General Where have all the 500's gone?

[John202020]

It could just be me so please forgive me,
There's no doubt how popular the 500 is from the word go, they are like the old Micra, Clio, Corsa of past, so driving around I see lots of 12-16 plate cars with a few 11 or 60 plate cars, that got me thinking, as we have a 59 plate, given how many have been sold where are all the early cars 07-10? whats happened to them or why are these not seen in the numbers sold?
OK lots may have been crashed as they might have been bought as peoples "first car" but still I would have expected to see more around.
Thoughts?

 

[Broker1]

We have a 58 plate and I was thinking the same thing. Could it be that they just do not last that long???

 

[Pathaleon]

We have a 58 plate and I was thinking the same thing. Could it be that they just do not last that long???

Many early cars still going where I live people owned from new and also many new/slightly old cars too.

It's surprising given the problems that occur with these little cars.

 

[werdna]

Perhaps Fiat have issued invisibility cloaks to avoid being embarrassed !!

 

[Pathaleon]

Well let's face it other than looks and the reliability of the 1.2/1.4 drivetrain what else do the cars have for longterm ownership

 

[Mick F]

Loads of them round here.

I wonder sometimes that we should have a system of waving to each other as we go past.

Back in the old days with Minis, we used to wave, so I reckon we 500 drivers should wave too.

Cheers,
Mick.

 

[Noxide]

Loads of them round here.

I wonder sometimes that we should have a system of waving to each other as we go past.

Back in the old days with Minis, we used to wave, so I reckon we 500 drivers should wave too.

Cheers,
Mick.

I tried encouraging this with mixed results.

A chap in an Abarth waved at me with both hands off the wheel and beeped as he tore past. And I gave a guy a thumbs up whos car was identical to mine. He looked awkward.

 

[ahmett]

Really? In Greece I mainly see models from 08-12. I have only seen a handful of facelifted models on the streets.

 

[puntofan01]

A quick look on autotrader showed plenty of 08/58/09 plate 500s for sale, as well as a few 57 platers.

 

[Mercky]

Lots of 2008 cars over here, mostly looking good too after 8 years

 

[MarginWalker]

I have a '58 plate 1.4 and it's exceeded my expectations for reliability considering the issues and niggling problems with older 500s that that this forum has made me aware of. I've not had a single problem other than the flashing odometer (cured with a battery replacement). Even the hatch wiring and door handles have held out so far! 8 years old this October and I hope to get several more out of it. Still looks newish after a good wash and wax, and engine and gearbox still feel smooth and tight respectively. For me, the clear weak point of the car is the running gear - the poor design and quality of the chassis and suspension components will be the primary reason for many of the early 500s leaving the roads over the coming years. No way we'll see as many 20-year-old 500s on the roads as the number of K11 micras we still see around. The Mark 2 Micras were/are absolutely fantastic little cars.

 

[bluejohn125]

It's an interesting point... I've been thinking that when they came out there were tons of them in Passadoble Red, now I don't seem to see any. Remember that many were "bought" in loan contracts so there may be a market in that area for them to be shipped off somewhere else, but also the big initial surge came at the time of the scrappage scheme.

Euro 4 1.2s should be in great demand...

 

[jrkitching]

Euro 4 1.2s should be in great demand...

I'd agree, except the Euro 4 1.2 engine was never used in the 500 - it had the 69HP VVT Euro5 engine from launch. For some reason, Fiat homologated the early cars to Euro 4, despite the engine being Euro 5 compliant, which was the source of much confusion at the time.

The true Euro 4 engine as fitted to some Panda 169's is a 60HP unit and is slightly but noticeably more flexible below 3500 rpm. IMO it's a better and mechanically safer engine but it was never fitted to the 500.

The best 1.2 500's are probably the 2010-2014 cars (and the pre-Euro6 C's), which have the revised suspension (these ride noticeably better than the early ones) and the Euro5 engine.

 

[liav24]

In Israel they sell a lot, specially the new one for the "daddy's little girls" that gets them as presents.
Guys here drive more the Abarth or the Black Jack / 500s versions.

 

[matizman]

It could just be me so please forgive me,
There's no doubt how popular the 500 is from the word go, they are like the old Micra, Clio, Corsa of past, so driving around I see lots of 12-16 plate cars with a few 11 or 60 plate cars, that got me thinking, as we have a 59 plate, given how many have been sold where are all the early cars 07-10? whats happened to them or why are these not seen in the numbers sold?
OK lots may have been crashed as they might have been bought as peoples "first car" but still I would have expected to see more around.
Thoughts?

We have an 08 and my wife said exactly the same thing the other day