Fiat 500 Electric 42kWh - Good or Bad Idea?

[survivalist]

Thought about posting in the EVs .. no one wants them thread, but that seems to have gone down a different path.

In short, Mrs S wants a supermini but doesn’t want a manual gearbox. Tried a couple of options but they seem pretty gutless and the gearboxes are pretty clunky.

I suggested trying an electric Fiat 500 and on the test drive it’s was a hit. Nice and smooth (one of the benefits of EV) and it gutless.

Looking at autotrader, there are a couple of hundred cars available with less than 100 miles on the clock. Seems to me that they had to pre-register a load of them and seem to be struggling to shift them.

So, wise PH members, given the EV sales targets that manufacturers have this year, do we think that values for new/nearly new Fiat EVs will drop further? Or will things even out?

Looking at older ones, by going for a 3 year old car with 20k miles the saving is around 4-5k vs a pre-reg with 15 miles and (I’m told, albeit be a keen Fiat salesman) a full 3 year warranty. Not worth the saving in my eyes.

[ZX10R NIN]

Good idea they're decent car but get it on PCP so you'll at least get the GFV back

[samoht]

survivalist said:

Looking at older ones, by going for a 3 year old car with 20k miles the saving is around 4-5k vs a pre-reg with 15 miles and (I’m told, albeit be a keen Fiat salesman) a full 3 year warranty. Not worth the saving in my eyes.

The cheapest new 42 kWh 500e I can see on AT is £22k, most being from £25kish. Conversely there are 22 used examples for under £15k with <20k miles (they're all <3 years old as they launched in 2021).

So I'd say the used-new gap is more like £10k than £5k, unless I'm missing something.

I think you can anticipate depreciation of a new example over the next 3 years to be £10k plus a bit, i.e. the value might be £10-15k in 2027.

If you (or your wife) just want a brand new car, go ahead, but the gap looks bigger than £5k to me.


I'd consider an e-208 as well as they also have plenty of new deals for a bit less money, not decisively cheaper if you prefer the Fiat tho. There are some 2023 VW e-Ups around too, some still on delivery mileage.

[survivalist]

samoht said:

The cheapest new 42 kWh 500e I can see on AT is £22k, most being from £25kish. Conversely there are 22 used examples for under £15k with <20k miles (they're all <3 years old as they launched in 2021).

So I'd say the used-new gap is more like £10k than £5k, unless I'm missing something.

I think you can anticipate depreciation of a new example over the next 3 years to be £10k plus a bit, i.e. the value might be £10-15k in 2027.

If you (or your wife) just want a brand new car, go ahead, but the gap looks bigger than £5k to me.


I'd consider an e-208 as well as they also have plenty of new deals for a bit less money, not decisively cheaper if you prefer the Fiat tho. There are some 2023 VW e-Ups around too, some still on delivery mileage.

There are 150 a little bit more of them with less than 100 miles on them. The majority of them are pre-reg cars, so new in my eyes.

Guess I’m comparing pre-reg with 3 year old cars.

[survivalist]

ZX10R NIN said:

Good idea they're decent car but get it on PCP so you'll at least get the GFV back

Looked at PCP, but over 3 years you’re paying a lot in interest these days. Think GFV was 9k, but you’ve effectively paid 5k in interest to get to that point.

[samoht]

survivalist said:

There are 150 a little bit more of them with less than 100 miles on them. The majority of them are pre-reg cars, so new in my eyes.

Guess I’m comparing pre-reg with 3 year old cars.

Gotcha, makes sense. I agree that seems like a decent entry point. They are 2023 cars so I guess will be worth a shade less in future than the unregistered ones which I guess will be '2024', although the gap won't be as much as it is now.

[OutInTheShed]

survivalist said:

Thought about posting in the EVs .. no one wants them thread, but that seems to have gone down a different path.

In short, Mrs S wants a supermini but doesn’t want a manual gearbox. Tried a couple of options but they seem pretty gutless and the gearboxes are pretty clunky.

I suggested trying an electric Fiat 500 and on the test drive it’s was a hit. Nice and smooth (one of the benefits of EV) and it gutless.

Looking at autotrader, there are a couple of hundred cars available with less than 100 miles on the clock. Seems to me that they had to pre-register a load of them and seem to be struggling to shift them.

So, wise PH members, given the EV sales targets that manufacturers have this year, do we think that values for new/nearly new Fiat EVs will drop further? Or will things even out?

Looking at older ones, by going for a 3 year old car with 20k miles the saving is around 4-5k vs a pre-reg with 15 miles and (I’m told, albeit be a keen Fiat salesman) a full 3 year warranty. Not worth the saving in my eyes.

It's crystal ball stuff to guess future values.
And bear in mind you are buying at today's retail price and selling at some future trade-in/WBAC/??? value.

What's the new price?
You write down its cost over the time you expect to own it.
IT's going to be worth buttons at 16 years old, not a huge amount at 12 years old.
I'd be thinking of perhaps wanting to change it at 6 years old.
So the new car, you get 6 years use from it. Total up the cost, guess the residual, work out the cost per year
The 3 year old car, you get 3 years use from. Do the same sums.
It seems quite likely the pre-reg car is better value from many viewpoints, particularly bearing in mind warranties and the bill-risk of owning a car out of warranty.
Cost per year. Cost, divided by a range of guesses about how long it takes to make you want to change.


The sums wil lbe different for leasing/PCP whatever.
It's different if you're looking to buy something and drive it until it dies, perhaps.

But if you were happy to drive 6 year old cars, you might buy a 5 year old one for less money and change it more often.


But, it's an EV.
My view is that EVs are generally getting better year on year, so it's 'probably' better to own a newer example than an older one.
More problems will have been ironed out.

Or, buy a Leaf for £5k and kick the question down the road for a year or two?
Personally I'd prefer an i3 for 8 or 9k

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd agree with the above a Leaf or something similar with less than 5k on the clock & you'll be looking at around 15k.

Leaf:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301052...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208068...

DS3 Crossback:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401045...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202402026...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401035...

[dmsims]

Have you looked at the Zoe and Mini ?

[survivalist]

Thanks for the replys. Looked the Zoe but Mrs S prefers a smaller car.

I’m just wondering if there are some many pre registered ones about, whether it’s worth waiting until prices (either new or used) fall further.

I’ve just had an offer come through for the GEM Ora O3 lease - works out at £169 a month with no deposit / increased first payment. Mrs S not keen on the looks though.

[samoht]

Zoe is 408cm long
GWM Ora 03 (nee Funky Cat) 424cm long
(Fiat 500 is 363cm)

So if the Zoe's too big, the Funky Cat is pretty much the next size up again.

[survivalist]

samoht said:

Zoe is 408cm long
GWM Ora 03 (nee Funky Cat) 424cm long
(Fiat 500 is 363cm)

So if the Zoe's too big, the Funky Cat is pretty much the next size up again.

That’s part of the problem, very few supermini EVs about. Was referencing the Ora more in terms of some of the deals available. Clearly can’t be selling at the rate the manufacturer wants, otherwise these cheap deals wouldn’t exist.