish. The lights have got cartoonishly huge, and I think the rear of the 5-door looks really clumsy.

Totally agree. The R50/R53 MINI's look great and the following ones OK. Since then they've got bloated. But they're still surprisingly cramped.

The other that put me off MINI's is people in the trade. The general consensus was get one under warranty or be prepared from some big bills. Parts are BMW-priced and access is poor. So things like a clutch replacement cost a huge amount.

The same people were unanimous about 1.2 500's. Simple to work on, cheap parts, bomb-proof engine.

 

[vexorg]

There are quite a few porsche boxsters around at under £5k. Power and handling, and probably much more chance of surviving in a crash as you scream through the country roads with the top down.

Unless you are a genuine sunday driver, then maybe stick to the 500 1.2

 

[mj2k]

There are quite a few porsche boxsters around at under £5k. Power and handling, and probably much more chance of surviving in a crash as you scream through the country roads with the top down.

Unless you are a genuine sunday driver, then maybe stick to the 500 1.2

Nice cars, but there is a potential huge issue - certain Porsche engines randomly suffer from scored bores, which means they won't tick the "under £1000 per year" box, or even the "under £1000 per day" box if you get one of the bad ones. (Same applies to the Cayenne S, which is why you see them in scrapyards sometimes - uneconomic to repair)

Also I don't know if this is any requirement for practicality but they're purely a 2 seater and the 'boot' is minute

 

[vexorg]

Nice cars, but there is a potential huge issue

That justs adds character, the odd rebore never hurt anyone

Ok, you have a fiat 500 1.2 and a boxster sitting on your drive, which would you choose for a bit of sunday driving fun.

 

[mj2k]

That justs adds character, the odd rebore never hurt anyone

Ok, you have a fiat 500 1.2 and a boxster sitting on your drive, which would you choose for a bit of sunday driving fun.

The 500 if the boxster's engine's in bits

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

Totally agree. The R50/R53 MINI's look great and the following ones OK. Since then they've got bloated. But they're still surprisingly cramped.

The other that put me off MINI's is people in the trade. The general consensus was get one under warranty or be prepared from some big bills. Parts are BMW-priced and access is poor. So things like a clutch replacement cost a huge amount.

The same people were unanimous about 1.2 500's. Simple to work on, cheap parts, bomb-proof engine.

Of all the 'retro' designs I think only FIAT pulled it off and stayed true to the concept of the original. The MINI has become a caricature and the Beetle is best forgotten. Unfortunately the local importer tries to pitch the 500 as a 'prestige' (read expensive) car to rival perhaps the MINI so we pay a premium price for what is basically a simple city car.

 

[A3jeroen]

I've had two classic mini's. A 1100 Clubman and a (1000 IIRC) panelvan. So when I had the opportunity to testdrive a new Cooper years ago I was pretty excited... and disappointed afterwards. It didn't have the Go-Kart feeling I remembered. My 100HP and now the A500 feel much more like my old mini's.

gr J

 

[vexorg]

Reminds me of this photo

 

[varesecrazy]

Quite..

 

[puntodeltathema]

Panda 4x4? Quite close in concept and scale to your Jimny benchmark.... Later ones also come with TwinAirs...

But if you want some go, an Abarth 500 is a good suggestion but buy carefully! There seem to be lot which have had "offs".

 

[DutchWheels]

Panda 4x4? Quite close in concept and scale to your Jimny benchmark.... Later ones also come with TwinAirs...

A Panda 4x4 is up there with the 500 for top choice so far - and you're right, it's closer at heart to the Jimny I was originally after and arguably much more at home on the country lanes of North Yorkshire!

There's a few 8-ish year old high mileage (70k-100k) 1.3 MultiJets 4x4s for sale that would fit the bill.

Anyone any experience in how's the Fiat 1.3 diesels compare to the 1.2 petrols in regards to reliability and longevity etc?

EDIT: Hmm, looking around the forum it seems the 1.3 diesel is mostly OK but similar to the TwinAir in that if it goes wrong it's not an easy thing to fix and you should be wary of higher mileage ones - i.e. no where near as solid as the 1.2 petrols

 

[jrkitching]

Anyone any experience in how's the Fiat 1.3 diesels compare to the 1.2 petrols in regards to reliability and longevity etc?

The core engine is sound enough, though prone to camchain breakage at higher mileages. Regular oil changes with a decent quality oil help to mitigate the likelihood of this happening, so check the service history carefully.

For me, this would make me wary of running one beyond 80k without changing the chain, which realistically is an engine-out job. The parts are cheap enough, but the labour cost will be high if not doing it yourself.

Emissions control components, particularly EGR's & DPF's are both potentially troublesome on vehicles used mainly for short journeys.

The 1.2 petrol has a reputation for being bombproof, providing it is never run low on coolant.

My own view is that, in the UK at least, diesel engined cars have now had their day.

If considering an older high mileage 4x4, bear in mind propshafts have been known to fail. Also the rear suspension design is completely different, and the main part of the rear subframe is prone to corrosion. Check this carefully, as there are no pattern parts, OEM ones are almost impossible to source, and secondhand ones in decent order are rarely available.

 

[varesecrazy]

Diesels are good motors.. a LOT tougher than a TA
but dirty oil eats camchains :-(

Biggest issue is expensive 4x4 repairs..
Propshafts can get expensive

 

[vexorg]

My own view is that, in the UK at least, diesel engined cars have now had their day.

Sadly the average 2.0 diesel is now 3 times the power of the 1.2, get better mpg, probably less emissions, yet still being seem as the bad engines

 

[AC43]

Sadly the average 2.0 diesel is now 3 times the power of the 1.2, get better mpg, probably less emissions, yet still being seem as the bad engines

Diesel, though, would not be suitable for my use case. 95% + short city trips would mean it would never heat up and the DPF would clog up.

Plus diesels make a lot of noise at the best of times, let alone in a very small car.