General Selling my Abarth

[thepottleflump]

Well as the title says I was probably going to sell my Fiat Stilo Abarth and swap for a Citroen C4....well that was the plan.

Been phoning some Fiat garages and not one was interested in the car. One had the cheek to ask if it was a 3 or 5 door and the instant I said 5 door the guy was like no chance, the phrase was "we are in the business of selling cars". Frankly it seriously has put me off ever buying another Fiat, when a main dealer isn't interested in a decent 2 year old car what can you say. One dealer did hint that the Stilo was a very slow seller. I've never had this problem before.

I guess I'm now stuck with it run it into the ground or put it up at a silly price. Glasses guide says £6875, don't think there is much chance of getting that though.

 

[smurfhead]

That is a real bummer. Hope you find a solution mate.

Have you checked what your car is worth according to Parkers (www.parkers.co.uk)? See if it matches Glass' estimation.

 

[Ben R]

If you want to see anything like list price always sell privately although it might take a while. Dealers are only interested in trade ins so they can rip you off.

 

[thepottleflump]

Parkers indicated it is more valueable than glasses; the trade uses glasses but they were looking at nearer £5500 as a trade which is pretty poor. I'm tempted to keep the Stilo, get the C4 and then try to sell it privately.

The reason I'm selling or thinking about it is because I now do high motorway miles (24000 a year) and am concerned about long term realiability and reducing fuel, tax, insurance costs - a 1.6HDI was looking a distinctly better option. I looked at a Stilo JTD but the C4 works out better value after a healthy discount and dare I say it is a better car IMO. The biggest negative about the C4 is that it isn't as spacious as the C4 mainly because of the styling and bigger boot.

Looks like I'll probably hang on to the Stilo since shifting it seems more hassle than it is worth.

 

[Ben R]

Do you actually like your Abarth?

 

[thepottleflump]

It is alright, I have never thought it was anymore than ok really.

Put it this way I don't think I have ever said to myself this is a great car, however I have never said I hate this car which is doing well.

I do tend to change my cars reguarly, just get the urge. The last 2 lasted about 24 months total so this one is doing well.

Why?

 

[Ben R]

Well you could always keep it & spend the spare cash on some tuning goodies. BTW a stainless steel ehaust will actually help with the fuel economy as the standard system has 3 catalysts in it plus it will give you some extra umph.

 

[lalli]

I think it is very difficult to sell fairly new cars privately. Also, the fact that it being a Fiat means most of us brits except me stereotype a lot.
I think its best if you part exchange and try every dealer.
Oh yeah, surprised u said reliable and citroen at the same time? IMO nowadays most new cars are reliable, there is nothing in it. My mate test drove one just for the sake and thought it was alright. He said he did not like the fixed stering thing and the build quality, but found it very attractive to look at.

 

[Gav]

Some people prefer the 5dr, whether for looks or more likely practicality. Of course with todays fuel prices, its the diesels which are becoming the better sellers. Simply because in real world driving conditions they're pretty good, and sip the fuel. The Stilo is unfortunatly always going to take a big hit on depreciation, especialy the Abarth, but I would think 6k5 could easily be possible privatly, perhaps even 7k. It's all down to finding the right buyer. If you can afford to get the C4 first and wait until you get a good price on the Stilo then it sounds good. But you'll need to keep driving/taxing/insuring the Stilo all the while it's losing more money.

 

[thepottleflump]

I've made up my mind to stick with the Stilo for a while longer yet, and as Bennyboy says spend a bit doing some mods like lowering.

The C4 was a nice car. I've owned a couple of Citroens in the past and had no reliability issues with them but most modern cars tend to be pretty good, I think most problems these days are ECU related. I'd certainly say the build quality of the Citroen was no worse than the Stilo which has seemingly proved very good actually, didn't actually notice the fixed steering column, made no difference to me. They are a nice looking car, esp. in the 5 door, much nicer than the relatively plain Focus and slightly odd Astra. People say the Stilo is an ugly car but I think it has become more attractive over the past couple of years.

I really can't understand some people, mentioned to a couple of people at work I might be changing my car and most people slated Fiat and Citroen, some still have the perception that anything French or Italian means it'll rust and pack up. This may have been true in the past maybe but didn't most cars rust, rot and fail?

Tried all the local Fiat dealers and none were interested, Citroen offered to part ex for £5.5k but I'm not happy to let it go at such a low value, tried to persuade the wife to let me sell her car and use the Stilo but she was having none of it. Looks like I'm stuck with the Stilo which I'm not that unhappy about, does the job and means I can come on here and post

 

[Stu DemonD]

As a Stilo owner or ex-Stilo owner, you would always be welcome to come on here and post

We have a lot of members on this site who don't even drive Fiats [Paul and Redsei for starters], and a few people who haven't even taken their test

 

[StiloBoy]

Just remember modding the car will lower its value and saleability further! Not the opposite that your average chav would lead you to believe!

Cost benefit wise, your as well hanging onto the Stilo anyway, my investigation re Diesel versus petrol is just as relevant between manufacturers!

Plus if you only get £7k for your Stilo your gonna be coughing up £3k say extra to get your HDi, how long will it take to recoup that £3k! A long while is the answer, so just sod it all and enjoy the Abarth until you hit the break even point!

 

[JTD Monkey]

Plus if you only get £7k for your Stilo your gonna be coughing up £3k say extra to get your HDi, how long will it take to recoup that £3k! A long while is the answer, so just sod it all and enjoy the Abarth until you hit the break even point!

StiloBoy is right for sure. The extra outlay on swapping your car will take ages to recover. Unless you were going to change anyway, I wouldn't bother just for the better economy.

 

[thepottleflump]

At about 550miles a week or 24000 - 25000 miles a year.....not that long!

The C4 states it'll do 60mpg combined compared with about 28.8 on the Stilo (this week I've achieve 32.4mpg cruising at @70mphand taking it easy on the old right foot).

The only mods I would probably do is lowering, retune and uprated discs and pads. I'm not really into airfix, big bass tubes or neon lights.

 

[StiloBoy]

Whats the cheapest you'd get a C4 HDi for?

 

[thepottleflump]

The one offered was £12274 for a C4 1.6HDI (110bhp) SX in metallic paint - about £3k off list. £1500 reduction in fuel costs per year based on 25000 miles and 30mpg verses 60mpg at 82.9p and 86.9p respectively. Insurance would be £200 cheaper and tax would be £50 lower + it is brand new so no new set of tyres for 30000 miles (£510 based on £130 a wheel), no new brake pads and no potentially expensive repair bills, servicing costs similar + it would be worth more in the long run, maintaining a higher value and selling more easily. Financially it wouldn't make bad sense if I could sell the Stilo for £6500.

 

[Ben R]

At about 550miles a week or 24000 - 25000 miles a year.....not that long!

The C4 states it'll do 60mpg combined compared with about 28.8 on the Stilo (this week I've achieve 32.4mpg cruising at @70mphand taking it easy on the old right foot).

"The only mods I would probably do is lowering, retune and uprated discs and pads. I'm not really into airfix, big bass tubes or neon lights."

Here here, a man after my own heart.

 

[Stu DemonD]

Indeed - reason why I have done a retune, lowering and a CDA for extra growl.

Will keep 16s on for now as well - next move, and probably only move, will be to put a performance exhaust on when the current one starts blowing.

 

[Ben R]

Go for the supersprint m8 it's expensive but it's seriously cool & taking 2 of those damned cats off should make a vast improvement in both performance & economy.

 

[Stu DemonD]

Economy?! What's that?

Believe me, when the time comes, I will be on here getting advice