Besides that lovely exhaust noise, what should I know about these cars? I am seeing them locally for about 15K with less than 40 thousand miles on them. I love in the city and have had a 2007 mini cooper s before, and really miss having the small car. Situation dictates that my current car (S4) is going away, so looking around for options. I love hatchbacks and wagons, 2 doors suit me fine, this is about at my budget.
Keep looking around for better deals. The 500 (in all trims) hasn't sold quite as well as expected. I know a couple of forum members have gotten good deals on them. Like $12k with less miles. I have a Turbo and love driving it. It's not quite as the same as my 2003 Mini Cooper (non-s), but almost as fun.
-Rob
Yeah, price seems high. I'd sell you my 2013 with 18-19K miles on it for that price, but I would probably be ripping you off.
They are very fun to drive, and so far mines' been reliable, but the depreciation has been unreal.
Mine has the 17" wheels, and I have to dodge potholes where I live. I'd recommend the 16" wheels, get a little more sidewall, although I think the tires are a tad more expensive. No matter what you do, avoid the white 17" wheels. They look great when they are clean. They stay clean for a mile or so after they've been washed.
In reply to eastsidemav:
I'd trade you the hyper silvers for white......
FWIW, I found my '13 with 5k miles for $14.5k......thus far it's been a great little car. The stock tires suck really bad though. 
Living with and driving one is like having a terrier that manages to find your coke stash every day......they're very fun.
I have never really like white rims on my cars, and living in Seattle, well the 16s would do me just fine. The S4 has 19s! Good to know on the pricing side of things, I was poking mostly at Carmax, It looks like locally there is a 2012 with 65K for 10K, but I don't trust getting the first year of a car anymore (been burned a few times). The others are not much cheaper. There is the though of getting the turbo and modding, but I really want that exhaust, and I think the rear suspension design is unique.
WOW Really Paul? wrote: In reply to eastsidemav: I'd trade you the hyper silvers for white......
What color is hyper silver? Is that the dark grey?
And that is a great description about living with one.
In reply to LifeIsStout:
I'm not 100% sure, but I think Fiat de-contented the car a bit between 12 and 13. Someone else would have to verify, but I think the 12 had a power driver's seat, whereas mine has a manual.
Oh yeah, one very important thing - the seating is very "unconventional". I would recommend taking the time on a test drive to adjust the seat just right, and spend a decent amount of time test driving it. It took me a while to find the right position for myself, but once there, I had no problem taking it on a 7,000 mile road trip. Although if any adjustment is off by even a little bit, it becomes uncomfortable for me.
2012 was only the first year in the US and not the first year of the car. The first year of the abarth was 2008. Shoot, the panda chassis it is built on is almost 15 years old now and they have been making 500's since 2007.
How much power are people pushing these to on the stock turbo? What about the stock bottom end? I just havent been ablr to find much good info about modding this motor.
In reply to Opti:
Hopefully, Jerry can chime in. He's done some basic power mods to his car, and I think has had it dyno'd. As I understand, the stock turbo is the major limiting factor. The engine and transmission are supposed to be very stout.
I'm leery of modding mine, since I may sell it within the next year or so. I like it, but my wife's GTI is faster and more comfortable, just not as fun.
...my ears are burning.
I've done a few things here and there, power-wise I added a Uni-Chip and CAI from Eurocompulsion. Our SCCA region had a Dyno Day recently. 177HP and 210FtLbs torque at the wheel. (160hp stock at the flywheel so somewhere around 40hp increase). I also added a Go Pedal to change the throttle response. Quite the peppy little scoot.
What else? Larger rear torsion bar, Eibach Sport Line springs, 500Madness short shift adapter, my own GRM rear seat delete, HID headlights... more than I thought. I've had it just over 2 years from new and still look forward to driving it every day. Made my second trip to Fiat's on the Dragon last month, well over 100 were there. It sounded amazing in the hotel parking lot.
Watch season 12 of Top Gear, episode 2. Clarkson loved the thing!
There are plenty of deals on used models. If you don't need a back seat, I'd highly recommend as a fun car. I've had one CEL and it was a recall where they just reflashed the ECU with updated parameters.
Opti wrote: How much power are people pushing these to on the stock turbo? What about the stock bottom end? I just havent been ablr to find much good info about modding this motor.
Stock turbo limit is probably going to be around 240-260....the ATP +1 cold side should be able to get you to 300 if you solve the spark issue at that point. As far as the engine itself, I am unaware of anyone findings it's upper limit with a properly tuned engine. Eurocompulsion blew one up on purpose, but I don't know what it took to do so.
In reply to Jerry:
Your car looks nice. I still like those white wheels.
In reply to Datsun310Guy:
Thanks! I agree, even if they are a total pain in the ass to keep clean. I had a little fun with it yesterday at the mall...
eastsidemav wrote: They are very fun to drive, and so far mines' been reliable, but the depreciation has been unreal.
And suddenly I find myself losing interest in getting the bodywork done on the Volvo and gaining interest in buying a used Abarth in a year or two. The sound is wonderful.
Jerry ... I really dig the look of your headlights! Gives your car a "don't mess with me" look!!
I didn't realize how cheap these things have gotten. Now I'm rethinking my shopping...
Knurled wrote:eastsidemav wrote: They are very fun to drive, and so far mines' been reliable, but the depreciation has been unreal.And suddenly I find myself losing interest in getting the bodywork done on the Volvo and gaining interest in buying a used Abarth in a year or two. The sound is wonderful.
So, I should check with you before taking mine over to CarMax? 
penultimeta wrote: I didn't realize how cheap these things have gotten. Now I'm rethinking my shopping...
I know it pisses me off when im looking for old fiats.
Everytime i look at that yellow sedan build thread or a spyder or x1/9 thread, I go to clist type in fiat, because all the old ones are cool, and hit max price of 10k and about fifty thousand 500s pop up. Then i lower it to 5k and about fourty nine thousand pop up, then i get bored of scrolling through fiat 500 ads and give up looking for a classic fiat.
As i typed this i realized clist now has an age range i can use. Off to try again
Opti wrote:penultimeta wrote: I didn't realize how cheap these things have gotten. Now I'm rethinking my shopping...I know it pisses me off when im looking for old fiats. Everytime i look at that yellow sedan build thread or a spyder or x1/9 thread, I go to clist type in fiat, because all the old ones are cool, and hit max price of 10k and about fifty thousand 500s pop up. Then i lower it to 5k and about fourty nine thousand pop up, then i get bored of scrolling through fiat 500 ads and give up looking for a classic fiat. As i typed this i realized clist now has an age range i can use. Off to try again
Wildcards help me to search. Looking for a BMW 2002? I use "bmw 197" or "bmw 196" without quotes. Don't forget you can also negate stuff, too. Wanna a 1960's van but don't want VW's to pop up, try "196* van -vw -volkswagen" for example.
I find their range inputs don't work 100% of the time. Plus, it's based on the seller entering the year in the year field as opposed to it just being in the description.
-Rob
I am one of the few that disliked the Abarth. I bought it new, back when Fiat couldn't sell them. They took $6k off the sticker. Sold it with something like 10k miles on it because I couldn't stand it. And, even having bought it at a huge discount, still took a bath. 
There were several little things about the car that grew ever more annoying. The worst for me was the seating position. Another magazine described it as "sitting on a stack of phone books". That was how I felt. Lots of folks around here obviously love them. I hated it.
Opti wrote:penultimeta wrote: I didn't realize how cheap these things have gotten. Now I'm rethinking my shopping...I know it pisses me off when im looking for old fiats. Everytime i look at that yellow sedan build thread or a spyder or x1/9 thread, I go to clist type in fiat, because all the old ones are cool, and hit max price of 10k and about fifty thousand 500s pop up. Then i lower it to 5k and about fourty nine thousand pop up, then i get bored of scrolling through fiat 500 ads and give up looking for a classic fiat. As i typed this i realized clist now has an age range i can use. Off to try again
This thread made me hit clist for cheap Abarth daydreaming. I have the exact opposite problem. More vintage than new fiats. I guess we just need to do one of those scary craigslist housing swaps.
In reply to Opti:
Here, let me help you with your search.
Jeremy Clarkson drives the Abarth
Since I can't seem to get videos to embed.
Drove one yesterday at a dealership. Great fun except the seating position, which completely killed the car for me. YMMV
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