I'm finally to the point I need to get a cheap commuter car. I've narrowed it down to the Hyundai Accent hatch but I see there are some Fiat 500 cars with lower miles for only a grand or so more. I lean towards the Accent because I know they are a pretty dang good car, but the 500 is appealing. Reliability, low maintenance, and somewhat decent mileage are what I'm after.
So here's the contenders:
Fiat:
Accent.
Accent... The Fiats have their not super reliable variable valve timing that like to fail...
*Bob is going to love this*
The accent will probably survive a nuclear Holocaust and keep going
Reliability and Fiat 500 don't really belong in the same sentence.
Throw a timing belt at that accent every 60-70k miles for $30 and drive it for decades.
Not the Fiat.
I'll definitely avoid the FIAT then.
I've been eyeballing this thread for a while which turned me onto them. Probably will only mess with wheels, but if the springs are cheap enough.
I've taken over the wife's RB (2012+) Accent for daily duties and although it's an auto, it's easy to love. If you can swing a deal on one, they feel very modern compared to the generation before.
I want to love the fiat, but after sitting in one and feeling like I was more ON it then IN it, I let that dream die.
In reply to captainawesome :
Those turbo wheels look great. Also, I am reminded of this pic with Mini Cooper wheels mounted...
4x100 wheel pattern for the win. I've got some 14" BMW weaves I could probably pick up cheap, but tire selection is pretty thin.
Accent over Fiat any day. You could probably snag all the goodies from the Accent SE as well.
I'd go for whatever Prius I could get for $4k. Better on gas than those two and will run foreeeeeeeever.
In reply to Dave M (Forum Supporter) :
It was on my list, but all of them that have lower miles appear to be poorly taken care of. Every damn one of them has a stained interior and are beat up pretty bad. The nice ones are fetching $5500-6k.
I wouldn't buy a Fiat or any Fiat-based Mopars ever. Reliability aside, the parts supply network is absurdly bad and it seems like they are only interested in selling major assemblies, like if you want to buy stabilizer links you have to buy a bar assembly, if you need a wiper switch you have to buy a steering column assembly, etc. It's geared to make it as expensive as possible to keep a car on the road so that you trade it in on a Hyundai, I guess.
The aftermarket doesn't seem to be picking it up, either.
Meh, still loving my Fiat. :)
The only Fiat 500 I'd want to own would be a turbo or Abarth.
I'm disappointed by the lack of adventure among you all. Anyone can keep an Accent on the road, and for that their punishment is being in an Accent. My brother had one, and it had all the personality of a toaster. And not one of those fancy ones with four slices, a cheap Walmart toaster.
I'd vote for the Accent, but that ones about $1200-$1500 overpriced. It's a $2k-$2500 car.
In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :
I don't see any that aren't shagged out or isn't higher in mileage for that price.
In reply to Wally (Forum Supporter) :
I'm buying this because it's a Walmart toaster. I've got plenty of other projects I'd rather work on, so this just needs to exist and do what it's told without giving me any back talk.
I've had a couple of Fiat's (500C, Turbo, 500L). The L was a hot mess as the turbo was bad and took the dealer something like 6 months to diagnose. I think it was more dealer related as they couldn't seem to keep techs, nor have enough on staff. Then again, they were supposedly the biggest Fiat dealer in the US... The turbo and convertible were trouble free and, the Turo rented 500 I had last year (with over 100k) ran like a champ.
At similar price points, I'd choose the Fiat. Timing chain that doesn't have to be replaced, good gas mileage and still fun to drive in NA trim. For a Texan, the A/C works amazingly well for such a small car.
I also like the Accent and have put it on my short list for my next potential purchase. However, at a much lower price point. If the Accent was under $3k, I'd push to buy it over the Fiat.
Because GRM, a Fit kinda checks all the boxes. Timing chain (so ease of maintenance), Honda quality, great MPG, still fun to drive. Price point will be higher for comparable years/miles, though.
-Rob
Fit or Versa Note is my vote into the ring. Two more doors to work with also.
I've been the caretaker of my brother's 09 Accent since it came off-warranty (he got it new). It's been extremely reliable. Other than the timing belts, all i've had to replace were shocks/struts, swaybar endlinks, and an ac hose. Not bad for 165k. It is similar to a Prius in that you have to think up excuses to get rid of it because it won't give you any. I also recommend the Prius. I'm working on my old 07 which is now used as a courier vehicle by my FIL. It has a little over 320k and I am finally doing the timing chain that's been rattling for 100k miles now. The original water pump and tensioner pulley started adding their own noises (at 320k, mind you) and some kind of line was crossed, so now im fixing it. For reference to the 165k 09 Accent, I also am working on a '10 Cube with 165k that won't move and has some kind of cvt issue. It might be simple, but it's still 'broke down' and can't say that for the other two. I just spent some time with a Versa manual and kinda liked it. But you just can't compare Nissan reliability to Hyundai/Toyota in my opinion. Not something i WANT to be true, but that's what I've seen so far.
In reply to captainawesome :
Buy my 2010 Kia Forte Koup 
2.0L, 5 speed, 145k-ish miles, comes with New in box Eibach springs and a Pierce Motorsports rear sway bar. Has new KYB rear shocks, a Cosmo racing shifter and a K&N intake for all the powar.
$2000 to any forum member
I would hop in and drive this thing to California in a heartbeat. Its a great commuter.
Timing chains need to be replaced on most modern engines. The only counterexample I can think of are Toyotas because Toyota has so far managed to avoid using fine-pitch chains.
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