OT: buying cars

I read it was OK to ask about other stuff here if I put it to OT first, so here goes.

I recently test drove a Fiat 500L and loved it, but then I went to looking for customer reviews, and all I'm seeing are mixed feedback. Some love the car, others have problems from the get go.

I'm getting frustrated trying to figure out how to get a car that doesn't have something wrong with it, and the reviews I read were on the new Fiat500L's.

Any advice? thanks!

Reply to
Emma D.
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The problem with Italian cars is the quality control is spotty and the work force is entitled. A car built on a good day is as good as anything out there but on a bad day they build junk. Spin the wheel and take your chances ... sort of like American cars of the 70s.

Reply to
gfretwell

If you loved it that's all that matters. There is no significant difference between the 'quality" of cars today. They are all excellent despite the misleading "quality" ratings you get from places like JD Power. That said, the Fiat is on the low end of the excellent scale. Instead of it having 1.5 problems in it's first year it may have 3, all which will be fixed under warranty for free. My recommendation if you plan to keep the car for a substantial length of time beyond the original warranty is to buy an extended warranty from

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and not worry about anything anymore. Yes, you will 'lose' about $100 a year in the cost of the warranty if nothing much breaks but $100 a year is pretty cheap "worry insurance".

Reply to
Ashton Crusher

Back in the 70's they said Fiat stood for Fix it again, Tony. but that was a long time ago.

I rented a really smal Fiat in Israel fo 9 days and I had no complaints. It had room for four people and had a little bit of space for luggage with a door in the back. Short and easy to park.

In your case, you can buy the car you want or buy the one that's rated. It reminds me of looking for lost property where one dropped it or where there is light for looking. Or you can just keep looking for ratings of your model.

When I buy a used car, I look for one in nice condition because body work and upholstery work is expenisve, and I put aside 1000 dollars for repairs. Well, that was a long time ago. Now it's 2000 dollarss. But I've only had to spend the 1000 once. Most times under 200.

The last 8 or more characters just show as question marks. or =E2=8A, etc.

Reply to
Giovanni d'Fiati

Regarding Fiat, friend of mine bought one last year, top model brand new. It ran good for less than 3 months then started dying unexpectedly any where, luckily it happened in parking lots. Just dead, no cranking, nothing. It happened 3 times in next 3 months, they towed the car, whatever they did, it works again for next same episode. Good thing it was summer time. After experiencing same thing over and over, he demanded them to buy back the car and they did without too much fuss. Now he has Honda Fit which is darn good little car. Not interested in small cars like Mazda 3, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic? even KIA Soul?

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Difficult to do a real comparison. Fiat is ranked dead last in every reliability survey so it is not something I'd want to buy.

It is better than any car built in the 1950s though I think that is how you arrive at your conclusion about being on the low end of excellent. My father bought a 1959 Chevy and it had a list of over 20 items for the dealer to correct.

I was a GM guy all my life and every one had to go back for something. I got fed up with my last Buick and bought a Hyundai Sonata. Highest quality car I ever had. Only one of three needed a warranty fix at

57,000 miles. I plan to buy a 2016 when available.
Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Also even if Fiat ran well depreciation rate is pits. Not a good car in cold climate like in Canada. I am eyeing KIA Sportage or Hyundai Tucson (same thing mostly) for wife's next car.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

I'll reserve judgement on the new Fiat for a few more years. The fact that there are 3 year old ones on the road and looking pretty good means they are better than they were in the seventies!!!!

Reply to
clare

My experience with a Fiat Spyder wasn't too pleasant but that was back in the '70s. Italian vehicles have always tended to be high maintenance.

I'm on my second Toyota Yaris; the first one was killed by an errant snowplow. It's in the same subcompact class and a little cheaper than the Fiat. Consumer Reports says you avoid them like the plague but I've been satisfied. After the snowplow incident, I just went back to the same dealer and got another one, didn't bother looking at the Hondas etc. It will happily cruise at 80+ and gets in the high 30's in the summer. Sunday I got 40 mpg with a mix of 70 mph highways and a little

30-40 mph travel on gravel roads. 10 below zero and it starts right up. With front wheel drive/traction control it works well in snow.

I think the Fiat is a little better looking but I'm really more into bikes than cars.

Reply to
rbowman

My parents had that happen on a Chrysler. The problem turned out to be a dirty connection on a fusible link near the positive battery terminal.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Yeah, I owned my Spyder for a couple of months. During one heated discussion I offered to park it on the saleman's desk if we couldn't work out something. I wound up with a '73 Mustang. I'd gotten to like the 'Tang since it was the loaner I was driving for most of those two months.

Reply to
rbowman

I had one of the early Audis. You carried a set of plug wires in the trunk. About every 15000 miles the car wouldn't start. Change the wires and you were good to go. It wasn't a graceful degradation, it just wouldn't start all of a sudden. My wife got the Audi out of the divorce and I kept the Lincoln. I sometimes feel bad doing that to her but she eventually got a few hundred bucks trading it in on a Rabbit. Audi makes some nice looking cars and they must have gotten their act together since they're still in business. V

Reply to
rbowman

High-end autos are jes a crappy as cars on the other end of the price spectrum.

I usta want a BMW. That was until I saw my buddies used Beemer with the padded dash that was cracked wide open from UV sunlight. I had older cars w/ no such problem. Another buddy hadda Mercedes which was the same age as my Honda Civic. My Honda did not leak oil like a BP oil spill, even if my paint job was almost as faded and peeled as bad as his Mercedes. I won't even go into whatta trainwreck my other buddy's Audi is.

Now, I feel quite comfortable buying end-of-life cars. More often than not, they have proven their worth by still being on the road. I sold my Civic w/ 250K miles on it. The engine still purred. I'm currently looking at an '81 El Camino in mint condition. V6 engine w/ a factory stock 3 spd on the floor.

nb

Reply to
notbob

I had similar experience with Sunbeam Rapier. Had to work on it every week end to make it road worthy. I passed it onto my friend who put in a Ford Pinto engine. I still shudder when I think about Lucas parts. After driving company car almost 40 years, I settled on Acura and Subaru for family. So far so good. No major issues.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Chrysler porcelean cased ballast resistors, same way. Just dead one day, no warning.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

not good. I want it to work, so it's not looking like I should pursue that particular car model.

Reply to
Emma D.

Just about everyone I talk to recommends buying an extended warranty, so if/when I do buy one I'll probably do that, too.

Reply to
Emma D.

I do like the KIA Soul, too, so maybe I should investigate one of those more. Test drove one about a year ago, and kind of liked it, but didn't want a black interior. Couldn't find any with a lighter interior, either.

Reply to
Emma D.

Check the cost and read the fine print. Many are very over priced and cover little. Personally, I don't buy them. Put the money in the bank and long term. come out way ahead.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

The biggest problem with most cars today in not having properly trained mechanics to work on them. Fiats are not Dodge Rams.

Reply to
clare

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