General My first car- yes or no

[mikica]

Hello,

Currently I'm searching for my first car, and I'm very interested in pandas classic (produced between 2001-2003). Something like this on picture

In my country there are a lot of this cars imported from Italy previously owned by Telecom Italy or some other company- mainly used as delivery vehicles.

My questions are:

1. Generally, what are your experiences with pandas?

2. Can someone advice me regarding this possible purchase: good, bad etc.
I need this car mainly for city rides and occasionally out of city.

3. Does anyone know price of these cars in Italy?

Thank you very much for any assistance.

 

[Nuova500]

dont know a lot about the very late cars, here in the UK we didnt get them after 1995. Have you ever driven one before, they are great, fun cars, but very basic and fairly noisy... if you like that then get one. What country are you in?

 

[mikica]

I live in Serbia, and cars are very expensive here because of some import restrictions so I need car which is cheap to maintain, flexible for city crowds and reliable.
Noise in cabin is not problem.
What can you tell me about reliability of your panda? Is it good for longer trips, disregarding comfort of ride?

These pandas from the end of production suppose to have newer generation engines which fiat put in first generation of new panda.

How many km (or miles ) did you pass with your car?

 

[Steven]

Regarding long trips. Some of our members have just drove from Ireland to Turkey (including a detour into your country) in their Pandas. If you keep it well maintained you won't have any issues.

Our cars are all older now, from the late 1980's to 1995 and we mostly use them every day. Even with age they are quite reliable. They are also very easy to work on even with limited knowledge.

 

[sutjeska]

I made about 12000 km's this holidays in my wife's 1000 Bluebay '93. Except a silencer, everything was OK Some say Panda is the most reliable Fiat, becouse it's so simple.
And it's the best car for Warsaw traffic jams, small but fast. My wife drives Panda only, she says that she can't see anything from inside newer cars.

Sutjeska

 

[danny_panda]

I had a '90 panda 1000 fire i.e. which was a great car! I still love it! it was fast, had a lot of space, and it was reliable. It had 210.000 klm(dont know in miles) and not even any problem. U should take it without any thought

 

[mikica]

Basically, you all agree that panda is o.k. car for ride and you all have it for long time.

Many people told me that life of small car is much shorter that large ones, because of engine's greater strain during it's life cycle. Pandas which I'm looking are, of course, all second hand and I don't know their exploitation history for sure. In most cases they already passed around 85000 km. Engines are 1.1.

In case of buying such car, should I expect soon engine problems or you think I can use it without serious interventions (of course, I don't mean on regular oil and filter changes).

 

[Steven]

As long as you regularly service the car then it will have plenty of life left in it. A small engined car that is well maintained is capable of many more miles.

 

[Bougainvillea Rosso]

That depends on the car. You can always be unlucky and get a dud. Some where on here there is a very good Panda buyer's guide. I've had a look for it but can't find it. Maybe someone else will no where it is?

 

[Plug]

Hello mikica,

If you buy a car that has come from a big organisation (like Telecom Italia, as you mention), you will probably find that it has been well maintained. Companies service their cars regularly, because they don't like breakdowns. Buy a well-maintained Panda, and 85000 km should be no problems at all. The engines are very tough for a small car and will last a long time if they are looked after.

I think you will find the later cars more comfortable and not too noisy. My first Panda was a 750cc with 4 gears, the seats were thin and the engine had to work hard on the highway/motorway. My car now is a 1993 1000cc with 5 gears, the seats are comfortable and 5 gears means it isn't too noisy, even on the motorway at 110-120 km/h.

I hope you find a good Panda and have fun with it. They are cars with a lot of character and we all like owning them!

Cheers,

Plug

 

[Chas Uno]

Many people told me that life of small car is much shorter that large ones, because of engine's greater strain during it's life cycle.

It's relative. A bigger car may make three times the power of a small car but might also weigh three times as much, so theoretically is under the same amount of strain as a small car. It also depends on how a small car is driven. If you intend to drive hard at high speeds then yes, it's life cycle will be shorter than a large car. The Panda was designed as a city car not an autobahn muncher! But respect their limits and there is no reason why a Panda can't be driven on the motorways as long as you don't try and keep up with BMW's and white vans

As Steven says, as long as it is well maintained then a small car like the Panda should still be reliable. Especially so if it has a FIRE engine fitted as these are very tough engines. The Top Gear website says they know of a classic Panda that has done 300,000 miles on the original engine (that's MILES not KM's!) It's generally reckoned that under normal use a FIRE engine in a Panda or Uno is good for 200,000 miles at least. Basically the ancilleries will fail and rust might take hold long before a well maintained engine will die

 

[jangcy]

Panda could be good in Serbia as it's good in any other countries...
But don't expect that car from Italy Telecom will in very good condition, they don't care about it in this company. Could be good but not perfect.
Unfortunately Panda from 2001-2003 has got same Fire engine (maybe 1,1-like in selecta) or (but I'm not sure) 900 from Seicento. But it's still great engine!

 

[FuzzyPanda]

The best advice I can give is to drive one. If you enjoy it and can see yourself owning one, and the price is good enough, go for it. Plenty of help on here if you need any.

 

[mikica]

So many good comments about this car and friendly community imply that panda is worth to try .

I'm constantly looking for this car and I hope I'll find good one.

I haven't ridden any panda jet, so all your comments are more than precious for me .

Thank you all

 

[Nuova500]

I would try and get one privately, the telecom ones will have been driven very hard, probably thrashed from cold etc. It will be like buying a used commercial vehicle.

 

[posh pandas]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
I'm one of the people who drove through Serbia this year from England in a Fiat Panda .Our pandas all drove really well with no major problems.I have owned one of the later pandas , a 2001 4x4 design (now owned by Alen F on the site). it was quite different from our older cars and very comfortable , pretty modern but the basic enginering was the same . I totally recomend you buy a panda. Maybe it would be cheaper for you to buy one in another country and drive it home ? Anyway good luck and i love your country and the people- we had a great time
gina X

 

[aca]

Hello Mikica,
I am also from Serbia, and I get one Panda Classic City Van, converted to passanger type in April this year, imported from Posta Italiana. It compleetly O.K., and it`s well maintained during his service in Italy.
I make regular services and found that this car is supreem here in Belgrade traffic jams.
My Panda has FIRE 1108 ccm MPI engine, and consume 5.8 lit - 6.0 lit fuel in town condition.
Best part is that You can find all spear parts here in Serbia (new and used) for fair prices.
If you (or anybody else have some questions or need diagrams, details parts etc. please do not hesitate to contact me.
Wish all the best to all in this great forum.

 

[Sprox]

Pandas are great for serbia!
they are light and don' mind rough and bumpy roads!