car for kid help
 

So...


Still haven't talked oldest into a nice boring Honda, Nissan, etc.

So we looked at a Fiat 500 Sport today. Just to see if her cello would actually fit in it :)


That said, it was just above our price range.

Any feedback on a 2012 Fiat 500 Sport w/ automatic transmission? Hiding issues, etc. Car has 60k on the odo.

Thanks!


( and still trying to talk her into a nice boring Honda, etc.)

Brings back memories of when my daughter wanted a car, a Jetta.
I asked her why not a Honda. Every one has a Honda, Dad.
I told her she could get a Jetta as long as she paid for the up keep of it.
She quickly changed her mind once she investigated how much that up keep was going to cost her.
YMMV.
Good luck!

What's the budget?

Do a lease payment instead?

Boring Honda.

Civic

Type R

We have $5k cash, I'm willing to sign a loan for up to $1500, so $6500 max out the door.

No leases, if I'm paying for something, I'm going to own it.

Ideally I'd like her to spend $4k of the savings, I'll finance the $1500, and she'll have $1k saved for when it needs new tires in 9 months, or a first (and maybe second) repair.

I know it is a tough spot and price range to be shopping in, but ...


Of course, I could get the 356 back on the road for $5k. She could have my car. For some reason, she won't go for it :)

Dunno - but I understand there were huge quality issues and many parts updates where certain parts are hard to get and are not interchangeable. Prolly last car I would consider.

Consumer reports lists the Fiat 500 as the most trouble prone car sold in the USA.

Just sayin'....

Unless she's going to drive a lot of miles and mpg really matters, I'd suggest some big American tank, like a Crown Victoria with (say) 50,000 miles on it. Cheap to buy and work on, safe.

That's the kind of info I was after... googling for "2012 Fiat known issues" really doesn't turn up much of anything useful...

Thanks for the feedback y'all - STILL trying to talk her into "boring".

Do what everyone else does.
Get a $5k Subaru.
The bloody things are unkillable and everyone that has one loves it.

Boring=reliable

Ding ding! I'll subscribe to that!

My older brother down in New Orleans has owned 4 of the Fiat 500's in the past 5 years. The first was a 2012 Sport with a 5 speed. Well, they've all been 5 speed manuals for him anyway...

The '12 was prone to incomplete welding around the firewall and after hitting a pot hole in a New Orleans street he wound up with a bent lower radius arm. This was when New Orleans had a Fiat "Studio". A search of the lower radius arm revealed that there was 1 (ONE) in the entire USA parts network. His was an "early" '12 and somewhere along the line they made a change to that lower radius arm. He didn't have it much longer after that as he traded it for a '14 Sport. The 14 had various issues and it wasn't as quick as the '15 Turbo he traded it for.

Then the New Orleans Studio closed. Closest Studio was either Houston or Pensacola. The turbo got traded in along with his fairly new BMW 328ti or whatever hatchback doo dad for a Subaru Outback......and a car note.

Subaru seats weren't conducive to his sciatica and the "eyesight" feature was a driving nightmare so it got dumped for an Audi A4. Then he needed a cheap car to travel in and run up the miles, so he flew out to Scottsdale AZ and drove out in a '16 Fiat Sport at $12,500 out the door now that the Chrysler/Dodge dealerships started fixing the Fiats....like they should have done in the first place.

Alas the '16 sport had it's minor issues such as Conti tires that were flat spotted from sitting in the Arizona sun for so long, of which the dealership told him too bad Bub and was traded for a new Mazda 3 hatchback.

And then there was the INSURANCE: The comprehensive insurance cost for any one of the previous mentioned Fiats was MORE than the same coverage on his 05 Boxster, or his BMW, or his Audi, or his Subaru, or his Mazda. That alone is worth seriously looking at. Apparently, the insurance industry sees a cheap Fiat as a probable total loss in pretty much any "crash" situation.

With all that being said, I'd buy a Mazda or a Subaru.:D

Bro helps his grandkids if they want a RAV4. Seems like it would haul a cello, but don't know.

Hmmm, you said "she"...meaning she probably wouldn't want something big and reliable, like a crown vic. Girls want "cute".

Dunno how good for hauling a cello, maybe the back seat? Reliable? Parts easily obtained? Service can be found in any town big enough to have a mayor?

Late 90's to early 2000's Mustang V-6. Bound to be tons of 'em listed in your area.

Should easily find one within your budget. I'd suggest looking at auto trans cars first. More likely to have been adult owned.

(LEASING a first car for a kid? Only 'Murica!)

Get her a Volvo wagon.

Ford Focus.
Comparatively simple, cheap to repair, and a great handling car by American standards.

Wagon or hatchback.
Infinitely more practical in terms of hauling stuff. I used to haul a stand up bass / guitars around. The stand up bass fit into a 944, sure, but only because it had that rear hatch, and the car was completely full at that point.

With something like a cello, it's not just stuffing a cello into the car, if the cello is in a soft case, it's packing it in a way which doesn't stress the neck/ or bridge. If the cello is in a hardcase- then you'll need space.

The wagons/hatchbacks let you haul the cello, + all sorts of other stuff/ clothes/ belongings. Especially if she is travelling with the cello and needs to take a friend,or other musician with her, it lets her be in charge of the travel arrangements, not everyone trying to fit in a friend's potentially unsafe/unreliable/ unknown driving ability arrangement.

I buy reliable cars for my girls (ford escape) - last thing I want for them is to be stuck (and vulnerable) somewhere. The son has been driving whatever he can - my main criteria for him is 4 cylinder and a manual box

I'm surprised it didn't say 'are you kidding? it's a fiat'