The Abarth 500e was commonly sold on
Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) and
Hire Purchase (HP) finance agreements during the period under investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), from 6 April 2007 to 1 November 2024. These financial arrangements allowed buyers to make monthly payments over a specified term, often with an option to buy or return the vehicle at the end of the contract.
How the Abarth 500e Was Typically Financed
The Abarth 500e was typically financed through Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) and Hire Purchase (HP) agreements. Typical PCP terms ranged from £15,000 to £30,000 over a period of 36 to 48 months. This financing method often included a balloon payment at the end of the term, which could be paid off or used as part of an optional purchase price.
Several finance providers commonly offered these agreements for Abarth vehicles, including
Black Horse, Barclays Partner Finance,
Close Brothers Motor Finance,
MotoNovo Finance, and
Santander Consumer Finance. These lenders played a significant role in facilitating the financing options available to buyers of the Abarth 500e during the investigation period.
The FCA Motor Finance Investigation
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) conducted an extensive investigation into
discretionary commission arrangements used by motor finance companies from 6 April 2007 to 1 November 2024. These arrangements involved manufacturers, dealerships, and lenders providing incentives to finance providers based on the volume of financed vehicles sold. The FCA found that these practices could lead to customers paying more for their vehicle finance agreements than necessary.
The investigation revealed that 12.1 million eligible agreements (FCA, March 2026) by such discretionary commission arrangements (FCA estimate). These agreements represented a total value of £7.5 billion (FCA, March 2026), with the average overpayment per customer estimated at £829 (FCA estimate).
How to Check Your Agreement Look for any mention of a Discretionary Contribution Arrangement (DCA) or similar terminology in your financing documents. DCAs are agreements where lenders receive additional funding from manufacturers based on the number of financed vehicles sold.
Relevant dates to consider include 6 April 2007, when the investigation period began, and 1 November 2024, when it concluded. If you entered into a finance agreement for your Abarth 500e during this timeframe, there is a possibility that discretionary commissions may have been involved.
If you believe that your Abarth 500e finance agreement was affected by the FCA's findings on discretionary commission arrangements, you can complain directly to your lender without incurring any additional costs. Common lenders who provided financing for Abarth vehicles include Black Horse, Barclays Partner Finance, Close Brothers Motor Finance, MotoNovo Finance, and Santander Consumer Finance.
When making a complaint, it is important to provide detailed information about the agreement, including dates of purchase and relevant contract terms. You do not need to engage with a
claims management company; you can handle the process yourself or seek advice from free resources such as the
Financial Ombudsman Service (
FOS).
Sources and References
- FCA estimate for affected agreements: 12.1 million
- FCA estimate for total value of affected agreements: £7.5 billion (FCA, March 2026)
- FCA estimate for average overpayment per customer: £829
Sources:
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), 2024
Based on 5,055 MOT tests conducted in 2024 (source: DVSA anonymised test data), the Abarth 500 has a pass rate of 76.4%. This is below the national average of 79.6%, meaning the 500 has a higher-than-average failure rate in MOT testing.
The 500 pass rate is slightly below the overall Abarth average of 83.9%. The average mileage at MOT for this model is 69,279 miles.
- MOT pass rate: 76.4%
- MOT failure rate: 23.6%
- Tests analysed: 5,055 (2024 DVSA data)
- Average mileage at test: 69,279 miles
- Abarth average pass rate: 83.9%
- National average pass rate: 79.6%
Data source: DVSA anonymised MOT test results 2024, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0.