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Fiat 500 Or A Mini Cooper - Which Should I Buy?
Master Ozzy
Posts: 18,937 Forum Member
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I have a budget of £5,000 to spend on a car. I've narrowed it down to either a Fiat 500 or a Mini (from auto trader). I really want a Mini Cooper...I've always loved Mini's! For my budget though, I would have to get a 2005 or 2006 one. Fiat 500's I love and think the interior is much ncier than the Mini. Also, I can get a 2009 reg Fiat 500 within my budget! Only problem with the Fiat is that overall I think it's a very, very small car. Anyone have any experience with either of these cars and can help sway my mind?
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http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1839643 and also google searches...
The build quality is not bad at all, not quite as good as the Mini but still fine, remember it's built in the same factory as the Ford Ka. After 65,000 miles and 6 years mine is still in almost perfect condition. It has more than its fair share of door dents though as it does not have a rubbing strip on the side, not many have this option.
mpg?
storage space?
petrol/diesel?
Maintenance costs?
That sort of thing. Then see which best fits the bill.
I owned a Punto mark 1. Head gasket went after 22k. Then again after 25k. The third time it went after 29k I traded it in. The left speakers cut out if I used the rear wipe, the wiring loom was checked and radio replaced but it still happened. Water leaked in the courtesy light when it rained.
It was a shame as I loved the styling of that car at the time, very Italian and sleek, the ride felt good but it cost a packet to be repaired all the time and was the most unreliable car I have ever owned.
OH had a Punto mark 2 before I met her. By the time we met it had 27k on the clock and the head gasket went. 32k and it went again except this time the garage said she'd be better off with a new engine (at 32k miles!!!) - she scrapped it.
An old boss had a Fiat and his head gasket kept going, I remember him telling me he preferred to be at work really early in the morning and hated being on a duty roster as he would hit rush hour traffic on duty, it would slow down, his engine always overheated and he kept a bottle of water in the car which he'd replace at least twice a week. No visible leaks in the engine bay, assume was head gasket related. Colleague also had a partner who had a Fiat and a mark 1 Mini he was restoring, he routinely visited family weekly of a 200+ mile journey and said he used the mark 1 Mini every time over the Fiat for the problems he had with the Fiat.
Your thinking is a lot like mine when I got the Punto - style. I thought these days (admittedly over a dozen years ago now) there's no such thing as a lemon car but how wrong I was. That's why the 500 is cheaper than the Mini, people don't want unreliability so get rid of the cars as soon as they become problematic.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/fiat/500-abarth
Can't help on the mini but any ideas I might have had about having a 500 as a spare fun car have been firmly knocked on the head. They may look cute - that's their main feature - but you can't see cute from the inside and what you're left with is a Ka in a shiny suit.
Have you ever been inside an original Fiat 500? They were like toys. (I was once a passenger in one with a very large lady driving.)
(I rented a modern '500 a couple of years ago, it seemed fine. But I didn't like the semi-automatic gearbox on the model I had, and the engine's habit of cutting out when stationary (to save fuel, it wasn't a fault). It took a second or so to fire up again, making a quick getaway trickier.)
As somebody else mentioned, Fiat 500 is built at the same Ford factory where they build Ka, somewhere in Poland, along side the Panda.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Ka#Second_generation_.282009.E2.80.93present.29
But then, if the look is the most important thing for you, I'd go for the Fiat of the two but not a white one - never a white one!
Either of those two words on the badge could knock a big hole in your budget, depending on age and driving experience.
Hey. How much is your insurance?
500 (2008 - )
Good: Funky looks and desirable image. Faithful to original. Easy and fun to drive.
TwinAir engine from November 2010 emits just 95g/km. Better suspension from 2010.
Bad: Choppy ride and handling before 2010 suspension improvements.
MINI (2001
Good: Great to sit in with retro dials and switchgear, good seats, straight-ahead seating position, adjustable steering column.
Which? used best buy £5,000 - £10,000 2004.
Bad: A/c not standard. Extras to make it desirable can add thousands to the price. and heavily affect used values.
Massive used MINI price confusion because the cost of extras could easily add £4,000 to the price of the car. Some cars have the right extras. Others don't.
Check screen for cracks. Radiators of cars 3 years old or more can corrode.
I wasn't aware of this. I wonder if the components used are of the same quality as the KA though?
There was a known issue with them that was on watchdog but mini didnt admit to it so no recall was put in place there for you have to pay out.
I think the fault made you loose all steering if i remember correctly, worth having a google about the problem and then if you go down the mini route you can check with the buyer if its had the fault fixed.