An update to this. Even though we bought it at a Chrysler dealer and Fiat owns them I could not get them to support the warranty at all for example the car developed a wicked vibration for no reason at all and I couldnt get the dealer to send it to a tire shop that they owned to fix the problem. So the only solution I had was to go to the Chevy dealer and traded it for a 2014 Sonic RS Turbo hatchback with all the same options the fiat had and then some with 8 miles on it and didnt lose a single dollar in the trade. The chevy dealer finally got it sold after 2 months because in a small town word gets around that the chrysler dealer wont support it and a side note I guess other folks that bought a 500 from them have complained also as this dealer no longer has them on their lot. Impression from the 3 months we had it is it is a rattle trap with no road manners and if the safety ratings had come out before we bought it we would have never done it. Also the 500 has an all inclusive warranty for the first 2 years that also includes wearing parts and oil changes and the dealer we bought it from also would not support that as well saying they would not get paid by their parent company that we would have to take it to the nearest fiat dealer 70 milesaway for any warrenty work.

I concur -
It "could" have been a great little car, But with all the things that have gone wrong, endless trips to the dealer, the "I have no answer from them" their bad attitude . I would sell this thing in a second ..if i could.
I go through a set of tires every 10,000 miles .Serious.
The rear wheel bearings howl , plastic whatever under steer wheel falls off, headliner coming lose at corner of windshield.
Endless check engine lights. endless .
A tire monitor system that says it does not work, but sometimes work.
Fiat of America does not care, Endless conversations with them.
It took them a month to fix the shifter bracket last year.
The car now has 44000 miles on it. No resale value. No help from dealer. Pretty much a POS.

Thanks for the feedback.

I was still considering the Abarth but the issues I have been hearing has helped me change my mind about what to replace the Mini when it keels over; 2006 MCS with 108,000 miles, still running great and rattle free.

I am leaning towards the new VW Golf TDI as a replacement in the future.

Fiat defines Italian trash with it reincarnation of the 500 and I agree all my conversations with fiat have been pretty much "I dont care" from them thats why I pulled the trigger and traded it while I could

Yup, Fiat cut their own throat here in the late 70s last time. They did not learn / remeber their lesson.
It could have been a great car. However with zero for customer support it is just a PIA.

Resale is in fact horrific with any of the Fiats. We sold my wife's car and it was painful. They are cool cars, but...

Yes, because- who could truthfully recommend the pos?
Its ok to make mistakes,they all could have been fixed quite cheerfully.
But no, lying to me was a better plan for them.
Keeping my car for almost 30 days cause at 1st they would not take a shift bracket off a new car to fix mine. (in the end they did )
Last i checked my Abarth was worth about 10K ! OUCH !

Wow I guess I am one of the lucky ones then the pearl white/red version of the 500c turns out is the most popular therefore commands a better price the chevy dealer started out trying to sell it for 16500 and had to come down pretty quick I saw it priced at 14500 but it sat there for another month before it disappeared I heard they may have came down to 12500 to sell it and I paid 14000 and change and it had 2500 miles on it when we traded.

It was the ONLY car I ever bought new, I should have known better.......LOL

We have all made decisions we later regret - especially when it involves something from Italy ;)

Here is my Italian mistake, 2001 Aprilia Mille R,
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1151979905.jpg

Bought it used from a MC warehouse (first mistake). Did not get it checked out by independent shop (fatal mistake). I thought I got a good deal at $7600 but ended up putting $3K more in fixes and maintenance very quickly. Turned out I was not a fan of the big twin motor. It took a couple months to sell (only one response) and I let it go for a $5Knet loss over the 18 months I owned it. No more eye-tal-ian for me thanks.

Check out the depreciation of late model luxury/sports cars to make yourself feel better. Some 997 owners who bought new have seen values drop by $50K or more.

Ouch too!..
However the Fiats we have here USA are made in Mexico, I am not sure where the rest of the world gets them after that.
That said the car was fine, till it has problems......Its not like the doors and glass is falling out, Just the constant little things and tires every ten thou miles.
The dealer or fiat could have fixed it.
They dont care.!
I will at some point get time to pull some strings under the car and see what should happen to get it right.
It should not be my job.

Go drive a focus or fiesta ST if you want a hot hatch. Seriously, badass little cars!

The ONLY thing that swayed me from the little Ford is i thought the Abarth would do better in gas milage..I get 33 at the worst and can milk 38 MPG out of it.
but with New treads every ten thou miles kind of ruins that equation ................LOL

And you can actually find service for the ford... And most importantly... MOAR POWER!!!!

Since nobody has posted the commercial.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HrdKr-p3fWc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The Sonic RS Turbo is seriously fun to drive also unlike the fiat which became a rattle trap shortly after purchase

Lol went past the Chevy dealer yesterday and the fiat was sitting in the service area and my daughter said thats the 3rd time since we got rid of it that they saw it there.

Sounds like it's a good thing that you got rid of that piece of sh_t.
Why don't you go back over there late at night and beat the crap out of it with a baseball bat?...it's so bad.
Sheesh!

Have you looked into the lemon laws in your state? I might have a good attorney to recommend.

Please do !
Thanx
I am trying to figure out at this moment how to make a BIG BIG Lemon and put it on top of the car and drive it around the dealership on the weekend.
I thought i could find one on EBAY or somewhere.
Nope