Fiat 500 opinion ?

Starting the search for a car for use by my “soon to be newly learning to drive” daughter, and came across a 90k mile old 2014 Fiat 500 with 90k miles on for an asking price of $5500.  Carfax looks clean but first owner if two was a rental car company for first 40k miles.  Basic Pip model with automatic trans.  No apparent dings, dents, rust, or interior problems.

Not fixated on a 500, but seems more interesting vs. a Corolla, Civic, Elantra, etc.   Not seeing any other 500’s around Cincinnati or Dayton OH for anywhere near this pricing.

what say the hive .... at this price, if it looks good and drives well in person .... run, hide, or embrace the uniqueness ?

I had a 2012 Pop when they first came here, and an Abarth. The pop was reliable, the Abarth was the most unreliable vehicle I’ve ever owned. I’ve owned roughly 150+ cars. 

My girlfriend has a 15 500 pop she bought new. It currently has 93k miles, and has had zero issues. I woukd personally avoid a 2012 model, and you can find one with lower mileage for the same money. If it hasn’t had the oil changed on time, around the 100k mark seems to be when the multiair system starts to act up... 

Our ‘13 Pop was very reliable for almost 150,000 miles until the wife had an accident and totaled it. In the time we had it the only thing it needed aside from routine maintenance were rear wheel bearings and the little hinge at the front of the driver’s door handle broke. Fiat USA only sells complete handles but just the hinge is available online for about $8. The one thing that surprised me maintenance wise was that it uses copper plugs every 30,000 miles, and by about 31,000 miles you will get a misfire light.  They’re easy enough to change but after getting used to 100,000 mike intervals it was unexpected.  Overall we loved it and the wife is thinking she may want another.

Gratuitous Joy the Fiat picture.

Resale on them is horrible. They are typically Italian in that the trim is flimsy. Broken door handles and the driver seat armrest WILL be broken; if it's not, it will be next week and they are expensive. I was a big Fiat fanboi back in the 1990s and these seem to be built in the same 'spirit' as the originals including hit or miss reliability.

I think a MINI Cooper is a better car from a driver's point but with worse reliability.

I think general consensus is one of horrid reliability.  I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.  I will soon have my oldest learning to drive, and I'm thinking more along the lines of Versa, Accent, Elantra, Focus, Fiesta.

In reply to ddavidv :

I forgot about the armrest, that did break off right away but I did it trying to reach the trunk from the driver seat and assumed it was my doing. I never replaced it I just put a little padding on the metal stub.  Everything else held up well but it was primarily the wife’s car and she’s easy on interior bits. 

They're cute, inexpensive and relatively nice to drive. Depreciation is a hell of a drug.  I suppose at $5k price tag depreciation won't matter much as long it doesn't cost thousands to keep it running. 

I'd run the VIN with your insurance company to compare how they'd stack up against a Focus or Civic.  Sometimes insurance on oddball cars can really surprise you.  

I test drove a 500 Abarth ~2 years ago. Fiat had some promotion where they mailed a $100 gift card if you went for a test drive.  It helped me check it off the list of potential cars, but the extra $ did come in handy to buy Christmas presents.

I was legitimately thinking about buying one and discounts were extreme.   The Abarth did make great noises, but it didn't feel any faster than my Civic Si (EP3) at the time, and it was much smaller than the Civic hatchback.  They had new cars on the lot that were 2 model-years old.  The salesman told me there were days when they didn't have any walk-in traffic...and they shared a parking lot with their JEEP/Dodge/RAM dealership (separate showroom).

 The internet consensus was that the Abarth cars, and FCA in general, were pretty unreliable.  

I'm curious to hear more reports from actual owners. The few people I know that have/had them had mostly good things to say.

One of my best friends' brothers is a Fiat tech and when I asked his opinion he more or less said some stupid stuff breaks on them but they are not unreliable.

My big problem is that you can't autocross the non Abarth models without throwing some money at it and getting measured by your local safety steward. That and I think the Mazda2 is a better car and those are getting just as cheap. 

I don’t know any owners near me that complain about them being unreliable. They are cheap, and you can tell sitting in them, but I have a number of co workers all pushing 100k on theirs without much trouble.  They do seem to be a love it or hate it type of thing though.  The main attraction for my wife was that it was cute and different.

Based on prices around here, $5500 seems like “all the money” for one with 90k miles. 

My only experience with a Fiat 500 was as a rental car: stripped-out model with manual transmission. Drove it from Milan to Monaco in the middle of the night, around southern France for a few days, then back to Milan for the flight home. Lot's of fun on those twisty, mountain roads.

It was surprisingly roomy in front considering my 6'2" and 230 lbs frame. Tiny luggage area, but more than enough for normal urban use. Unlike the vast majority of super-minis I've driven in Europe, the 500 did very well at Autostrada speeds (120-150 km/hr). Having said that, it did get a little tail-happy when I had to swerve around a guy in a high-speed sweeper south of Genoa. It wasn't scary ... but you definitely feel it's a front-heavy, short-wheelbase car.

I really, really liked it and would definitely consider one as a second car. For American roads (mostly straight; lots of highway) I think the Mini Cooper might actually be a better fit. Feels more stable/secure on the highway. The downside for me is the Cooper feels a little over-damped and crashy on city streets roads. The 500 felt more supple over rough roads.

mazdeuce - Seth said:

That and I think the Mazda2 is a better car and those are getting just as cheap. 

this, you might pay a bit more or get a slightly older Mazda 2 for the same money as your Fiat target. But The 2's were all built in Japan and are dead nuts good little cars. 

i'm glad to hear that people here haven't had issues, but I have been told by others that the multiair VVT system likes to fail. I'm guessing based upon what i'm seeing here that it is a product of improper oil change intervals. 

I forgot to add. 

Miserable blind spots 

I drove an Abarth when they came out. First impressions that stuck with me a few years later... this seating position is as comfortable as a wooden barstool, and who approved the startup chime/beeper? 

Everyone,

Thank you for the feedback so far ... lots to think about, and the 'safe choice' is probably to stick with a Corolla (many to choose from in Cincinnati area is seems like), a Civic (a bit fewer and farther between), or a Kia/Hyundai of similar size .... which probably means I'll go with the 500 instead !  I definitely appreciate the 'ask your insurance guy/gal' tip ... will do that tonight.

Not seeing too many 500's for sale around here in the > $6k range - which is at the very top of the budget I'm setting here - unless I'm looking in the wrong places. 

dculberson said:

Based on prices around here, $5500 seems like “all the money” for one with 90k miles. 

Where is 'here' ??  I'm in Cincinnati / Dayton, OH area, and I'm not seeing many for less than $6k on C-list, cars.com, autotrader, etc.  Other ideas on where to look assuming you're seeing many below this price point? 

I know this thread is about the Fiat’s reliability and value. I considered an Abarth for a vehicle to towed behind our motorhome. They really are a very small car. As a father and grandfather of eight four of which are now driving I would also have a concern about safety and how well Fiat’s do in a crash.  I suspect not very well.

Young drivers both male and female no matter how responsible they are are subject to being distracted and young driver mistakes. I think I would be looking for something with a bit more metal around the driver and passengers at least for a first car and until they have more driving experience.

pirate said:

I know this thread is about the Fiat’s reliability and value. I considered an Abarth for a vehicle to towed behind our motorhome. They really are a very small car. As a father and grandfather of eight four of which are now driving I would also have a concern about safety and how well Fiat’s do in a crash.  I suspect not very well.

Young drivers both male and female no matter how responsible they are are subject to being distracted and young driver mistakes. I think I would be looking for something with a bit more metal around the driver and passengers at least for a first car and until they have more driving experience.

I'd have to look up IIHS results, but in real life, I've seen several.  They seem to hold up pretty well.   For me, it's the reliability factor.  I haven't owned one, but have heard and read over and over how crappy they are.  I'd much rather go with something I know has a good chance of being anvil reliable.

For a young girl I would probably lean towards a Kia Soul in the cutest color you can find.  

Sample though not a cute color. 

A nice combination of big enough, small enough and tall seat height enough

In reply to LanEvo :

We took ours on several long trips, including from NY to the Keys but it took some careful packing to get our luggage and wheelchair in the car.  Ours was an automatic and seemed happiest around 65-70 mph.

It held up well in the crash that killed it and the wife likely would have walked away without injury had she not bought a cheap seatbelt extender online. She didn’t like how the belt crossed her chest but the extender broke and she snapped her ankle on the brake pedal. 

I just can't get past the old saying: Fix It Again Tony.

I appreciate the input, folks ... if the $5,500 one is still unsold this upcoming weekend I'll likely demo it for grins, but more than ever am leaning towards something with a more brick like reputation for reliability.  BTW, the one offered now for $5,500 has been on the lot for a bit more than 2 months, so MAYBE $4,500 takes it ???

einy said:

dculberson said:

Based on prices around here, $5500 seems like “all the money” for one with 90k miles. 

Where is 'here' ??  I'm in Cincinnati / Dayton, OH area, and I'm not seeing many for less than $6k on C-list, cars.com, autotrader, etc.  Other ideas on where to look assuming you're seeing many below this price point? 

Columbus, OH. It's not so much the price, but the mileage. I've seen a lot of them in the $5000-$6000 range with 50k-60k miles, which is a lot fewer than 90k. Example:

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/viewDetailsFilterViewInventoryListing.action?sourceContext=carGurusHomePageModel&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity=d1327&zip=43085#listing=218125284

Edit: Now I see you're looking at a 2014 and I liked to a 2012. 2 years is a lot when looking at a newer car like this. Sorry!