Buying a Fiat 500 (or alternatives)

Nurselayer

Hi folks,

My gf wants to change her car. She's currently driving a '54 Peugeot 206 1.4 Petrol. It's done 80k.

She really, really likes the looks of Fiat 500's and I think she's got her heart set on one. She wants the car just to have a bit more oomph than her 206. She *might* consider other options.

She's got a budget of approx. £2000 and whatever she can get in terms of trade in/sale for her current Peugeot.

Please can people give us some advice about which model to look for, what to be aware of, how to get the best value for her car, and other makes/models she might want to consider.


Thanks in advance.

forgotmyname

More oomph in a Fiat 500 err not unless the 206 is sick and way down on power.

£2000 is likely to buy a dog of a 500 unless very lucky.

Few years back we were car shopping with my daughter and the 500's were expensive and generally in poor condition. She bought a 2012 KA where the 500 they had for the same money was 3 years older and had paint issues on the bumpers and other marks.

KA is essentially the same car but maybe cheaper. Had her car for about 3 years now and other than basic servicing its required one bulb.

Watch the belt change intervals, they are very low around 40,000 miles.

Goudy

That's a pretty tight budget for a 500.
As already stated earlier cars tend to be a bit rough, but they are pretty hardy little cars.

The 1.2 Petrol engine only kicks out only 69hp so it's not a rocket ship but it's quite reliable.
They can suffer from rusty sump pans, so it's always worth check up under the front.

They did a diesel 1.3 which for the money will often have big miles on the clock, but unless they come with a perfect service history I would ignore them, timing chains have been known to cause trouble on older cars.

Later cars (out of your budget) came with a 875cc 2 cylinder turbo engine called the Twinair.
They are a bit marmite to drive and can suffer from expensive valve actuator (Multiair) unit failure, particularly if servicing is sketchy.

While you're down on your knees, check out the suspension and rear axle, they can knock a bit if worn and the rear axle on early cars can rust a bit.

The wiring in the rear tailgate can fracture at the top in the flexi bit, so check the rear wiper, washer and number plate light works.

Never, ever buy the automatic "Dualogic" version. It is really unreliable and expensive to fix when it does give up the ghost and changes gear like Maureen from Driving School's blind relative.

From an alternative, the Panda from 2012 onwards is a good bet.
Same engine line up but without most of the 500 niggles.
There is also more room in them (the 500 is very tight for elbow room), more practical with 5 doors and runs on a later, uprated chassis and suspension (the 500 uses the older 2003 to 2011 Panda under pinnings), so ride and handle a bit better.

You'll get more help on the Fiat forum
https://www.fiatforum.com/

alembicbassman

The 1.2 has a timing belt that needs changing every 5 years or so with the water pump. Budget around £300 for this if it hasn't been done. The Seat Mii VW Up and Skoda Citigo also have timing belts that require changing periodically. The Kia Picanto Hyundai i10 have timing chains which are designed to last the life of the vehicle. You also get 7 years warranty on a Picanto - so a 2013 model could still have a bit of warranty on it. If you want super cheap look at a Chevrolet Spark in LT or LTZ trim,

chelseablue

I used to have a Toyota Yaris, that was a great car. Not sure what age you'd get for £2k though

cubegame

Fiat 500s are god awful cars if bought new let alone used. If bought used, remember you'll buying s vehicle driven by the kind of person who is attracted to buying a Fiat 500, the kind of person who thinks the clutch pedal is a foot rest.

I quiver with fear everytime I get one as a hire car. That said they are great if you want to do clutch less gear changes as they really don't like staying in gear.

mattyprice4004

Awful to drive, dash looks like they borrowed it from Hotpoint and most have been crashed up kerbs by new drivers who got one because of the ‘cool’ factor.
Nothing screams ‘I have a trust fund and 3 horses’ like a 500!

Joking aside, you’ll get an absolute dog for £2k.

facade

mattyprice4004 wrote: »

Joking aside, you’ll get an absolute dog for £2k.

There are a lot of repaired CAT N and CAT S for that money. The 500 is very stealable, and gets played bumping cars with a lot, a wing & a bumper writes off up to 2010 cars.

dinods

If your looking for something with "a bit" more BHP you can pick up a 1.6L mini cooper for less than £2k, most of them are generally towards the 150+ bhp mark. A quick tip though, it's probably worth running a data check on any car before you go to see it as it can save you a wasted trip. I use rapidcarcheck.co.uk because they offer mot history and vehicle recalls free, so if there's any recalls or mot advisories you can contact the seller and ask them if they have had them fixed or failing that haggle the price down and sort them yourself.

If you have the time, sell the peugeot 206 privately because you'll get more money than part x!