davyjordi

Hello All!

So I picked up a 2019 124 Spider yesterday and it is identical to the ND MX-5 Miata with the exception of the engine which uses the 1.4l turbocharged multiair engine provided by FIAT and has been used in a number of applications here in the US as well as extensively in Europe. Apparently the engine has a better track record in Europe than it does here as used in the Dodge Dart and the Fiat 500 Abarth, both of those vehicles being horribly built and horribly unreliable. It hasn't had too many problems in the 124 Spider that have been pointed out consistently on the forums there, the car was introduced in 2017 and is being discontinued after the 2020 model year and is built in Hiroshima, Japan alongside the MX-5 with Japanese parts save for the imported Italian engine. They are a rarity to be seen, even in SoCal where every car imaginable can be found, and indeed I found one after some hard searching. I think the design is absolutely gorgeous, especially in Lusso trim, over its MX-5 brethren. Such a beautiful Italian design that is retro but contemporary at the same time and looks timeless. It actually looks much more expensive than it is to many me included, and the MSRP for my particular car was $35,499 and I picked it up for, well, less than that.

The car has around 10k miles on it and is backed by the remaining 4yr/60k mile warranty. I purchased it from Lexus of Carlsbad here in San Diego County and it came with a free third-party warranty that covers the powertrain only for a period of 7yr/100k miles from the date of purchase which sounds great, but I am still left wondering whether or not I should purchase a warranty through Fiat Chrysler given that these engines are not the most reliable. I don't plan on modifying the car much -- if anything, a tuning box that will slightly increase torque and horsepower but can easily be removed and leaves behind no trace should anything go wrong. I also plan to install lowering springs, but those have nothing to do with the drivetrain, as well as tint the windows and apply XPEL Ultimate PPF. That's about it.

So the question for you fine folks is, would you purchase an additional Mopar/Fiat Chrysler warranty at some point before the factory warranty expires? Or would you trust the third party warranty provided by the Lexus dealership in Carlsbad? I mean, even if Fiat leaves the US market once again, and it's looking like that will probably happen, they are still tied to the rest of the Mopar marques as part of the FCA group, so I should run into no issues having the car serviced at any one of the FCA-branded dealerships across the region.

What do you think?

Below is the only picture I have right now as I took it from across the street in front of my house yesterday right after purchasing it.

davyjordi

This is the third-party warranty that came with the vehicle as sold by Lexus Carlsbad.

mmarshall

Congratulations on the 124 Spyder. Can't blame you for falling in love with its looks.....I've long-agreed (and made a number of posts) that the Spyder is much better-looking than the Miata itself, though I agree that the Italian-sourced turbo-engine is likely to not be as durable as the Miata's normally-aspirated one.

My comment on the warranty question is three things. First, you can tint the windows if you want (within state laws), but I'd hold on the engine tuning and chassis-lowering...I'm very conservative on that issue, and a firm believer that you are usually better off with stock settings (the way the vehicle was designed), particularly with warranty-coverage. The fewer revisions you make, the fewer problems you are likely to have with any coverage-issues. And the Spyder already sits very low to start with, and, with that low center of gravity, has superb handling right from the factory. Second, If you trust the extended-warranty from the company you have, fine, but given the choice, I'd go with a factory-extended one, as long as you can get the same coverage on paper. Third, even if Fiat does leave the U.S. market (they have already dropped the Spyder antis market), FCA, by Federal law, has to stock parts and provide warranty-coverage for a certain number of years. ..it used to be seven, but I'm it sure what it is today.


Enjoy it.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Congrats, I've never driven the 124 Spider, but I've driven a 2019 MX-5 and that was hoot. So I imagine you will enjoy this car tremendously

coolsaber

Is that all of the contract (1 page)? I would say FCA adminstered warranties are safer, but it depends. Have you compared these terms to the FCA backed warranty? Reviewed any current warranty owners for their experiences in both Century and FCA? In pitfalls?

Your current warranty seems to indicate that only your selling dealer is eligible to diagnose issues which maybe not an issue for you, or maybe if you travel far.

EastTNLex

Note at the top of the Warranty it says Summary...then states the full Agreement will be mailed in 45 days...hard to tell the specifics of what is covered.

davyjordi

thank you all for the congratulatory comments! the car is a great driving vehicle and i've had a lot of fun with it just yesterday and this morning.

as for the given warranty, yeah, that's a summary and it isn't even from the lexus carlsbad dealership, it's from their sister dealership across the way, toyota carlsbad. anyhow, it'll be mailed within 45 days as eastTNlex commented, so I'll have time to review it then, and while there haven't been a lot of reports of engine failure in the 124 Spider as the engine is the only Italian-source part here, I think I would still would feel comfortable by an FCA-backed factory warranty. Traveling, however, isn't an issue as I'll likely keep the car within the general region, so the third-party warranty will be easily accessed at the selling dealership.

I just wanted to gain a feel for what you car guys and gals thought before making that decision, although having said that, I have a long time to make that decision as the factory warranty won't expire for quite a few years. It is better, in my experience, to deal with extended warranties earlier in the game rather than later because well, the dealership has more leverage over the price later in the game as they know it's a time or mileage issue at that point.

Anyhow, if you've driven an ND Miata, the experience is nearly identical, but this vehicle has a lot more low-end torque. It's a fun car for sure!

and mmarshall -- yeah, i'm going to do the aesthetic modifications, including the suspension modification, for sure, but you're right, i might hold off on using a piggyback tuning box, even though it can be easily removed and leaves absolutely no trace on the ECU, it just might be better overall to not mess around with anything to do with the engine. let me tell you, though, this engine is dying to be tuned.

bagwell

search online for FCA warranties - they're pretty reasonable if you shop -- just make sure its a real FCA warranty - much safer than aftermarket warranties.

Love the white color on that car - looks clean - congrats!

davyjordi

Thanks!

That's what I think that is the wisest decision -- to purchase a factory FCA extended warranty because there will be no issues taking it to any FCA dealership to have it serviced should I run into any issues.

Aside from that, it's fun and oh, JD Power rates the car having above average reliability for whatever that's worth.

coolsaber

Just a question does your warranty come with a cancellation policy/refund? If so whats the time limit to cancel? Usually 30 days cancellation is what I know of, so 45 days maybe a legit or a ploy to get you to stick with it.

davyjordi

no, actually that third-party warranty was completely free from the selling dealership. i went over the paperwork at the dealership in the F&I office multiple times to make sure they hadn't snuck it in somewhere, but they hadn't. i'm assuming that it's a very low-budget warranty that often denies claims (as third-party warranties typically do) in order to get customers into the dealership, which is a bit shady, but i bought a car with factory warranty existing still, which buys me time to shop around and purchase an FCA-backed warranty.

geko29

Definitely. I don't know if it's still true, but I read a number of years ago, that none of the top 10 3rd party warranty companies from 10 years previous were still in business 10 years later. Manufacturer policy all the way.

sm1ke

iTrader: (5)

This would be my concern as well (3rd party company going under). I'm not familiar with the 124's build quality, but on the Mazda forum I frequent, there appear to be little to no build quality issues with the MX-5. The MX-5 and 124 are built in the Ujina plant in Hiroshima Prefecture, the same plant that my 2018 CX-9 was built in, and my car has been rock solid since day 1. With that in mind, I personally would have no issue with a 3rd party warranty on everything but the powertrain. Since the powertrain is imported and I don't know much about it, I would opt for a factory based powertrain warranty given the opportunity.

Personally, I would shop around to see what kind of deals I could get on an FCA-backed warranty. If you can get a decent deal, I'd buy it now, but if not, I'd just wait to buy it until the factory warranty comes to an end. It doesn't make sense to pay $1234 now when you can pay $1234 later. You can probably use that line to get yourself a better price right now, haha. Anyway, by the time the factory warranty runs out, you'll have a better idea of what to expect from the engine and you can make a more informed decision at that time.

This might be an unpopular opinion here, but what I would do is buy a discounted FCA extended warranty to cover the powertrain, then mod the car (including the piggyback). If the box leaves no trace of modification on the car when it is uninstalled, I would just remove it prior to bringing the car in for warranty/recall work.

Congrats on the car!

davyjordi

Thanks! I am definitely going with your opinion, unpopular or not, by purchasing the FCA extended warranty on the powertrain. The engine really is the only component that's the potential issue here as the transmission is a carryover from the ND Miata. Everything, literally everything, is Miata save for the engine and a piggyback is a must on this car.

I haven't shopped around for an extended warranty yet, but I'll be purchasing it within the next year or so, likely around the six-month mark.

I also have to take into account that this is just a fun car to toss around as my Lexus IS 300 F Sport is the daily driver/commuter car. I mean, not that I won't be taking the 124 Spider to work here and there, but it's more reserved to be taken to the beach or into the mountains or the surrounding foothills for a bit of top-down fun.

Thanks to all for the congratulatory comments! I don't regret the purchase one bit as I really think an FCA-backed warranty covering the engine is really all I'll need and I'll be golden until I'm ready to get rid of the car. It's really quite an attractive car (in my eyes, anyway) and I love the slightly higher-end interior over the Miata, especially in Lusso trim. Lusso is indeed the Italian word for luxury after all! This is about as luxury as a Fiat is going to get! haha

mmarshall

Just for the record, I was also of that opinion, if you saw that part of my post. I, too, am not particularly trustful of third-party or aftermarket warranties. You're usually (but not necessarily always) better off going with a factory-extended. And, yes, though the rest of this car is (likely) to be as reliable as the excellent Mazda Miata, the Italian-sourced Fiat engine is a potential trouble-spot...and a new engine can run big bucks.