Abarth 500

motorfan

Hi everyone,

Im interested in the Abarth 500. I know they are very rare in Ireland though.
Anyone here had any experience with owning or driving one before?
Few questions:

Good/ Bad experience overall?
Are they reliable?
Are there any issues that plague them? (I've heard of exhaust rust and door handles falling off but that's it)
Are they expensive to keep on the road? (Fuel economy and maintenance)
The suspension is pretty firm, is it up to Irish roads, or will I be changing shocks, struts and joints non stop?
Are they good as a daily driver? This would be my main car.

Thanks for your input on this everyone, I've lurked here a while now and its a great knowledge base and you guys seem very helpful.

MarkAnthony

I've a standard 500, it very comfy for what it is. Reliability see here.

I tend to drive mine pretty quickly for what it is, it has pros and cons. Pros is it's very nippy at high revs it's also one of the only true small cars out there now. The Arbarth has a completely different engine but mine absolutely drinks petrol once you start pushing it long distances. It's also expensive for what it is and does make you look a little bit like a hairdresser. I would think if you don't mind that - I wouldn't - then the MX5 might be a better bet?

Edit I see the standard engine is turbocharged - yeah this is gonna drink petrol on the motorway if you're a bit lax on the obeying the speed limit.

Jesus.

MarkAnthony wrote: »

Edit I see the standard engine is turbocharged - yeah this is gonna drink petrol on the motorway if you're a bit lax on the obeying the speed limit.

Would that make it thirstier than a NA?

MarkAnthony

Jesus. wrote: »

Would that make it thirstier than a NA?

The Standard engine drinks it so I assume this would too. I'm open to correction. Now to be fair that's at 130/140+ which we really shouldn't be doing in either car...

stesaurus

Loved mine and miss it since selling. Lovely car, quirky and a great drive. I imported it from new and had it for about 3 years. I never had any issues with reliability or any problems with it.
Mpg wasn't great on it but leaving off sport mode helped.
I have my eye on maybe buying a 695 eventually.

Bluefoam

They use turbo's instead of larger naturally aspirated engines because they have better mpg...

OP, I say go for it. Great car! I'm keen to get a 124 Abarth at some stage...

motorfan

Thanks for the replies guys!

MarkAnthony wrote: »

I've a standard 500, it very comfy for what it is.

I tend to drive mine pretty quickly for what it is, it has pros and cons. Pros is it's very nippy at high revs it's also one of the only true small cars out there now. The Arbarth has a completely different engine but mine absolutely drinks petrol once you start pushing it long distances. It's also expensive for what it is and does make you look a little bit like a hairdresser. I would think if you don't mind that - I wouldn't - then the MX5 might be a better bet?

Edit I see the standard engine is turbocharged - yeah this is gonna drink petrol on the motorway if you're a bit lax on the obeying the speed limit.

I had a look at your thread Mark, very frustrating issue mate, I had the very same thing on a previous car (my first car, an Opel) and had to sell, it was a nightmare so I can relate to everything you said. Did you get it fixed or is it still an issue?

When you say yours drinks petrol on the motorway, what speeds are you driving or is that just keeping up to 120kph?

Funny you should mention the mx-5, I have my eye on them too, and was kind of deciding between the two! Could not care less about the whole hairdressers car thing, some of the best cars are "womens".

s.welstead wrote: »

Loved mine and miss it since selling. Lovely car, quirky and a great drive. I imported it from new and had it for about 3 years. I never had any issues with reliability or any problems with it.
Mpg wasn't great on it but leaving off sport mode helped.
I have my eye on maybe buying a 695 eventually.

Thanks for the info welstead! Can I ask, how much you got yours for new when you got it and how much was it to VRT when you got it home? Its such a shame that these little cars are so hard to find over here. The 695's are beauties too!

Sorry for the long post.

MarkAnthony

Fair play man - I absolutely love my 500 and would love an Abarth!

Ahem - speed - I kinda floor it so I suppose drinking petrol is to be expected. It's pretty efficient at about 100KPH, at 120 it's not bad and at 140 it's drinking petrol. The fastest I've gone in it (down in will a trailing wind) is 180 - that was pretty interesting to be sure. There was a two week period where I did Dublin to Kerry and back, then Dublin to Kerry to Galway to Dublin. I was very comfortable for the whole trip tbh, given I'm 6'2 18 stone that's not bad for a car like this. In fact as a passenger I can lie flat (as flat as you can with the front seat hitting the back seat).

I still haven't tracked down the issue - it's a really odd one. Kudos to Fiat though they extended the warranty on the car for that issue after a bit of cajoling. It only seems to be an issue when the Aircon is used so I've just not been using it.

motorfan

That's a shame that the issue is still there.
How is the car aging? Any bad rattles or squeaks developed in the cabin or anything like that?
Also, is it very noisy inside when on the motorway at speed? I don't mind noise, and obviously I don't expect luxury soundproofing on a 500, but I don't want it to sound like a convertible either.

MarkAnthony

motorfan wrote: »

That's a shame that the issue is still there.
How is the car aging? Any bad rattles or squeaks developed in the cabin or anything like that?
Also, is it very noisy inside when on the motorway at speed? I don't mind noise, and obviously I don't expect luxury soundproofing on a 500, but I don't want it to sound like a convertible either.

We've not looked after it the best to be fair. In regards to the body etc, grand actually, but inside a few squeaks and rattles - if we tidied her up a bit it would help!

It's loud enough on the motorways but not deafening - again if I was to keep to the speed limit it's a lot better. I don't really have to turn up music or shout into the hands free, but you'd know I was on the motorway if I was talking to you.

Sorry that's probably not the clearest!

motorfan

MarkAnthony wrote: »

We've not looked after it the best to be fair. In regards to the body etc, grand actually, but inside a few squeaks and rattles - if we tidied her up a bit it would help!

It's loud enough on the motorways but not deafening - again if I was to keep to the speed limit it's a lot better. I don't really have to turn up music or shout into the hands free, but you'd know I was on the motorway if I was talking to you.

Sorry that's probably not the clearest!

Thanks for the info Mark, appreciate it. It sounds a lot like my current car tbh, so I don't think I would mind too much with road noise etc, it would be rattles that would get to me more. Mine has a lot, and on bumpy roads you feel like you're in a spray can.

Did you have any issues with the door handles? I have heard of them coming off quite easy.

MarkAnthony

motorfan wrote: »

Thanks for the info Mark, appreciate it. It sounds a lot like my current car tbh, so I don't think I would mind too much with road noise etc, it would be rattles that would get to me more. Mine has a lot, and on bumpy roads you feel like you're in a spray can.

Did you have any issues with the door handles? I have heard of them coming off quite easy.

Handles/doors etc. solid as a rock. I do stress the squeaks are mainly due to it being an 09 and us not looking after it. It feels remarkably solid for it's size.

motorfan

That's good to know Mark, thanks!
Still deciding between one of these and an mx5, but I have always loved the charm of the 500, and the Abarth just makes it that bit more fun and would probably stand out less than an mx5 for those who might fancy vandalizing someone else's pride and joy.
I wonder if owning an Abarth 500 is more hassle than just a standard 500 here though, for servicing and parts, people working on it ect since we have no Abarth network here.
The mx5 at least has the mazda network here if you needed it. Not much of FIAT base here, nevermind Abarth.

s.welstead wrote: »

Loved mine and miss it since selling. Lovely car, quirky and a great drive. I imported it from new and had it for about 3 years. I never had any issues with reliability or any problems with it.
Mpg wasn't great on it but leaving off sport mode helped.
I have my eye on maybe buying a 695 eventually.

Did you have any issues getting it serviced or anything with no Abarth network here?
Did you ever have any issues with suspension on our roads here?
Mind if I ask how much VRT you had to pay to bring it in?

stesaurus

That's a good question, struggling to remember but I believe it was about €3500 mark at the time. There was also the hassle of VAT as it was a new import under 5k miles at the time.

Servicing wise I had a few friends who were decent mechanics at the time and I was also into it myself so gave it somewhat of a service myself every 6 months. There was only demo miles on it so nothing major needed fixing while I owned it and my mileage wasn't high either.

motorfan

s.welstead wrote: »

That's a good question, struggling to remember but I believe it was about €3500 mark at the time. There was also the hassle of VAT as it was a new import under 5k miles at the time.

Servicing wise I had a few friends who were decent mechanics at the time and I was also into it myself so gave it somewhat of a service myself every 6 months. There was only demo miles on it so nothing major needed fixing while I owned it and my mileage wasn't high either.

Thanks welstead!
Its expensive bringing them over alright..... that's a plus for the mx5 against the abarth definitely.

Servicing and parts wise, I always wondered would I be in a bad position considering there is no Abarth network here?

Bigus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrdKr-p3fWc

Bluefoam

Is there a service department up north... Not that you need to service there, but could be handy for parts...

Also, fiat are quite good at parts, so it's not gonna be difficult for them to get your stuff from UK. I'm sure they get allot from there anyway

motorfan

Bluefoam wrote: »

Is there a service department up north... Not that you need to service there, but could be handy for parts...

Also, fiat are quite good at parts, so it's not gonna be difficult for them to get your stuff from UK. I'm sure they get allot from there anyway

There is a service dept up North I think yeah, sales definitely. That's a plus alright.
Im sure Fiat could service it for me also, or is the Abarth completely different mechanically from the regular 500?

motorfan

Love the ad Bigus! hahaha
I hope the slap she gives him is not a metaphor for its reliability!