Im the owner of a 2012 fiat 500 with 80,000 miles on it currently.



So far the engine has been wonderful along with the drive line.


Issues


Interior is very cheap and the door panels looked scuffed up after a few weeks

Broken arm rest
Broken center AC vents
broken drivers height seat adjuster
loose coat hanger holders which im going to assume will break
Broken head rest plastic clip(were the head rest adjusts up and down)

Issues with paint finish on the wheel

Upper Wind shield black panel had defective clear coat and all pealed off(dealer fixed this out of warranty)
Sunroof seal area has some slight bubbling(Dealer fixed this)


Front bumper has thing paint and tons of small rock chips in it.
(I hand wash my cars and the paint is VERY THIN and cheap)

Alot of misc nicks that my past cars which are 10 years older wouldnt have(cheap paint)

The rear fiat 500 rear suspension is not good and the car really does suffer from this(I might add a rear sway bar)


As great as this car looks I believe fiat really dropped the ball and produced a car that is subpar in the market its in.


My dealer when the car was bought almost never had tech staffed because this was a "special" car

When I was able to go get said broken interior items replaced under warranty. I never had anyone staffed to help or service me.....I work 60-80 hours a week and found this to be a waste of time to go there when they never had techs.



Now the dealer service has been wonderful and the people there are great.



I bought into this car for what it is but thought it would have been better.



From owning other fast cars and some built cars in the past the Abarth isnt worth the upgrade and is kind of dated(160HP is MEH)

Ill be watching for the 124 spider and see how that car pans out. Other wise I do not think ill invest in another fiat500 again.

Considering how much people whine on this board about their 2012's (and others), I'd say getting to the mileage you have with no major mechanical issues speaks more for Fiat's quality than you may think

I'm at over 30K with no major issues - I need new back tires and I need to do my brakes, but it's been going strong. I am in the process of trying to trade it for something else though (trying to go back to Volkswagen but I will be darned if the dealership I work at is determined NOT to sell me a car - been trying to work a deal for two weeks and they won't budge. Going to a rival dealership this week to see if I can get something worked out ).

 

Listen anyone can build a good engine these days Maybe its because im a 80s baby but im not impressed by 100,000 mile cars anymore. 200,000+ is impressive there is not reason why a modern economy should go well over 100K without issues.

Ive also own a 1997 F150 with 380,000 miles aside from basic service.


I just expect the exterior and interior to be better. I mean it looks wonderful but thats about it......Ive had 90s GM cars and the interiors didnt break as bad.


VW and Mazda blow the Fiat out of the water on build of the interiors.

 

I just hope my 13 Sport holds up as well as yours at 80k miles. So far I am EXTREMELY impressed with everything about my Sport.

 

The drive line seems totally fine.


I only have done oil changes so far and the car has needed NOTHING! not even a slight hiccup. Im very confident in this engine because I drive alot of highway miles.

 

Joey, I have to agree with you. The 500's interior plastics are really cheap compared to other modern offering. Whether it's a 12-15 model, all the same. Your not the first to complain about the Fiat's interior. My 2012, been pretty reliable car, for a early production model. My car never sits out in the sun, to fade plastic's or even the badges. Fiat gave me new ones. There was nothing wrong with the old ones. My wheels still look brand new. Sounds like your car is mechanically sound. Which is great for a vehicle, with 80K miles. I have a few highway paint chips too. Not any different then any other car I've owned.

 

I get tons of compliments about it and alot of attention because some people are still new to fiat or love the looks.




But most people wouldnt deal with its sort comings on cheap design.



Fiat is really really milking the this car since its been around since 2007 with no major changes or good updates.

 

Making a strong and durable interior that stands up is not changing anything. Its subpar and foolish for them to do something like that if they want buyers to come back.


Most people do not know the interior is junk since its a new car for america.


The car is a 8 year platform they could have improved on the interior plastics. You cannot excuse them to comp out on something thats vital in this day and day.

 

I like reading that nothing truly major has been of issue to you with that much mileage on the car. I admit the interior isn't the best but for me I enjoy the car so much it doesn't bother me really. If I had the $ I'd have the entire interior covered in Alcantara in both black and grey colors. 160HP is ok for this size and weight car and once modded it is a lot of fun, dated or not I don't really know of any other car for the same price I'd rather have right now. Thanks for sharing your experience Joey!

 

Thanks tweak thats the exact reason I went with the fiat.


Its a cool little niche car that stands out on its own and for the money nothing cannot beat its style.


I just thought Id share the bad so others can see they are not the only ones and maybe fiat can see this since they are on this board.

 

You shared the good and bad.

I LOVE that I am usually one if not the only Abarth around. I was at NOPI Nationals last year and I was the ONLY Abarth. I had no intent to enter the show so I had no cleaning supplies AND had driven down to the beach at night. Arriving around 2-3am meant the car was pretty dirty and at NOPI they only offer 1st place. I was fortunate enough to have the judges tell me I was runner up so had I cleaned it I would have won. Cars & Coffee events I LOVE the attention and looks when I pull in, rev the engine and more people come up to talk about the car than the other 100K more costly cars surrounding my Abarth.

 

Im the owner of a 2012 fiat 500 with 80,000 miles on it currently.
Engine,trans,brakes, etc are all perfect and show no signs of issues.
I drive alot of highway miles just about all of them are highway miles
My job is Road construction and this car has served me well.
The car is garaged kept since new and hand washed and waxed( I used to detail cars as a kid)
So far the engine has been wonderful along with the drive line.
Issues
...
Anyone else a bit unimpressed? I think this car should have a better lay out like the Mini has......

I just hope my 13 Sport holds up as well as yours at 80k miles. So far I am EXTREMELY impressed with everything about my Sport.

I agree with both of you and in some sense I think it's kind of a question of the glass being half empty or half full. It's both. In some senses it is a very impressive little car but it no doubt has quirks you don't see on other cars. Most enthusiasts will say they knew about the inadequacies but made the decision to buy the car in spite of that. If you came into it with eyes open, the complaints seem minor; they're just part of the charm of the car. If you expected a fully modern car, well, some aspects of the car are behind the times.

A question for Joey a (and I don't mean this as an attack or to start an argument): You mention the Mini; why did you buy the Fiat over the Mini? (After you say, I'll reveal my reason for picking the 500; I suspect they are the same.)

 

Perhaps the reason for 'holes' in the sunroof shade is so it can be 'closed' when the sunroof is open and allows air to flow through it rather than acting as a sail and getting damaged in the process.

 

Not to be a smart ***....But its a really dumb design and some automotive reviews tell you to buy a fiat without a sunroof since that rate that feature as a dumb over sight.


It makes me use my AC more and the UV/Heat burns the car up when the sunroof and shade is closed. I actually have a blocking cover I made because its gotten to be unbearable at times in the summer in hot days. I have no idea how people in AZ or CA deal with it because it gets hot as **** in a 500 sometimes. The cover really fixed this issue and the car stays nice and cool now with it.

 

Great mechanical review. You use a runabout to travel long distances to construction sites. I think that speaks volumes for the engineering/design of a car not designed for that use.

The touch points could use softer plastics. But, if you're getting scuffs near the bottom of the door, it's not due to FIAT specific materials. MINIs cost much more… and even the newest update still uses hard plastics at lower half of the door panels (and other less touched places). I sat in the latest small Fords, Chevys and other offerings at our auto show. No one has to excuse the use of hard plastics… plenty use it to varying degrees.

You sharing 'the bad' on this board is nothing new here. This board, compared to the other two, is known for it.

I'm over 18k on my second FIAT. The first one was traded w/24k. My door panels look as good as new… seriously. I recognize the plastic is hard, but it's never bothered me. I never experienced problems with the arm rests. I've always wondered how others break them. I have no idea how anyone could break half the stuff you've broken. I guess I must be more careful. I had the badges replaced in the first FIAT once. I haven't seen the same bubbling happen in the ABARTH badges. I street park (in Wisconsin) year round. The paint & plastics, in my FIATs have taken a cold, hard beating and still look more than acceptable. Paint chips, in the finish, of a car this low & round should surprise no one. I see plenty on MINIs (again… much more expensive). MINIs are also low & round.

I didn't find "subpar" and "dropped the ball" to be balanced by anything else in your post. But I'm happy to read you're still happy with it, despite those comments.

 

Actually I have a very good reason why I did not buy the mini and this is just that since im very much a big automotive guy.


The MINI is just like a BMW. A wonderful joy to drive and enjoy but a blessed(cursed) with german problems. ALOT OF PROBLEMS.

The MINI has a much much better design lay out for handling even in the base model. I dont know if you guys have ever drove one but it really is a better car in that aspect, the seating is also more like a sports car. Not that I dont like the fiats seating but the MINI feels "proper" and the fiat is just kinda odd but no complaints about that. Fiat is much more reasonable about replacement parts and service.


The fiat and abarth really could have something better in the back suspension to make it better. The rear is a pretty dated design that works but it seems to be that way due to cut costs, I drool at the idea of a new rear suspension layout. Its the reason why fiat clunk and flop around turns, I know the abarth is better than a sport but its still needs some help of a rear bar to wake it up. A better rear layout would make a sort wheel base car LESS CHOPPY on the highway and give it better road manners.


I owned a Integra GSR with double wish bone suspension, it really spoiled me on fwd cars( it was very good)


I do not feel like paying the "BMW TAX" on a sport compact car.

Also at that point I can buy a pretty nice performance car for what optioned out mini fetches.

 

I do not feel like paying the "BMW TAX" on a sport compact car.

Also at that point I can buy a pretty nice performance car for what optioned out mini fetches.

That gets to the root of why I didn't buy a Mini: The Fiat (to me, anyways) is a better value.

I had a Ford Aspire some years ago. The 500 is actually quite similar. It's basic transportation on a small scale. The Fiat is better on several counts - ride, power, etc., but most especially on style. The Aspire was never a well regarded car in the sense that people wouldn't seek out or actively choose it. The Fiat 500 on the other hand was a car I really wanted to check out. It's not for everyone but it has its following. The Aspire was better in one respect: the rear seat was actually usable in my Aspire. The rear seat in my 500 is much more cramped (I actually removed it to make more room for my dogs).

Anyway, the reason I was wondering if cost was a factor was that I kind of wanted to point out that when you compare a Fiat 500 to a Mini Cooper and find Fiat lacking it's because you're comparing apples and oranges. The Mini is better laid out and rides better because it's a more expensive car. Fiat definitely made some choices to keep the 500 affordable. Everyone always want the "better" version, given an equal choice, but I like that Fiat provides a more affordable version that's still pretty cool.

 

What I find that is annoying me off isnt hard plastic. Believe or not hard plastic can be a good thing if you own you car for a very long time since "soft touch" interiors have been failing apart recently. So the hard plastic isnt what im angry about. Hard plastic tends to last long and be durable vs the soft stuff.


What bothers me is that im single and treat my car well and everything that has broken has very little use. It almost looks like someone cut the broken items because they break so cleanly. This shows me they used very low grade plastic and saved to much money there. I can post pictures if you like to see.



I would like to add I have no idea how the arm rest breaks because I never ever use the **** thing! One day I went to put the arm rest down and it was broken when I got the car back from service for the moon roof repair. If you every take apart the arm rest, you will see little tabs were the leather arm rest snaps onto the arm bar plastic. These little tabs are thin and there is a handful of them and they just snap off.


Im a light weight guy and my car is a manual so I do not like to use the arm rest since it gets in the way.



As for the 80,000 miles I would like to say 5-10,000 of those could be called off road miles. Since some times I have to travel jobs sites over long distances slowly and some times the pavement or stone is uneven. Shocks and sus have held up perfectly find and my brakes are just starting to show some signs of needing replacement. I also know how to correctly rev match my down shifts and heal toe(I learned how to drive manual on a ALFA SPIDER)so the car has also seen alot of off ramps+spirited driving. The car is taken care of correctly but I do enjoy flogging it through some turns. Im going to be getting a ST rear sway bar and upgrading the pads when I do my brake service.

On top of that in the cold or hot days ill have the AC blasting or heat blasting to warm up the car since sometimes its so cold out its not worth shutting off the car and you have to hope in to warm up every now and then. So that speaks volumes on the cooling system! Im also the type of guy that brings a change of clean clothing if I get dirty to keep the interior nice and throw on basket ball sorts and a wife beater if my clothes are nasty from demoing or concrete.


So ive gotten 80,000+ miles on stock everything with no oil leaks or issues what so ever engine wise.


When I bought my car I got one of the first shipments of fiats in IL. I was told by the dealer that fiat was not bringing the abarth here and this is why I bought the sport. Most of the mags and internet also told me that fiat was unable to bring the abarth. So I dove in and just bought the sport that day on the test drive.

 

when a fiat 500 sport was going for $16-17K I think it was expected that the interior would be a little less "budget car" quality.

for a variety of reasons, the market has forced fiat to push the price of new 500's way down to be able to sell them.....true budge territory with the likes of chevy sparks and Nissan versas. at those price points, a cheapish interior goes with the territory.

sure, minis have a much nicer interior, but mini's aren't being sold at $13k like so many 500's are.

 

At the time Fiat was fishing for larger numbers and me wanting one I paid a bit more than what they were lowered to since I needed a car at the time.



Now that they are starting at 13-14k yes then I agree with you on that totally the fiat is a sub 15K car it most aspects and I agree on that.


I paid more than that when they were fishing for the market and people were not buying them then the deep discounts came in. If I did it all over again id just go with a base pop and throw on rims and coilovers. But hey it is what is now and im in the market for a newer car soon.

 

Joey is your car, have a automatic, or manual transmission.

Even the $30K Abarths, have the same cheap plastic interiors.That I don't get. The car is a 8 year old design.

 

Thats the main reason that turned me off to the abarth. The interior was subpar for a large asking price. But I have seen them deeply discounted under 20K brand new and that is reasonable.




My car is a manual and I will only drive a manual(Twin clutches are ok with me)


SAVE THE MANUALS!

 

Tweak, there go a dependable manual transmission, out of a 2012 model 500.

 

Indeed, not all of them break after all.

 

Joey, Fiat starting to put higher quailty interiors in their other vehicles. The 500L was better. The new 500X, I saw at the auto show greatly improved. Fiat could have updated the current 500. Honda did with this generation Civic the 2nd year in production. Fiat should have after a production run of 8 years. Penny pinching, I guess.

 

I went to open the trunk at the chicago auto show on the fiat 500X and something broke on it......


My girlfriend laugh and said its like my car(Interior and bits keep breaking LOL)

 

I am interested in the Fiat500X if comes with a 6speed manual and awd.


Since the jeep has gotten hot hatch like praise and good reviews. Im very interested as to what will come of the 500X.


I just hope fiat understands they are not MINI at all and if they are not going to interiors like MINI. Then the prices should be kept down. I havent seen pricing on the the 500X yet.



Im very very excited for the 124 fiat spider!!!!!!!!!!!! I love miatas and mazda product and im very happy to see them sharing.

 

You can only get a manual 500X in the Pop model, so no AWD with manual

I think the prices for Fiats are pretty inline with quality, they're pretty inexpensive cars. Definitely a LOT cheaper than Minis. Our local Mini dealer doesn't have any cars in their inventory for less than $22,000. Our Fiat studio has several 2015 Pops under $15,000. For that price difference, there will definitely be some difference in materials but they're still great cars IMO and down the road, everything you need to do on the Fiat will be MUCH cheaper than a Mini. We take Minis in on trade often and it's always a case of we've gotta get rid of it before something expensive goes wrong. Any Mini out of warranty goes immediately to a wholesaler no matter what. And it's worth noting that it's only our 4th year back in the US, the 500 hasn't had it's first overhaul yet, just little touchups here and there and half of our inventory is in its first year worldwide (the 500L). Mini has been back for 15 years, they've got a bit of a head start on us and they're still pretty bottom of the barrel on reliability and quality surveys. Hyundai made absolute garbage cars for decades before they finally started building decent cars. We're actually pretty ahead of the curve, all things considered. At this point in Mini's return, they were facing some pretty good class action lawsuits because pretty much all their automatic transmissions were blowing up.

It's also worth mentioning that Fiat is NOT going anywhere. Our sales are ahead of Mini and the 500 is still one of the best selling small cars in the US (the soulless Versa is the top because people make bad decisions). We have lots of new models coming out, redesigns for current models which will help quality and reliability wise, and Alfa's return as well. The future is looking pretty good!

 

I wonder what would have broke?

 

When you open the hatch near the handle area under it a plastic part was loose/broken.


Not a big deal but comical for me


Oh my driver side door lock is now broken so my car will not lock or unlock manual. Anyone know about this being a issue? I havent noticed it being broken since I was the remote to unlock the car.



One day im going to be locked out and blow up because I havent gotten around to fixing that.

 

Usually auto show cars, get a lot of abuse. Man handled. Open closing doors. Kids hopping in and out. I remember 4 years ago, the seat height adjustor on the 500 auto show vehicle was broken. The manufactors vehicle I test drove in March 2011 was broken too. I been very careful with mine. I did notice, on the show cars, how scratched the door panels were on the little 500. Hundreds people getting in and out of the cars.

 

I would tend to agree - just about anytime I see a used Mini for sale it's being sold at what I consider an exorbitant price (unlike Fiat cars). I tried another dealer today out of curiosity to see what they would give me on a trade towards one of their cars - they offered me $1000 less than the dealer I work for is offering me and my employer is at least offering me full Kelly Blue Book value for it.

 

Maybe I expect the early minis to be valued a bit higher. I see quit a few NA popping up hovering the 5-6k range and some SC cars for a bit more.

I'm not talking about turbo minis. I tend to focus on older cars.

 

When you are site do you put sunscreens in the windows to keep the sun and heat to a minimum in the car? I have kit from 500 madness which provides a screen for all windows really keeps heat down in the car and all the sun out. I was talking with co-worker at lunch we wondering how the electronics in the new cars will hold up to the baking the take in warmer parts of country. The plastics will not like the UV and heat and neither will the electronics even if they are not active.

 

I'm onto my third fiat ( 2 Abarths and 1 sport) my first was the 12 Sport prima edition. I will be honest, it gave me a lot of small annoying problems ( side skirts falling off, paint rubbing off the radio controls to name a couple). My first Abarth gave me no issues at all aside from the hatch paint bubbling a bit which was fixed under warranty. I've only got 1000 miles on my 14 Abarth. I will agree that the interior is extremely cheap in comparison to some brands( especially VW, which I work for) but the fiats have a certain charm and character that can't be found in any other brands. I got my new Abarth for $23,000 canadian out of the door, even with my staff deal a GTI was 4000-5000 grand more so I would expect it to be a better car than the Abarth ( which it is) but doesn't give me the same pleasure to drive. Ive learned with fiat you have to take the bad with the good