Hi all 

I bought an Abarth 500 yesterday and don't pick it up until Monday.   I am so excited about it.   Hardly slept last night.   It's Pasadoble Red with full leather, electric sunroof, 17" petals, Climate Control, blue and me and no decals apart from a white scorpion on the bonnet.

A few weeks ago we were going to Inverness to buy a Fiat 500 and a stunning little white Abarth 500 screamed up behind us.  I decided I would never be happy with a Fiat after seeing that.   We had looked at the Abarth a year before and liked it but I couldn't make my mind up so we left it.

We had a test drive yesterday and my husband and I both got out with huge grins on our faces.   Decision made.

We are both oldies but I reckon that this car is going to give a complete new lease of life.






 

Oh dear.   My poor old husband is now looking at the Abarth websites and wondering about getting the Esseesse kit fitted. 

Does anyone have a 500 with the Esseesse kit and does it make over £2,000 worth of improvement in the driving and handling or is the "basic" 500 adequate.   

I presume that since we have the 17" wheels we could keep the petals and sell the white/titanium ones.   If we did upgrade I would still want it to look pretty much like a basic Fiat 500.   Wouldn't even put the esseesse badging on it.   

Think I'll hang on to the warranty.   I'm not going to risk having to pay anything more if something goes wrong.

I think we will just keep it basic at the moment.   We have a year to decide if we want to upgrade anyway so by that time we will know if we have frightened ourselves half to death with the basic car or if we want MORE POWER.

Plenty of time to decide about the esseesse kit, and that'll allow time for us to establish if the kit will be upgraded to include the new Koni suspension dampers.  And yes, you get to keep your old wheels and other bits and bobs that are removed when the kit is fitted.

Some great roads in your neck of the woods, always a favourite with me when on two wheels.

We get a lot of bikers here.   We even built a drying room for their wet leathers.   Not of course that it ever rains in Glencoe.

Get the EsseEsse upgrade....Nicer wheels, sits lower and you'll have 160 ponies under the bonnet. If you can afford, it's a no brainer IMHO. I ordered an EsseEsse last week, picking it up on Friday. Drove both back to back and I was sold immediately. And, remember if you buy the EsseEsse, all the old bits are returned to you in a nice crate, which you can always sell to recoup some of the 2.5K outlay. One other thing, have you considered the monza exhaust??? My dealer made me an offer I just couldn't refuse - 3K for the KIT and Exhaust :-)

Insurance is through the normal channels, no need for specialists.

Nope you get to keep original wheels and tyres   - So it's a win-win. Re: Insurance, I'm 41 and they quoted me 270GBP, so in your case, it should be cheaper or the same worst case

Admiral - Told them everything including Monza, they have no issues