[Bob Z]

...and I hope to have my Abarth soon as I am negotiating with 2 dealers now; one has a Red Abarth stick shift and the other the same except it is Aluminum. I am confident I will get one of them so I decided to join the forums. If anyone has an Aluminum car I would love to hear about the paint in regards to showing dirt and swirls. I saw a Red one in person and it had a lot of swirls on the trunk and I have read of others with the same problem so maybe it is just soft paint albeit the Aluminum may not show them as much.


Anyway, I am 53 and have owned almost 40 vehicles in my life and I look forward to trying out yet another one. My current car is a C7 Stingray Coupe, which is being sold, and a Super Blackbird for 2 wheel fun. I look forward to interacting on the forums and doing a muffler delete and hopefully getting more boost with a mild tune very soon on the new one!

 

[PureAdrenaline]

...and I hope to have my Abarth soon as I am negotiating with 2 dealers now; one has a Red Abarth stick shift and the other the same except it is Aluminum. I am confident I will get one of them so I decided to join the forums. If anyone has an Aluminum car I would love to hear about the paint in regards to showing dirt and swirls. I saw a Red one in person and it had a lot of swirls on the trunk and I have read of others with the same problem so maybe it is just soft paint albeit the Aluminum may not show them as much.


Anyway, I am 53 and have owned almost 40 vehicles in my life and I look forward to trying out yet another one. My current car is a C7 Stingray Coupe, which is being sold, and a Super Blackbird for 2 wheel fun. I look forward to interacting on the forums and doing a muffler delete and hopefully getting more boost with a mild tune very soon on the new one!

Welcome Bob, glad to hear from you. I have a red Lusso. The paint is in excellent shape but it requires some TLC. This paint is much softer than any car I have had in the past. It is easy to scratch and haze(swirl marks in light) if you do not treat it properly. I am sure a lighter color would be easier to maintain but I love the Rosso Red....

 

[LongBeachJim]

Welcome to the forum, Bob. Lot's of friendly and helpful members here. I sold my C6 GS for the Abarth and I'm pleased with my choice. The little Fiat is such a joy to drive. The agility and visceral experience of a small roadster is more fun to me than big horsepower. I live in a high traffic urban area so the Corvette horsepower was rarely utilized. I do slightly miss the larger cabin and cargo area of my coupe, but I'm ok with the compromise.

The 124 red is a great color, unlike so many of the burgundy leaning reds on the market (think SUV). Regarding the swirls, I wonder about the idea of getting a protective film installed.

 

[oliverpull]

Welcome aboard, Bob. I am greatly surprised that there are at least two guys here who have "graduated" from a Corvette to a Fiat. It says something about the joy there is in driving something responsive, as Jim has noted, where supercar power is not required. In November I drove my Abarth home up the California coast, and in a small town near Fort Bragg there was a C6 'Vette in the lane next to me, flexing muscles and rapping pipes at the sight of the Abarth. The speed limit was 25, and he was all wrought up with competitive gyrations. That says something about the utility of big power!

 

[RBH58]

Welcome to the world of small light weight cars with "sufficient" power to have fun.

Where I live they ping you for doing 2mph over and there are cameras everywhere collecting government revenue. So having 600hp and 1.5g worth of lateral grip is something that you never get to enjoy except at track days. And of course smaller lighter cars are easier on fuel, rubber, & brakes. In some jurisdictions they are cheaper to register and insure.

I like small cars.

 

[jconli1]

I think you're making the right choice... the Corvette is redundant if you also have a XX!

The 124 should make a great addition to the stable.

 

[Stelvio]

. except it is Aluminum. I am confident I will get one of them so I decided to join the forums. If anyone has an Aluminum car I would love to hear about the paint in regards to showing dirt and swirls. I saw a Red one in person and it had a lot of swirls on the trunk and I have read of others with the same problem so maybe it is just soft paint albeit the Aluminum may not show them as much.

I have an Aluminum Abarth which due to not wanting to drive it in the salt, I have spent more time polishing than driving so far. It shows dirt like a darker silver car, meaning not too bad, and I have noticed no swirling. I did do mine with the last of a product that is no longer available called B'laster that I have used on my vehicles for years It is a chemical polymer bonding kind of thing that always did seem to leave a tough finish. I also used Rejex which seems to be a good replacement for the B'laster but pricier. Also, it seems the different materials, steel, aluminum, plastic - have led others to comment that there are subtle but noticeable "shades" with some of the colors depending on which material they are applied on. I don't detect any such issues with the Aluminum. So for all those reasons, it seems a good choice. But that being said, I had two identical motorcycles except one was red and one was silver. The red one was just a smooch bit faster. It does seem red always is.
The Abarth is the closest thing I have driven to a go cart. I have heard a lot of nice things about Corvettes but no one has ever compared one to a go cart to my knowledge.
I do think the Abarth upgrade is worth it. The LSD, the front strut supports, the Bilstein shocks, the exhaust, the painted wheels - why just the price of the Bondurant school that is included with the purchase is as much as the whole premium in price.
A slightly premature "Welcome Aboard!"

 

[Hound]

Welcome aboard. I have an aluminum Abarth and love it. I am up here in Colorado and still driving it regularly. I think the silver shows the least of all the colors when it comes to road grime and general crap that can get on them (IMHO). I don't have any swirls that I have heard other seeing. It is nice to see more coming online. I flew into Boston Mass. to pick mine up and drove it all the way back, it was the only one available in the country at the time. I don't regret the decision.

 

[SteveWy]

Hound ...where are you in Colorado?

 

[Bob Z]

Well I made a deal last night and traded in the Corvette. I will be getting a Red Abarth with a manual and no options. The dealer ordered it in September 2016 for a customer that decided they no longer wanted to wait so they offered it to me. They told me they have no idea of when it will arrive and they do not have a VIN# but they did give me the Vehicle Order Number (VON), which is 37563631 so if anyone knows if there is a place to track it let me know since the site I found that appears to be the one does not work.

 

[Greg]

That's great news Bob. I notice a lot of people have traded in Corvettes for Abarths. I talked to one nice fellow yesterday who traded up from a Challenger Hellcat to the 124. I get it, the smaller car is actually more fun.

Greg

 

[ThatsASeamus]

Well I made a deal last night and traded in the Corvette. I will be getting a Red Abarth with a manual and no options. The dealer ordered it in September 2016 for a customer that decided they no longer wanted to wait so they offered it to me. They told me they have no idea of when it will arrive and they do not have a VIN# but they did give me the Vehicle Order Number (VON), which is 37563631 so if anyone knows if there is a place to track it let me know since the site I found that appears to be the one does not work.

Give "FIAT VOTS" a quick search. It sounds like the US subsidiary brands of FCA shut down their order tracking systems for the public, but FIATs may still be enabled. Catch being that the last name may be the original customer's instead of yours, as the vehicle was originally ordered for them. EDIT: I only found a mobile version.

If it doesn't work, might need to find a current FCA employee that has worked in assembly.

Congrats on the decision to get the 124!

 

[MotoPete]

Where I live they ping you for doing 2mph over and there are cameras everywhere collecting government revenue.

Hey you guys only have yourselves to blame for that, they tried it here and our good citizens revolted! >

Anyway, welcome to the forum Bob, hopefully one of the U.S. members will be able to help you out with your seat query!

 

[Finny]

I have the silver. There is a different shade on the plastic bumpers. It doesn't really bother me, but it is an issue with the silver too.

It's a fun car. Among many others I've owned a Camaro, a C4, a C5, a Cayman and I still have a 335i. For me the Cayman was funner than the Vetts. I would say with the top up the 124 is close to as much fun as the Cayman, and a little more fun with the top down.

 

[Bob Z]

Give "FIAT VOTS" a quick search. It sounds like the US subsidiary brands of FCA shut down their order tracking systems for the public, but FIATs may still be enabled. Catch being that the last name may be the original customer's instead of yours, as the vehicle was originally ordered for them. EDIT: I only found a mobile version.

If it doesn't work, might need to find a current FCA employee that has worked in assembly.

Congrats on the decision to get the 124!

Thanks. The gave me the POC Sheet from when they ordered it and the VON is 37563631 and it was ordered for a person named "Lipsky" in Sep. 2016, so I have what I need to get the order status but no where to access it! I've looked everywhere online but maybe someone with a contact will read this and help me out...I would think the dealer would know.

 

[JFernald]

Bob,

Welcome aboard. This forum is chock full of good information. I recommend going to the index to locate the topics you are interested in. Then when you learn all you need to know, the current topics section down the right hand side is a place to find stuff you didn't even know you needed.