Convenience/Comfort Pkg a Good Deal on Sport

[Terry]

Hi Forum Folks:

I am waiting to place my order once FIAT of Highland Park gives me the go-ahead and was thinking of the Comfort/Convenience package (mini spare, alarm, climate control, heated seats)--This seems like a good value at $650 but my better half says keep your (that is our) money in your pocket because I know you will be drooling over the Abarth (too true)...At any rate, was wondering if any folks have this package and if it functions well or not...I'm in Chicago so think the heated seats would be great but never had a car with climate control but idea of setting a temp and forgetting it in either a/c or heat mode is appealing...Don't know how the alarm differs from the standard locking key fob system and if it would lower insurance rates. The mini spare is appealing instead of the goop approach and wonder if this might enhance crass worthiness a bit in the event of a rear end collision...(Anyone remember when a car came with a full size spare that you could rotate with the other 4 tires---My old GTV6 came with a fifth alloy wheel for pete's sake...Sorry for being long-winded but wondering what the community thinks about this pkg.
ciao,
Terry  

[FiATL]

This is the only option I got on my Sport.  First off, if you are getting manual transmission, you do NOT get heated seats.  (Stupid move in my opinion)  The price then drops to $400.  For me the manual climate control knobs looked and felt cheap so I would have done it for that alone.  I like the idea of a mini spare just in case I need it.  The alarm I could live without.

Good luck no matter what you choose but for me the package was a no brainer.

[Giallo Edizione]

Since you are planning to selll, tell your better half you will get part of the $650 back. That being said, options tend to depreciate faster than the base car. I am same as you, marking time till Abarth. I bought mine off the lot with those same packages. If I had ordered, I would have only added the spare tire. Alarm is a waste and the existing defeat system will get an insurance discount anyway. Hard to say if having auto-climate increases demand for vehicle on resale, ie will somebody pay you a full $550 more on resale because of the auto-climate? I personally don't think so, its one more computerized thing to go wrong, and unlike another poster, I think  the manual knobs look cool and more retro. So if I were ordering a sport to kill time till the Abarths were availabe, I'd buy the stripper with a spare tire. I'll probably do the same with Abarth-base model, no goodies. I'll bolt my own on, thank you. It probably won't have a spare tire either, since the twin stacks have to go somewhere.

JMHO of course.

[ciddyguy]

Terry wrote

Hi Forum Folks:

I am waiting to place my order once FIAT of Highland Park gives me the go-ahead and was thinking of the Comfort/Convenience package (mini spare, alarm, climate control, heated seats)--This seems like a good value at $650 but my better half says keep your (that is our) money in your pocket because I know you will be drooling over the Abarth (too true)...At any rate, was wondering if any folks have this package and if it functions well or not...I'm in Chicago so think the heated seats would be great but never had a car with climate control but idea of setting a temp and forgetting it in either a/c or heat mode is appealing...Don't know how the alarm differs from the standard locking key fob system and if it would lower insurance rates. The mini spare is appealing instead of the goop approach and wonder if this might enhance crass worthiness a bit in the event of a rear end collision...(Anyone remember when a car came with a full size spare that you could rotate with the other 4 tires---My old GTV6 came with a fifth alloy wheel for pete's sake...Sorry for being long-winded but wondering what the community thinks about this pkg.
ciao,
Terry

What others have said, although for resale matters, I would think the car with certain options will go for more than a stripper model, although these cars even in the base Pop are hardly stripped in and of themselves so that being said, YMMV on that.

As for the alarm, the immobilizer is NOT going to protect whats inside the car but WILL reduce the chances of someone taking of with the car itself however and appears to be quite effective, the car is I think prewired for an alarm and if I'm going to get one, I'm partial to factory units since they will tend to have a higher chance of integrating well with the existing systems in the car and perhaps be less prone to false alarms, unless you go with a GOOD alarm package and an installer via the third party aftermarket and the factory alarm looks to be quite good in and of itself from what I've been able to gather.

As for the automatic climate controls, nice to have the auto mode but I find the manual controls to be nice and have a retro flair about them and simply twisting the dial to adjust temperature, fan speed etc is nice but the auto system looks easy to use.

But, that is just another complicated system that may more fail prone but who knows?

Again, what you see in the configurater isn't the official one and we may get more options in how to configure our cars than is being shown so far.

I'm all over that spare, the sealant is a good idea for short term fixes, as is your mini spare and sometimes, it isn't safe to rustle the tire out from under the car on a cold, rainy night on the side of the road so getting the pump and sealing if possible is a good option IMO.

[75Spider]

Hey Terry -- I'm from Chicago as well and the Sport I test drove had the package you mentioned installed on it -- as today was damp and cold and we drove a stone cold car set to the 'auto' temp function can say that it maintains a pretty constant temp in the cabin. We also tried the heated seats -- they are simply on/off and although didn't check throughly, don't appear to have an indicator 'on' light as on other cars that we've own. Even though a single setting, can say they were better than on my '06 Mazda3 GT (which are also a single setting) but not as good as the typical multi-level ones (VW/Audi especially) -- still a great option for our area. The front seats themselves are quite comfortable (either driver's or front passengers). My insurance gives a slight discount for cars with alarm systems and my wife already had an experience with a car without a spare (our '08 smart fortwo coupe) that ended up OK as we have AAA but still a pain enough -- she ran over a popped up road reflector (looked like a prison-made shive; very sharp and ruined the tire) so the goop wouldn't have helped anyway. My vote would be that it has enough in it to be worth it -- as my son test drove as well as myself we had the automatic, didn't know that heated seats don't come with the stick version so will need to check closer if we decide to get one.

[KO]

Sounds like misleading advertising and a potential lawsuit as the configurator does not show the seat heaters unavailable for the Sport with the manual transmission.  I just ordered a manual Sport and even pointed out the $400 v. $650 to the salesman.  He assured me the seat heater was still part of the package at the reduced price.

[Fiat500USA]

The dealer will have the latest ordering info, so I would go by what they say.  I would definitely order a spare. The other stuff is a tough call. I like the manual controls, but $650 isn't too bad for an option package with all that stuff. You'll get some of the $$ back on resale.

[Fiat500USA]

The dealer will have the latest ordering info, so I would go by what they say.  I would definitely order a spare. The other stuff is a tough call. I like the manual controls, but $650 isn't too bad for an option package with all that stuff. You'll get some of the $$ back on resale.

[CaliberSRT4]

Fiat500USA wrote

The dealer will have the latest ordering info, so I would go by what they say.  I would definitely order a spare. The other stuff is a tough call. I like the manual controls, but $650 isn't too bad for an option package with all that stuff. You'll get some of the $$ back on resale.

I would suggest not trusting the dealer to have the latest and most accurate information. When I ordered my Dodge, the dealer thought they knew better than the Dodge website... WRONG. Called me back a few days later and told me I had to pick one of the option packages because they were incompatible (just as the website originally said).

[Nutmeg500fan]

Ciao,

I am in my second week with a Rame Sport, convenience package on 5 speed manual - the seat heaters are not factory installed.  Gengras Fiat in Hartford called and discovered that is a dealer installed option, as all the decals are - if you wanted the racing stripes, bar codes, italian colors, etc...

So they will be doing the install for me in few weeks - all in all the buying experience was fantastic with them, friendly, courteous, follow up has been great.  Really enjoying the notoriety I'm getting in Fairfield county - haven't seen another on the road, and my commute is 65 miles/day.  Love it so far and would recommend the package you are thinking of - the only thing I didn't get was the sunroof - would have had to do a custom order, 8 - 12 week wait - couldn't wait that long, so bought it off the lot.

[SeaDawg]

Nutmeg500fan wrote

Ciao,
the only thing I didn't get was the sunroof - would have had to do a custom order, 8 - 12 week wait - couldn't wait that long, so bought it off the lot.

This is the first car I have EVER bought with a SUNROOF.  I had a '79 TransAm with T-tops which was the closest thing previously.

My opinion is you aren't missing much.  I hesitated before getting it, just not long enough.  I just can't imagine how anyone would enjoy the wind noise from having the SUNROOF open completely unless they were wearing some kind of hearing protection.  I have tried it with the windows UP, DOWN, and IN BETWEEN...makes noise no matter what.  Looks cool when closed, which is where it will mostly stay on mine.

Your MMV.

[cogtooth]

The sunroof seems OK up to about 40 mph, but is too noisy faster.  It's best to close the windows at that speed, anyway, for best gas mileage.  There are quieter ones out there for sure, but the Fiat one is big and in front of you which is better than some that you can hardly see out of unless you lean back.  I tinted mine at 20% to reduce the heat of the sun.  

[KO]

AJ, Did you pay $650 or $400 for the convenience package on your manual 2012 Rame Sport 500?
Did you bring up the seat heaters after delivery or did the dealer figure out it was a dealer installed item prior? -KO

[ciddyguy]

SeaDawg wrote

Nutmeg500fan wrote

Ciao,
the only thing I didn't get was the sunroof - would have had to do a custom order, 8 - 12 week wait - couldn't wait that long, so bought it off the lot.

This is the first car I have EVER bought with a SUNROOF.  I had a '79 TransAm with T-tops which was the closest thing previously.

My opinion is you aren't missing much.  I hesitated before getting it, just not long enough.  I just can't imagine how anyone would enjoy the wind noise from having the SUNROOF open completely unless they were wearing some kind of hearing protection.  I have tried it with the windows UP, DOWN, and IN BETWEEN...makes noise no matter what.  Looks cool when closed, which is where it will mostly stay on mine.

Your MMV.

As for the sunroof, I hope someone develops a deflector for the front of the sunroof that both tints the sun when it's at that part of the roof (to help keep it out of one's eyes) but it also helps deflect the air flow enough to help with the buffeting when fully open.

I had it on a 1988 Honda Accord LX-I once and it was wonderful, even at highway speeds, true, it's going to be noisier than it would be closed but it's better and with much less buffeting. I drove all the way from Tacoma Washington to LA in that car with the AC not working and had to keep the rear windows cracked, the sunroof open much of the time, that is until mid afternoon in the San Joaquin Valley area of California with the temps in the I think low 90's and finally had to close the roof and pull the shade (solid) to help reduce the heat bearing down on me (and yes, it DID help a good deal).  

That said, if I had the AC working, I'd been using that instead but there WAS a time when one had no choice but to open windows while on trips as AC in a car was not all that common when the weather was hot.

[Buz]

I have a Fiat 500c Lounge conv. with the conv/comf package. Nice to have if you have to have a car with everything on it. It changes the look of the dash, which I think is an improvement. I've had heated seats in all my cars since 2000 (5) like them but really don't need them. Used to live in NY and now in Fla still use them but only when I look at the dash and see the swithing then I think of turning them on. I must admit, tho, it is nice to sit in a warm seat. Never use the auto temp control, haven't in any of my cars. The fan runs too high and as soon as you change the speed you turn off the temp control. Much easier to just turn it on and adjust it manually. Again in the Fiat I like the difference it makes in the look of the dash. Do I need the pkg. ? Definately NOT. Would I get it again Definately. BTW I am enjoying my new Fiat hardest thing to get used to is teen girls coming up squealing how cute my car is and how they want one when they get a car. Oh please give me my BMW back.