General How overpriced is the 500?

[306maxi]

I know some will agree and some will disagree, but what do people feel is a reasonable price for the 500?

As an indication of the relative value for money of the 500 compared to other cars, on broadspeed, you can get a Giulietta 1.4tb 120 for 15,848 which is not much more than a 500c lounge which can be had for 14,541. A far bigger, better equipped, bigger engined and better finished car for only £1,300 more. Seems crazy to me that the 500 has gone up and up in price yet is still selling so well.

I remember in the early days of the 500's life, the 1.2 pop was £7,300 and now a 1.2 pop will cost you £9,665. Great for residuals but simply crazy for what is a very small car which whilst generally reliable, has some bits on it (droplinks, balljoints, top strut mounts, dampers and so on) which will be ready to drop off when MOT time comes.

So what do people feel is a fair price for the 500? IMHO as someone who bought one on scrappage and paid £8720 (£10,720 before) I feel that £8500 would probably be a reasonable price for a 1.2 lounge. I feel that the 1.3 dismal is way overpriced, ditto with the 500c too.

Discuss

 

[iraklas]

The only 500 that is not overpriced is the Abarth IMO.

 

[306maxi]

The only 500 that is not overpriced is the Abarth IMO.

Really? You can get a Rennosport Clio 200 for the price of an Abarth. Sure it doesn't look as good, but it's a couple of classes above the Abarth as a performance car.

A Twingo Rennosport which is on par with the standard 500 can be had for 3k less.......

 

[jrkitching]

Seems crazy to me that the 500 has gone up and up in price yet is still selling so well.

That's fashion for you. FIAT sell it at that price simply because they can.

For now.

There's plenty of margin there for FIAT to discount substantially as and when they need to.

I'd agree with what you've said about quality - to justify today's cost, it needs to be built from better components and have a proper warranty, instead of the present insurance-backed 2+1 scheme.

The folks I feel really sorry for are those who buy a 3 yr old car now at current main dealer prices - they'll likely face both significant ongoing repair costs and massive depreciation when they sell them on as a 5/6/7 yr old car.

 

[306maxi]

That's fashion for you. FIAT sell it at that price simply because they can.

For now.

There's plenty of margin there for FIAT to discount substantially as and when they need to.

I'd agree with what you've said about quality - to justify today's cost, it needs to be built from better components and have a proper warranty, instead of the present insurance-backed 2+1 scheme.

The folks I feel really sorry for are those who buy a 3 yr old car now at current main dealer prices - they'll likely face both significant ongoing repair costs and massive depreciation when they sell them on as a 5/6/7 yr old car.

I did mean to add a caveat to say that you couldn't say what you said in bold Of course they can sell it for what they want to, but at some point in time they will run out of fools who are so easily parted with their cash

I imagine in a few years time when it comes to 1st or 2nd MOT time for a lot of people they're going to be hit with a big bill if they go to a main dealer and it needs 2 wishbones, 2 droplinks, 2 or 4 of dampers and perhaps even a backbox. The people I pity even more are the ones who'll go in and pay crazy money for genuine bits only to then be replacing them not too far in the future.

Taking my own topic off topic so soon, but how long do you intend to keep your Panda/500?

 

[jrkitching]

Taking my own topic off topic so soon, but how long do you intend to keep your Panda/500?

For as long as it's economically sensible & they're both still appropriate for purpose - I don't buy cars with the intention of selling them after a specific time. Sure, they'll likely need a few more bits than a Ford/VW/Honda, but the sheer popularity of these cars means there'll be a good supply of cheap pattern parts which will likely outperform the originals. So long as the electronics hold up, they both look like being cheap to run & maintain if you do all the work yourself - and the commonality between the two cars helps too.

I reckon I'm saving about a third on fuel compared to the old style Ford Ka that the Panda replaced. Low cost insurance (I paid just over £140 when I renewed the 500 this year) & £30 road tax helps too. Motoring doesn't get much cheaper than this, even if the 500 is initially overpriced.

 

[SiliconS]

My wife wanted a new car and our criteria included:
- convertible
- seating for at least four adults
- a usable boot
- economy significantly better than 35mpg
- air-conditioning
- cute/funky/interesting/"something"

I don't think (from memory) that we identified a single other new car that ticked all these boxes for the £13k that we paid the dealer for our (pre-registered) 500c lounge 1.2.

At full price, I agree the 500c is expensive but I'm not sure I'd say it's over-priced. (In other words, it's expensive but it's priced correctly.)

Interesting question though.

 

[arorat]

Great topic Maxi. I see 2 factors, the car prices have gone up and the 2.5% bump in VAT does not help, secondly the iconic factor of 500 has allowed Fiat to drive prices up.

In comparison to mini 500 is still seen as value for money but Fiat should not become greedy.

 

[306maxi]

Great topic Maxi. I see 2 factors, the car prices have gone up and the 2.5% bump in VAT does not help, secondly the iconic factor of 500 has allowed Fiat to drive prices up.

In comparison to mini 500 is still seen as value for money but Fiat should not become greedy.

But if you work out the impact of the VAT increase it's a drop in the ocean

 

[jrkitching]

But if you work out the impact of the VAT increase it's a drop in the ocean

IIRC didn't you get yours when VAT was still 15%? Also the 2010 model enhancements (S/S, suspension etc) pushed the cost up a little too.

Still think it's overpriced by about £2000.

 

[lilrachiebaby89]

IIRC didn't you get yours when VAT was still 15%? Also the 2010 model enhancements (S/S, suspension etc) pushed the cost up a little too.

Still think it's overpriced by about £2000.

This topic makes me sad knowing my car all in all with the interest is £11,269. I wish my little Peugeot had been 10 years old when the scrappage scheme was on.

My friend owns a Mini One, now granted she has a 1.6 Engine unlike my 1.2 and she has alloys on hers. But hers comes in at around £18,000 compared with my £10,000. Now I've never drove a Mini so others will probably tell me its a much better car. But to a certain extent I was believing she was just paying for the Mini brand name and not necessarily the quality of the car and in that context my little 500 is actually a good price. And I think you see a lot more Mini's on the road than 500's which is why the 500 is my preference, I think it is cuter, way way cheaper to run and more individual.

It just makes me cringe to think I could have bought my little Fiat when the scrappage scheme was on and VAT was at 15%. It seems as though I've chosen the most expensive time to buy my Fiat. Oh well I'm sure when she arrives I will still love her to pieces.

Just out of interest are any 500 owners on here previous mini owners?

 

[306maxi]

IIRC didn't you get yours when VAT was still 15%? Also the 2010 model enhancements (S/S, suspension etc) pushed the cost up a little too.

Still think it's overpriced by about £2000.

I did yes. Good points, but I still don't think they justify the £2300 increase in price from launch till now.

 

[Super Uwe]

Another element which probably needs to be considered as well is the fact that the i-Deal hasn't actually changed all that much.

In actual fact, buying a 1.2 Pop on the i-Deal as per the current offer is actually cheaper than what was on offer 2 years ago; the deposit and monthly payments have only gone up slightly. The final balloon payment and accumulated interest are considerably lower (if you do indeed decide to purchase the car outright at the end of the 3 year term).

So if you are not fussed about buying your car outright and are looking to change in 3 years time, the 500 is still pretty good value.

 

[arorat]

But if you work out the impact of the VAT increase it's a drop in the ocean

yes, thats true about £250 extra with 2.5% vat increase, that could have paid for a few more extras

 

[306maxi]

yes, thats true about £250 extra with 2.5% vat increase, that could have paid for a few more extras

The 2.5% VAT increase works out to be just a touch over a 2.0% increase

 

[ahmett]

Of course it will look crazy to people who bought the car cheaply that the Fiat 500 is now so expensive in comparison to the first. I simply think that Fiat was going conservative in order to have high sales; then they saw that their hopes were realized in that sales were very high, so they took the chance to raise the prices and sales are still high with innovations such as the twinair. So they are fine with the high price. To be honest, (i am speaking in greece now but this can apply to england) when buying my fiat 500 i did not see a better car (overall) for less than 15,000 pounds. I was thinking of a VW golf but then i realised to get a proper one (i.e. the tsi engine 5 doors alloys and sunroof) it was going to be a lot more expensive! The polo just looked like a cheap version of the golf so i didnt think of it. For me its closest rival the Mini Cooper is just WAY more expensive. This is why I think the price is justified. By the way, speaking of new parts maxi are you sure you have to change all that come first MOT??? I think there would be news on that under the section Fiat 500 notorious for failed first time MOT's. A bit of scaremongering perhaps?

 

[TrevC]

Maxi

I presume you're not talking list prices when you compare the Clio with the Abarth - the Clio 200 is £16930 compared with £14707 for the A500. The Twingo 133 is probably closer in size and performance and is £12960 (less for the stripped down Cup) which makes it a bargain. Nothing like as cool as the A500 though.

 

[VilleV]

About the first MOT.

My car is registered 04/2008 so I had my first MOT back in april. At the time it had 19000km on the odo. I specifically told the inspector to go through the car very closely since I was about to run out of full bumber to bumber warranty and if he had found anything out of the ordinary I could have tried to get it fixed under the warranty.

The result of the MOT was that there was absolutely nothing to complain about the cars condition. No loose joints or nothing. And I even asked what he thinked about the back box and he answered it was normal looking for a three year old car.

And this is no thanks to the Finnish roads being in very good condition, vise versa. And the usage of salt during winter is quite heavy here too, but maybe it´s something about the climate over there that makes the back box corrode so rapidly.

All in all I was very pleased with the 500s mot result!

And I think the 500 is over prised here too, especially the 1.4, which costs 20000 euros. That´s about 4000-5000 euros too much.

 

[306maxi]

About the first MOT.

My car is registered 04/2008 so I had my first MOT back in april. At the time it had 19000km on the odo. I specifically told the inspector to go through the car very closely since I was about to run out of full bumber to bumber warranty and if he had found anything out of the ordinary I could have tried to get it fixed under the warranty.

The result of the MOT was that there was absolutely nothing to complain about the cars condition. No loose joints or nothing. And I even asked what he thinked about the back box and he answered it was normal looking for a three year old car.

And this is no thanks to the Finnish roads being in very good condition, vise versa. And the usage of salt during winter is quite heavy here too, but maybe it´s something about the climate over there that makes the back box corrode so rapidly.

All in all I was very pleased with the 500s mot result!

And I think the 500 is over prised here too, especially the 1.4, which costs 20000 euros. That´s about 4000-5000 euros too much.

19000km's is nothing though, it's just under 12000 miles and I'm about 400 short of 26000 already and I'm not at the 2 year mark yet! Finnish roads are far better than UK roads in my experience too. We drove all the way from Helsinki to Jyvaskyla then to Turku to Rauma and then back to Helsinki and when in towns along the way the roads were fantastic. Even on the gravel roads around Jyvaskyla (we were there for the rally of course) the roads were in good condition.

 

[306maxi]

Maxi

I presume you're not talking list prices when you compare the Clio with the Abarth - the Clio 200 is £16930 compared with £14707 for the A500. The Twingo 133 is probably closer in size and performance and is £12960 (less for the stripped down Cup) which makes it a bargain. Nothing like as cool as the A500 though.

Of course I'm not talking list as people don't pay list if there's a saving to be made

Broadspeed has Clio Rennosports for 14838 for a cup and 15668 for a regular one. The Abarth is list price sadly....