Tell me about Fiat Barchettas

SlyReaper

SlyReaper

SlyReaper

Soldato
Joined
26 Apr 2008
Posts
6,653
Location
Bristol, Old Blighty
I know they're all left hand drive and there aren't many of them around. But beyond that, I know nothing. Are they decent cars?
 
Okay I guess the MX5 wins again. The only reason I hesitate with MX5s is because everybody and his dog has an MX5. I was thinking of the Barchetta as something a bit unique.
 
SlyReaper said:
Okay I guess the MX5 wins again. The only reason I hesitate with MX5s is because everybody and his dog has an MX5. I was thinking of the Barchetta as something a bit unique.
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When you buy something for uniqueness, you normally end up with something crap.
 
It's a 176 punto with a stylish body and 1.8 FIAT twin cam with the VVT found on the Alfa twin spark.

It's not a raw driving pleasure machine by any means, treat it as a cheap chiqé soft top. I'd have an MX5, but a Barchetta would be perfectly suitable for the Mrs.
 
BigglesPiP said:
It's a 176 punto with a stylish body and 1.8 FIAT twin cam with the VVT found on the Alfa twin spark.

It's not a raw driving pleasure machine by any means, treat it as a cheap chiqé soft top. I'd have an MX5, but a Barchetta would be perfectly suitable for the Mrs.
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Had a quick look on PH and they all are priced at about £4k+, certainly not cheap?
 
Prices are more reasonable if you look on autotrader. Can get a Barchetta for 1.5k or a MX5 from the same dealer for 3k. Pretty high mileage (over 100k) though.

Slightly off topic, but my attention was drawn to the Barchetta because there's one parked up the road from me. It's in horrible condition and it hasn't moved from its spot since I first noticed it at the beginning of this year. There's mould on the canopy, the rear badge has rusted, the car itself is dirty. It's a shame to see a good looking car like that rust away into oblivion. Do you reckon it'd be a good idea to try and find the owners, make an offer on it, then restore it? Or am I nuts?

By the way, why is the Barchetta in a higher insurance group than the MX5 and MR2? It seems positively tame compared to those two.
 
Some would say his new Z3 Coupe as well - a car thats cool but only really because its quite unique. In the context of the rest of the market it really is quite pointless. It's a car with all the disadvantages of a BMW Z3 but without any of the advantages. They are great now, because they look funky and are rare, but they sold about 20 of them because they are fundamentally useless and everyone bought a 3 Series Coupe instead, or a Z3 Roadster.
 
The fact that most people want RHD is a killer for that car, I think a large number of people who buy cars like this do it for the ability of it to look good and don't really care how it works, and these people will not put up with a LHD car.

If you want cheapish and different consider a lotus elan, but they have the fwd issue too.
Renault spiders are normally silly money.
 
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