update mods are an art form too sorry I didn't mean to offend

 

when the top's down and the intake and exhaust are growling, who cares how the stereo sounds?

 

My wife!!

 

Then maybe she should get a 4 door sedan, and leave the windows up.


I have money to spend if I want to but I would not waste $5k for tunes on a 124...to each their own I guess.

 

I would love to see what you end up with for your new sound system.
I love the performance mods on my Abarth and Iwould love a nice sounding car audio system.
Not sure why some people feel the two must be mutually exclusive.
Please post info and pics on what you end up with.

 

@Bob Z I am very sorry I have disappointed you. I will try to spend more to your taste next time and there will always be a next time.

Now as to my wife she loves the car but for the first time in our 30 year marriage she was trying to adjust the audio a first probably in any car we have had ever. Don't be a hater at the least everyone will get to see whats possible with out wrecking the interior maybe even enough info for a DIY.
@jpwfz6 your mods list looks great were just doing things in reverse order.
@Bob Z thanks for taking the fun out of it.

 

Hi Rex, one of the items holding me back from a Abarth is the sound system, especially since Mazda err, excuse me, Fiat insist on using that fixed head unit. I can’t just run up to Car Toys or Best Buy and drop a decent Car Play capable head unit in the vehicle. Quite Frankly, I dropped $2k on my corvette’s head unit install, so $5k while steep for some, is (unfortunately) not unreasonable, especially if they’re adding sound deadening material and new speakers and sub.

Really, for about $10,000 you can take this little $40,000 car, and make it into the performance and luxury equivalent of a $80 - $100k car. In reality, that’s not bad. $10k is probably on the high side of the cost.

I would love to see and hear how you fixed the audio on your car!

 

@Netcruizer99 you are on point exactly but let me give you the math.

My wife negotiated (as always) the car. Brand New Black Abarth w/navigation the only option it did not have was the Brembos.
Here is the math
Abarth (30 mi odemeter) 22k I paid cash before they changed their mind.
To sort it out and get it mechanically where I want it will be about 10K cost
The stereo install is very involved because they are using great gear since you can't really put much in but most importantly the are adding a digital sound proceser to create 4 sound stages for me. I priced everything they sold me on crutch field and the prices were identical and everything had 5 star ratings 5k cost

So 22+5+10= 37k for a totally unique car that not only will drive wonderfully but will be right up there with the very high end cars.

I lost that much money just driving my 2015 911 C4S off the lot.

You might want to look around your base of 40K just might be your all in price. If you count taxes thats about exactly where I will be.

And for anyone wondering I prefer the Abarth to the 911 by far because The abarth is a base for my creation where the 911 was a shiny (great driving) car that all I could do was drive and watch depreciate.

 

So every option except brembo has to put the msrp around $35k meaning you received about $13k discount? If so fantastic deal. Looking fwd to stereo install pics.

 

Oh on more thing I was able to get Android auto running on the head unit. But really in a lot of ways the stock stuff is as good or better so far, I am sure as android auto matures that will change.

 

Rex, did you get Android Auto running on the OEM head unit or on the new one you purchased? If on the OEM, how did you do that?

 

Rex,
I totally get it. I sold my Maserati Gran Turismo for the Abarth. Spent a bunch to protect the matte paint, did some performance mods and spent about $1200 on a stereo upgrade. It's not awesome like yours will likely be, but it's a pretty good upgrade - especially with the top up (i really don't drive that much with the top down except locally - on highways I prefer the top up).

So far it's all working out pretty well. I wanted to be sensitive about how much weight i added due to sound deadening, so I had it added only to the doors.

 

@truebill I used information and tools from this https://21stcenturyfiat124spider.wo...ilencer/common-tweaks-that-work-in-the-fiat-124-spider-infotainment-center-7-0/ lots of awesome stuff there. yes it tweaks the software on the factory unit. to get around the mediocre head unit the stereo shop is adding some nifty JL audio stuff I never heard of.but it fixes the flaws - magic
@thinc2 Yup I have had a Grand Tuorismo loved the interior! I loved my porsche, evora, M6, C6 and F-Type S8 but as confession I have always been a closet Miata lover and dig the old school british and italion roadsters.
They are not adding a lot of sound deadener just in critical areas.
The car that made me do this was my F-type s 8 I hated to drive that car not because it was bad but because I could never actually drive it well, to much power for local roads and it seemed such a waste to drive around using 25% of it's potential. I drove next to a spider with the top down and my jag top was down and I was just blown away with how much i wanted the spider more.
@Bob Z have to disagree with you the boxter and caymen of any year are of no interest to me If I am gonna drive a porsche it will be a 911 version as for depreciation I actually do care I care a lot never stoped me from buying what I wanted but buying an Abarth What a relief to have a fun car that does not constantly make me think about it.

 

@Bob Z have to disagree with you the boxter and caymen of any year are of no interest to me If I am gonna drive a porsche it will be a 911 version as for depreciation I actually do care I care a lot never stoped me from buying what I wanted but buying an Abarth What a relief to have a fun car that does not constantly make me think about it.

Totally agree. I only paid $30K for my Abarth with the factory racing stripe. But no LED headlights and base stereo. My next car will either be a Golf R or a 911 Targa 4 (not the S as i think the base engine is actually more fun to drive. Would get a MT. So yes, that would be the slowest/heaviest 911 for sale ).

I went for the 124 because:
a) I have realized I don't need +450 Hp to have fun (although I still grin everytime I think of how that Maserati GT sounded at startup).
b) I don't see the point in spending $130K on a car when I can have fun in a $30K car.
c) I got really tired of having to worry about where i park because i wanted to avoid door dings. While I want to keep the 124 nice, a few blemishes over time won't be an issue.
d) The maintenance on high end cars is ridiculous. You can pay up to $800 for an oil change on the Maserati. Tires are sooo cheap for the 124 compared to the high end stuff etc etc.
e) I love how small this car is. Easy to park etc.

But there's something about the Targa that keeps calling me. I'm a pretty fickle car owner.

 

@Rags747

It was a crazy deal and I spent a day on trains and busses to pick up the car. The dealer is in Gilroy CA which is a pretty sleepy town I think they simply don't have the clientele to sell these. If anyone is interested I think they have a few classicas left you can get for 20k. But they are sneaky bastards and have a terrible rep. So if anyone trys to buy one make the deal on the phone and take cash or equivalent. Grab the car and run. Part of the price reduction was the loyalty credit my wife is a jeep fanatic.

 

Pickup

@Rags747

It was a crazy deal and I spent a day on trains and busses to pick up the car. The dealer is in Gilroy CA which is a pretty sleepy town I think they simply don't have the clientele to sell these. If anyone is interested I think they have a few classicas left you can get for 20k. But they are sneaky bastards and have a terrible rep. So if anyone trys to buy one make the deal on the phone and take cash or equivalent. Grab the car and run. Part of the price reduction was the loyalty credit my wife is a jeep fanatic.

Funny...I spent a day on a train to get to Elk Grove, just the opposite trek, Amtrak! Having a friend in Sac helped a lot also for my pickup, Gilroy is much closer to me!. South County, in Gilroy is changing my oil for me for, got 4 changes when I purchased the vehicle. There doesn't appear to be a dealer in the Bay Area that really know this car. The parts people are really trying, they put in the correct oil...so far I don't have any complaints. I always balance and rotate my tires at an oil change and this wasn't an option on their "show up on Saturday morning and we'll change your oil" program. Saturday convenience overrules the rotation issue.

 

Rex,
I used the same program for tweaking my infotainment unit, but Ameridan (the author of the site you referenced) explicitly advised against turning on the Android Auto, so I didn't. But I guess you did. And you haven't had any problems?

 

a quick update they are sending pictures (soon I hope) but the Tuner guy is going all in because it will be a competition car at the next local auto show. He said it will take him 2 days to tune for all conditions using two laptops and an oscilloscope. And I have no idea what that means. But their goal is to show what they can do with such a small car with limited space I have a feeling they are targeting the unhappy miata owners out there who have the same crappy stereos. There aren't enough 124's to justify the extra work they are doing. Of course it doesn't hurt that I am letting them use my car at the show.

 

@truebill yes I did. But I also am a google pixel user and I think that makes a big difference since my phone is pure android with the latest OREO os. My guess is older versions of android and tweaked versions of android from samsung do not play as nice.
So full disclaimer - At your own risk

 

@Bob Z we are in totally in agreement. Every part of the car gets included in my appreciation of it. I am also a Golf R fan, the targa 911 is mouth watering. It's when you factor in these other costs when the fun to price ratio really kicks in. What got me was you bringing up the Golf R, with our previous cars we can have a golf R and a tricked out Fiat Abarth and still be money ahead over the high end stuff.

At this point in my life its about me+my car not "look at me" or at least not as much. But that Targa yeah I am totally with you there.

 

Funny you mention the Targa, which is on my short list as a replacement for the 124...newest version of course. And while I have had some pretty exotic cars I have never cared what others thought, hence the 124 I have now.

 

@thinc2 I wouldn't say fickle I would say eclectic

 

Rex, it will be interesting to know if your installer can use the space in the passenger footwell for the subwoofer. There is a spacer in there when the base system is used.
Best regards
Pete

 

I am curious about that my self, It was a big discussion while I was there I just told them to figure it out The JL HD amp (crazy expensive) is very small and jl decoder isn't big either. If I were a betting person I bet they will use the spare tire cavity they thought they could to a bigger sub and make it almost invisible. We shall see, they cater to highend customers and are very aware of how much people with these kinds of cars do not want crap strewn around. The decoder would fit nicely the bose bump

 

Wow the amount of people who would have purchased a Porsche/Ferrari (insert ant really expensive car sports car) but instead went for a Abarth instead.
I think Fiat have cracked the USA market with the 124

 

Wow the amount of people who would have purchased a Porsche/Ferrari (insert any really expensive car sports car) but instead went for a Abarth.
I think Fiat have cracked the USA market with the 124, me I'm the opposite, I couldn't afford the others, but a do love my 124

 

...or how about the amount of people that think at first convo thought you bought a Ferrari...

 

They really have, but I think the negotiations between Mazda and fiat really benefit Mazda. There would be a lot more Abarths had Fiat brought the full euro spec abarth to the U.S.

 

Maybe not ..... because of the price increase that would come with the Euro model. The Fiat is competitive in pricing with the MX5 and that is likely a strategic move by Fiat not Mazda. In the not to distant future FAC will be introducing a 2 seat sport car under the Alfa badge, a more powerful Fiat would be seen as a competitor and that would not be good for FAC.

Paul

 

I got my car back. Sorry but not pictures because you can't see anything at all. A JL rep stopped by to help and they limited my car to 45% volume for speaker break in which I did not know was a thing.. With that I think my video done with my phone says it all.

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