Advice picking a new car

The 500 is a fashion accessory first, and a car second. They're not bad by any stretch, but they are pricey and I'd have genuine reservations about FIAT's aftersales service levels. Parts availability would also be a concern. But, diff'rent strokes and all that.
 
HapticSimian said:
The 500 is a fashion accessory first, and a car second. They're not bad by any stretch, but they are pricey and I'd have genuine reservations about FIAT's aftersales service levels. Parts availability would also be a concern. But, diff'rent strokes and all that.
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Just keeping all my options open...
 
MikyMouse said:
Just keeping all my options open...
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Nothing wrong with that. My advised process for buying a car of late has been to establish a budget first and foremost. Then you pop your requirements into something like AutoTrader's advanced search, and look at the first few pages of most recent ads posted. Draw up a shortlist of viable options, discarding the cars you wouldn't consider for whatever reason. Once you've narrowed it to 3 or 4 options base your decision on test-driving each of the remaining ones.

Doing things that way may just toss up a decent choice or two you wouldn't otherwise have considered.
 
Vegeta said:
Me too, the reviews are also positive. It's got character, must say the UP also has a slight cheekyness to it.
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The Up! is a good car, no question about it but you get more standard equipment for your money IMO in the 500. But one can't ignore the quality and reliability that the Up! comes with.
 
bheinche said:
The Up! is a good car, no question about it but you get more standard equipment for your money IMO in the 500. But one can't ignore the quality and reliability that the Up! comes with.
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The 500 has great reviews. And it's italian chic. If it has beter equipment for the price, that would draw me
 
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Vegeta said:
The 500 has great reviews. And it's italian chic. If it has beter equipment for the price, that would draw me
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'For the price' is the rub - I'd guess 30 - 40% more expensive, nevermind all the concerns surrounding buying a FIAT. But then practical considerations aren't at the forefront when shopping for a designer handbag either.
 
Just get a secondhand Honda Jazz 1.5 elegance :) you can drive it for the next 20 years...

Never heard of any stolen ...
 
HapticSimian said:
'For the price' is the rub - I'd guess 30 - 40% more expensive, nevermind all the concerns surrounding buying a FIAT. But then practical considerations aren't at the forefront when shopping for a designer handbag either.
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So on the price side of things... If I get the Up with all the bells and whistles that I want, plus the maintenance plan and all the on the road costs it comes to about R195k. The new Fiat 500 comes standard with all the things I want (including blueteeth) and also has a 1l engine (but is turbo charged). It comes standard with a full 3yr / 100 000km maintenance plan. All and all I've been able to wiggle the dealer down to R200k for everything all included. (I can't get a demo yet on this one as it was only launched a month ago).
 
MikyMouse said:
So on the price side of things... If I get the Up with all the bells and whistles that I want, plus the maintenance plan and all the on the road costs it comes to about R195k. The new Fiat 500 comes standard with all the things I want (including blueteeth) and also has a 1l engine (but is turbo charged). It comes standard with a full 3yr / 100 000km maintenance plan. All and all I've been able to wiggle the dealer down to R200k for everything all included. (I can't get a demo yet on this one as it was only launched a month ago).
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Heh... FIAT:

fiat.jpg

:p

The mid-range model has a base price of R200k? Seems the dealers are already desperate to get rid of a just-launched car. If I were to follow my own advice from a few posts earlier, FIAT would be one of the brands I'd dismiss off the bat. In a local context they're just too oddball, with too small a dealer network and too many potential sources of headaches.
 
I would recommend the up! I Have been driving one since Jan. Comfortable, nice ride, Adequate power, surprisingly deep boot and 600kms to a 35l tank. But why are you paying so much? Go for this one, has every option except Bluetooth. And you don't need a maintenance plan for a car like this, I don't even think a service plan is necessary. Services are +-1500 once a year or 15000kms

I bought a lower spec entry level demo with 2000km for 109k, so you can actually get value from VW (who would've thought). It beat anything especially the Koreans hands down. You can really feel the solidity and it's well engineered.

http://www.autotrader.co.za/used-ca...ove-1.0--fpa-8a818e9952a66c500152a9f95b5e043f
 
bheinche said:
Because it is a Fiat, and we all know how temperamental Italian cars are

Fix It Again Tony. But personally I like the Fiat 500
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In terms of reliability, they've come a long way... Still a lot to do for after sales though.

I haven't had to wait for more than three days for my Alfa parts and the parts manager at Arnold Chatz in Hyde Park is great.

I'd highly recommend the Hyde Park branch but will never set foot in the Fourways one again, although it's 5 mins away
 
ahoudet said:
In terms of reliability, they've come a long way... Still a lot to do for after sales though.

I haven't had to wait for more than three days for my Alfa parts and the parts manager at Arnold Chatz in Hyde Park is great.

I'd highly recommend the Hyde Park branch but will never set foot in the Fourways one again, although it's 5 mins away
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I wasn't dissing Fiat I know they have come a long way in terms of reliability but as HapticSimian pointed out, in terms of the dealer network it could be a no no
 
bheinche said:
I wasn't dissing Fiat I know they have come a long way in terms of reliability but as HapticSimian pointed out, in terms of the dealer network it could be a no no
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I'd take the Up! just based on specifically that so I totally agree with you :)
 
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