My New 'Lancia' Ypsilon

[Neil-yaj396]

At this years Betameeta Theo's purchase of a Momo edition Ypsilon sparked a long discussion about the sink hole values of Chrysler Deltas/Ypsilons since Fiat pulled the plug on the brand in the UK. Theo had got the car after what he considered a joke bid on ebay.

Since the death of my 1991 Polo winter hack at it's MOT in July I've been looking for a replacement and really wanted a petrol Delta (the cheapest, plus I'm not a big diesel fan).

Anyway, despite that, I couldn't resist what I considered a total joke ebay bid of £2995 on a badly looked after and presented 2014 Ypsilon with 10k miles (also a Momo). ...I got it for £2798!

The bonnet is a mess and the front bumper is badly scratched on both sides. The stop/start doesn't work, and judging by the towing eye cover it has been towed at some point. (The interior, once cleaned is immaculate as commensurate with the mileage). But, this is nothing for a car that isn't due it's first MOT until next February. I got both keys and the V5 was filled in. It was serviced at 8800. It got me back from Essex with no problems on 3/4 of a tank (230 miles via Tim & Sarah's in Colchester).

Then, when I got home, and after well over an hour washing it look what I found! A factory fitted LANCIA front grille. The central part of the badge had been simply covered over with that cheap Chrysler sticker, which pealed off fairly easily. The smaller sticker was just under the lip of the bonnet. Was the small sticker put there by the quality controller indicating that the wrong grille had been fitted?

So, in my book this is a bona fide Lancia. I'm ignoring the badge on the tailgate, if only they had mucked that up too.....

[Neil-yaj396]

.....

[Hawk]

Happy days

[rossocorsa]

I think it is very unlikely that the wrong grille was fitted at the factory, maybe it's had some minor front end damage and a lancia version of the grille was the cheapest option (I don't know about the ypsilon but the Momo design delta grilles from official sources are VERY expensive much more than the chrome ones but eBay.it is always your saviour!) the fact that the bonnet is less than perfect might support the theory(??).
I don't know about the Ypsilon but I have to say that my Delta has been a really good car far better than the press would have anyone believe, it is a bit numb to drive nothing as alive as a Beta and devoid of any proper driving feedback like 99% of moderns really. Main thing is it's comfortable, roomy, smooth and acceptably quiet plus very reliable. The only real non service issue I've had in 44000 miles (car is now showing about 54k) is a leak from the air con condenser but that appeared to be due to external damage (stone??) so maybe not really the car's fault. The car is 5 years old on 1st September and I've had it about 3 1/2 years now, I haven't suffered too badly on depreciation as it had already plummeted to about 45% of new price in the first 18 months, overall a perfect day to day car and something a bit different from the normal astra/focus/golf. I buy most of my servicing parts from shop4parts much cheaper than Fiat dealers but still mostly original parts they don't list Chryslers but the Delta is very similar mechanically to the 2007-2014 Bravo        

PS Neil you MUST remove that hideous Chrysler badge from the tailgate ASAP they are absolutely gruesome

[Neil-yaj396]

     

PS Neil you MUST remove that hideous Chrysler badge from the tailgate ASAP they are absolutely gruesome

Yes, would like to do that, though I don't know how easy it is to replace. I've seen some Ypsilons with a Lancia sticker just over the Chrysler name. Kind of the reverse that was done to the front of my car.

[rossocorsa]

On the delta it is just stuck on heat it a bit too soften the glue and use a thin thread such as fishing line to ease it away from the glass. Theo has done it best to check with him.

[betaveloce]

Congratulations on the new Ypsilon. I was on holiday in the UK last week (south of Scotland) and I was very surprised to come across a Chrysler Ypsilon quite regularly (I saw five different ones on the first two days, which is almost more often than here in Belgium...)
Good luck with it 

[peteracs]

So that is where they sold them then!

Can honestly say I have never knowingly seen one around here in the Newark area.

Peter

[rossocorsa]

Ypsilon actually sold quite well but they are clustered around areas where there was a Chrysler dealer.

[rossocorsa]

Scary to think that the UK was actually the third best market for Delta in 2012. There are over 5500 ypsilon registered in the UK but less than 900 deltas

[calimero-hpe]

i wonder about yor new cars, some years ago i heard that there are no general agencies in the u.k. ... was this a correct information? how do get your Lancias? private import?

[rossocorsa]

i wonder about yor new cars, some years ago i heard that there are no general agencies in the u.k. ... was this a correct information? how do get your Lancias? private import?

no official imports after end of delta integrale but delta 3 and 3rd series ypsilon imported badged as Chrysler, Chrysler brand is now discontinued in the UK so we did not get the facelifted ypsilon. A few people imported cars during the years in between.

[Neil-yaj396]

Scary to think that the UK was actually the third best market for Delta in 2012. There are over 5500 ypsilon registered in the UK but less than 900 deltas

That surprises me. When I started looking for cars a 50 mile search on Autotrader would always bring up at least a dozen Ypsilons. To find Deltas I was doing a national search, which would sometimes only bring up two or three cars.

Perhaps people don't want to part with them?

[rossocorsa]

I suspect that more deltas were originally sold in the South and also that a high proportion were registered as Fiat management cars, my own car is ex-fiat company car

[rossocorsa]

Look at this on eBay  http://www.ebay.it/itm/251110212102
To answer the question on lmc forum see above but you can probably order from any fiat dealer (at a ridiculous price! See below....)

https://www.fiatdalys.lt/en/catalog/parts/701/48/40/1/TK/0/0/0/0/GSX/back-door

[Neil-yaj396]

Thanks Alan, I've ordered the one from ebay.it. Didn't understand the two prices on the Fiat site, but as you say, lots cheaper on ebay.

[Thotos]

Congratulations Neil  Lovely looking car  We should form the YpsiMomo Club 

The rear badge is very easy to change. It's simply stuck on with double sided adhesive.

The problem with Stop?start not working is probably nothing more than a slightly low battery voltage. Use an external charger to fully charge the battery and it may start working.

[Neil-yaj396]

Thanks Theo

I trust your Ypsi is going well. I take it that it didn't have the hidden Lancia badge too?

Not too worried about the Stop/Start at the moment. I'd have thought that the drive from Essex to Yorkshire would have charged the battery as much as possible, so I'm thinking that perhaps the battery needs changing.

Neil

[Ammy]

If the "stop/start" is anything like my Multiair Punto,  you're better without it.  I have to remember to cancel mine every time I get in.

[thecolonel]

Be careful with charging. A lot of
the stop/start cars use special or
Gel pack batteries and require
chargers designed for them.