Why Isn't the Fiat 124 Spider Selling Well In the US and Will It Turn Around?

For starters, inventory for more desirable models and content has been low in many areas as Mazda ramped up production of their new hardtop. An enthusiast may be willing to monitor Fiat's inventory list and drive/fly hundreds of miles to snap one up on short notice, but not the casual buyer who just wants a color other than black or gray. Then, January and February of this year saw the arrival of that much awaited MX-5 RF. Let's step back and revisit soft top vs. soft top sales in a few months. Perhaps adjust for market share and dealer foot print of both brands. I don't think anyone thought 124s would outsell miatas. The 124 is a niche vehicle for a niche brand.

Anyone who is open to the fiat turbo 4 and then cross-shops the Club and Abarth soft top trims will like that they can get Brembos, Recaros, auto climate control and an LSD for less than the price of the Club. The fact that there will be fewer on the road is a plus, provided you can locate one that suits your needs.

I just took delivery of my Abarth 124 after an 8 month pursuit. Starting with a dealer in Santa Monica (where I have an apt), I put down my deposit sight unseen on my preferred Abarth 124 expecting delivery within a couple of months. In the middle of the transaction the dealer tried to increase the price $5,000 so I cancelled. My permanent residence is in Dallas, TX, so I went to my Fiat/Alfa dealer there, put in an order, and after 45 days was notified that Chrysler was closing the dealership and I would have to deal with one of two other (inconveniently located dealerships in the area). Even after being assured that my order was being transferred in its entirely, I found myself starting from square one explaining to the new dealerships what I wanted. What began to emerge is very limited visibility by the dealers of where the inventory was and when it would arrive. Apparently my car, equipped exactly as depicted in most of the marketing (Pearl White/Black decals/ 6 speed/Brembo brakes) was almost impossible to locate. My search was finally fulfilled by an awesome saleswoman at Nyle Maxwell in Austin, TX (one of the country's largest Fiat dealers); an order was placed in October 2016 and finally delivered this past weekend. Even with this dealer, she could not give me a delivery date or track my car from the factory until the past month. The decals had to be done locally (good job). No Brembo brakes.

If my car was sitting on display at every Fiat dealer, they would see a dramatic increase in all 124 sales at higher prices. Way too many automatic 124's with limited options are in the showrooms. Abarth provided the sizzle, but the dealerships and the factory need to get their act together.

same here in west los angeles, santa monica...no 6 speed manual abarths to be had, not right color combination..quit searching and dealers offer little help..abarth a great looking car.

I had a 1983 Spider. When I heard these were coming out I was like a little kid at Christmas. Registered with Fiat and two dealerships about 120 miles away. They never contacted me and I decided I did not want the hassle of getting them serviced. Then a local Chrysler dealership started handling them. This is about the greatest toy I have ever had.

But the only reason I found out about this new version is because my brother told me. The standard comment I receive, after the oohs and ahh is, " I didn't know they were making these".

They showed the Alfa during the Super Bowl but the Spider only gets crickets.

But oh, what a joy to drive on rolling winding hilly roads in northcentral PA. It is a beautiful sleek responsive and quick car.

I don't think you know what you are talking about. The Fiat X1/9 and 124 Spider were always primarily for the US market. I am an Italian and it's very rare to see convertibles like this in Italy. People just don't have the disposable income for toys like this as in the US. I've seen maybe one X1/9 and a 850 Spider in two decades. People mostly buy hatchbacks and scooters. Same disappointment when Ducati owners don't see Ducati all over the place. It's because people buy scooters and use them as cheap city transport.

Hopefully the new 124 Spider sells better, but it's a very new car on the market, and Miata is an extremely well-established name in the US and certain areas of Europe (UK, etc). Also, Fiats dealerships are severely lacking in the US

I am seriously considering getting myself a 124. 45 years ago my dad drove me through Italy in a 124 spider. Since then I have owned a number of Fiats, both in Europe and Canada. They drive well! However I have a hard time with the limited color choices and would have to pick one that I dislike the least? This is supposed to be a FUN car, where are the fun colors? Like the 500? And what's with the fancy color names? This is not a Bentley. Black is for funerals, white for weddings, grey and silver too serious. And that red is the wrong shade of red. Wy not offer Ferrari red? I like the blue color, but why make it limited? Its like saying this is the exclusive color and you can't have it!
Great designers should have to be able to pick one or two of their favorite colors when they design the car, but the rest of the colors should be chosen by the marketing guys, customers and fashion experts. Does anyone know if Fiat will offer more color choices soon? or recommend a great paint shop near Tampa?

I love the look of the Fiat 124 and I was considering buying one. After researching Fiat their reputation for services is awful and the reviews about the excessively turbo'd engine were damning. The introduction of the RF ended the debate for me. No offense but the math was good manufacturer reputation, good reputation of dealer network, strong, well suited engine, and a retractable hardtop were impossible to resist.

Thanks for the great post and comments. I like the styling of the new Spider. (We have a classic spider and a Topolino.). We like Fiat, but they seem to be working against me buying one. I dislike turbo engines-I HATE turbo lag, the reliability issues, heat,etc. So Fiat offers no engine choice (to be fair neither does the Miata in the US, but I'd love a Spider with a Mazda engine) While turbos are in style, I think they work against the raw open driving experience. Truthfully, i'd rather have the tiger shark (yeah, I know it's not the best big 4 on the market) and much rather a pentastar. (I have had z3s for years and the BMW NA i6 transforms the car over the i4 versions). I also agree with the other comments about the bland color choices for the new Spider. I also like lighter interiors, not a dark cavern: think Rosso Red/Crema. While it is a niche market, it seems that Fiat is trying NOT to sell the car.

The car is simply too small. Period. Anyone who is 6 feet+ and over 200 pounds will not fit. How stupid to design a car that precludes 50% of the American men from driving it. Why spend $100M to design a car and make it 2" too short and 1:" too narrow. Stupid. They deserve to fail.

Per my dealership, there were only 2000 units shipped stateside for the 2017 model. Finding a 2017 Fiat Abarth with just the 21C ordering code (color irrelevant, save for the extra cost colors) was difficult; by extending my search to include the Safety and Comfort collection, was I able to snag one. Next goal is to source a secondhand donut and jack from a Mazda2 or Miata. And maybe a shop manual.

The 124 is a beautiful car. I've even read positives that its engine won awards etc. in Europe, but I must admit, I am not a TURBO Fan at all either, and I too HATE TURBO LAG. This TURBO LAG caused me to drop my interest in buying the car.

I sped to the dealer when the first ones came out... They only had Classica's with manuals... Took 6 weeks for my dealer to intercept a FULLY OPTIONED Lusso with stick and bypass it to Las Vegas... LOVE THE CAR !!!! but yeah.. Lots are Full of Auto's and limited options... Who wants Those?

I have had my Classica for the better part of the year, driven 23k+ miles and just saw another 124 Spider in the wild for the first time yesterday. There just aren't any in Sacramento, except presumably one other. There is no Fiat dealer in Sacramento (sorry, "studio"), which could be part of the problem. The dealers in the closest cities (30+ minutes away) take three or four hours for a "one-hour express oil change." Trying to get an appointment for service beyond a oil change means waiting weeks (really). It's not like there isn't a market for sports cars in the region. In the same time I have seen exactly one 124 Spider, I have seen five Alfa 4Cs, 10+ Ferraris, two Porsche 918 Spyders, three McLarens, and more than a dozen 2016+ Miatas. Clearly, dealers are a problem. The irony is that Mazda used to have a well-deserved reputation for a crummy dealer network.

We have been waiting for the new option packages and exterior colors on the 2018 spider since April, just went in and placed an order for the Blu Scuro - six speed manual Lusso with saddle interior. There were no pick and choose options as described on line. Could not get the interior color we wanted in Abarth model, and will be very happy to have our Lusso when it comes in..eleven months to wait!!!!! Hope fall 18 is as mild in New England as this year.

Okay rant coming. I just came from a studio and like the Spider a lot, enough to talk about trading my Abarth 500, which is a go-kart fun car. But after dealing with Kia over a lease for a $33k SUV that gets superb ratings Kia's lease absolutely kills the financing of Fiat's lease. For $30 less I can drive away the spider, hold on $30 less? - something seems off to me. I did a zero down, zero drive away for a $33k SUV with $5500 off in incentives. Spider is $27.8k I get loyalty bonuses, work for a preferential company, so more discounts, yet the lease is $30 less with an extra $1000 down? I even called the finance manager at Kia to check my facts and they were exactly right. Money Factor was slightly more in Fiat, but about 0.5%, not enough to cost that much. Acquisition fees were high, residuals were inline with the Kia deal too, nothing earth shattering to throw off the comparison - but it was enough to make me think I was getting taken so I left the car and went home unhappy. Wife (applying the negative logic) came with me, so emotion was not enough to sway the sale.

Options sucked also, there's hardly any manual cars, no Arbarths in manual at all. Getting told manuals are dying off - in a sports car that's terrible news. Okay paddles and semi auto is okay but I find I'm driving like Miss friggin daisy in an auto Spider, just not got a soul if you can't shift car is soul-less.

I have the same "complaint" as several other posters. It was extremely difficult to find a 6 speed Classic anywhere in my area. They were several of the more expensive, loaded Abarths and Lussos with AUTOMATIC transmission. I mean, come on people. I'm a "senior citizen" on a budget (which I blew), but I found a Classica 6 speed about 75 miles away in West Palm Beach and drove down and test drove it. Bought it the next day, although I didn't get much of a deal. I was ready for another small sports car since I ditched my 2000 Miata back in 2011. Anyway, I'm extremely pleased with my car. Of course there are a couple things, like the chincy sunvisors and the (in my opinion) low quality of the stereo, and the excessive noise at highway speeds (70ish), I'm still very pleased with the styling, ride, power, and even the gas mileage, which is 30+ with mostly city driving. It just turned over the first 1,000 miles, and I'm getting used to the tiny bit of hesitation in the turbo. The majority of the time, I rarely notice it. The second it kicks in, man, it's like a rocket. I'm looking forward to seeing more on the road. Good luck with a fantastic little car. Thanks for KEEPING it little. Put more brochures in the dealerships. I NEVER GOT ONE! Finally, if fat people can't fit, they need to lose weight!

I purchased a 124 Spider Classica nearly a month ago. I loved the one I drove at my nearby dealer but they only had the Lusso with manual transmission, which was out of my budget and I didn't want to pay for unnecessary bells and whistles. I searched all over the internet and found one 100 miles south. I drove down and the car wasn't there, it was at a sister dealer another 60 miles away. I drove another Lusso they had and liked it also. I told them if they'd bring the Classica to me, and I liked it, I'd buy it. They did and I did. However, they nearly blew the deal by low-balling my trade, (I decided to keep it) then offering me a ridiculous 4+% loan with my excellent credit and 15k down! (I've seen similar remarks on the Fiat Spider owner's forums). Plus, there is such a limited supply of Spiders with manual transmission, many of the folks out there would buy one if they could FIND one! There are lots all over with automatics that are gathering dust. What's the deal with that? Finally, the word is getting around that parts are taking forever to get. No one wants to pile up rental car bills while they're waiting for a stupid windshield or other part. Come on guys, if you want to sell cars, give us the damn cars like we want them and give us parts to fix them if they break!

Purchased the Classica Model in Aug 2017 - the local dealership had maybe 4 Spiders on the lot - we opted for this model because it was an automatic ( wife can't drive a standard shift) - the limited supply of the 124's is a problem and a blessing - our little roadsters always turn heads - but getting service work done isn't easy as shop mechanics just don't have a lot of hands on time with our cars yet. My dealership screwed up the paperwork and the dealer prep for delivery was poorly done ( the don't drop the ball on ram truck!) Our local Fiat Club has better info! I've been back to the dealership and of the 4 they had on the lot only 1 is left and I don't see any others being dropped off anytime soon!

Most Americans are way too fat to fit in a car - they need huge trucks to haul themselves around.

I've bought the Fiat version here in the UK. Its a great little car - there's a but coming - but it is too short for tall people. I'm a bit tall, 6'3", and I knew it was a bit compact, but its not my only vehicle, so I figured I would manage for a while, and it would a fun little commute car.

And I will, but I have to get out every hour, can't spend any longer in there. If my foot is hovvering on the clutch pedal then my hand near the centre console won't go past my knee easily. I agree with the poster who said this car is 2" too short in the leg room. That's about what I'd rate it at too. The pedal box and footrest just needs shoving back 2" Short people would be fine as the seat would move forward OK, and I think position to the wheel would be fine. It really needs another 1-2" in the headroom too. My father got in for a ride and he's shorter than me, only about 6' or just under, and he said he felt too high for it.

The passenger side is just silly though. Presumably it has enough space for a pedal box there, because there are cars sold with the steering wheel on that side. But they've chosen to raise the floor there for some reason (footrest?), so its just too short. So unless I take my shoes off to gain another 1/2" of space, I can't be a passenger. Why did they choose to block off the bottom of the passenger footwell? Its crazy.

I'll enjoy my 2 years with it, but unless Fiat sort this out with Mazda, it will be going back and I won't be buying another.

Width wise, I don't agree with the people saying that if you can't get in then you're too fat. I'm not fat at all, I'm just tall, and width wise it is very tight because my frame is large, and the seats aren't really well suited to the wider shoulder. But my wife, who is not fat either, and is only 5'10", is also finding the seats a bit pinched because female hips are usually wider for the same height as a man.

Obviosuly they have used the standard frame sizes for Japanese men and women as the Mazdas and not European-origin, who are often of a larger frame.

I think this is the big reason this car isn't selling well enough in the US and Europe compared to the Mazda. The Mazda has a lot of younger buyers, who like the more modern appearance, and haven't filled out much yet. But the Fiat has more retro looks that appeal to the slightly older audience, but they're making a car that doesn't properly fit 50% of European origin people.

As for the rest of the car. Well, the engine is great. I've the 140bhp Fiat, not the 170bhp Abarth (because i wanted the quieter car with slightly softer suspension). Driven normally I don't notice any turbo lag at all, it revvs freely and pulls well. Its fun. The only time I've noticed any lag is if I've been dawdling in 2nd gear with revs way too low (sub 1000rpm) and then tried to pull away. Its too low for the turbo to be spinning. But if you had popped it into first, its off like a little rocket.

The roof works flawlessly, and the wind noise even at 70mph is fine if the side windows are up. A little blustery if they're down, but not bad if you're only doing a few mins at that speed.

The Bose speaker system (i have the plus model) sounds great and its nicely audible with the roof down.

Infotainment system is terrible. I understand its Mazdas and not Fiats. Its clunky and a bit slow and the nav controls aren't great. But the crowning glory of this is the sat nav system. Its shockingly bad. Consider that Google do a system that is free and really well sorted (so long as your phone can keep a GPS signal), this is going back ten years. You can't enter a postcode, its almost impossible to set waypoints to force it along a route, and if you enter an address it need the number of the property and unless you give it this it won't even begin the search, so you can't just get to an approximate location.

So usually I just turn off the screen and listen to the radio and the car, because thankfully its soundtrack is pretty cool.

I purchased 2017 Fiat124 Spider Lusso in July 2017. I live in Ontario, Canada. I’m 63 and I love the car. It’s a powerful 6 speed Manual. My Chrysler/Fiat dealership is 100Kms (60 Miles) from my home. Most Chrysler Dealers will service the Fiat124 but not the warranty stuff. Very poor Marketing. I had a Fiat spider in the 80’s and it was a good reliable car, and it could be driven in any weather. The 2017 Mazda Miata has an available Hard Top as an option, thus it can be driven in the winter. The 2017 Fiat124 Spider doesn’t have a hard-top option yet. My car is a summer car and stored for the winter. Fiat Canada could do better job at communicating with new owners of this product, this would help marketing the product. “Why Isn't the Fiat 124 Spider Selling Well In the US and Will It Turn Around?” Positive words from owner could turn around sales. It’s good value for your money, great fun car to drive, very comfortable, gorgeous looking. My Fiat 124 Lusso two-seater roadster, always turn heads.