Saying hi from the UK

[SirDeadalot]

Hi all

Thanks for the welcome to the forum, and I thought I’d post something to introduce myself. I’ve been exposed for Fiats for many years, since my dad had a Fiat 128 in the 1970’s. I fondly remember sticking to the vinyl seats in the summer as a child, and the fact that it went faster in reverse than forwards! He then went on to own a Strada, Lancia Delta, Regata, Tempra and Marea.

Alongside this he had a Fiat 900 van, Fiorano and then a Doblo for work. These days he has a Tipo and a Lancia (sorry Chrysler) Ypsilon.

As for my cars I started out with a 1982 Fiat 127, my dad’s old Regata 1600ie, a Lancia Dedra 2.0i.e. (loved that car), Alfasud (a beautiful 1982 model 1300SC with just 6000 miles on the clock), Punto, and a Bravo. At this point I defected and bought a Peugeot 306 Cabrio, though I guess these were styled and built by Pininfarina.

After that I left the brand and currently drive an Audi A4 Avant (sorry)!

So what brings me back? Well my son has turned 17 and wants a car, and in terms of value, driving, ease of maintenance and low insurance it is hard to look past the Panda, and this forum looks a great place to find out about their benefits and foibles.

Hopefully I’ll find some great advice here and maybe be able to give some too!

 

[steveras57]

Hi and welcome to the groups!- the panda guys are very savey i am sure someone will be able to advise if you give em some details such as budget and spec they can point you in the right direction and tell you what to watch out for!

 

[rmjbn1]

Hi and welcome

Do you or your son have any preference?

The 1.2 FIRE is a tough little thing and suits the car perfectly. I prefer the pre-2011 Euro4 'safe' non-VVT engine.

TwinAir has its fans, but can be thirsty and fussy on servicing.

They're all good. Well built, galvanised bodies. Older ones more likely to have cheap consumables wearing out, could get expensive if paying for labour.

Check rear spring pans and engine sump pan for rust.

 

[SirDeadalot]

Hi and welcome

Do you or your son have any preference?

The 1.2 FIRE is a tough little thing and suits the car perfectly. I prefer the pre-2011 Euro4 'safe' non-VVT engine.

TwinAir has its fans, but can be thirsty and fussy on servicing.

They're all good. Well built, galvanised bodies. Older ones more likely to have cheap consumables wearing out, could get expensive if paying for labour.

Check rear spring pans and engine sump pan for rust.

My son doesn't care much, to him it is just a car and he is more interested in the colour than anything else. My thinking is similar to yours - a somewhat older model with a simple engine. I'd slightly prefer the 1.2 to the 1.1, and ideally a trim with (working) aircon. Other than that I'm looking for an engine and gearbox that are solid, and no material rust on the bodywork. Dinks, dents and scratches are par for the course, so long as they aren't structural or rusting, and no doubt he'll only add to them.

If it has demonstrably had the cambelt and water pump done recently, then great; if not I'd get it done anyway. I'd also expect to have some rust on the springs, shocks etc and have to replace at least one pair of these at some point in the first year or two. One of the attractions of the Panda is not that they don't go wrong, but they are easy enough to repair when they do.

I saw one at the weekend I was considering; a 2010 1.2 Eco Dynamic with 100k miles for £1500. The engine started and ran really sweetly, gearbox seemed okay, the aircon worked very well, and the body was solid. No sign of any oil leaks either and the interior was clean. On the downside the history was patchy, though probably more lazy than negligent, one wing mirror was held on with tape, one of the electric windows wasn't working and there was an odd buzzing when on dipped beams that disappeared when on sidelights or main beam (I suspect it was something to do with a headlight levelling motor).

I've decided to keep looking for now, but it seemed an honest enough car that I could probably fix up for the budget I had in mind.

 

[rmjbn1]

2010 ECO could be either Euro4 60hp or Euro5 VVT 69hp - it was the year of the changeover.

But both qualify for the lower VED over earlier 1.2

I'd be tempted with a 2010 Euro4 ECO 1.2 even if it had a couple of minor faults.

I'd check the MOT history online of a potential purchase to get an idea of how it's been maintained, any recurring advisories, rusty subframe etc.

 

[SirDeadalot]

2010 ECO could be either Euro4 60hp or Euro5 VVT 69hp - it was the year of the changeover.

But both qualify for the lower VED over earlier 1.2

I'd be tempted with a 2010 Euro4 ECO 1.2 even if it had a couple of minor faults.

I'd check the MOT history online of a potential purchase to get an idea of how it's been maintained, any recurring advisories, rusty subframe etc.

Seller blurb says it is Euro4 and registration date is March 2010.

MOT history seems on a par with a lot of other Pandas; corroded rear springs and 'Nearside Front Shock absorbers has light misting of oil'. Looks like front brake pads and one of the front strut bushes was done at last MoT - that or bodged enough not to fail.

 

[rmjbn1]

Hmm OK I'm going off it a bit.

Rear springs are easy (2 bolts) as is door mirror.

But front uprights a fairly major service item, plus other issues...

Most faults are known on these cars, so I'm sure a solution could be found searching the Panda Mk3 section for window and headlight problems, but that car needs a bit of attention.

I'm sure more Panda peeps will join in the chat soon

 

[rmjbn1]

Always fancied a Sud, but I was getting sick of the sight of rust on old Citroëns so was never brave enough. Wonderful cars though.

And a Dedra - woof Don't think I've ever seen one.

 

[SirDeadalot]

Always fancied a Sud, but I was getting sick of the sight of rust on old Citroëns so was never brave enough. Wonderful cars though.

And a Dedra - woof Don't think I've ever seen one.

The Sud was something else; someone had bought it for their wife in 1982 and she'd sadly died in 1983. The owner then garaged it and had a mechanic turn the engine over once a year to stop it seizing up. Then, in about 1997, the owner decided to sell it. I was in the right place at the right time and snapped it up, so I had a 1982 Sud with 6000 miles from new and not the tiniest spot of rust. I had to spend a bit getting perishables replaced but otherwise it was mint.

After I while using it as a daily I thought 'I'm going to wreck this', so I sold it for twice what I bought it for. With hindsight I reckon I could have got a lot more, but I was young and naïve.

As for the Dedra, it was the 3-series competitor of the time. The interior was all Alcantara and the dash had a great row of dials across the top so felt like a cockpit. The 2-litre engine (essentially an Integrale unit with no turbo) was super-sweet and you could pick up speed deceptively quickly. In the end it started developing gearbox problems so I sold it, but it remains one of my all-time favourite cars, despite having had things like a BMW 325i convertible since.

 

[SirDeadalot]

I have found and purchased a Panda for my son, and it is such a great little car I'll probably be driving it a lot myself. If the forum will let me I'll start a thread somewhere, if not I'll post another update here.

The car came without a stereo so I'll have a look and see if there are recommendations in that regard too.

 

[SirDeadalot]

Okay it doesn't look I have the access to start a new thread yet so I'll introduce my new motor here.

This weekend I went out again and looked at another couple of Pandas for my son. One kept coming up in my searches - an 06 model 1.1 Active in Blue. It is an older one and very basic, but it was looking good in terms of history, condition and mileage. So I went to see it, and a silver 1.2 Dynamic which was newer but potentially not in quite as good condition.

We saw the blue one first and the condition was ace. It had done 43k miles since new, service history was good (stamps and invoices), bodywork and paint clean other than some scratches and dents, underbody almost entirely rust free, exhaust clean from front to back, (brand) new rear subframe, front suspension looked good, front and rear tyres matched and branded (Nexen at the rear, Falken at the front), cambelt and water pump in 2023, interior immaculate apart from there being no stereo. We drove it and everything moved, sounded and shifted as expected. All the electrics worked, the engine bay was clean with no signs of oil leaks, fluid levels and oil condition good, the auxiliary belt looked pretty new, two original keys and the battery a Varta that looked relatively new.

After this we went on and drove the 1.2 Dynamic and that was an honest car - probably (the service book stamps were maybe a bit too linear, if you get what I mean, and there wasn't much other paperwork). Nonetheless it seemed decent enough, everything worked except the drivers side window was a bit sticky, and you could tell the extra pull of the larger engine. But, it just looked drab in silver and the interior was quite grubby.

So back to the blue one we went and just thought 'this is the one'. It wasn't cheap at a little over £2k but as far as we can tell there isn't much that needs work (I've jinxed it now!) and the condition is in another league to the others I've seen, so we went for it and I had great fun driving it home.

Now to find a stereo for it with bluetooth and other smartphone connectivity...

 

[rmjbn1]

Looks smart and very well cared for, good find

They do drive well, don't they? I don't know why, when the steering and suspension is as basic as it gets, but there's something about them that puts a smile on your face.

A couple of things you might want to clear out now it's home: 'duckbill' scuttle drains below the wipers, and a mud trap behind the front uprights. I clear them out a couple of times a year.

The brakes can also build up rust, good idea to chip it off every now and then: edge of rear drums and sliding surfaces on front reaction frames.

Hope your son enjoys his ride. Just as they're becoming retro and cool

 

[rmjbn1]

Okay it doesn't look I have the access to start a new thread yet so I'll introduce my new motor here.

Strange, I think it should be possible for you to post this in the Garage, where it should get more traction: https://www.fiatforum.com/garage/?prefix_id=40

Or also in the Panda Mk3 section: https://www.fiatforum.com/forums/panda-mk3.72/

It's a very active forum with loads of friendly and helpful members. I'm surprised they haven't turned up here yet. @The Panda Nut is usually everywhere all at once, and @porta is ex-Lancia and would probably enjoy chatting too. Maybe they're too busy sunbathing

 

[SirDeadalot]

It looks like I may have posted enough replies to be able to create a thread, so I'll start something in another area and see if I get a reply from the other Italian car fanatics out there.