Hi All
Just to introduce myself and my ‘new’ car, a red (pillar box?? Royal Mail??) April 2016 ‘one lady owner’ (surely the Gold standard, and DVLA online record confirmed, although ‘last V5C’ showed Sept 2016 so evidently bought as ex-dealer demonstrator) Panda Twinair 4x4 with 50k miles, itemised invoice annual service history + clean MOT record (interestingly an 18 month gap between April 2019 1st MOT and October 2020 2nd MOT - presumably due to COVID), for £6,500 with my 18 yo 55 reg ‘end-of-life’ much-loved Panda 169 4x4 in part-ex (mentally I had already written down its value to zero since big bills were looming, although it was in excellent running order but with some rear offside damage due to an unfortunate reversing ‘malfunction’ years ago…) plus RFT refund.
Extras: spacesaver spare, 5 seatbelts, Winter Pack (heated windscreen +front seats)
Good points: it all checked out with the information obtained (free DVLA online ownership/MOT history plus excellent free+£10 Motorscan reports), the car was very well presented with no sign of body/paint damage/repair (a few very small chip touchups), clean engine bay, clean engine oil, nice interior, and no visible issues underside (no rust or leaks) and all consistent with the listing (Autotrader).
Faults/concerns:
- I could see the discs were scored and probably needed full replacement (I anticipated/hoped this could be done within my purchase budget of £7,000 - as indeed it has been, including new brake fluid)
- steering pulls slightly to the left (still to be investigated)
- cracked/split driver offside cream coloured imitation leather seat bolster (I’ve read this is a common issue)
- engine oil: annual service invoices (independent garage) itemise ‘0W-30 PC ECO LS TT228’ also ‘0W-30 PC ECO LS N228’ and the most recent (October 2023) shows ‘5W-40 NAPA PD N226’. I have just had the oil+filter changed using ‘0W-30 C2’. Is there anything here to be concerned about?
Inspection: er, I didn’t get one. I focused on prior checking out online resources for this model and this car in particular, then physical inspection, then test drive, then documentation. The guy was a bit of an Arthur Dailey but I was more interested in what I saw + experienced. These cars just don’t appear locally and all the others within 50 miles (and from larger dealerships) were all rejected once I’d checked out their online MOT records. This was the only contender and, although a 100 mile drive down the motorway (my beloved 169 drove superbly), I was quite prepared to ‘walk away’.
Post purchase inspection (by the superb local independent I’ve used 40+ years): I know this is something you should never do! Fortunately, nothing bad/unexpected found.
And here she is. Happy for comments/feedback, good or bad!
Just to introduce myself and my ‘new’ car, a red (pillar box?? Royal Mail??) April 2016 ‘one lady owner’ (surely the Gold standard, and DVLA online record confirmed, although ‘last V5C’ showed Sept 2016 so evidently bought as ex-dealer demonstrator) Panda Twinair 4x4 with 50k miles, itemised invoice annual service history + clean MOT record (interestingly an 18 month gap between April 2019 1st MOT and October 2020 2nd MOT - presumably due to COVID), for £6,500 with my 18 yo 55 reg ‘end-of-life’ much-loved Panda 169 4x4 in part-ex (mentally I had already written down its value to zero since big bills were looming, although it was in excellent running order but with some rear offside damage due to an unfortunate reversing ‘malfunction’ years ago…) plus RFT refund.
Extras: spacesaver spare, 5 seatbelts, Winter Pack (heated windscreen +front seats)
Good points: it all checked out with the information obtained (free DVLA online ownership/MOT history plus excellent free+£10 Motorscan reports), the car was very well presented with no sign of body/paint damage/repair (a few very small chip touchups), clean engine bay, clean engine oil, nice interior, and no visible issues underside (no rust or leaks) and all consistent with the listing (Autotrader).
Faults/concerns:
- I could see the discs were scored and probably needed full replacement (I anticipated/hoped this could be done within my purchase budget of £7,000 - as indeed it has been, including new brake fluid)
- steering pulls slightly to the left (still to be investigated)
- cracked/split driver offside cream coloured imitation leather seat bolster (I’ve read this is a common issue)
- engine oil: annual service invoices (independent garage) itemise ‘0W-30 PC ECO LS TT228’ also ‘0W-30 PC ECO LS N228’ and the most recent (October 2023) shows ‘5W-40 NAPA PD N226’. I have just had the oil+filter changed using ‘0W-30 C2’. Is there anything here to be concerned about?
Inspection: er, I didn’t get one. I focused on prior checking out online resources for this model and this car in particular, then physical inspection, then test drive, then documentation. The guy was a bit of an Arthur Dailey but I was more interested in what I saw + experienced. These cars just don’t appear locally and all the others within 50 miles (and from larger dealerships) were all rejected once I’d checked out their online MOT records. This was the only contender and, although a 100 mile drive down the motorway (my beloved 169 drove superbly), I was quite prepared to ‘walk away’.
Post purchase inspection (by the superb local independent I’ve used 40+ years): I know this is something you should never do! Fortunately, nothing bad/unexpected found.
And here she is. Happy for comments/feedback, good or bad!
and, good grief, did she fly 
