So farewell, then, Fiat 124 Spider. That didn’t last long. Autocar told me it doesn’t exist any more. But actually it does.
As our magazine points out, it is off the price lists, presumably because its Multiair engine now struggles to reach the latest emissions regulations, so they are either re-engineering it, or just pretending that it was never on the price lists.
There is also the point that the 124 Spider is a Mazda MX-5 with an open shirt and a medallion and perhaps lots of buyers aren’t keen on that. Indeed, the sad fact is that many new car buyers would rather have an SUV than a proper sports car. You are not like that – that’s why you are reading this magazine – so what can you buy?
Well, 124s that are not brand new start at about £13,000. That will buy a 2016 1.4 Multiair Classica with around 10,000 miles. So why bother with a boring hatch instead, assuming you don’t need that sort of practicality? Personally, I’ve always found convertibles surprisingly accommodating anyway. By all means upgrade to a 2016 Lusso Plus with lowish miles (around 5000) for £16,495. There seem to be quite a few with that spec so presumably there was a fleet release of them.
There must be 124 sales issues because it is possible to bag yourself an unregistered Lusso Plus for £21,995. When they were on the price lists, these were north of £26,000. So that’s interesting and it means you can still get one if you really want it.
Then again, you might prefer something a bit older. If you don’t fall for the charm of a Fiat Barchetta, then you must have a granite heart. It is perfectly formed and ultimately is going to hold its value in the coming years, provided it behaves itself. Left-hand drive should not be an impediment to fun, and although I’ve seen cheaper, a ‘part-exchange to clear’ 2000 Barchetta at £2800 is the entry level now. The going rate starts at just £4000 and that will buy a few-owner 1996 60,000-mile example. Top money seems to be £5995 to £6995 and it should be pretty much mint for that.
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It's too bad
It's too bad that roadsters are no longer as appealing as they once were. When we were early in our marriage, my wife bought me a 1980 Fiat Spider for $3500. It was my daily driver for almost 200,000 miles. It can be done-even here in Denver. With 300 days of sunshine per year, there was nothing like dropping the top (and hoping the heater worked). Never mind what others may assume about you, drive the car you want to drive.
That Polo Harlequin is
That Polo Harlequin is curiously appealing. I wonder what the log book says for its colour?
The Bora has a bit of an
The Bora has a bit of an image problem now thanks to the 'dub scene', usually my heart sinks when I see one as it usually has a broken exhaust making a racket and putting out clouds of diesel smoke, lowered such that they can't get over speed humps, stickers all over the window and 3 matching alloys off an old Audi (with a 4th unmatching one for some reason)
WallMeerkat wrote:
Whilst I agree this is a common sight to see I wouldn’t insult the dub scene! It’s more what the youth do today - kind of like when I was younger they driving Saxos and Corsas and Fiestas souped up, the younger generation have moved onto tired old VAG cars as pointed out usually old 140 000 miles plus 2.0tdis with some weird exhaust on..