My 2012 500 pop has just under 70,000 miles. It has been reliable, inexpensive to operate, maintenance is easy and cheap for the DIY guys. It is surprisingly utilitarian; with back seats folded down cargo room is
much greater than all but the largest SUV, wagons, trucks... and the Fiat is easy to park, has a tight turning radius, and gets very good gas mileage (I settled into an average of about 32mpg - when new, I drove very carefully to attain 36+ averaged, but that got boring). Drive it like you stole it and you can expect low 30's mpg. It's my commuter car, run to the store car, carry home Costco mega-groceries for the month car, and a second home to my 80lb Boxer dog, Thor. With seats down, he has plenty room to enjoy the ride.
I've gone through two sets of tires, and had all services done at the dealer... until the warranty expired (went past 50k miles). After that, I've done oil changes and tune ups. The 64k mile tuneup was new spark plugs, air filter, and an oil change. Cost me less than 50 dollars for parts and took a couple casual hours to do. Filters and plugs are easy to get to. Tons of youtube how-to videos for the DIY person.
I replaced bulbs in the rear and head lights. These are well designed and easy to replace. Lamps are cheap and available at any parts store.
A recall was issued for manual transmissions. It's something about clutch travel. I've yet to have a problem with it but Fiat sent out a letter informing all owners that Fiat will do a proactive service on the clutch at Fiats's expense. Dealers are waiting for the parts from Fiat, as this is a new service bulletin.
Overall, Fiat 500 pop has been reliable, easy to own and live with, easy on the wallet and easy on the eyes. A solid commuter and run-about. And it's Italian, motor built in Detroit, assembled in Mexico (for the North/South American models). It's truly a world car, found in every developed country and many developing countris too. It's good value.
Yes , it's a machine and requires maintenance. At some point the clutch will wear out, brakes and more tires. I foresee it being a durable little car.