Jesus Christ, the price

". ." (xllx)
01/26/2016 at 06:53 • Filed to: None

20 000 AUD for an FSM Niki, and that’s priced to shift quickly?!

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

It’s not even that original. Wrong steering wheel and mirrors are instantly obvious.

DISCUSSION (16)

pip bip - choose Corrour > . .
01/26/2016 at 06:58

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/FIAT-FSM-N…

this one is a fraction cheaper.

Cé hé sin > . .
01/26/2016 at 07:01

Niki?

. . > Cé hé sin
01/26/2016 at 07:03

The Aussies went and renamed the good ol’ 126 for their market.

Cé hé sin > . .
01/26/2016 at 07:04

Odd.

. . > pip bip - choose Corrour
01/26/2016 at 07:04

This one at least has the original steering wheel.

Party-vi > . .
01/26/2016 at 07:11

OMG LOOK AT IT!!!! I’d love to have a SEAT 133 like my parents did back in Spain. What a neat little car.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Cé hé sin
01/26/2016 at 07:19

FSM Niki 650E to be pedantic

. . > Party-vi
01/26/2016 at 07:29

The 133 is a powerhouse compared to the 126/Niki. :P

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > . .
01/26/2016 at 07:53

Wow, Crack Pipe price! I know they are rare in Aus, but $20K...??? 0_o

I’ll stick with importing a nice one from Poland in a year or two for $4000 CAD including shipping...

. . > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
01/26/2016 at 08:00

Yeah seems like the supply of Nikis in Australia is absolutely dreadful. I guess it’s kinda akin to buying a Bosmal in Poland.

Flavien Vidal > . .
01/26/2016 at 08:10

Well, this one is 20000 AUD... so if I recall correctly it equals to about 5.43 USD, which is actually a pretty good deal :P

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > . .
01/26/2016 at 08:11

Well, they’d never sold that many over there, did they? I think they were only in Aus. from ‘89-’92 and I don’t think they ever shipped too many there.

I’m just hoping the 126 supply in Poland is nice to me and is still decent enough for me to get a good one for around $4K CAD when I import one in a year or two! :P I’ve currently got about $2K saved up from scrimping and saving, haha!

. . > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
01/26/2016 at 08:27

To be fair, you could probably obtain a decent car for around $3K CAD providing shipping is about a grand. They aren’t expensive cars. I guess for you the biggest issue will be obtaining spare/replacement parts. They wont’ be hard to buy, but shipping the little bits and pieces will probably be a bit painful. Let’s be honest, finding a car with exactly 0 issues that will stay perfectly reliable is a bit unrealistic.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > . .
01/26/2016 at 12:21

Yeah, that’s why I had budgeted $4K CAD...my hope was that I could maybe get somebody on the ground in Poland to find a car in good shape for me and then get any required work done there were parts were plentiful before it was shipped back here (like basic maintenance, new tires, the H4 headlight assemblies if needed, unleaded engine if needed, electronic ignition possibly, etc).

I would probably get a few of the basic spares shipped over with it too, belts, gaskets, etc.

I’ll probably go for an ST model as that’s the one that everybody tells me to go for...as they’re older though, and considered the best option, I was also budgeting higher as I imagine they sell for more than something like your later EL...?

I guessed shipping would be $1000-1500 CAD, depending, but I haven’t looked into container or RORO pricing, so I have no idea which would be cheaper. Container would be better though, as they allow shipping parts stored inside the car - RORO doesn’t allow anything stored in the car during shipping AFAIK.

Think the extra $1K is unnecessary...? I don’t imagine any 126 I get will be perfectly reliable, but I also want one as a car to ‘learn’ on...hoping to have my own place and a full-time job by then with a small shed or garage that I can start working on it myself! :)

. . > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
01/26/2016 at 14:14

It’s not an easy thing in terms of logistics, that’s for sure. If you want to spent about 4 grand, have you considered using some of it to fly over to Poland for a short time and personally buy the car, give it a basic service, load it up with spare parts, and ship it out? It might be worth it and you’ll be able to avoid nasty surprises. I can provide a little help (go look at cars that are reasonably close to me, provide help in finding parts, etc.). If you want a sorted car it may also be worth keeping an eye on what people on rezerwa126p are selling. Especially people who are pretty active there.

And yes, the ST is a bit more expensive (and much harder to find, especially in good nick andwithout terrible commie mods). In fact an ST or a Happy End are 2 of the most expensive 126p’s. They’re definitely the most stylish though, if not quite as useable as later models.

As for spare parts, you can see even on mine that weird stuff keeps happening. You’ll definitely need a decent stack of belts, fuel pumps (or just the membranes), cables, gear linkage parts and timing chains + gears. Those things are all readily available, cheap, and easy to handle if they go wrong though. If you want to talk to me in a less public way you can PM me on reddit under the same nickname.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > . .
01/27/2016 at 21:44

Yea, I’ve made a few posts on Rezerwa126P, including one explaining my future import-to-Canada plan. A number of people expressed their willingness to help, so hopefully they can be of assistance when the time comes! I’ve thought about flying over, but the tickets and accommodation costs for that would probably raise the costs quite a bit for the time required to do it. I’m happy if anybody trustworthy is kind enough (I’d even pay them a little) to look at any cars near them that would be worthwhile. As for it being an ST, that’s what they recommended on Rezerwa126P, but I would take any well-sorted 126 of any vintage as long as it was in fairly good nick with little to no rust - I like the simple, understated utilitarian styling on all 126 models. I’d be perfectly fine with an EL or ELX like yours if I could find one in good enough shape!