Chances are that you make a better job of it than a lot of garages and you are extremely unlikely to damage the car and claim it came in that way. However most people when buying a car want to see a stamped service book and should the engine blow up you may be in trouble on your warantee, so really not an option if you plan to keep the car forever and certainly not part ex it.

Paula

Chances are that you make a better job of it than a lot of garages and you are extremely unlikely to damage the car and claim it came in that way.

Not all garages are the same. They are plenty of good ones around 

Personally I'd stick to Selenia.

I did my own oil and filter change at 24k, my warranty remains intact. I used the correct parts.

yours was an additional oil change joe, nothing to do with the warranty, on an SS its specified in the service schedule so it has to be a vat registered garage to preserve the warranty

Quote from: Dames on January 23, 2012, 12:00:25 AM

10W-50 Ester Synthetic Engine Oil

Is that the correct oil for the A500SS?

according to the extra "500 Abarth Preparation kit" booklet that came with the car owners manual etc. It says SAE 10W50 synthetic lube is needed.

searching the forum backs this up (I think). Standard Abarth use 5W40.

Back on the subject of DIY oil change, surely changing a light bulb yourself is not too different to a oil CX, they are just consumable parts, that wont affect the warranty. 
I know that if I call any official dealer, Abarth or Fiat they will want their £££ and want the car in to do the work.

Are there any horror stories Ref 500 SS engine failures? or is the lump quite robust?
I intend to keep the car past the warranty dates anyway. (2 years plus 1 exteded year I gather) so I will be DIYing eventually anyway.

Anyone else have thoughts? especially from experience.

I can't see how changing your own oil and filter could lead to any problems, assuming you use the recommended oil and correct filter, but whether a dealer will share that view should your engine go bang when you haven't got the required stamp in your service book is down to you to determine. Is it worth risking it?

It does. I took the risk. 

The warranty isn't invalidated as soon as you service the car yourself or modify the car, but if something breaks as a result of, or in relation to something the owner has done, they they can't expect Abarth to pay to fix it...

Prime example: When my car went in for it's 36k service the other week, it was found to have a leaky CV boot. This is nothing to with any of the mods I have made, and is a common fault, so is being fixed under warranty. However, there is some slight damage to the flexi-joint on my exhaust where it has made contact with the road at some point, but that's an aftermarket exhaust and I've lowered the car, so it's up to me to sort that...