Fiat 500e - How bad?

[bcossa2001]

My first car was a used 1974 X1/9.
Learned a lot....replaced transaxle, head gasket, clutch, choke cable, rear hub, points plugs, condenser, ignition coil, distributor, timing belt, drive belt, exhaust (Ansa headers..sounded like a motor boat). 1300 cc of pollution controlled madness. Ironic that my Fusion engine is nearly the identical displacement.
Always be sure the old oil filter gasket is off before installing a new one.
Absolutely no room for servicing.
Still have the old dwell meter and timing light.
My experience was that Fiat stands for Fix It Again Tomorrow.
Not interested in another one, but also expect that the company is not the same one that existed in1974 -
better or worse.

 

[Nick1994]

I think a lot of people are thinking I'm talking about the standard 500 here.

I'm talking about the *fully electric* model. There's no gas engine or transmission.

Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Originally Posted by Nick1994
I see these things for sale really cheap, the Fiat 500e (electric) model, cheap as in a 2015, 26k miles, for $6k.

How bad could they be? Seems like it would be a decent little run around car. Finding a mechanic if it got some gremlins would probably be a little difficult.

For $6000 buy a Corolla.

I already have a good car, but this is fully electric which means no gas. My work has chargers for free, and I live less than 80 miles round trip from work

 

[SatinSilver]

Most common problem with them is: "charger cable fried". Which doesn't sound promising. Although small sample size from the site below. A Nissan Leaf I'm sure would be much better and prob around the same price.

https://www.carcomplaints.com/Fiat/500e/

 

[atikovi]

Probably still has a good bit of warranty left on the EV components.

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted by Nick1994
I see these things for sale really cheap, the Fiat 500e (electric) model, cheap as in a 2015, 26k miles, for $6k.

How bad could they be? Seems like it would be a decent little run around car. Finding a mechanic if it got some gremlins would probably be a little difficult.


Offer them $4000 for it, and just plan to use it for around-town errands, running no further than 30 miles a day.
It should be low maintenance. No engine oil or trans fluid to change.
When the battery goes bad, the car is disposable.

 

[Rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Nick1994
I think a lot of people are

I already have a good car, but this is fully electric which means no gas. My work has chargers for free, and I live less than 80 miles round trip from work


Don't you have to pay like $400 a year extra for plates on an electric? My gas economy car only burned about $250 of fuel last year, so gotta factor in if your in one of the EV fine states that tax the living $$$$ out of you.

Arizona $410 tax but rich guys are ok with ithttps://www.google.com/amp/s/www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/arizona-bill-would-raise-registration-fees-for-electric-car-owners%3f_amp=true

Anyway

The 500e is reliable once all the recalls and updates are done.

Early models tended to snap halfshafts and would brick when the BMS would freak out.

Once Chrysler engineers sorted these issues the cars became reliable.

As alluded to being a CARB state gets a 10 year 150000 mile warranty on the battery.

A "charge cable" burning up is common and they are just a glorified extension cord that can be fixed or replaced with a Chinese extension cord if needed.

The main issue is if you have a problem it takes extraordinary help from corporate to get someone qualified to work on the car.

 

[Rmay635703]

Originally Posted by A_Harman

Offer them $4000 for it, and just plan to use it for around-town errands, running no further than 30 miles a day.
It should be low maintenance. No engine oil or trans fluid to change.
When the battery goes bad, the car is disposable.


Agreed, I've seen 500e's for $3500 on up, nothing like a compliance car, though I'm told they are fun to drive

 

[MCompact]

Give up and join the BITOG herd- find a nice Panther, Camry, or Tacoma- and drive it for 500k miles.
And pay cash.

 

[dareo]

For a cheap EV i would buy an older Chevy Volt. They are cheap and you have an engine for endless range, super cold weather, ect. I'm not sure i'd want an EV in Arizona at all, unless we are talking about late model Teslas.

 

[earlyre]

Originally Posted by CT8
Fiat? I am surprised that you had to ask. i one was told made in Italy quality is either great or garbage.


nope this new gen of 500's (even before they brought them to the US) none were made in Italy. the Euro Models made in a Polish Fiat factory, and the North American Models in a Mexican Chrysler plant.

 

[Skippy722]

Originally Posted by danez_yoda
Scotty Killmer hates them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtqBl_nvh7Q



Scotty Kilmer hates anything that doesn't have a Toyota or Lexus badge on it. No surprise there.

Originally Posted by MCompact
Give up and join the BITOG herd- find a nice Panther, Camry, or Tacoma- and drive it for 500k miles.
And pay cash.

 

[billt460]

Fiat 500 = Ugly, rusts quickly, breaks down a lot, has terrible sales numbers, and depreciates faster than a week old losing lottery ticket. What's not to like? I can't imagine anyone choosing one of these turds on wheels, when there are so many other compacts out there that run reliably, cost the same, and you can actually get to the supermarket and back without having to push it home.

 

[wdn]

Fiat, quality index = 0 out of 100

http://www.dashboard-light.com/reports/Fiat.html

Fiat 500, reliability index = 0 out of 100

http://www.dashboard-light.com/vehicles/Fiat_500.html

 

[wag123]

When Fiat came back to the US market I predicted that they would fail, again.

 

[supton]

What about the Leaf or Bolt? Not sure how they fare on the used market.

 

[Rmay635703]

Originally Posted by supton
What about the Leaf or Bolt? Not sure how they fare on the used market.


They cost more and the leaf has major battery degradation problems

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by Rmay635703
Originally Posted by supton
What about the Leaf or Bolt? Not sure how they fare on the used market.


They cost more and the leaf has major battery degradation problems

Ah. I recall someone suggesting a couple years ago, and I've always had it in the back of the mind. At work they're supposedly putting in chargers, so if the TCO was there I'd have to think about an electric commuter.

 

[Rmay635703]

Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by Rmay635703
Originally Posted by supton
What about the Leaf or Bolt? Not sure how they fare on the used market.


They cost more and the leaf has major battery degradation problems

Ah. I recall someone suggesting a couple years ago, and I've always had it in the back of the mind. At work they're supposedly putting in chargers, so if the TCO was there I'd have to think about an electric commuter.


The TCO is fine in most areas as long as the government doesn't tack in hundreds of dollars or extra taxes

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by earlyre
it's only got a range of about 80mi...
Fiat actively discouraged people from buying them, they only exist b/c of california, to offset the emissions of the charger/challenger/hellcat,etc.also, Fiat lost around $14k on every one they sold.

And even in CA, I don't see too many of them around. They use a Samsung battery pack, dunno if it's liquid-cooled like a Tesla or the LG units GM uses in the Volt or Bolt.

Me and The Critic replaced a battery pack in a 06 Prius that lived in AZ, the car was barely at the 60K mark.

 

[atikovi]

Originally Posted by nthach
Me and The Critic replaced a battery pack in a 06 Prius that lived in AZ, the car was barely at the 60K mark.


Umm, the Prius is a hybrid. The Fiat an EV.