Would you like to drive a Fiat 500 Abarth without paying the $22,575 on the base model? Great news for you! The price of used Fiat 500 Abarth's dropped significantly!
⚠️ If It's Broken, Don't Fix It - Get Paid Cash for Your Vehicle ⚠️
You will be surprised if you checked for the current price of used Fiat 500 Abarth and found it less than $10,000 for the 2012 or 2013 models. While some of these used Fiats might have a little high mileage, spending a little more time researching, you can easily find a Fiat 500 Abarth with less than 20,000 miles for only $10,000!
Fiat 500 Abarth reliability is the first thing you need to look for when shopping in the used market. Look very carefully for peoples' ratings that starts super high then drops significantly after a couple of years of use. Once you have this information, you can make an informed decision about whether to buy a used Fiat 500 Abarth or not.
Fiat 500 Abarth overview
According to cars.usnews.com, 2019 marks the last model year for the Fiat 500 Abarth. Fiat discontinued this trend for the first time since 2012. This vehicle has a long list of pros, including a great city commuter, a super-powerful model, and a user-friendly infotainment system. However, the vehicle doesn't have the greatest quality cabin, and its seating might feel a little tight.
Fiat 500 Abarth seats up to four passengers, gets from 24 to 28 miles per gallon in city roads, and 32 to 33 mpg on the highways. The vehicle comes with a 4-wheel drive and gets from 111 to 160 of horsepower.
The Fiat 500 Abarth comes with a 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine that is associated with either a 6-speed automatic or 5-speed manual transmission. The vehicle has a curb weight ranging from 2,366 to 2,512 pounds.
According to Kelley Blue Book, the Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for the 2019 Fiat 500 Abarth is about $17,750, and this price does include $1,495 on destination charge.
Fiat 500 Abarth Reliability
According to the J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study, the 2019 Fiat 500 received the lowest reliability score of two out of five, making it one of the worst compact vehicles for this class. The 2019 Fiat 500 was ranked as the 12th out of 13th subcompact vehicles.
J.D. Power Dependability Study investigates four main variables when evaluating the vehicle's reliability. These variables include quality and reliability, driving experience, resale, and dealership experience.
Quality and reliability reflect the owner's perspective when it comes to vehicle parts starting from the engine to the infotainment system. At the same time, the driving experience is a direct evaluation from the owner about how comfortable he is with the vehicle's functionality, safety, and technology. Resale is an index determined by J.D. Power to represent an expected loss in the vehicle's value. Finally, dealership experience represents the customer's satisfaction after they visit the dealership, starting from the service itself, the dealership facilities, and the quality of work.
It is important to note that the J.D. Power Dependability Study is not the only ranking when it comes to a vehicle's reliability. Especially since the J.D. Power Dependability Study focuses on certain model years, while sometimes we might need to look into the entire make and model despite the year. For example, there is the RepairPal reliability provides a more generic scoring that is not limited to the model year.
The RepairPal reliability scoring takes into consideration reviews from millions of customers across all model years for the same make. This rating has different variables when evaluating vehicle reliability, including cost, frequency, and severity.
In RepairPal reliability scoring, the cost represents the average annual unexpected repair costs for certain vehicle makes and models. Frequency represents the average number of times a certain vehicle was brought to the mechanic for unpredicted repairs. Finally, the severity represents how bad the problem was when the vehicle was brought to the mechanic.
When looking at the RepairPal reliability scoring for the Fiat 500 Abarth, it might sound like the vehicle received a high score of 3.5 out of five. However, when comparing it to other subcompact vehicles in the same class, Fiat 500 Abarth's score is one of the worst among the competitors.
Why did Fiat 500 Abarth receive a low-reliability score?
While there were a lot of good things about the 2019 Fiat 500 Abarth, this vehicle has a long list of drawbacks that resulted in reducing the reliability of scoring.
-
It takes time to accelerate
For any sporty vehicle, it is expected that the vehicle would accelerate very fast and provide a fun, exciting experience. Unfortunately, one of the biggest drawbacks of the 2019 Fiat 500 Abarth is the slow acceleration when compared to other vehicles in the same class.
It will take about 7.5 seconds for the 2019 Fiat 500 to go from 0 to 60 mph. This time is 1 second, if not more, above what the other competitors need for the same speed. Although one second might sound like a very short time, this time needed makes it overwhelming to the vehicle and does not satisfy drivers who prefer a sporty ride.
While flipping from the manual transmission to the sport mode might help reduce the problem, when using the automatic transmission, the engine feels underpowered.
-
Very bad fuel economy
It is expected for a small vehicle to have a great fuel economy simply because the engine is small, and the vehicle doesn't have a huge weight. Unfortunately, the 2019 Fiat 500 does not have the greatest fuel economy when compared to the other 500's top rivals in the same class.
When using the 6-speed automatic transmission, the Fiat 500 does not get more than 24 miles per gallon in city roads and 32 miles per gallon on the highways. On the other hand, if you're using the 5-speed manual transmission, the vehicle will not get more than 28 miles per gallon in city roads and 34 miles per gallons in the highways.
-
Underpowered
For a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $20,000, you would expect to see a very high-powered sporty vehicle. Unfortunately, this is not the case with the 2019 Fiat 500. Yes, the vehicle does look very nice from the outside; however, it does not come with the full measure up. It might feel sluggish when trying to accelerate. Therefore, automakers experts suggest that you invest this money in a better vehicle.
-
Hard to access the trunk
The 2019 Fiat 500 comes in a very specific design that has a panoramic sunroof top. This design makes it very hard to access the trunk, which might be inconvenient for many drivers.
Is Fiat 500 Abarth a bad vehicle?
Despite all the mentioned cons about the Fiat 500 Abarth, the vehicle still has a lot of good features to attract many buyers. In this section, we will cover some of the main pros of the Fiat 500 Abarth.
-
A great looking vehicle for an affordable price
The 2019 Fiat 500 is very attractive from the outside, the inside, and the price. The curved shape body of this vehicle made it super distinctive and eye-catching on the road. Furthermore, the vehicle has a great looking inside despite the trim level, which attracts any unique vehicle lover. Lastly, the 2019 Fiat 500 Abarth comes at a very affordable price as compared to vehicles from the same class.
-
Impressive comfortable ride quality
Although the 2019 Fiat 500 Abarth is made to provide a sporty driving experience, the vehicle still provides an impressively comfortable ride quality. When you drive a 2019 Fiat 500, you will not feel the firm, aggressive ride, especially when driving over bumps on the surface of the road.
-
Small enough to fit anywhere!
Yes, the 2019 Fiat 500 Abarth is a small vehicle, and some people might find it as one of the vehicle's cons. On the other hand, if you think about it from a different angle, owning a small vehicle can be very handy, especially for those who live in urban areas, where parking lots are tight. Thanks to the rearview in the standard model, which made backing a very easy task. Thus, you never have to worry about parking in perpendicular or parallel parking spots. Although the front door might need some space to open, the small size of the vehicle eliminated the problem.
-
Eye-catching interior design!
If you are a fan of classic cars, you will find that the 2019 Fiat 500 Abarth very unique, especially from the inside. The vehicle's internal parts are placed together in a way that made it look like a unique piece.
-
Good handling when compared to other vehicles in the same class
Despite the low price of the Fiat 500 Abarth, the vehicle has relatively good handling when compared to other vehicles in the same class. It is important to note, however, that the vehicle doesn't have the great handling experience you would get when driving larger vehicles.
-
Easy to get in and out from the front door
Some people might think that the small size of the vehicle might make it hard for people to get in and out of it. However, the fact that the front doors open wide made getting in and out of the vehicle a simple task.
-
Rearview camera with the standard model
As we mentioned earlier, visibility is one of the biggest issues with the 2019 Fiat 500 Abarth. On the other hand, the standard model of the vehicle comes with a rearview camera that came in handy to resolve the visibility issues. Therefore, if you are parking in a very tight parking space and you would like to back out between two large SUVs or trucks, you should not have a problem!
Fiat 500 Abarth recalls
Vehicles recall she is very important when it comes to reliability as they are directly connected to unpredicted repair problems. That's why we would like to focus this section on the Fiat 500 Abarth's recalls.
According to NHTSA vehicle safety recalls, beginning July 24th, 2019, Chrysler recalled certain Fiat 500 Abarth vehicles manufactured between 2011 and 2019. These vehicles had issues with the shifter shaft that could cause crashes problems. The shifter shaft was installed improperly, as reported by several owners to the manufacturer. To get the problem resolved, dealerships were asked to inspect and replace the shifter assembly without charging the customers.
Conclusion
Although the 2019 Fiat 500 comes in a unique design from the inside and the outside, the vehicle does not have the greatest reliability and has a long list of drawbacks. As a result, while people reported high ratings for recent Fiat 500s, after owning the vehicle for a longer period, their rating dropped drastically.
According to the J.D. Power Dependability Study, the 2019 Fiat 500 received a very low-reliability score of two out of five, which is one of the worst scorings for vehicles from the same class. Plus, if you are interested in riding a used Fiat 500, you might need to sit down and think about whether it's worth spending the money in this vehicle or not.
Therefore, if you go to the used market and try to find if you get 500 in the used market, you will be surprised about the price. The vehicle's prize dropped drastically do too many issues that were reflected in their reliability rating. The sudden drop in any vehicle's price is not a good sign. It means that people were not happy about the vehicle, usually due to significant mechanical issues that required high unexpected repair costs. Therefore, buying a cheap Fiat 500 Abarth does not mean a good deal, it simply means a waste of money.