General Newbie 2017 Fiat 500e owner

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General Newbie 2017 Fiat 500e owner

Coshell

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May 6, 2021
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Hi everyone, i have a 2017 Fiat 500e with 15K on the clock in the US. My intention is to bring it back to the UK as my daily driver as its such fun! i believe i can change the headlights, add a rear fog light, and probably see if i can upgrade the satnav....other than that believe it will be ready to go! look forward to understanding the issues and gaining some tech knowledge!
 
Hello and welcome to the forum.

I doubt it would be cost effective to import this vehicle to the UK; noone here will have the first clue about how to service & maintain it, and any parts you need may well have to be sourced from the US, which may be harder and more costly than you might think.

Depending on your personal circumstances, you may have to pay UK taxes & duties of about 30% of the car's value in addition to shipping costs. The 500e is coming to the UK soon; you'd likely do better to just buy one when you get here.
 
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Hello and welcome to the forum.

I doubt it would be cost effective to import this vehicle to the UK; noone here will have the first clue about how to service & maintain it, and any parts you need may well have to be sourced from the US, which may be harder and more costly than you might think.

Depending on your personal circumstances, you may have to pay UK taxes & duties of about 30% of the car's value in addition to shipping costs. The 500e is coming to the UK soon; you'd likely do better to just buy one when you get here.
Well, the fact is that Fiat/Chrysler barely knew how to maintain this vehicle when it was here in the US & still being produced. I leased a 2015 for 3 years and while it was one of the most fun cars I've driven, it was an orphan from day one, as far as the dealers were concerned. Once my 40,000miles lease was up, the local Chrysler dealer wouldn't take it back, as their local Fiat franchise had closed its doors. I had to tow it 100 miles away to a Fiat dealer willing to accept the lease return.

After the car's off lease/out of warranty, they really aren't worth anything here - usually around $8000. Once they hit the dealer auctions, after a lease return, many of them have been exported outside of the US. The USDM 500e was the only electric 500 for quite some time, so there's somewhat of an appeal. I tracked mine after it was auctioned & it ended up in Russia!

Honestly, once the initial software updates were done, any problems I had with the car were simply wear and tear, like me destroying a few pairs of struts and a faulty taillight module - nothing having to do with the EV portion of the car. Lets face it, there won't be any updates for these US 500's. The car isn't sold here anymore because Americans just can't appreciate a good small car. The 88 mile range wasn't particularly useful in our wide open spaces, either. If the taxes aren't ridiculous, I could see the appeal of bringing it with you. Either way its going to be an odd duck - at least you have Fiat dealers in the UK still - I believe they will be leaving the US entirely very soon - the 500x is the only model sold here currently.
 
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