The New Fiat 500 Abarth (only) Thread

Has anyone on here tracked a modded Abarth here?

I'm considering just ripping mine apart, and converting it for track only duty.

These are worth nothing on the used market, pointless to sell mine.

 

I thought the regular 500 were having that issue because of the extra ride height, and the one or two Abarth that tipped were basically driver error...

 

Well, I pulled the trigger! Its a pretty cool ride. Its fun that's for sure. Its not the fastest car, but it has acres of character. Lovely.
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Congratulations Paulk!

 

Congrats! Please share your ownership experience with us. I know that there were reliability issues but they seem to have been with the early production models.

 

Congrats, looks great with the white stripe and wheels, don't see many with that combo. I have a 13 blk/red 17k miles and has been oil changes and go. Also have dedicated wheels with snows and she's fine in a few inches. Make sure u use the Sport button, makes all the difference.

 

Thanks everyone for the comments!

Here is what its like so far.

The steering is dead, and does not fully self-center. The driving position is awkward- you sit on the seat rather than sit in the car (if that makes any sense). Some of the interior features scream "economy" car and the shifter action is notchy.

And you know what? I don't care! You don't buy this car for those reasons. It IS supposed to BE an economy car that the Italians fiddled with to go fast. There is no muffler and you can hear the turbo whizzing all offer, and I love the back pressure burbling and popping, especially at inappropriate times. The car never apologizes and I love that. It is a car that makes you do bad things with a smile. Bella!

 

I picked up a used 500 sport a few weeks ago. Makes you smile, even with the tiny base engine.
I laugh when someone cuts in front of me in the highway...they had no idea how hard I worked to get up to 75.
It's fun work though.
The driving position is funny, and my wife broke off the arm rest in the first 90 minutes of ownership thinking the cover opened up for a storage compartment (it doesn't).
But it's fun to zip around in. May have to look for an Abarth in the future.

 

So an update- one thing I have noticed that this thing sure does throw off the heat. The first time I really drove it hard, I noticed a smell that smelled like a burning/oily smell. I think it was just because it was new. Can anyone else confirm that?

Also, I am trying to find a workshop manual for the car. I have not had any luck. Anyone know where I can get my hands on one?

Thanks all!

 

This is one of the best mods I've done to mine.

Fiat 500 Abarth Short Throw Shifter

 

Nice combo!

 

Mrs. SMS' 2014 Abarth
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Thanks! Thats a sharp looking Abarth SMS!

I think I am going to keep this car... I just enjoy too much to get rid of it. And what are you going to replace it with? The Chevy Malibu? Ugh.

I love how it does not care. Its loud and if you are at a party until 3-4am and start it up, its AWFULLY loud and probably woke the neighbors. But it wants to be a Ferrari when it grows up so it wants to show that to everyone.

Another thing I dont get is the lights. I have to manually turn on and off the lights. But that is different from the interior- they seem to be set up via a photo sensor that detects how dark it is in the interior and once its dark enough, only then do the interior lights come on.

Of course, I love the noises. Some of the backfires are literally like gunshots. I can see the people behind me back off. The car may actually spit fire?

 

Thoughts on owning one off warranty? Toying around with the concept of using one as a daily / train car. Still yet to drive one (had an off-putting call with the Larchmont Fiat dealer today when I tried to schedule time to come down) but am still motivated.

 

You can haggle hard on new ones. Hell, mine was what, 16-17k? Out the door (including sales tax of 6% AND shipping) I paid 19k and some change. And that just the Abarth. You could get a sweet normal 2015 500 for dirt cheap.

 

I scored a sweet 2013 Rosso Abarth a few months ago.

I bought it with 27k miles on it and paid $12.9k. Very happy with the purchase so far, great fun, great noise and a great DD for here in Austin.

It had a rattle coming from the front when I test drove, the dealer ended up putting a new gearbox in under warranty. No issues with the car since I've had it.

 

You can get a new one, or slightly used for really good deals. No reason to find one without a warranty.


The larger issue with these cars are the dealers. Many have had terrible encounters due to the dealers and FCA.

My car made throw out bearing noises since it was purchased. Fiat said it would be replaced when parts came in. They back tracked when it went back in, and said it doesn't constantly make the noise so they won't repair.

That was at the start of ownership, literally day 1. It had endless issues after that, which I would have just brushed off if it wasn't for such horrible experiences with the dealer and FCA.

My car always felt down on performance, and because it had no check engine light they would never look into that claim. Three weeks out of warranty, the spark plug service was due (low 30k miles) went to change them myself, and the first plug I pulled was coated in oil. Cylinder 1 ended up being down on compression. Bone stock car. It was out of warranty, but by three weeks and various claims were made of lack of power on multiple service reports. Contacted FCA and they ignored it. Ended up replacing the engine myself.

Currently the cars at 43k miles and the only current issue the car has is a ton of rattles. My girlfriend also has one which has pretty much been trouble free, but suffers from tons of rattles as well.



For the money, they make fun daily drivers. Before purchasing I strongly advise doing research on the nearest dealer.

 

Yes, I've the Record Monza exhaust and a friend of mine driving behind me at night actually told me that there 2 very small flame pops came out of the exhaust

 

Well better late then never.

I had no idea this thread existed! So here's my story. I'm sorry if it's too long, so I'll start with the specs of the car first and if you're interested you can read the rest of the story

2015 Abarth 595 Competizione Cabrio in Scorpione Black, Manual gearbox & Sabelt 595 seats.

Funny thing, Fiat/Abarth Australia actually have confirmed that only 13 manual 595 Competizione Cabrio's came to Australia.

Photos of Dino underneath my life story

After roughly 5 years of arguing with my wife that I wanted an Abarth because my dad used to own an original 595 in the late 70's she finally agreed to have a look "at some point". We were in the market for a second car and we saw a stunning '67 Mustang for sale. Went to the dealership and had a look. The car was honestly stunning!!

I had a chat with a rather rude salesman, and was pushing me to buy the car on finance with 18.99% special rate. Had a good laugh, but since I never driven a Mustang before I was quite persistent to take this stunning V8 out for a little round the block. Well another heap of issues during the test drive eg. side mirror falling off, and my wife confusing MPH with km/h. So while she was driving she ended up driving 60mph instead of 60km/h. Finally returned we knew we had to walk away very quickly from this dealership as it screamed "DO NOT TRUST US".

Once in the car I told her that the new Abarth just came to Australia, yeah I did have to lie on that occasion

Once arrived at the dealership they didn't have the car we wanted. Her prerequisite was to have a convertible, and mine a manual. So after 30 minutes we walked out with a signed contract on a car we have not seen nor driven.

Skip forward 8 weeks (2 weeks before my birthday). Finally we could pick Dino up, and boy was that an experience!!! Since then we've driven around 6800km's (yes in 1 year). It's my pride and joy and want to keep it. Especially knowing the limited numbers of these in the country!!
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I want your seats! We can't get the 595 Competizione in the states.

 

They're comfortable, but quite harsh

which versions do you have available in the US??

 

Really uncomfortable ones if you're skinny.

I want to put a recaro in mine, but it will trigger a dash light due to the airbags in the seat.

 

We just get the standard seats in either cloth or leather.
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