Kia Picanto vs Fiat Panda

BigglesPiP said:
He has simply negotiated an extra £1000 off the £2k the scrappage got him.
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Do you have any advice on how to go about this? I have no guile or experience with this sort of thing. I'd honestly be happy to get a decent paintjob thrown into the price, but the dealer doesnt seem too concerned about making the sale (maybe I'm going about it wrong).[/quote]

BigglesPiP said:
Without going into tax, the scrappage scheme means the govt. is paying £1000, and the dealer is giving a £1000 discount. So when at their most desperate, a FIAT dealer will let a 1.1 Active go for ~£5k (list price being ~£7k).
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The price I'd be paying is 5k pretty much flat for the Fiat or 4.5k for the Kia, which is the bog standard deal after 2k scrappage (see my first post for apres-scrappage prices).
 
Forget you're English, basically.

The list prices went up by £1000, when scrappage was introduced. So when you think about the £1000 the government is stumping up, you have achieved no discount at all yet.

They could be on to make their quota this month, or go over, it is 59 month. Go in and offer Your old car as scrappage plus £4000, then as the dealer tries to get you up, try and feed the extras you want in, like the paint.
 
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Personally I would just purchase a japanese piece of genericness than any of those cars.

there are only a few cars that benefit from the scrap scheme, these are low value cars where you would have been laughed out of the showroom for even thinking of asking for a discount, the only one I can think of is the Fiat 500.
 
BigglesPiP said:
Not at all, they're low value cars with a sticker £1500 higher than any sane person would pay.
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Not the experience I had when my sister was thinking about purchasing a Picanto or Panda. They would not budge at all. I'm talking here not even chuck in free mats. I tried 3 or 4 dealers around here and they all had the same attitude 'we don't care if you don't buy it'. Why wasn't they playing? These cars are flying out the doors.

And for the OP go for a Panda we found it a lot better than the Picanto. What you will find about the Picanto for 4.5k I think it's only available in White and maybe Red. Other colours you need to pay more.
 
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I hope you don't want either/any of those cars soon - i've got a panda on order, the lead time is about 2 months :o i assume the Picanto will be the same - The scappage creates demand for such cheap, small cars.....
 
griffo_001 said:
I hope you don't want either/any of those cars soon - i've got a panda on order, the lead time is about 2 months :o i assume the Picanto will be the same - The scappage creates demand for such cheap, small cars.....
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2-3 months for both the Picanto and Panda.

Dogbreath said:
I suspect the margins on these cars are pretty small.
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The dealer said as much. Tried using cash payment to get something thrown in extra, but he was adament the margins were too tight.

RockLobster said:
Not the experience I had when my sister was thinking about purchasing a Picanto or Panda. They would not budge at all. I'm talking here not even chuck in free mats. I tried 3 or 4 dealers around here and they all had the same attitude 'we don't care if you don't buy it'.
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I was going to try a few dealers, but as you said its probably going to be pointless. Still nice to know I'm not the only one who experienced it :)

Question: Does anyone know where I can get bumper stickers made up? I want to pimp my Panda with a "sexual harassment" sticker :D
 
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If the dealer has met their quota for the month, they will take a cheque over cash, so they can log the sale in the next month.

As the government is only giving half of the £2k, I promise you that every car on sale now is at least £1000 over priced, were you to go in and buy one without scrappage.
 
My old man had a Kia Pride from new which he replaced with a brand new Picanto (lol). To be fair in the 14 years he's had them he'd not had to pay for a thing over than the usual tyres/exhaust and a couple of wheel bearings.

stockhausen said:
I haven't tried a Kia but I know two people who own (larger) Kias and are VERY happy with them.
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Yeah I know a few people who swear by them, the 4x4 especially.
 
Phaser said:
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Yeah I know a few people who swear by [Kias], the 4x4 especially.
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Today I saw one of the two people I know who own Kias (Sedona & Sorento) and are happy with them. He has a Sorento, having previously owned two BMW saloons and a Honda Accord; he said that the Sorento was far and away the most reliable and the cheapest to run; he still has the Honda.
 
stockhausen said:
Today I saw one of the two people I know who own Kias (Sedona & Sorento) and are happy with them. He has a Sorento, having previously owned two BMW saloons and a Honda Accord; he said that the Sorento was far and away the most reliable and the cheapest to run; he still has the Honda.
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Well if cost is the sole justification for choosing a car then I guess that's a justification. However, if you put cost above things like comfort, practicality and safety then you probably shouldn't be allowed on the roads
 
iaind said:
Well if cost is the sole justification for choosing a car then I guess that's a justification. However, if you put cost above things like comfort, practicality and safety then you probably shouldn't be allowed on the roads
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Pretty sure from a safety point of view a modern Kia isn't going to be terrible. Though the Picanto is based on old tech iirc, so that may not be as true for that model. certainly the Cee'd etc. are as good as most things in their class.

I certainly don't think Kia to be any less of a brand than say Suzuki, Hyundai (who they own iirc) and the rest of the middling brands.

I'd still take the Panda though... and i'd take a second hand Focus / Golf / whatever over a new Panda ;)
 
stockhausen said:
Today I saw one of the two people I know who own Kias (Sedona & Sorento) and are happy with them. He has a Sorento, having previously owned two BMW saloons and a Honda Accord; he said that the Sorento was far and away the most reliable and the cheapest to run; he still has the Honda.
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Yes but so what, a tent in the Peak District is by far and away the cheaper option instead of a 2 week holiday in the States but it doesnt make it better, it just makes it cheap and nasty.

Why not just take the bus, even cheaper.
 
Rilot said:
You sure about that?

Hyundai i20 - 5-Stars NCAP 2009
Hyundai i30 - 5-Stars NCAP 2008
Kia Sorento - 5-Stars NCAP 2009
Kia Soul - 5-Stars NCAP 2009
Kia Cee'd - 5-Stars NCAP 2008

I think you'll find that none of these cars are more than 3 year old designs.
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Same company, and more reliable than a Fiat (probably than a Ford for that matter)
 
malfunkshun said:
Same company, and more reliable than a Fiat (probably than a Ford for that matter)
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JD Power Survey says:

"Fiat Panda
Rating 79.4%
Overall ranking 54th=
Like the Fusion and Agila, the Panda turns in its maker's best score in the whole survey. True, its score has dropped by almost 3% since last year, but it's still a respectable result.

The only category in which it scored below average was for the appeal of the car's interior, with owners saying it could have been more practical, and that the stereo, in particular, was below par. On the other hand, owners liked the low fuel and insurance costs, as well as the good mechanical reliability."

FYI the Picanto was 45th

I'm guessing this might have something to do with the Panda being built along side the 500 and Ka in Poland [At least i think it is, they're all the same car underneath, so i#d have thought they're all built on the same line]
 
griffo_001 said:
The only category in which it scored below average was for the appeal of the car's interior, with owners saying it could have been more practical, and that the stereo, in particular, was below par. On the other hand, owners liked the low fuel and insurance costs, as well as the good mechanical reliability."
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I'd go along with that. The look of the Picanto was better: steering wheel was decent, interior was decent, the CD player was better, interior finish was pretty stylish (except for the tacky plastic door panels!). Plus its a better looking car.

On the downside, the engine is sluggish, the suspension is shocking, some of the interior lacked refinement and the engine was loud.

It was a far more pleasurable experience to drive the Panda, and I'm not going to buy a car for how it looks.

Editing in some Interior Shots:

Panda
fiat_new_panda_interior_12_01_04.jpg

Picanto
kia_picanto_cabin_300x225.jpg
 
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I found out how he got the extra £1000; FIAT were advertising £3000 off list for the panda on scrappage, he simply went in and asked.
 
iaind said:
Well if cost is the sole justification for choosing a car then I guess that's a justification. However, if you put cost above things like comfort, practicality and safety then you probably shouldn't be allowed on the roads
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According to EuroNCAP neither the Fiat Panda or the Kia Picanto is exactly outstanding in terms of safety. I believe that Dace who has actually compared both cars considers the Panda to be more comfortable ("It was a far more pleasurable experience to drive the Panda"). I very much doubt that there is any hugely significant difference between the two cars in terms of practicality and as I understand it, they cost much the same.

I would be very surprised if many people make a decision on what car to buy based entirely on cost; I am sure that there are people to whom cost is not an issue. However, for most of us mere mortals, cost is a fairly significant factor when buying a new car - even with scrappage ;)
 
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