Well decided to add to the fleet.

Was going to consider a second MINI but the simple fact that they won't buy back the RF tires and let me put my own non RF tires on the car before it leaves the lot, means, they lose a sale.

Yes I know that I could just sell the RFs etc... BUT WHY should I (the customer) be required to do that? Its simple, I shouldn't...and won't.

SO, now to check out the Abarth....
Relative has a 500... Really fun car....

Its not a mini, BUT its another fun car. I can drive either.....

I will keep my mini, I like the car and I've already done the tire swap etc...
Just NOT going to to it again.

So its cool.....
I'm certain that MINI won't fold because I won't buy another......
AND I do wish them well....

So many twisty roads, so many fun cars to test on them

 

The 500, like the MINI will be a lot of fun...enjoy

 

Some of the MINI models are available with non-runflats in 15" size.

 

A good friend of mine and my dad both have MINIs and Abarth 500's and they enjoy them both.

MsBrit

 

It seems silly to expect the dealer to let you swap out tires/buy back the runflats. It might be nice, but refusing to do it isn't something I'd hold against them. If you preferred some aftermarket Recaros, would you want them to buy back the stock seats?

That said, I've seen a handful of Abarths blasting around town. The exhaust note is great and they look like a really fun car, best of luck.

 

I am thinking of getting the Fiat 500L in July when my ALL4's 39 month lease is up.

I love the mini but the dealership is so far from here and the fiat dealer is ten minutes away.

Will test drive in the depths of winter on dreadful weather days to see if I can live without the AWD.

Car is cute, price very attractive.

 

I ordered my '14 Roadster S 8/ last month, so I leased a new Fiat 500 from Budget for the duration. While it doesn't compare with the Roadster IMO, I love this little car! It's automatic with a quasi-shift mode. The car is quick, agile, and unbelievably fun to drive.

 

But.....the front end is sooooooo ugly

 

While it is a cheaper alternative (IMO not a direct comparison, but close), I find it hard to believe a $20k+ deal will be lost over $600 in tires.

 

Yeah...the salesman has to be kicking himself......

 

Have to agree 100%.

 

I wouldn't void a deal for a MINI over the tires issue unless I liked the other vehicle just as much as the MINI.

 

I love mini, but I have also noticed everyone there seem to have there nose up higher than normal. Must be a BMW family thing.

 

With a Fiat500L you get non runflats but no spare. If you have a flat just call roadside assistance (per dealer) 500L is a low Budget CM. You get what you pay for!!!!! Would I consider it Hell NO!!!! and remember it is made in the same plant that made the infamous Yugo!!!! A real Fix It Again Tony!!!!!

 

I use non run flats now as in Quebec we are required by law to have winter tires. So I have a some kit and compressor in the car.

When my mini broke down twice it was towed from near my home to the mini dealership nearly two hours away as that is what their roadside assistance insists upon. Fiat dealership is in my town.

It certainly is a low budget CM, but that is okay.

I lease cars for three years and then hand them back.

Fiat 500l is well reviewed in the UK and Europe.

But seriously I didn't come to the mini forum expecting anything but derision about my possible future vehicle. It just is a matter of geography. The Mini dealership is just too far and they take far too long to do simple fixes.

Looking at other cars to replace the ALL4, but haven't found much else I like.

The 500x is also possible.

 

I do agree, but any car other than a MINI that I would get is going to be retardly expensive or not in the same league. 4WD truck or CTS-V wagon.

IMO a Fiat is not competiton but a sub-par alternative. This isn't MINI fan-boy speaking, just a guy who doesnt fit in one enough to even take it for a test drive. That was a bummer and my opinion of it stops there.

 

Amazing how those 30+ yr old stereotypes still persist today....

 

Sure is....I just think it's the NON Car enthusiasts....

 

Quebecker - we are also contemplating a 500L to replace our near end of lease Countryman S All4, though for different reasons. Our MINI dealer is a mile away while the Fiat dealer is 40 minutes.

We have less than 10K miles on our nearly 36mos old car. Just hard to defend spending $38K on a car (even though leased) that we drive less than 3500 miles per year.

We test drove the 500L and it is not a bad car. The MINI is "better" all around, but from a relative cost perspective, the Fiat needs to be considered.

Have you taken a test drive yet?

What do you know about the 500X other than speculation?

Our lease is up mid-January and we are starting the replacement process in earnest.

 

My Mini is also our second car that is low mileage. But it cost more than our main car. Hubby has a Ford Edge and loves is, it is his second in fact. It has AWD and towing when I need it. I use the mini for tootling about and jaunts to the city. But it is not a family car for us.

I haven't yet driven the 500L, I have sat in a few and I like the look of it overall. I am waiting to drive one until the winter hits here as that is really the only issue for me. If it handles decently in snow and icy conditions then I am in.

What I have heard about the 500x is it will be built in conjunction with a new smaller Jeep. That it will be AWD and that it will be bigger than the 500L. It looks Fiat 500 ish, not disgusting at all.

Honestly as much as I love the Mini I really am not sure it is worth the big bucks. I can easily afford the monthly payment, but cannot abide the dealer being so far away. It's price tag is not worth the hassle.

If I was only doing 3.5k a year on my second I would not want to be spending that much on it.

http://www.worldcarfans.com/11309186...rgoing-testing

 

Bought the Fiat last night.... It now sits in my driveway...
Got the 500L with the Auto-Shift transmission. Has the 1.4 engine and turbo.
Its not a minni (still have the mini ) but it is close enough .... handles great, performance is very good...

Auto mode is nice for those times...like traffic jams..and manual mode is a ton of fun.

Yes kept the mini too....love my mini. But the fiat 500L is enough for most every day driving to make me wonder, will I ever even consider another mini? I guess time will tell. Did a lot of test driving yesterday before buying, I put that car through hell...and it kept coming up for more.... I am impressed in the 500L... I don't impress easily.

 

Very glad to hear this. We have a deposit on a 500L Trekking. Just waiting for the right configuration to arrive. It really is hard to not seriously consider the 500L given what you can get for $25K. Ours will be the collection 6 with manual transmission.

Do you have the Beats audio? How is it? Doesn't get good reviews on the Fiat boards. The car we test drove did not have the Beats system.

 

Just tried Beats this morning, as a matter of fact. Not sure that its any better than other decent audio systems. Nothing all that special... We got a car off the lot, I put the 27 miles that it has on it now in the test drive... During that time we did give it a try, sounded alright. Again, nothing that extreme...

 

So, you ordered a new car knowing that the new model mini is coming out in November. You going to feel like an Apple Fanboy 1 year into a 2 year contract and iphone 6 comes out.


Tab

 

Only the hatch is changing come November. New roadsters won't be out for a few years.

Not to mention the reliability differences between generations. Jumping headfirst into the first year of a new car generation isn't the wisest decision. A phone I'm fairly confident that bugs can be worked out. A car is a crapshoot.