Any Fiat 500 owners?

Not sure how much help I can be on this one, I owned 3 of them back in the early 80's. Sold them for a lot less than that and 2 of them were really nice at the time, one was a parts machine. Parts were virtually impossible to get in the U.S. at the time but anything and everything was available from Italy. At that time from FIAT itself and of course parts suppliers as these cars were very common there. WIth the net now, I assume parts availability would be very good but you might have to wait for shipping. My 500 convertible (more like an open top) had a Abarth motor, the changes mechanically were fairly minor, little hotter cams and carb. Also a different advance curve I found out the hard way. Never did notice any performance difference but the Abarth version sure ran better.

I have seen some really perfect cars near that price but having owned them, I sure think its way too much. They were pretty reliable and sure handled well mostly due to their size, not suspension.

 

We recently purchased a '67 wagon and love it. Not enough experience to give any impression of maintenance, but it's got a decent motor and is fast enough to drive on any city street in our area, though perhaps not the interstate.

Be warned: the attention getting quotient of the 500 is incredible - much stronger than that of any Ferrari we've owned. EVERYONE takes pics, asks questions, often while driving beside us.

Great car, we love it. Check eBay Motors, there always seem to be parts for sale.

 

I have a 73 500 R. It has under 1000 actual miles, probably the lowest mileage 500 on earth. The car got shipped over to US in 73 & the owner never could get it registered. After a car is 25 years or older it is easy to register - which is just what I did. Parts are really cheap. I have bought them from a guy in Germany (wilfried Ritz). What a deal, I got a new top & frame, new headlight rings, & sooo many other parts & it still came to under $200. with US shipping included. I got the parts in about 10 days.
They are neat, mine will run 70 mph with no problem, but is great to cruise at 50 or so. They don't have sychronizers in the transmission, so shifting is a little different, but not bad. Not too many options, but you can do almost anything you want. I had a 70 Mini and it was actually a little longer. Another thing cool is that they show up in a lot of collector & exotic car books. It is amazing that they made a car like this, it was considered to be the upgrade from the Vespa! As far as prices go, 6500 is not bad. Probably the cheapest (that runs & is not a rust bucket) will be $3000. I have thought about selling mine, if you don't find one let me know - I'd let it go to a new home for 5000.

 

I've had my 500 since 1978! I will never, ever sell it! They are just the best city car, so much fun, NEVER get booked even though one night I was doing 55 in a 30 zone (accidentally!) right beside a police car, everyone loves them and several times when I've had mine at a car show alongside my 308 people (not knowing the 308 was mine) have said to me how they'd rather have the Bambino.
Mine has Abarth 695 upgrade which essentially gives you extra torque so that 2nd gear hills become 3rg gear hills. Do learn to double declutch properly and don't EVER drop the clutch (you'll wreck the silent blocks).
150miles on a tank of petrol but 70MPH is rather optimistic!
Mine is basically a daily driver with a 20k range - any further than that and you tend to end up with a headache!
$6500!?! Here in Australia they go for around A$2500... But there's still quite a few on the roads here.

 

Mine is a 73 which came with a the bigger 126 (595 cc) engine. I guess it might have been closer to 68 mph, given the kilometer to mile conversion but it still has more upstairs. My car has under 900 real miles. It is tight! I have gotten nothing but positive comments, other than one guy whoes girlfriend would not stop walking around the car. He said I must be comfortable in my manhood to drive such a car! Funny, I can't remember what he was driving!