[kjcolv]

Abarth w/ Factory Painted Heritage Stripe in transit to me

Got confirmation from Fiat that my Abarth with the factory painted stripe is FINALLY on the train on it's way to me, after what has been about a four week delay MOPAR, Fiat and I don't know who else signed off on it. Supposedly mine is the first one to come off the line so for anyone else who is waiting on a factory painted stripe they should start showing up!!!

 

[RBH58]

When I saw the subject line, I thought "What? Did they put a can of paint in the mail?"

 

[kjcolv]

Haha, I supposed I could have worded that better!! Perhaps en edit is in order

 

[steve6225]

Got confirmation from Fiat that my Abarth with the factory painted stripe is FINALLY on the train on it's way to me, after what has been about a four week delay MOPAR, Fiat and I don't know who else signed off on it. Supposedly mine is the first one to come off the line so for anyone else who is waiting on a factory painted stripe they should start showing up!!!

kjcolv, what did you or your dealer have to do to get the heritage stripe? I tried like **** to get it on the Abarth that I ordered, but my dealer says that it cannot be ordered. My dealer also didn't order the Brembos I wanted, they say that if they change the order, it will be cancelled. As far as I know. the car hasn't gone out for build yet.

 

[kjcolv]

It's a rather complicated explanation, but the short version is because this was a fleet purchase I was able to leverage an existing commercial relationship with FCA to circumvent the usual dealer process. But that only came up because we were having so many issues going through the usual dealer channels. I had a very specific model I was looking for (abarth, white, manual, red interior, stripe) and was finally able to have it pulled from reserve stock at the port in Baltimore and sent to Detroit for the stripe. At that time I didn't know it was going to be the first one to come off the line with the stripe. I wanted brembos, but was told I would have to wait for one that was still on the line in japan that was scheduled for brembos and then it would be on a boat for 45 days, and would still have to be sent to Detroit for the stripe. So I decided to do that aftermarket. When I was dealing with the dealers I spoke to several parts guys who said they didn't have any info yet on brembos, no part numbers, so they would not be able to install them. As far as the stripe, there were lots of problems with getting it right, I know they had to replace the emblem (not sure which one) and MOPAR officials had to sign off on it before it was shipped. It went from a two week process to about six weeks. Had I known how this was going to be I would have taken it sans stripe. I've heard the stripe is no longer an option you can order, which given the challenges so far I can understand, hopefully the process will get better or they may just scrap it all together. Be interesting to see if any show up at dealers. The after market wraps look good as far as I can tell, and after this long wait I kind of wish I had gone that route.

 

[LongBeachJim]

Some of the dealers are having their local wrap shops do the stripe on their showroom Abarths, possibly as the result of customer demand. The one near me did a terrible job: bad cutouts around the big Abarth badges, and skipping the trunk lip altogether and only doing the top surface of the trunk (probably to avoid having to deal with the chrome "124Spider" emblem). There is no way I'd purchase a brand new car with a crappy wrap job. The company I used did pretty good work.

Lol, if you end up with the only Mopar painted Abarth stripe in North America it might help your resale value.

 

[kjcolv]

Technically, I don't own it. It's my company car!

 

[kjcolv]

Some of the dealers are having their local wrap shops do the stripe on their showroom Abarths, possibly as the result of customer demand. The one near me did a terrible job: bad cutouts around the big Abarth badges, and skipping the trunk lip altogether and only doing the top surface of the trunk (probably to avoid having to deal with the chrome "124Spider" emblem). There is no way I'd purchase a brand new car with a crappy wrap job. The company I used did pretty good work.

Lol, if you end up with the only Mopar painted Abarth stripe in North America it might help your resale value.

BTW, yours looks amazing Jim, you inspired me to keep at it!

 

[steve6225]

It's a rather complicated explanation, but the short version is because this was a fleet purchase I was able to leverage an existing commercial relationship with FCA to circumvent the usual dealer process. But that only came up because we were having so many issues going through the usual dealer channels. I had a very specific model I was looking for (abarth, white, manual, red interior, stripe) and was finally able to have it pulled from reserve stock at the port in Baltimore and sent to Detroit for the stripe. At that time I didn't know it was going to be the first one to come off the line with the stripe. I wanted brembos, but was told I would have to wait for one that was still on the line in japan that was scheduled for brembos and then it would be on a boat for 45 days, and would still have to be sent to Detroit for the stripe. So I decided to do that aftermarket. When I was dealing with the dealers I spoke to several parts guys who said they didn't have any info yet on brembos, no part numbers, so they would not be able to install them. As far as the stripe, there were lots of problems with getting it right, I know they had to replace the emblem (not sure which one) and MOPAR officials had to sign off on it before it was shipped. It went from a two week process to about six weeks. Had I known how this was going to be I would have taken it sans stripe. I've heard the stripe is no longer an option you can order, which given the challenges so far I can understand, hopefully the process will get better or they may just scrap it all together. Be interesting to see if any show up at dealers. The after market wraps look good as far as I can tell, and after this long wait I kind of wish I had gone that route.

Thanks, I guess I will give up on the stripe!

 

[spilner]

I hate the generalize but often I find that dealerships don't do that great of a job finding outside help to detail cars, repair wheels, wrap cars, etc.

Anyone here willing to put in the time to do research and speaking to other local car enthusiast will be better off. In doing that you'll discover most enthusiasts do all that extra stuff outside of dealers.

 

[LongBeachJim]

I hate the generalize but often I find that dealerships don't do that great of a job finding outside help to detail cars, repair wheels, wrap cars, etc.

Anyone here willing to put in the time to do research and speaking to other local car enthusiast will be better off. In doing that you'll discover most enthusiasts do all that extra stuff outside of dealers.

Agree. Do your homework. This forum is a great place to educate yourself, and it certainly helped me.

 

[steve6225]

I actually wanted the factory painted stripe. I think that it looks great, but now I am used to the idea of not having it. $2000 saved for for mods!

 

[kjcolv]

I actually wanted the factory painted stripe. I think that it looks great, but now I am used to the idea of not having it. $2000 saved for for mods!

I agree it was a bit pricey, but getting it done pre-delivery meant not out of pocket for me since it is my company car, so I was extra motivated to get everything I could added prior to delivery. The brakes would have been preferred as it was a higher ticket item, but that was going to be another two month delay. So I got the stripe and will do the brakes aftermarket, provided it actually shows up here one of these days (can you tell I'm getting frustrated waiting!)

 

[ItsyBitsy]

i'm sure you'll be able to find a set of Brembos once your 124 Spider arrives. They're pretty much the best ones around and easier to get than the factory stripes.

 

[bgoetting]

I am also unable to order stripe

Thanks for clearing up the stripe issue. It was driving me crazy. I'm new here. I have an S2000 that's 11 years old, 120K miles and looking for a replacement. Mazda vs. Abarth. I love the pic of the white with stripe, red highlights. Obviously the dealership can't provide that, though Fiat shows off the pics of that combo endlessly. The dealerships won't explain why. I can emulate the stripe with a vinyl wrap easy enough. Red seats are a rarity for some reason. I asked if I can order a car from the factory. Seems to not be possible. I've never worked so hard to get a car company to sell me a car before. It's frustrating.

 

[steve6225]

Thanks for clearing up the stripe issue. It was driving me crazy. I'm new here. I have an S2000 that's 11 years old, 120K miles and looking for a replacement. Mazda vs. Abarth. I love the pic of the white with stripe, red highlights. Obviously the dealership can't provide that, though Fiat shows off the pics of that combo endlessly. The dealerships won't explain why. I can emulate the stripe with a vinyl wrap easy enough. Red seats are a rarity for some reason. I asked if I can order a car from the factory. Seems to not be possible. I've never worked so hard to get a car company to sell me a car before. It's frustrating.

I ordered mine in early October for delivery in May or June. I could not order the Heritage Stripe because it was not available, and the studio forgot to order the Brembos. I did order it with the Black/Red seats. According to the Studio, orders for 2017 model year cars ended in Mid October. I don't know when the 2018's will be available for order.

I gave up on the Heritage Stripe, the red lower fascia trim and the Abarth badges on the front fenders are available from suppliers in Europe. (there are other threads with links) The red mirror covers are available from the dealer. I will add Wilwood brakes and the Record Monza exhaust when the car comes in.