Multi-Air Twin-Pincers: 2013 Fiat 500 Abarth
I know it would be a bad idea to buy a Fiat 500 Abarth. There must be a reason these things are so cheap. Right? Even in the middle of the biggest stupid used car inflation period in the history of wheels, the Fiat 500 is still one of the cheapest cars you can get for the year/condition. But everything claims that they are a blast to drive, a front-wheel-peeling symphony of fun. If Jay Leno enjoys this thing, then it must be worth the simple price of admission. Find this 2013 Fiat 500 Abarth offered for $7,900 in Reseda, CA via craigslist.
From the seller:
2013 fiat 500 abarth
condition: excellent
cylinders: 4 cylinders
drive: fwd
fuel: gas
odometer: 95000
paint color: red
size: compact
title status: clean
transmission: manual
type: coupe
13 Fiat 500 Abarth
Clean title
5 Speed Manual
Upgraded Nuespeed Cold Air
Smog in hand
95k miles
Good tires
All original
Runs great
Beats Audio Sound
See a better way to drive something Italiexican? tips@dailyturismo.com
I’m really tempted to pick one of these up. I’ve seen a few around and they have a cool sound. Bonus is parking space is something I could figure out with my current fleet.
Hmmm…Is that a roof rack… or 2 extra spoilers? 🤔
-Stan (the aerodynamic Stan…)
PS Helluva deal until you start looking at the Abarth’s reliability stats. That’s when it starts to feel like a “mechanic’s special” kinda car for long term ownership. But if you love troubleshooting and wrenching on your four wheeled beastie…why not?
Needs more red
https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productdetails.asp?RecID=5639
Interstate makes a great battery but it stick’s out like a gangrenous thumb in this application.
I thought they were going for a Christmas theme!
Brings me back to my first car. A well-used 1968 Fiat 850 Special, a running, driving example overpriced at $350. The speedometer didn’t work, but you could judge your speed by how fast the road was going by through a hole in the floor. Right hand turns at speed in the car would frequently put you on two wheels, the first of which is quite a surprise. I always felt like I arrived at my destination with fewer parts than when I set out.
It is not clear that a great deal of progress has occurred with the marque since then.
I have one, a 2013, in black. 58k miles. Did a long distance run last week and averaged 39 mpg. I’ved owned it for over 5 years. Troubles? Aside from replacing a non-Fiat set of front headlight housings that were shorting out and replacing the front fog lamps (you have to remove the entire lower front outer bumper cover to access them), it has been a trouble free, great little car. My “baby Hellcat” if you will, with the world’s best exhaust note I’ve ever heard from a 4 cylinder engine. Mopar’s biggest mistakes was not marketing this car enough after it’s initial release and axing the car a couple years ago. There are folks who still like the idea of a small, economical, hot hatch; going all the way back to the original, the VW Rabbit GTI.
We put a 2013 Abarth in our driveway and almost immediately needed a battery tender for our ’90 6-speed Corvette convertible – that’s how much joy we get from the Abarth. I can’t think of any 4-person sports car that’s more bang for the buck. Oh yeah – it actually transports four adults in comfort and for two of them it can be described as better than walking.
The downside? The Abarth seats are stupidly scalloped with the top jutting forward so if you have stenosis in your neck it hurts on long trips and makes wearing a helmet for track events difficult. I wound up installing some seats from a matching Fiat 500 Pop that work much better for road trips.
The steering wheel should have been adjustable for extension but isn’t, so this necessitates an odd, arms extended driving position.
The tachometer looks neat with its circles in circles styling but it’s nigh impossible to see during the day when you really need it.
The Beats audio sorta, kinda does bluetooth – but just for calls. It won’t stream audio. The bass is good-ish, but flabby. Aftermarket head-unit options are very limited.
The rocker panel pieces are notorious for coming unbonded and are a bear to reattach. Don’t let any shop lift your car with the rockers touching the arms.
I love/hate the exhaust. Great around town but a bit drone-ish on the highway. The latent teenager part of me loves the sound, the responsible adult is on the fence about it.
Put this in your garage STAT. These are future collectibles just like the CRX now is. If anything, this feels like a four seat CRX with a lot more rocket juice.
We bought ours with 70k miles and now, 30k miles later it’s been a reliable ride. My only mechanical gripe is that the prior owner installed an ill fitting K&N filter that fit poorly and allowed sand to pass. The impeller looks pitted, but so far there’s been no signs of any other issues related to that.
I wonder how those racks are attached. Looks suspiciously like they are bolted to the roof.