Besides range of like 89 miles, why are 2 year old off lease 20k mile fiat 500e $7500? I had considered one for when I don't need my truck, as it would get me downtown and back without charging, but stopped short because I almost always need my truck.
at $7500 it is cheap enough to be a donor for an electric conversion though.
My guess is that it’s an econobox that is really small with very limited range. The 500 (gas) is only like $16k new and already gets pretty good mpg. People who are looking for a 500 don’t want it. People who want an ev would look at the other offerings that have a much bigger range and say “meh”. Oh, and it only seats 2.
Really the only true comps are the smart car ev and the imiev. Not sure what those are going for though.
The resale on Fiats is E36 M3, despite the 500 being a really decent product in my experience. I was very sad watching the value drop on my '12 500 over the 7 years that I owned it.
the other issue: the E was only ever available in California and Maryland. I looked into getting one before I bought my Abarth. The local dealer told me they wouldn't even touch an E. If anything went wrong, I would be more or less forced to trailer it back to MD to be worked on.
Out of curiosity, I jumped on autotrader and much to my surprise, in Bowling Green, Ohio the Dodge Dealership happens to have six 500e listed. The prices are more like $9k for 15k miles but even if you were not to buy there, that is a pretty big selection and might make for a good shopping/exploration trip.
We (Dealership) have one that comes in once and a while for service, no real issue. Getting parts is a PIA and most dealer do not have the equipment/ trained people to perform the work.
If you are DIY or have a local shop that you trust I would give it a go.
Paul
Few years back they were giving 500E away for $79-99 month lease. Lots of articles about them
everywhere at that time
even abarths are darn cheap on used market
The 500e is one of the 'compliance' cars, meaning they built it to be in complaince with regulations, no corporate commitment. Bolt EV same.
They are small cars, whereas you can get a Prius with 4-doors that is almost just as economical. Same critic of the Smart Car. If it got 70mpg, great,
but it doesn't. The batteries in the 500e look good, so a good donor.
Hilariously, compared to the rest of the e-commuter cheap/short ranged electric cars, it's the one to get- similar driving dynamics to the stock 500, no degradation like the Leaf (thanks to liquid cooling) and has comparable power to stock at nearly 150 lb/feet.
It's funny Machironne hated the damn thing, because clearly SOMEONE in Chrysler liked it and wanted to make the best e-car they could out of it.
Patrick said:at $7500 it is cheap enough to be a donor for an electric conversion though.
I have a bunch of friends in California that I kick around Bad Automotive Ideas with, and every time we talk about an EV conversion their donor is always a 500e.
Powar said:The resale on Fiats is E36 M3, despite the 500 being a really decent product in my experience. I was very sad watching the value drop on my '12 500 over the 7 years that I owned it.
This. The value plummeted as soon as we bought ours. It was still a good little car and I've toyed with replacing it with a 500e but the range is a hair too low for me to get to work.
It's a Fiat.
A cheap, used Italian electric car? How could that possibly be a bad idea?
NickD said:A cheap, used Italian electric car? How could that possibly be a bad idea?
Italian cars of the 70’s & 80’s were typically known for rust & mechanical failures. This should theoretically eliminate most of the mechanical ones...
Pete Gossett said:NickD said:A cheap, used Italian electric car? How could that possibly be a bad idea?
Italian cars of the 70’s & 80’s were typically known for rust & mechanical failures. This should theoretically eliminate most of the mechanical ones...
I'm sure they invented a few new ones though.
Its a Fiat...nothing more, nothing less.
I've never owned one, but I've always suspected the current line of Fiats suffers because of the stories that are still passed around about the old Fiats of the 1960s and 1970s. How many times do people who think they're clever trot out the tired old Fix It Again Tony reference? 
People tend to base their opinions on what they read on the Internet rather than actual facts.
In reply to stuart in mn :
I heard it constantly. We went 140k miles on nothing but routine maintenance but still all I heard was Fix it Again Tony over and over, often from people that weren't even alive the last time Fiat was here.
NickD said:A cheap, used Italian electric car? How could that possibly be a bad idea?
It could be worse, a cheap British electric car?
No Time said:NickD said:A cheap, used Italian electric car? How could that possibly be a bad idea?
It could be worse, a cheap Volkswagen?
Fixored
stuart in mn said:I've never owned one, but I've always suspected the current line of Fiats suffers because of the stories that are still passed around about the old Fiats of the 1960s and 1970s. How many times do people who think they're clever trot out the tired old Fix It Again Tony reference?
A friend of mine had a new Fiat Abarth that was pretty nightmarish in terms of reliability. Transmission kept getting stuck in gear, a shifter that didn't center but the dealer said was normal, it deleted both keys from the BCM and required a new BCM and keys to the tune of $2500.
Parts are extremely difficult to get and most FCA service departments will tell you to pound sand unless you live in a state where they were originally sold. FCA was very vocal about them being a compliance car that they would do anything to back away from.
The people who have them really seem to like them but you need to be willing to "go it alone" which is intimidating on something with EV tech.
The Fiat 500 is made in Mexico, so its probably better built than old ones made in Italy?
This thread is making me want one more, not less.
One reason I didn't buy one: No DC fast charging. My LEAF is remarkably practical for a 100-mile trip—just takes a 10-minute stop for coffee.
The Fiat would take 8 hours to do it.
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