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Before you say it, yes I know... it's Fiat... "Fix it again Tony", I got it.
That being said, wife and I are looking for a "fun", throwaway car to take places on the weekends. We both own newer, reliable daily driver cars, but they aren't what we would consider "fun" to drive. They are very practical.
The Fiats are cheap, come with a manual transmission, and if we leased one, would be covered under warranty for the duration of the lease. I don't know much about Fiat reliability, but from what I have researched on the web, it's kind of a mixed bag... most owners say they are decently reliable as long as you maintain them regularly, but that the longevity of the car is nowhere near Honda or Toyota levels. In other words, if you get 100k miles out of them before major repairs, that's about right. Occasional minor-moderate repairs (body trim, starters, engine mounts, wheel bearings etc) are typical between 60-100k miles.
Anyway, that's what I have read on the car, but would like to get some other opinions. One of my big concerns has to do with the company's poor sales numbers in the US... some are speculating that Fiat may go out of business in the coming years. I'm curious how that would affect a lease or warranty (assuming Chrylser would pick them up?)
Before you say it, yes I know... it's Fiat... "Fix it again Tony", I got it.
That being said, wife and I are looking for a "fun", throwaway car to take places on the weekends. We both own newer, reliable daily driver cars, but they aren't what we would consider "fun" to drive. They are very practical.
The Fiats are cheap, come with a manual transmission, and if we leased one, would be covered under warranty for the duration of the lease. I don't know much about Fiat reliability, but from what I have researched on the web, it's kind of a mixed bag... most owners say they are decently reliable as long as you maintain them regularly, but that the longevity of the car is nowhere near Honda or Toyota levels. In other words, if you get 100k miles out of them before major repairs, that's about right. Occasional minor-moderate repairs (body trim, starters, engine mounts, wheel bearings etc) are typical between 60-100k miles.
Anyway, that's what I have read on the car, but would like to get some other opinions. One of my big concerns has to do with the company's poor sales numbers in the US... some are speculating that Fiat may go out of business in the coming years. I'm curious how that would affect a lease or warranty (assuming Chrylser would pick them up?)
Thoughts?
The ones who say these things you read on here don’t really know because they never had one they like most only read about them and believe what they read. Great idea to lease one that way you are covered under the warranty for the lease term. Don’t listen to other on here it’s your money and do what you want other are pretty good trying to tell others what to buy.
Having a warranty is great, but there is still going to be the inconvenience of having no car all those times it will be in the shop. And it will spend lots of time in the shop.
Having a warranty is great, but there is still going to be the inconvenience of having no car all those times it will be in the shop. And it will spend lots of time in the shop.
Actually the Abarth owners I know rarely have the cars in the shop. And I know quite a few.
OP, the 500 Abarth is a really fun car that you can get dirt cheap. The interior bits are a bit plasticky, but at the price point, that should not be an issue. The sound they make is glorious and they handle excellent.
This one belongs to a friend of mine and it's his daily driver. He's had nothing but fun with it...
Neighbor has a 124 Abarth https://www.fiatusa.com/abarth-spider.html
Looks great and is a blast to drive. Not entirely sure I would choose one over the Miata it is built around though. Funny how they still claim it's "an Italian roadster from the top down". Despite being largely Japanese.
Drive it, if you like it, lease it. Many people on here are stuck in the past, and can offer only their very biased opinions They are often unable to provide an objective comment.
Drive it, if you like it, lease it. Many people on here are stuck in the past, and can offer only their very biased opinions They are often unable to provide an objective comment.
Well, they are currently bottom of the barrel reliability wise despite their few offerings. But 2018's bottom of the barrel is markedly better than say the 1980s barrel.
Actually the Abarth owners I know rarely have the cars in the shop. And I know quite a few.
OP, the 500 Abarth is a really fun car that you can get dirt cheap. The interior bits are a bit plasticky, but at the price point, that should not be an issue. The sound they make is glorious and they handle excellent.
This one belongs to a friend of mine and it's his daily driver. He's had nothing but fun with it...
The one thing stopping me from a 500 is the size. I’m a big dude. You guys ever see that toy with a gorilla in a tiny car? It would be life that but life size. I can probably wear a 500 as a roller skate
I'm 6'7 and actually fit in the 500 pretty well. The Abarth's exhaust note has no business sounding that good for such a small engine/car.
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