Ascona

How does the car media in Europe feel about the Fiat 500? Are there any major quality control issues?

I ask because I have a know-it-all friend who has been in Afghanistan the last two years and he says he sees them "broke down" all the time. I told him I haven't heard any such mechanical issues, just minor bullshit like the seat adjuster handles breaking off and shit.

well, the only real quality failure i've heard about the car, is that it doesn't pass the belgian road safety tests, thanks to the rear suspension..

which says more about the belgian testing procedures....

apart from that, i don't hear any more about the 500 than any other car....

sure, the occasional rattle here and there, which is very italian....


just reading around, there has been a case of a failed engine mount, once, and the diesel is a bit shitty for short trips (duh)

Well that concludes that my friend is full of shit.

they still seem like deathtraps, a la the Smart. I'm sure they're great cars, but I wouldn't want to be in an accident in one (assuming I could fit in it to begin with)

Any small car is a death trap

Depends on what you hit or what hits you.

small cars aren't the death traps you guys see ...

i'd rather be in a brand new smart car than in a 25yo volvo.

I've only seen one or two around town, which is odd because they converted America's first stand-alone Hummer store to a Fiat dealer. I want to buy one just for the irony.

One I did see was on a test drive, and had a licence plate magnetically attached to the rear hatch. When they pulled over at a red light to switch positions (driver and passenger, salesman and customer?) and closed the doors, the hatch quivered, and the plate damn near fell off.
Solid body structure much?

and when you brake for a red light, the car thinks it's an emergancy stop, and flashes the hazard lights....

I don't like a lot of the small retro Euro cars, like the Mini or the Beetle, but I like the 500. I'd give it a test drive.

ascona wrote:small cars aren't the death traps you guys see ...

yeah but you're used to them; every other car in Europe is small. but here, anyone in those little things has to contend with a zillion SUVs.

Turbojett wrote:

ascona wrote:small cars aren't the death traps you guys see ...

yeah but you're used to them; every other car in Europe is small. but here, anyone in those little things has to contend with a zillion SUVs.

honestly, i'd rather be in a fiat 500 than a hummer h2.



and i've driven a 500....

i heard they had a transmission issue early on in the US, but that is fixed.

Other than that, i've heard nothing which is typically a good thing.

ascona wrote:

Turbojett wrote:

ascona wrote:small cars aren't the death traps you guys see ...

yeah but you're used to them; every other car in Europe is small. but here, anyone in those little things has to contend with a zillion SUVs.

honestly, i'd rather be in a fiat 500 than a hummer h2.



and i've driven a 500....

well, same here, but I'm accounting for the ones on the road that you're not driving.