Abarth 124 - now handles like it should! Cheers Roddo.
Discussion
Two months in & never been happy with the handling of my car.
Seems very nervous at speed on B roads, fidgety on the M way & terrible in the wet.
Everyone knows these share chassis with mx5 so had a word with Rodders from Max5.
Well today I visited Sheffield & Paul asked a couple of questions, how I like to drive, how many miles I do.
Car on the ramp he talked me through the settings the car arrived with then set about revising these to how he thought it should be setup with.
He asked me to go for a drive & report back.
WOW
Is this the same car I arrived in???
Totally transformed, really planted, all the issues I reported gone.
Back down the M1 perfect, B roads OMG on rails!
Looks different sat on my drive also more aggressive due to camber/castor adjustments made.
Defo reccomend a visit if yours is as described earlier.
Seems very nervous at speed on B roads, fidgety on the M way & terrible in the wet.
Everyone knows these share chassis with mx5 so had a word with Rodders from Max5.
Well today I visited Sheffield & Paul asked a couple of questions, how I like to drive, how many miles I do.
Car on the ramp he talked me through the settings the car arrived with then set about revising these to how he thought it should be setup with.
He asked me to go for a drive & report back.
WOW
Is this the same car I arrived in???
Totally transformed, really planted, all the issues I reported gone.
Back down the M1 perfect, B roads OMG on rails!
Looks different sat on my drive also more aggressive due to camber/castor adjustments made.
Defo reccomend a visit if yours is as described earlier.
Trevor555 said:
Just did a search on these, your thread came up.
What's your view on these cars now you've had it a while?
I went to have a look when they were launched, thought £30,000 was loads of money for them.
I see they've dipped under £20,000 now used, starting to look attractive.
I had one for a couple of years and it was superb. What's your view on these cars now you've had it a while?
I went to have a look when they were launched, thought £30,000 was loads of money for them.
I see they've dipped under £20,000 now used, starting to look attractive.
Great fun to drive and a real 'attention grabber'.
I px'd it for my attainable 'dream car' a couple of months ago and if you want a truly immaculate example (well it was when I last saw it..! ) then this is my ex car -
https://www.ianallanvirginiawater.co.uk/abarth-124...
As I px'd it, I don't have a vested interest in selling it, but it really was in superb condition and as the ad says, you won't find one in better condition with all the must have bits.
JONSCZ said:
I had one for a couple of years and it was superb.
Great fun to drive and a real 'attention grabber'.
I px'd it for my attainable 'dream car' a couple of months ago and if you want a truly immaculate example (well it was when I last saw it..! ) then this is my ex car -
https://www.ianallanvirginiawater.co.uk/abarth-124...
As I px'd it, I don't have a vested interest in selling it, but it really was in superb condition and as the ad says, you won't find one in better condition with all the must have bits.
Thanks for that, not sure about white, I'll have to see one in the flesh.Great fun to drive and a real 'attention grabber'.
I px'd it for my attainable 'dream car' a couple of months ago and if you want a truly immaculate example (well it was when I last saw it..! ) then this is my ex car -
https://www.ianallanvirginiawater.co.uk/abarth-124...
As I px'd it, I don't have a vested interest in selling it, but it really was in superb condition and as the ad says, you won't find one in better condition with all the must have bits.
I'm leaning towards the grey to match my hair.
Is the clutch nice and light?
My missus has ruled out one or two cars for heavy clutches, this would be a car for her mostly.
Trevor555 said:
Thanks for that, not sure about white, I'll have to see one in the flesh.
I'm leaning towards the grey to match my hair.
Is the clutch nice and light?
My missus has ruled out one or two cars for heavy clutches, this would be a car for her mostly.
Book in a test drive would be my suggestion. What someone considers a light clutch to your Mrs could be heavy. I'm leaning towards the grey to match my hair.
Is the clutch nice and light?
My missus has ruled out one or two cars for heavy clutches, this would be a car for her mostly.
ecsrobin said:
Trevor555 said:
Thanks for that, not sure about white, I'll have to see one in the flesh.
I'm leaning towards the grey to match my hair.
Is the clutch nice and light?
My missus has ruled out one or two cars for heavy clutches, this would be a car for her mostly.
Book in a test drive would be my suggestion. What someone considers a light clutch to your Mrs could be heavy. I'm leaning towards the grey to match my hair.
Is the clutch nice and light?
My missus has ruled out one or two cars for heavy clutches, this would be a car for her mostly.
Didn't want to drive it, had new landsail tyres on the rear, originals on the front but almost bald on the edges.
Totally unpreped car on a prestige forecourt, still had all the buffing dust from where it'd had paintwork done, and sitting there filthy.
Never would I have had a car on my forecourt in that condition, and I was a back street garage compared to this dealer.
Anyhow, rant over, think I'm veering towards a blue one.
Hi Trevor.
If you go for one, then good luck with your search. You'll love the 124. If you're on Facebook, then the 'Abarth 124 owners group' has plenty of info.
Oh and in case anyone else is reading this thread with a view to buying one, then there's NO WAY that the one you sat in was my old car as listed above.
If you go for one, then good luck with your search. You'll love the 124. If you're on Facebook, then the 'Abarth 124 owners group' has plenty of info.
Oh and in case anyone else is reading this thread with a view to buying one, then there's NO WAY that the one you sat in was my old car as listed above.
JONSCZ said:
Hi Trevor.
If you go for one, then good luck with your search. You'll love the 124. If you're on Facebook, then the 'Abarth 124 owners group' has plenty of info.
Oh and in case anyone else is reading this thread with a view to buying one, then there's NO WAY that the one you sat in was my old car as listed above.
Thank you, I'll look that up.If you go for one, then good luck with your search. You'll love the 124. If you're on Facebook, then the 'Abarth 124 owners group' has plenty of info.
Oh and in case anyone else is reading this thread with a view to buying one, then there's NO WAY that the one you sat in was my old car as listed above.
I'm pleased to confirm it wasn't your car, was a grey one.
I was pleasantly surprised how nice it sounded, clever for a 4 pot.
Hi, had mine since June & so far been a blast.
The handling was shocking from new but a trip to Rodissons transformed the car.
No matter what the weather I now have real confidence & it looks a lot more squat than before.
Mpg hovering round 30mpg but it usually lives in Sport mode.
One tiny issue I think I have lost the heated mirrors at present but that can wait till service is due.
If you like to be anonymous this car is not for you it really draws attention to itself, the noise it makes is hilarious.
The handling was shocking from new but a trip to Rodissons transformed the car.
No matter what the weather I now have real confidence & it looks a lot more squat than before.
Mpg hovering round 30mpg but it usually lives in Sport mode.
One tiny issue I think I have lost the heated mirrors at present but that can wait till service is due.
If you like to be anonymous this car is not for you it really draws attention to itself, the noise it makes is hilarious.
PenelopaPitstop said:
If they are elderly, there's a chance their hearing is not the greatest and it may not bother them at all.
Let's hope so.I was surprised how loud it was.
I've had a few cars that barked on first start up, but quietened down after 10/20 secs.
No complaints so far that I'm aware of.
Hi Trevor - simple answer is yes: the headlights are far, far better with the visibility pack. I think it improves the look of the front end, too.
Quite a few people have asked this very question on the F/B page and everyone always has the same answer.
Also, you might want to register on here, too - http://www.abarthownersclub.com/forum/ This forum has more 'traffic' than the Abarthisiti site.
I think there's a bit of 'history' between the 2 clubs. I seem to remember that the 'Abarth owners club' I linked to is run by the same person who runs the F/B page.
Quite a few people have asked this very question on the F/B page and everyone always has the same answer.
Also, you might want to register on here, too - http://www.abarthownersclub.com/forum/ This forum has more 'traffic' than the Abarthisiti site.
I think there's a bit of 'history' between the 2 clubs. I seem to remember that the 'Abarth owners club' I linked to is run by the same person who runs the F/B page.
JONSCZ said:
Hi Trevor - simple answer is yes: the headlights are far, far better with the visibility pack. I think it improves the look of the front end, too.
Quite a few people have asked this very question on the F/B page and everyone always has the same answer.
Also, you might want to register on here, too - http://www.abarthownersclub.com/forum/ This forum has more 'traffic' than the Abarthisiti site.
I think there's a bit of 'history' between the 2 clubs. I seem to remember that the 'Abarth owners club' I linked to is run by the same person who runs the F/B page.
Thanks for that Jon,Quite a few people have asked this very question on the F/B page and everyone always has the same answer.
Also, you might want to register on here, too - http://www.abarthownersclub.com/forum/ This forum has more 'traffic' than the Abarthisiti site.
I think there's a bit of 'history' between the 2 clubs. I seem to remember that the 'Abarth owners club' I linked to is run by the same person who runs the F/B page.
Yes, the Abarthisti site is a little quiet I've noticed.
I went to see one today.
It didn't feel very quick, do they loosen up after a few miles?
This one had done 3,700 miles.
Are they better with high octane fuel?
They are not the quickest cars out there - they are more about FUN - and this is what they are great for.
It's why whenever anyone on here asks what's the most fun per £££ or what's the car that they wouldn't ever sell, that the inevitable stock answer is MX5.
They are (arguably) more fun than an MX5 (please don't let this turn into an MX5 vs 124 debate - it's just my personal opinion) as I found they're more of an 'occasion to drive' and have more of a 'sporty image' than an MX5. I did try both before I bought my Abarth and the 124 made me smile more when I drove it. It really is a hoot to drive and sounds great, but it's not a really 'quick car', numbers wise.
The one criticism that people had when it was new was that it was too expensive, so getting one around £20k makes them superb value now as it'll still be in warranty and if bought sensibly, wont have large mileages. I paid full price for mine as they were too new for deals then and I loved owning it. I lost count of the number of compliments I received and often people just wanted to know what it was.
Oh and as I mentioned earlier, if you're on Facebook, then the 'Abarth 124 owners group' has by far the most visits and posts - people are always adding tips and advice every day. I would definitely recommend you join the group.
It's why whenever anyone on here asks what's the most fun per £££ or what's the car that they wouldn't ever sell, that the inevitable stock answer is MX5.
They are (arguably) more fun than an MX5 (please don't let this turn into an MX5 vs 124 debate - it's just my personal opinion) as I found they're more of an 'occasion to drive' and have more of a 'sporty image' than an MX5. I did try both before I bought my Abarth and the 124 made me smile more when I drove it. It really is a hoot to drive and sounds great, but it's not a really 'quick car', numbers wise.
The one criticism that people had when it was new was that it was too expensive, so getting one around £20k makes them superb value now as it'll still be in warranty and if bought sensibly, wont have large mileages. I paid full price for mine as they were too new for deals then and I loved owning it. I lost count of the number of compliments I received and often people just wanted to know what it was.
Oh and as I mentioned earlier, if you're on Facebook, then the 'Abarth 124 owners group' has by far the most visits and posts - people are always adding tips and advice every day. I would definitely recommend you join the group.
Edited by JONSCZ on Thursday 28th February 15:57
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