Oh dear - insurance

[AnthonyH]

Your son sounds like he has good taste I remember going to look at an old Panda once but a 750 version on eBay at Kingswood Tyres in Lower Kingswood on the A217, it was on £75 with no bids & near the end of auction so I went to have a look, the body was really clean but it had a dud gearbox from an oil leak out of the inner boot. I should of had it but I wasn't sure how difficult it would have been to source a 750 gearbox so I left it

I wrote my last reply before I saw yours. Its like you read my mind about the gearbox lol.

 

[AnthonyH]

How about this Panda 750 L cabriolet. Looks mint, but i reckon it'll be a bit leaky lol

 

[FiatMatt94]

How about this Panda 750 L cabriolet. Looks mint, but i reckon it'll be a bit leaky lol

View attachment 459001

I bet it would be it looks a bit homemade though which would put me off

 

[AnthonyH]

I bet it would be it looks a bit homemade though which would put me off

Its a better job than i'd do lol, i imagine if i made it i'd be using tarpaulin lol

 

[Johnbee]

Ah yes, i hadn't considered the practicalities of finding one, it just looked nice. How many miles are on the clock? Any signs of trouble from the gearbox or have you already had it reconditioned?

Thanks. It has just over 110k on clock. Mechanically excellent and gearbox seamlessly smooth.

The only issues I’ve had were all rust related but all the rust had been cut out and new metal added, along with new (old stock) sills. From the ground up to and including the floor is all new.

 

[AnthonyH]

Thanks. It has just over 110k on clock. Mechanically excellent and gearbox seamlessly smooth.

The only issues I’ve had were all rust related but all the rust had been cut out and new metal added, along with new (old stock) sills. From the ground up to
and including the floor is all new.

Plenty of life in that gearbox then.

I'd like one, but will just have to appreciate unless i discover one in a barn somewhere!

 

[FiatMatt94]

Plenty of life in that gearbox then.

I'd like one, but will just have to appreciate unless i discover one in a barn somewhere!

I do love a good barn find

 

[AnthonyH]

I do love a good barn find

I watch the odd barn find video on youtube, its a little unrealistic how the guy gets it running miraculously every time lol, but good entertainment anyway

 

[FiatMatt94]

I watch the odd barn find video on youtube, its a little unrealistic how the guy gets it running miraculously every time lol, but good entertainment anyway

I thought that too, it seems to be a little set up

 

[Johnbee]

Plenty of life in that gearbox then.

I'd like one, but will just have to appreciate unless i discover one in a barn somewhere!

Very true. She’s used daily and has jump stared many newer cars this winter too. I owned her in 2002 previously running her for a couple of years before selling her, buying her back from the lady I sold her to nearly 20 years later.

She’d been sitting in one of the railway arches near the Olympic village for 2 years during covid, as Carol who I sold it to was isolating due to being 80 with underlying conditions.

Rustoration | FIAT Panda (Classic)

Morning. I’ve finally got round to posting an update on Manda, my Panda Selecta. Unfortunately, she spectacularly failed her MOT due to rust in all the usual Panda places. The ultimate insult was the rear seatbelt becoming detached from the rear wheel arch when tested! On the plus side, her...

www.fiatforum.com

 

[AnthonyH]

Very true. She’s used daily and has jump stared many newer cars this winter too. I owned her in 2002 previously running her for a couple of years before selling her, buying her back from the lady I sold her to some 20 odd years later.

She’d been sitting in one of the railway arches near the Olympic village for 2 years during covid, as Carol who I sold it to was isolating due to being 80 with underlying conditions.

Rustoration | FIAT Panda (Classic)

Morning. I’ve finally got round to posting an update on Manda, my Panda Selecta. Unfortunately, she spectacularly failed her MOT due to rust in all the usual Panda places. The ultimate insult was the rear seatbelt becoming detached from the rear wheel arch when tested! On the plus side, her...

www.fiatforum.com

I enjoyed reading the thread, thanks for that. I will echo the Panda Nuts words, in the thread he said "Amazing job". Couldn't agree more.

 

[Johnbee]

I enjoyed reading the thread, thanks for that. I will echo the Panda Nuts words, in the thread he said "Amazing job". Couldn't agree more.

Thank you. It was a hell of a job but the outcome well worth the stress, pain and money.

 

[AnthonyH]

Thank you. It was a hell of a job but the outcome well worth the stress, pain and money.

I can see it took a lot of effort, but something to be proud of now. All good

 

[AnthonyH]

I've discovered that the cheapest Fiat car to insure is the Fiat Panda Active 1.1L from 2004-2008. Its in insurance category 1, and after checking the "How many are left" car website, i can see there were over 10,000 of these sold and around half are still on the road. So they're not too hard to get hold of, nor expensive. There's no rush to buy one, i'm not sure how long he'll be on my insurance for, but i'm now on the lookout for a Panda, i've never driven one so it'll be interesting to see how they drive. Although I suspect the 1.1L engine might not be the best for acceleration

 

[bugsymike]

I've discovered that the cheapest Fiat car to insure is the Fiat Panda Active 1.1L from 2004-2008. Its in insurance category 1, and after checking the "How many are left" car website, i can see there were over 10,000 of these sold and around half are still on the road. So they're not too hard to get hold of, nor expensive. There's no rush to buy one, i'm not sure how long he'll be on my insurance for, but i'm now on the lookout for a Panda, i've never driven one so it'll be interesting to see how they drive. Although I suspect the 1.1L engine might not be the best for acceleration

I had several Fiat Unos with the Fire 1000 cc engine, they used to be £300 each and nippy enough through the bends, till the rust got to them.

 

[AnthonyH]

They all rusted away...there's less than 100 Uno's on the road in the UK. 200,000 + were sold. They're classic cars now I guess.

 

[Johnbee]

I've discovered that the cheapest Fiat car to insure is the Fiat Panda Active 1.1L from 2004-2008. Its in insurance category 1, and after checking the "How many are left" car website, i can see there were over 10,000 of these sold and around half are still on the road. So they're not too hard to get hold of, nor expensive. There's no rush to buy one, i'm not sure how long he'll be on my insurance for, but i'm now on the lookout for a Panda, i've never driven one so it'll be interesting to see how they drive. Although I suspect the 1.1L engine might not be the best for acceleration

I loved both my Panda Active’s and owned them for about 5 years each with no issues (my godsons parents are still running about in my 55 reg Active I sold to them in 2015). If you go for a slightly newer Eco Active 2009-2011ish, it still has the cheap insurance rating but also the low tax rate of £35.00. You also get the luxury of a CD player and colour keyed bumpers
Or a run out ‘mylife’ Eco Active with aircon and proper remote locking from fob and alloy wheels?

I used mine to regularly travel up to Nottingham from London and had no problem keeping up with traffic.

 

[AnthonyH]

I loved both my Panda Active’s and owned them for about 5 years each with no issues (my godsons parents are still running about in my 55 reg Active I sold to them in 2015). If you go for a slightly newer Eco Active 2009-2011ish, it still has the cheap insurance rating but also the low tax rate of £35.00. You also get the luxury of a CD player and colour keyed bumpers
Or a run out ‘mylife’ Eco Active with aircon and proper remote locking from fob and alloy wheels?

I used mine to regularly travel up to Nottingham from London and had no problem keeping up with traffic.

Good spot, I had the impression that 2008-2011 panda actives weren't insurance group 1. But I found the registration of a 2011 panda active, put it in an insurance checker and it was group 1. I'd prefer one of the later ones, so I'll update my search, thanks!