Fiat Panda advice required

[Steve79]

Hi all, on my travels with work i've been offered a clients car thats for sale.

Its a dec 2006 registered Fiat Panda 1.2 dynamic in met blue. The owner has had it from new and has had to give up driving (old age and buggered legs). Its got FSH and a genuine 20k on the clock.

He wants around £1k for it and am tempted. I know little about these so advice from serial panda lickers on here would be appreciated.

Pic below

[Mrcento]

At that price, if it has good MOT, i'd go for it.

They're hardly enough little buggers,. Really the only big thing to watch out for is rear axel rot.

[Steve79]

Just now, Mrcento said:

At that price, if it has good MOT, i'd go for it.

They're hardly enough little buggers,. Really the only big thing to watch out for is rear axel rot.

Its got 76 days left on mot and advisories for the last 3 years on worn front tyres and all 4 springs corroded.

[strangeangel]

I really don't like them. They are hateful, cramped, underpowered little fuckers to drive.

 

That's me out of the way. MRS_SA is on her second. Her first was an '06 1.2 Dynamic, which she ran up from 4000 to 165000 miles. As much as I begrudged its existence, in 11 years it never failed to bring her home safely. It still exists; I believe its still on the forum somewhere. At some point along the line it earned my grudging respect.

 

For some nefarious reason she was unwilling to consider a Citroen, so we went to the Fiat dealers in Barnsley to secure its replacement. It was like buying a tin of beans; within half-an-hour she had bought a 2016 1.2. This, also, has been no bother at all.

 

As well as the rotting axles, you'd do well to check the condition of the sump. That was the only remedial work I ever had to do on the first one as it had become porous.

 

EDIT: for reference, the For Sale ad is here.

[Shite Ron]

Buy it, they are great for a modern car. My girlfriend has one identical, same colour, model, sunroof etc. We have had it about 5 years now and no  plan to get rid. It is great for taking into town where parking is tight, can leave it anywhere and nobody looks twice at it. It is also surprisingly capable of motorway journeys at 80 mph. Usually averages 50 mpg (though maybe not at 80] I am not a fan of modern cars or small cars but these really are great, ours has also been incredibly reliable so far, I hope I haven’t jinxed it saying this..

[bigfella2]

If the rear axle is rotten, new axle can be had for £130 or possibly less if you shop about. So hardly the end of the world.

[busmansholiday]

My 2004 version is available. May next year MoT. £395,

[Inspiral_Mondays]

Another thumbs up for these brilliant little cars. Mrs has had a 1.2 since new in 2012 and kept it far longer than she ever intended. Easy to park in the city, enough space to take the garden rubbish to the tip and not too terrible on a longer journey. It‘s a, ahem, luxury version, so has parking sensors, climate control and an unfathomable trip computer.

[BertiePuntoCabrio]

Superb cars,  I have 2! 30k miles a year in one and it's all good. Can cruise at decent speed once you get there, drive it like a mini / 2cv to maintain momentum and it's loads of fun.

Prices are strong at the moment so the blue one OP notes is not far off the mark.  @busmansholiday red one is a great price👍

[1duck]

10 hours ago, strangeangel said:

I really don't like them. They are hateful, cramped, underpowered little fuckers to drive.

For some nefarious reason she was unwilling to consider a Citroen

Cramped? Just how large are you? I'm about 6 foot 1 and I found them spacious, I can't speak to underpowered as the one I bought my dad had the diesel, but I think the solution is rev it harder, that's usually the solution with small fiats.

Although, all that said, my other half hated that panda in the few months before we could hand it over to my dad, so maybe it's a marmite car. Her main hate was the turbo lag combined with the bouncy suspension. Her constant  "i'm glad I have a Yaris not this fucking car, if the Yaris dies we're buying another Yaris right? Don't ever buy me a panda" guess what car I'm getting her when the Yaris dies circa 2045 🐼 (although they'll all be rotten by then)

Perhaps the nefarious reason she didn't want a shitroen because it has been downhill for them ever since the AX? The panda equivalent I'd guess is a c1 and coming from owning a 107 which is practically the same, the panda definitely feels the better car, just in terms of interior/stereo etc

[BeEP]

I've always liked the styling, and having worked on (and driven quite a lot) one for the past three years they have, like strangeangel, earned a degree of grudging respect.  Parts are cheap (new sump just bought for about £20) and they're fairly easy to work on.  However the steering (like pretty much everything else I've driven with EPS) is mind-numbingly uncommunicative and lacking in feedback.  Give me unassisted, or at worst hydraulic assistance, any day.  Why cars this size need any form of power steering is a mystery I'll never solve!

[Ian_Fearn]

I love my 169 Panda. Last week I drove it from Derby to Zurich in one go to avoid the Swiss Covid restrictions. I then helped a family member move house with it carrying furniture etc and it did 51mpg.

I find it comfy but my wife doesn’t. It’s great around town, good fun to throw around on B roads but I’ll admit road noise is high on the motorway.

I have roof bars and now tow a trailer with it and it does everything I need.

The one originally posted is a dynamic with sky dome roof which makes it rare. If it has air con too snap his hand off. The Eleganza spec has the stupid heater flap to break off.

[BeEP]

9 minutes ago, Ian_Fearn said:

If it has air con too snap his hand off. The Eleganza spec has the stupid heater flap to break off.

The one I get to work on (and drive sometimes) is an Eleganza and sure enough the connecting bit through the side of the heater box has broken.  I didn't realise you could spec air-con without the Eleganza's climate control set-up.  Every day's a school day etc.

[Ian_Fearn]

It’s not like it can’t be fixed but truth be told, unless you are a dedicated enthusiast @Aston Martin then these pandas are for hammering into the ground not fannying about spending time or money on them!

[Grumblespeed]

Panda's what Fiat does well, small simple no frills transport. I've not had mine all that long - couple of months now - but always run small Fiats and love them and mother in law has been running Pandas for the last 10 years or so now too with no bother. As above, rear axle is a weak point, but also a relatively easy fix. Other than that as a rule of thumb the more electrickery there is the more there is to go wrong, the basics will go on forever. Interior is made of cheap scratchy plastic that looks identical after 100k. Seats are trimmed with mothing special but again 100k on  mine and they are fine other than a small rub on the drivers bolster - better nick than the wife's 70k Volvo.

Worst Fiat I ever had was a Stilo, where they'd gone upmarket a bit so after 10 years you had "luxury" soft touch plastics that were now luxury sticky touch plastics and dual zone climate control that only controlled the climate to tropical on the passenger side and demist on the drivers. It was a real relief to get back into this Panda and sit in front of some clunky knobs and clicky controls and feel like it's all business again.

[Clarky-1979]

Iv had two pandas. One of them the gearbox packed in after 22,000 and the second one the interior started falling apart after 40,000. I wouldn't have another one. They are really good fun to drive tho.

[strangeangel]

2 hours ago, 1duck said:

Cramped? Just how large are you? I'm about 6 foot 1 and I found them spacious,

 

 

I'm 5' 10" but it had nothing to do with my height. Whenever I turned round to reverse, my right elbow would hit the (rock hard) plastic door card, and my left knee was always jammed against the centre console. Half an hour in the driver's seat would result in backache, which may well have more to do with the state of my verterbrae than the Fiat's rock hard suspension, but it never happens in the BX, or the Ami, or the camper...

 

 

[mk2_craig]

12 minutes ago, Grumblespeed said:

As above, rear axle is a weak point, but also a relatively easy fix.

I'm not sure how many years Fiat thought these would last but they seem to possess almost 1960s Mini subframe levels of longevity, so therefore practically a service item.  Fortunately swapping them out is pretty straightforward (if you're lucky with the brake lines)

Otherwise, yeah, good little cars, WOOD WRECKERMEND etc

[1duck]

24 minutes ago, strangeangel said:

 

I'm 5' 10" but it had nothing to do with my height. Whenever I turned round to reverse, my right elbow would hit the (rock hard) plastic door card, and my left knee was always jammed against the centre console. Half an hour in the driver's seat would result in backache, which may well have more to do with the state of my verterbrae than the Fiat's rock hard suspension, but it never happens in the BX, or the Ami, or the camper...

 

 

Fair enough, I found the suspension really soft it was like driving a waterbed! The seats were definitely somewhat lacking though especially the headrests. I still found it a laugh to toss about for the few weeks we had it.

[Aston Martin]

Skydome!!!!!

[Ian_Fearn]

Rear axles are a service item..... The one on my mk1 Panda lasted over 20 years but my 169 Panda won’t.

[Aston Martin]

1 hour ago, Ian_Fearn said:

The one originally posted is a dynamic with sky dome roof which makes it rare. If it has air con too snap his hand off. The Eleganza spec has the stupid heater flap to break off.

You beat me to it. 

Dynamic with Skydome and fogs is interesting. If there's aircon you're a winner. 

[Aston Martin]

1 hour ago, BeEP said:

The one I get to work on (and drive sometimes) is an Eleganza and sure enough the connecting bit through the side of the heater box has broken.  I didn't realise you could spec air-con without the Eleganza's climate control set-up.  Every day's a school day etc.

Allegedly these guys can fix them for £160.

https://smallcarservices.co.uk/#services
 

 

[mk2_craig]

41 minutes ago, Rovorsche said:

With all the Fiat fans in one thread, Hartwells Abingdon have six Fiats in their back car park on consecutive 68 plate registrations.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50400540601_580a479b40_b.jpg

Interesting.  Wonder what the story is there?  Ex rentals maybe?