General Panda - getting annoyed about the jokes now

[JD82]

Met up with my old uni mates last night told one of them I had bought a new Panda her reply was "what did you buy one of those **** boxes for". My reply was because it is the 14th or 8th most reliable car money can buy (depending on which survey you go off), 50mpg+, £30 a year tax and it is actually a damn nice car to drive. She has a Corsa C, 1.2 16v which are known to snap their camshafts at 40k and costs over £120 a year to tax etc. My final word on the subject is Jame's May has had his for four years now and still uses it as his daily runabout, his other car is a Rolls Royce.

Other people comment I had a FIAT once, the gearbox fell out. I remind them yes that is the car which was given to you for free because of problems of changing gear, it was a 14 year old Cinq.

It amazes me that when people hear the name Panda people just assume its the old model. When I had my Fiesta and Corsas nobody said anythign at all about the brand.

Now the only thing I will say is my Panda must be reliable otherwise these haters will be proved right

Thankfully my drinking mates are all FIAT fans (one of them had a Steilo, the other has an 09 Panda Active) which makes live much easier in the pub

 

[dave]

change your mates, i think they might be chavs

 

[JD82]

The one with the Corsa does have a nav chavy reg plate, she did have it ilegal spaced but the I assume the MOT sorted that out

Its not really her that bothers me, it is the fact people still think of the Panda as being a tin rust box. You get a lot of comments on none motoring forums in general when car questions come up. If I dare suggest a Panda I get

"I have been in the trade for 27 years and avoid FIAT, they fall apart" and all that crap.

My dad had a Punto for 4 years from 1998-2002 and it only died when he crashed it. It had a very little FIAT niggles but it was reliabe, spacius and cheap to run. We got all the FIAT jokes back then too.

 

[garlicbread22]

When i get people like this i dont even argue, i just take great pleasure in the fact that i know more about it than they do and that i usually have the better car. The car will speak for itself when theres breakes down or when i have more money or when i can easily fit 4 adults in the car and still have a decent size boot

 

[bedbug]

Many years ago, my boss had borrowed his wife's corsa and we went to a meeting in it...it was the most claustrophobic horrible thing, I couldn't believe how small and cramped it felt (and I had a fiesta at the time)...perhaps they have improved in the interim.

I don't mind comments about the Panda...anyone who has been in it soon appreciates what a great package it is, we know best

The thing that really annoys me though is people practically parking across it in the bays at work - because it doesn't occupy a full space they cut in diagonally

The other annoying thing is that you find people can't bear to be behind you on the motorway, so they make a point of overtaking and cutting in, even when you're doing 65-70 in lane one, then they slow to 60...

Oh and people generally cutting you up because they assume you are going slow because obviously it's a Panda and it couldn't possibly be going as quickly as they are...

 

[Geddes]

Oh and people generally cutting you up because they assume you are going slow because obviously it's a Panda and it couldn't possibly be going as quickly as they are...

Try driving a custard yellow one. You get that twice over...

Also, hilarious being sneered at by a Corsa C owner*.
Amusing Corsa advert on Sniff Petrol here




* Actually I used to have one, but it was an imported Opel and it was really cheap.

 

[pmh]

Mine is known by others as the Banana Car- but when I point out that it saved about £350 they understand!

Sometimes if asked about the color I just explain that it is still in primer.....a factory reject.

£350 = 20 curries out or = 100 bottles of good French red wine - but not in the UK.

 

[ivantate]

I was going to say, you have economy car get ready for some ribs about it. Unless it is a 100hp there isnt much come-back.
But from someone with a Corsa, it really doesnt matter.

Now if she spent all her income on a 'premium' or 'sporty' car and thought she knew what she was talking about you would just have to take it, as she has her money where her mouth is.

I cant believe she even mentioned it tbh....

 

[pdtrewern]

Just got back from a stag do in amsterdam, 14 of us. When the subject of cars came up, and people discovered i had a panda, people took the mick, but strangly my cloesest mates defended the car, and no one could come up with a better car for the money.

I have been through all this before, as i had the 1st of many Volvo's at 17. I had the last laugh when we were showing 150 on the clock chasing a merc clk350 in a t5. (we were young at the time!) :slayer:

 

[Wardie1991]

Yeah when i bought my FAIT, all i kept hearing at work was, 'you know what FIAT stands for dont you' which i reply 'no, but im sure your going to tell me anyway' in return there line is, 'FIAT means, Fix It Again Tommorow' .... got bored after hearing that from the same person endless amounts of times, can safely say have not had one problem with my GP

 

[Trefor]

I rarely get this, but I do get the odd comment about the TVR from the uneducated. They tend to shut up after a quick sit in mine (when they find out it doesn't smell like a canoe factory, but leather) and a quick run up the road (when they find how comfortable it is) and a quick blast (when they laugh out loud at the experience). Same would probably work with the Panda - let them take it round the carpark. To be honest if you're so worried about what other people think then go and buy a Ford.

btw how can someone with a Corsa call a Panda a ****box. Vauxhalls are the voiture du choicce of the chavvy Elizabethe Duke jewellery wearing class.

 

[harry monk]

The wife loves hers, excellent vision all round and roomy for its size.
Wish we'd got a bigger engine tho as the 1.1 does struggle a bit

 

[minardirule]

Quiet frankly tell them to go forth! They obviously have little or no taste in motoring matters.

As for the Vauxhall driver pah! I've never had a Vauxhall (all company cars) that hasn't let me down and never had a FIAT that has.

 

[JD82]

I just spent £6500 on a car without aircon (probably the only way possible to spend so much without aircon) and in return we get the biggest heatwave since 2003. The mercury has hit 28c here in Manchester and with an entirely black interior it is not very pleasent. The blowers are useless too as all they do is blow hot air.

Also only getting around 37mpg at the moment BUT its too early to sell for sure and all I have done is city traffic, the clutch has been down on the floor m,ore than the throttle.

I really only notice the slowness when going up hill, it requires a bit of foward planning.

As for my Corsas I really liked mine but it was completly original and wasn't chaved up in anyway. It just got me too much to keep on the road and finally paid my back by blowing its head gasket.

I think the problem with the Panda is it looks a little bit like a noddy car which will be awful to drive, its not until you go in one or drive on you realise it is a damn good car in its own right never mind one of the cheapest.

 

[udtrev]

I found the laughs stop when they find out I regularily turn in 55+mpg figures week in and week out

It hurts even more when you tell them you have just done 400 miles on less than £40 worth of petrol

A panda has far more character than a dunstable dustbin :slayer:

 

[GeorgeDamper]

You have a better car and a better forum than your Vauxhall friend.

 

[miura74]

Rise above it.

The Panda is great little car.

Plenty of room and highly practical.

I love my Panda (although the Evo is seducing me... lol :devil. Mine is used a heck of a lot for work matters and is a right little work horse.

Long live Panda! :slayer:

 

[LeanMeanRacing]

Vauxhalls are the voiture du choicce of the chavvy Elizabethe Duke jewellery wearing class.

I don't get any negative comments about driving a Panda [although yes, it is a 100HP]. People are only ever complimentary and some students would like to buy a Panda once they have passed their test.

Perhaps we are biased but for me, all Pandas looks good, offer good value-for-money and a fun driving experience. They are popular but not common, and unique for the right reasons.

Personally, I wouldn't take the criticism to heart - you know that you have made the right choice

 

[AeroMad]

I remember when my mates took the **** out of me driving a Panda 1.1 at college, but after they were passengers in it they took it back.
One thing I love about the panda is its engine, for a 1.1 it can supprise you. My mates always thought anything smaller than a 1.3 was usless, that was untill I beat them off the lights. :devil:
It's a very economical car aswell, which meant I could spend my money on other things (booze )

Regards
AeroMad

 

[Rustbucket]

You always get that with dipsticks slagging off Fiats..mind you some of the old ones were mobile disasters.

I had a Fiat Stilo and also a tuned Coupe. Nobody at work had seen the Coupe. One of the petrol heads had a yellow Renault Megan Coupe that was apparently a cross between a Veyron and Starship Enterprise..this jalopy was supposedly unbeatable..so I challenged him to a a little 'trial.'

'A Fiat vs my Megan..bring him on'..expecting the 1.2 Stilo to appear. It didn't, and the boy wasn't daft enough to try it on the Fiat that did appear. Strangely there were no more halfwitted comments or emails anymore about 'Fix it again Tony etc...