Fiat Panda - Anybody drive one?

tripitaka

tripitaka

tripitaka

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I'm looking at getting one of these for my first car - I'm 26 so it shouldn't cost too much to insure.
Probably looking to spend up to £3000, looking at either the 1.1 or 1.2.

Live in London so will mainly be used for occasional city driving, don't need it to commute or anything.

Any thoughts?

Ta.
 
tripitaka said:
I'm looking at getting one of these for my first car - I'm 26 so it shouldn't cost too much to insure.
Probably looking to spend up to £3000, looking at either the 1.1 or 1.2.

Live in London so will mainly be used for occasional city driving, don't need it to commute or anything.

Any thoughts?

Ta.
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James may seems to think very highly of it for driving about london, that cant be a bad reccomendation.
 
Been in one and very nice cars, the owner likes it and apart from the styling (I think it looks crud) it's apparently a very good car. Get the 1.2 if it's a Fiat 8v FIRE engine as there non-interfeerance, have been around for ages and generally good engines. I personally didn't like th look of the dash and make sure you get an upper market one (color coded bumpers).

I know this won't go down well but if you're after something a tad bigger or a bit more style maybe a mk2b Punto? Could get a nice example for £3k, insurance group 4 if I remember as well.
 
Peerzy said:
I know this won't go down well but if you're after something a tad bigger or a bit more style maybe a mk2b Punto? Could get a nice example for £3k, insurance group 4 if I remember as well.
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Reliability is a big issue here though.
 
Defcon5 said:
Reliability is a big issue here though.
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We (my family) had ours for 8 years (brought new, sold last week). Serviced once a year as normal and the cam belt was done at 5 years, apart from that in 8 years all that went wrong was the clutch and gearbox, both were replaced at about 55k and were only on there way out and done as a precaution. Total cost including labour was under £500 iirc.

Mine was in top condition engine and interior wise, small dent and scratches by the petrol cap and I had mine up for £1500. Someone I know recently brought a 'Sporting' for about £2.5 which didn't look a day old. 8v's go for even cheaper.

Obviously these are my experiences, I've got another friend who loves his and if I ever needed a small 1.2 again it would be a Punto but no doubt you will find a few duffers out there.
 
12th from Bottom of 100 models for reliability in Auto Express 2002 survey. 6th from bottom out of 137 models in 2003 Top Gear survey
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They have known HGF issues due to the radiator corroding and the resulting sludge blocking stuff up, normally at about 50K
 
Defcon5 said:
They have known HGF issues due to the radiator corroding and the resulting sludge blocking stuff up, normally at about 50K
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Nothing wrong with mine, sold at 65k. Most problems I've heard about have been electrical related (airbag light coming on the dash dispite it all being fine).

Every car will have good and bad stories, just saying the one I owened for 8 years and a friends who had his for 2 years (got written off a few days ago after some idiot rear-ended him) have had very few problems.

Fine then don't get a Fiat, get a Mondeo ST or a 330Ci :D
 
Why a panda out of interest? I'm sure if you're looking for something small, a Fiesta or similar would be better built.
 
i would say its a good choice, appart from being hidiously ugly its supposed to br a good car and i assume if you are considering one you don't mind the looks.
 
Sone said:
i would say its a good choice, appart from being hidiously ugly its supposed to br a good car and i assume if you are considering one you don't mind the looks.
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Yup, I think they look alright, certainly seen a lot worse.
And anyway, I plan to be seeing the inside of it more than the outside.

Not sure a Fiesta would be that much more reliable? I'm probably looking at Pandas around 3-4 years old with 30-40k miles on the clock.
 
I drove one a few years ago in Greece - it was pretty horrendous but I liked the roll back roof ;)
 
On of my mates at work ran a 1.2 for a couple of years. Decent city car - well made for a Fiat (definitely better than a Mk2 Punto). It goes, stops and handles decently and there's a decent amount of room in there, if a little narrow. The gearbox went in his after 2 years (fixed under warranty) then the idiot got rid in favour of a Hyundai Getz which was so utterly horrid so he got traded it in after 12 months against a new Polo.
 
Brother has the new model. It's not my cup of tea but he loves it. Main things that annoy me are:

-Ugly exterior
-Interior leaves a lot to be desired, however I wouldn't call it shoddy.
-Seating position is all wrong. They feel really high up and its just weird.
 
Panda is well built, must because its made in Poland rather then Italy ;)

Quote from Wiki:

In addition to the retail success, the Top Gear Motoring Survey in 2006 ranked it 8th out of 152 cars surveyed for reliability, craftsmanship, ownership costs, driving experience and service received. Traditionally, Fiat have ranked at the lower end of this table, showing that the Nuova Panda is reversing the trend and suggesting a rise in quality standards for Fiat.[3]
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Interesting.

Yup, I think I'd definitely like to have a go in one first to see what the driving position is like - and the gearstick is in a funny place too.
 
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