Finale Edizione wrote
Yes, ask! What the heck. However, I have been told two things about that by my dealer. First guy said if a PE is cancelled, FIAT will locate the next person on the waiting list in the delivery area and offer it to them. Another guy said, no, if a PE is refused, then the dealer is free to sell it to whoever. My sense is one of these two is true and FIAT would be unwilling to pay the transport cost for little old me to lose a sunroof.
In the meantime, I am eying an incoming Rosso Brilliante Sport 5 speed with convenience and sound/safety packages, for $19,100 delivered, ( plus the ususal nasty fees). But I am also drifting towards custom ordering a Rame Lounge with Marone/white luxury leather interior ( and heated seats!) and stir the manumatic.
Here's some interesting factoids: Of the 56 500's ( non PE) on distribution to my dealer (selected by FIAT), only 11 are manuals. All of the Pops are automatics (as are the Lounges of course). Only 12 cars have sunroofs. Exactly one, yes one, Rosso Sport 5 speed (it has roof). Yet, they have already sold out all of their 5 speeds with sunroofs on pre-orders. Also, none of the auto-Pop's are priced less than the manual Sports; Pop's are all $19,250 and up. They have a lot of customers thinking of sacraficing and getting an automatic, but none are laying down a deposit without seeing the car colors, interiors etc ( to overcome the manual issue) according to salesman. Looks like FIAT may really have the marketing wrong, at least up here in New England. If they think they are going to woo away MINI buyers, they will never do it with automatics. Nobody up here buys a MINI with an automatic unless they simply do not know how and are unwilling to learn how to drive a manual. Salesman is hoping FIAT figures it out and starts distributing more 5 speeds to them. Meantime they will have a lot of automatics on the lot to unload.
I will ask Fiat when I call them. Honestly, I don't know when that will be--will try to do it today. My thought is that if you pass on the Prima, the dealer distributes it. Fiat, of course, will not want to eat the cost of transporting it again but would do just that if they simply pass it on to the next person on the list (unless that person is nearby). I don't know exactly where mine is, but my guess is Belvedere, IL. You should reply to this post or PM me with your dealer details and any relevant info.
I saw the Rosso Brilliante when I test drove--it is a little too shiny for me. It is more expensive than the plain Rosso because there are 4 coats of paint. It has a shimmer/reflectivity in bright light.
I would rather walk than drive an automatic--especially the 500. However, I can see how *most* Americans will drive the automatic. Maybe it's a regional thing, but around here, it's almost impossible to find a car with 5-speed; which I find odd, as we are a snowy state (WI) and I find manuals easier to drive in the snow. An informal poll of my neighbors this weekend revealed that nobody has a 5-speed, and only 4 or 5 (of about 35) can even drive one. I told them I used to drive an old pickup truck a long time ago for a landscaping company that was "3 on the tree" and they had no idea what I was talking about!
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