Dealer has been unable to obtain Sim Card Holder. Therefore telephone is inoperable.
Wonderful Italian feel, handles precisely, with plenty of feedback through steering wheel.
You wait till all the electrics go wrong!
Having had my Stillo Abarth for one year now I have experienced pretty much all the electrical failures in the manual throughout the year. It has been back to the dealer 7 times so far!
That said, It is my opinion that the actual driving of this car is second to none in its range. The sat nav, inbuilt telephone and paddle gear change is still a wow factor to any passenger I have taken.
Just sort the electrics out FIAT, and you will have one hell of a car to offer!
I have had my stilo in the dealership five times in its first year I have had enough first problem horn stopped working then then electronic part on the pre heat system went then it got its first year service. they overfilled the engine with oil wich caused a few problems at this moment in time my car is waiting for a new turbo.
Bought my Stilo Abarth from new 2003.
They lost the car at the docks!
Eventually found it, but it arrived 1 month late and no Sat Nav, just a hole in the dash. Had to wait another 3 weeks for replacement.
First inspection found that one of the front wings was incorrectly sprayed - Dealer re-sprayed wing.
I have had the car now for almost 2 years and it has been backwards and forwards to the dealer well over 25 times! Everything has gone wrong with this car, the first Sat Nav they fitted went wrong after 1 month and had to be replaced.
The air bag warning lights on the dash was continually bleeping at me and it still does even today!
Had new front tyres under warranty due to problem with tracking. Car pulled to the left from new and despite attempts by dealer to fix, still does it today!
Had new steering rack under warranty due to excessive wear.
Second Sat Nav turned a purple colour and the internal telephone cannot find a signal.
Engine using colossal amount of oil, dealer says its emissions are fine and no leaks.
Kept complaining about the oil until eventually they monitored the amount it used over 200 miles. They rang me after the 200 miles to say new engine needed under warranty! They think it's 'dropped a valve'?
On the whole, the car has everything you need for a person who loves gadgets - But as they keep telling me, the more gadgets, the more to go wrong and they are certainly right!
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I have had my Stilo Arbath for 18 months in that time apart from the head lights needing replacing due to condensation problems I have enjoyed the driving experience nothing to note has gone wrong the only problem I have is the second hand value is very poor so do you keep and hope the eletrics don't go wrong or cut your loses after 2.5 years---------- still thinking!!
Wanted an arbarth for ages. Knew they wouldn't be as reliable as my Focus and I thought the handling wasnt as good, nor the build quality, but despite this I liked the looks and the thought of a decent sized engine, but was so shocked to find my 2.0 zetec Focus was quicker. The missus now has my arbarth - a good little car, but out done in every way by its rivals.
Had my Abarth for over two years now, and after some rather high miles I have to say that this car puts my Merc Sports Coupe to shame at times!...the dealerships are the biggest let down with absolutely no intergrity. I think I got a good one and I just can't bring my self to part with it.
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Power and performance are pants I'm afraid especially as it such a big engine. looks loverly though.
I have finally sold my Abarth, in some ways I'll be sad to see it go. The selespeed paddles are great, it has a good engine with pretty good acceleration and it's a nice looking motor in 3 door guise. But on the other hand Fiat probably love this car, they must make more money from it going back to them for repairs than actual sales. In 2 years I have had to shell out on;
Front and rear brake discs, pads and calipers at a cost of over a grand (only done 12,000 miles!)
4 new tyres, 500 quid (thanks to Fiat cocking up the tracking on the 02/03 models)
The car has been in for 3 factory recalls, mostly to do with suspension faults, meaning I was without a car for several days (Fiat refused to provide courtesy car)
Consistent engine oil level low warning despite it being fine
ASR/ESP error messages
Selespeed gearbox failure message (proved to be a "phantom message" and was nothing wrong with it)
Windscreen wiper failure
High pitch, horrible squealing sound from the Sat Nav
Loose connection error fault
left rear bulb failure
right rear bulb failure (three times!)
ECU failures
The worst thing is that I can't remember a week going by when a error message has popped up saying take me to the dealer. In the end I just ignored it!
Incredibly I have never had the airbag failure message, 90% of Abarth owners will do though.
By all means if your after a "cheap" motor (in terms of forecourt price) get one, but it'll cost you a fortune to fix, a fortune in mpg (27 at best) and car tax. Oh and get used to the bloody thing beeping at you every day! I have to also admit, don't bother with Fiat after service care. It is non existant. I made this mistake, they never bother to contact you charge an absolute fortune. Use a specialist instead.
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