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General Arnold Clark 1.2 500 Sport supply problem .

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General Arnold Clark 1.2 500 Sport supply problem .

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Pauk8

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Hi everyone , I am new to this site and I was wondering if anyone had any information regarding the availability of the 500 1.2 sport model ? I ordered a 1.2 sport 4 weeks ago from Arnold Clark in Rutherglen Glasgow and was quoted 8 to 12 weeks delivery time . Yesterday I received a phone call from the salesman who took my order saying that Fiat are no longer making this particular model with the 1.2 engine and is unable to proceed with my order .
He then proceeded to offer me a twin air version for an additional £60 per month without the high specification of the sport ! I rejected this and I spoke to the sales manager and asked why my particular car was affected as I placed my order 4 weeks ago before this announcement and surely my car would have left the factory by now ? I am still waiting on them getting back to me but I was wondering if anyone else had experienced anything similar ? I have previously owned BMWs and was warned that I should lower my expectations when dealing with Fiat dealers but I expected any problems to arise when I had taken delivery of the car & not before !
Any info or advice on what to do would be greatly appreciated .

Thanks . :(
 
Pauk8 said:
Hi everyone , I am new to this site and I was wondering if anyone had any information regarding the availability of the 500 1.2 sport model ? I ordered a 1.2 sport 4 weeks ago from Arnold Clark in Rutherglen Glasgow and was quoted 8 to 12 weeks delivery time . Yesterday I received a phone call from the salesman who took my order saying that Fiat are no longer making this particular model with the 1.2 engine and is unable to proceed with my order .
He then proceeded to offer me a twin air version for an additional £60 per month without the high specification of the sport ! I rejected this and I spoke to the sales manager and asked why my particular car was affected as I placed my order 4 weeks ago before this announcement and surely my car would have left the factory by now ? I am still waiting on them getting back to me but I was wondering if anyone else had experienced anything similar ? I have previously owned BMWs and was warned that I should lower my expectations when dealing with Fiat dealers but I expected any problems to arise when I had taken delivery of the car & not before !
Any info or advice on what to do would be greatly appreciated .

Thanks . :(
Click to expand...

I had a BMW and one of the reasons I got rid of it was the high 'Yes Sir' servicing cost. So far my experience with Fiat has been very positive. Re the 1.2 Sport order - all orders for this particular make of car was stopped around April last but the dealer may have been trying to get you an ex-Stock model.
The price of a Twin Air Sport in comparison with a 1.2 Sport is around £1,200 more. The new 'Twin Air' model is good value and has a lot of extras for the price.
What spec Sport model were you going for ? I take it that you were quite happy with the 'Black ambiance' of the Sport interior.
If the 1.2 is fast enough for you then you could save money by buying a 1.2 Lounge instead buying a TA Lounge.
 
I can't remember the exact date when the sport model was canned but it was a few weeks ago. Unfortunately nothing is going to get you a sport as they are simply not made anymore.

The Twinair+ model IIRC has the exact same spec as the sport model, but with bigger wheels which are painted black.
 
Fiat stopped taking new orders for the Sport on April 27th - see https://www.fiatforum.com/500/270251-so-11-models-reduced-8-new-models.html - That's 13 weeks ago suggesting your dealer took the order 9 weeks after the Sport became unavailable. An 8-12 week delivery time suggests this was going to be a factory order. Make of this what you will...

It's made worse by taking 4 weeks to notice that there was an issue. I had some dealings with Arnold Clark when I was looking to buy but I wasn't too impressed so went elsewhere.
 
loveshandbags said:
I had a BMW and one of the reasons I got rid of it was the high 'Yes Sir' servicing cost. So far my experience with Fiat has been very positive. Re the 1.2 Sport order - all orders for this particular make of car was stopped around April last but the dealer may have been trying to get you an ex-Stock model.
The price of a Twin Air Sport in comparison with a 1.2 Sport is around £1,200 more. The new 'Twin Air' model is good value and has a lot of extras for the price.
What spec Sport model were you going for ? I take it that you were quite happy with the 'Black ambiance' of the Sport interior.
If the 1.2 is fast enough for you then you could save money by buying a 1.2 Lounge instead buying a TA Lounge.
Click to expand...
Hi there, thanks very much for replying . The dealer told me it would be a brand new one that would be made up for me in the factory . I ordered a standard 1.2 sport with black paint and some cosmetic add-ons ( bigger wheels and sport stripes . ) Also i was happy with the standard black and grey interior .
I think that this is very misleading of Fiat if it is not available as they still have this 1.2 sport model on their configurator on the Fiat Website .
If it has not been available since April then the dealer should have told me when i put the order in on june .
I had looked at the lounge model but i preferred the sportier look of the sport model without the chrome bumpers etc . Also i wasn't sure if i would lose headroom with the fixed glass roof ? I had sat in one of their showroom models with the opening sunroof but my head hit the roof ( i'm 6ft3 ).
I'm disappointed as it looks as if I will need to order another model which means an additional 8 to 12 weeks on top of the 4 weeks i have already waited .
I was glad to see the back of my BMW Z4 as the running costs were horrendous not to mention the bone crunching ride but I would have kept it if i had known that i would have been this long without a car . Public transport and hire cars are no fun !
Thanks again .
 
With the OPENING sunroof you do lose headroom, with the fixed one you don't really.

You are completely right about the website, sadly Fiat's website is commonly out of date...... They do usually have "while stocks last" like the sport which are going out of production, I remember they did it when they stopped production of the 1.4 pop.

I would again suggest the Twinair or Twinair plus models to you, they are basically the sport model, but only available with the twinair engine.
 
Pauk8 said:
Hi there, thanks very much for replying . The dealer told me it would be a brand new one that would be made up for me in the factory . I ordered a standard 1.2 sport with black paint and some cosmetic add-ons ( bigger wheels and sport stripes . ) Also i was happy with the standard black and grey interior .
I think that this is very misleading of Fiat if it is not available as they still have this 1.2 sport model on their configurator on the Fiat Website .
If it has not been available since April then the dealer should have told me when i put the order in on june .
I had looked at the lounge model but i preferred the sportier look of the sport model without the chrome bumpers etc . Also i wasn't sure if i would lose headroom with the fixed glass roof ? I had sat in one of their showroom models with the opening sunroof but my head hit the roof ( i'm 6ft3 ).
I'm disappointed as it looks as if I will need to order another model which means an additional 8 to 12 weeks on top of the 4 weeks i have already waited .
I was glad to see the back of my BMW Z4 as the running costs were horrendous not to mention the bone crunching ride but I would have kept it if i had known that i would have been this long without a car . Public transport and hire cars are no fun !
Thanks again .
Click to expand...

If you are looking for a replacement car to the Z4 the Twin Air might be a better bet than the 1.2 and the standard 'Twin Air' is priced keenly. It might be a 'blessing in disguise'. But the 1.2 has been proven to be more economical in the 'real world'.
Re the Electric sunroof - this wouldn't suit because of your height but the fixed glass roof should be OK on the driver's side. With the Lounge model having the Chrome kit installed (personally I think it suits the Black) you can give it a sports look with 16 inch 5o-spoke wheels and the spoiler can be bought from the Accessories 'dept'.
Re the delivery times - quite a few on the FF have stated that they are getting their 500s ahead of the stated delivery times.
 
306maxi said:
With the OPENING sunroof you do lose headroom, with the fixed one you don't really.

You are completely right about the website, sadly Fiat's website is commonly out of date...... They do usually have "while stocks last" like the sport which are going out of production, I remember they did it when they stopped production of the 1.4 pop.

I would again suggest the Twinair or Twinair plus models to you, they are basically the sport model, but only available with the twinair engine.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info , at least I know that the Sport is no longer available and i will look into the lounge version as i think the twinair will be too expensive . One of my main reasons for choosing the 500 was the high spec. and the reasonable purchase costs in comparison to the mini etc.
Thanks again .
 
Get the dealer to check the availability of already built Twin Air+ models (these are the ones that are similar to the sport I gather) - I saw one was on AutoTrader yesterday, plus I've seen some brand new ones in showrooms. If you're not overly fussed about colour then you ought to be able to get something a bit quicker than the factory orders. Stripes and wheels can all be changed after the car is built and at the dealer :D

Hope you get something sorted - it's a pain when this happens. I had a "moment" with my order when 2 weeks after taking my deposit the guy rang to say that "the twin air lounge has vanished as an option on the order system"!
 
Pauk8 said:
Thanks for the info , at least I know that the Sport is no longer available and i will look into the lounge version as i think the twinair will be too expensive . One of my main reasons for choosing the 500 was the high spec. and the reasonable purchase costs in comparison to the mini etc.
Thanks again .
Click to expand...

Model breakdown (the POP TA is gone)...
1.2 POP
1.2 Lounge
Twin Air (comes with Air con) this is priced keenly
Twin Air plus
TA Lounge
 
FloJo said:
Get the dealer to check the availability of already built Twin Air+ models (these are the ones that are similar to the sport I gather) - I saw one was on AutoTrader yesterday, plus I've seen some brand new ones in showrooms. If you're not overly fussed about colour then you ought to be able to get something a bit quicker than the factory orders. Stripes and wheels can all be changed after the car is built and at the dealer :D

Hope you get something sorted - it's a pain when this happens. I had a "moment" with my order when 2 weeks after taking my deposit the guy rang to say that "the twin air lounge has vanished as an option on the order system"!
Click to expand...
Thanks i will do that , hopefully they will come up with something . i will keep folks posted with how i get on and thanks to everyone for responding . ( I feel calmer already now that I know whats available ! )
 
loveshandbags said:
Model breakdown (the POP TA is gone)...
1.2 POP
1.2 Lounge
Twin Air (comes with Air con) this is priced keenly
Twin Air plus
TA Lounge
Click to expand...
Thanks very much for the info . Seems that you guys have much more knowledge about the 500 than the dealers ! ( & have been much more helpful ! )
 
Pauk8 said:
Thanks very much for the info . Seems that you guys have much more knowledge about the 500 than the dealers ! ( & have been much more helpful ! )
Click to expand...

To be fair we only know one model range, they have to be familiar with a lot more :)
 
Pauk8 said:
Thanks for the info , at least I know that the Sport is no longer available and i will look into the lounge version as i think the twinair will be too expensive . One of my main reasons for choosing the 500 was the high spec. and the reasonable purchase costs in comparison to the mini etc.
Click to expand...

Yes the 1.2 lounge is the nearest alternative to the now-discontinued 1.2 sport. Running costs will be lower than a twinAir (cheaper insurance and better real world fuel economy) unless you can benefit from the twinAir's fiscal advantages. Just check that you'll have sufficient headroom as the fixed glass roof cuts into the available space a little. Another advantage of going this route is you should be able to get early delivery from stock if you're not too bothered about options.

If you find the lounge too cramped, why not go for a Pop & add the options you want - though this will likely mean going to the back of the queue again.
 
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Another option would be to get a dealer (probably best to avoid Arnold Clark) to check Fiat's computer system to see if there are any 1.2 Sports that are either at the dockside or in another dealers. If you are only wanting cosmetic options then I wouldn't have thought it would be too difficult to mod an existing car. I know my dealer has said that we can have stripes put on at anytime we want.

We were looking for a new dualogic 1.2 ByDiesel weeks after the order book had closed. I did check autotrader but there was nothing on there. A friendly Fiat dealer went on the computer system and found 2 new dualogic ByDiesels in dealers as well as another 5 still at the docks that we could have had. As it happened we wanted an unusual option (ESP+hill hold) which none of them had so in the end we didn't go with the ByDiesel.
 
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ffxmy said:
Another option would be to get a dealer (probably best to avoid Arnold Clark) to check Fiat's computer system .
Click to expand...

I disagree, as much as I have issues with 'uncle arnie' they are the largest in europe and have a lot more 'pull' as a result. My advice to the OP is to try another branch, ayr is 5 star rated.

EDIT, sorry just checked it's 4 star rated.
 
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T14086 said:
I disagree, as much as I have issues with 'uncle arnie' they are the largest in europe and have a lot more 'pull' as a result. My advice to the OP is to try another branch, ayr is 5 star rated.

EDIT, sorry just checked it's 4 star rated.
Click to expand...

Thanks for pointing out the dealer sales ratings. I didn't know Fiat publish that information on their website. It's interesting to see the dealer where we are buying our car from is rated 4 stars and the dealer I nearly bought from 5 stars.

However I'm not seeing 4 stars for Sales at Ayr. According to the fiat website search I've done just now there are "Insufficient Customer Surveys". This means they have had less than 15 completed satisfaction surveys in the last 3 months. That seems odd for a large dealership if the size of their site is anything to go by - see google street view. Admittedly Ayr do very well for Servicing with 5 stars.

FWIW I'm not sure I believe some of these dealer rating schemes. Allegedly some Merc dealers abuse the system by only handing out survey forms to customers who they think are happy with the service they have received.
 
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loveshandbags said:
Twin Air (comes with Air con) this is priced keenly
Click to expand...

Having seen the good looking Volare Blue 500 TA Lounge posted today in the Members Motors section I thought I would spec up something similar on the Fiat website. I was disappointed to see that the keenly priced Twin Air model isn't even available in Volare blue. It gets worse. Blue and Me is only an option and you are out of luck if you want wheels of the none "boy racer" kind.

Maybe I'm just getting too old and Fiat never intended the new TA models for someone the wrong side of 40. However I just wonder how much appeal it will have for the intended market.
 
ffxmy said:
seems odd for a large dealership if the size of their site is anything to go by - see google street view. Admittedly Ayr do very well for Servicing with 5 stars.
Click to expand...

Thats an old view as I was there recently, my house on street view has the last owner still living there & that was 3 years ago:confused:

ffxmy said:
FWIW I'm not sure I believe some of these dealer rating schemes. Allegedly some Merc dealers abuse the system by only handing out survey forms to customers who they think are happy with the service they have received.
Click to expand...

I do agree there, abuse of the system is easy but so is the good garage scheme. Un-announced visits and mystery shops are the only way.
 
ffxmy said:
Having seen the good looking Volare Blue 500 TA Lounge posted today in the Members Motors section I thought I would spec up something similar on the Fiat website. I was disappointed to see that the keenly priced Twin Air model isn't even available in Volare blue. It gets worse. Blue and Me is only an option and you are out of luck if you want wheels of the none "boy racer" kind.

Maybe I'm just getting too old and Fiat never intended the new TA models for someone the wrong side of 40. However I just wonder how much appeal it will have for the intended market.
Click to expand...

*sigh* you're looking at the twinair spec.
 
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