What's made you smile today?

[Cheest]

For the first time in 30 years, I bought a new pair of inline skates. Not new to me. New.

I hated to go through Amazon to get them but as I live in a rural area, choices are nearly non-existent to purchase locally. I suppose I could have gone to the roller rink and paid $300 for a $150 pair of skates. Or hit the big box sporting goods store in the city and swallowed their limited offerings of skates with outdoor wheels and then drop another $100 on indoor wheels. 'Buy Local' sounds good but doesn't always work in practice.

In all honesty, I would have willingly kept rolling on my 30 year old Roces inline skates if the seam between the upper and lower part of the hard boot didn't sit directly on the surgical scar on my ankle. Ouchies.

 

[The Panda Nut]

Wow, that 'musk' have hurt him. (sorry, I'll get my coat!)

In donations to Trump terms hes not the biggest....

 

[The Panda Nut]

porch is 85% done . A timber lintel required to propwely bear the roof weight, Then insulatin faciass, soffit and gutter. The O/S light wire is in place so the remainder of the work will be fun. New Einhell Sds works a dream. I think my old,Aldi one must have been past its sell by date for a while

⁹ a while. New one is 4 function with softstart, variable speed and overliad clutch so I hope less dangerous. Its anti vibration system is astonishing too. I may sell it on in a couple of years as it will be too big to handle. Bought from the sensiblesper power.... China sorry trump it was a careful undersight. lol

 

[SB1500]

I couldn't not look at this today while passing Mallusk... The Panda 4x4!

I absolutely love it and seeing it in person was fun. The TwinAir sounds, really different..like a motorcycle and slightly like a car with much more power than it has and looks. Sadly, didn't get a test drive. Only issue was the driver side DRL is slightly loose and can be pushed in... and the headlight plastic mount is cracked, definitely had a bump on that corner. One of the engine air box bolts is missing too... Dealer reckons all of that will be fixed for a sale.

I want it, a lot. But then as people have said on here... perhaps the TwinAir, if it goes wrong, won't be any cheaper or less hassle than the CT hybrid system. And I suppose it was in many less models, in a fraction of the time period compared to our beloved 1.2 FIRE.

Here's the public listing... now with photos.

Used Fiat Panda | Newtownabbey | Donnelly Group

Used Cars available from Donnelly Group in Newtownabbey. Explore used vehicles on our website, discover the affordable used car offers and book a test drive online.

www.donnellygroup.co.uk

Other than the whole 'going from a Lexus to a Panda' thing, which personally, I am fine with. It would cost me ~£1700 to make the switch. I'm set to have my CT paid off by the end of this year, December the last month. I could do the same with the Panda but it'd cost an extra ~£80 a month from now until then to get this one paid off by the same time with the trade in value for the CT. BUT... if I keep the Lexus, I've decided given my turbulent first year and a half, the smart thing to do financially is pay for a £330 service this year and next with Lexus to keep the 'Relax' warranty. That covers any non consumable 'big wallet denting parts' if they go wrong [and on mine, some have]. Plus, £150 a year for breakdown cover which would essentially take it to the dealership (Lexus branded one which will exist only to do that). So I'm £960 above finance payments into this car anyway over the next two years.... It's tough to decide. I can't help but feeling how cool it would be to own a Panda again, especially a 4x4 - with a fresh set of mud and snow tyres - when the weather gets rough. These cars aren't getting any younger on the UK roads.

And if you've read this far... the dealer told me we're expected to get the new Grande Panda in Autumn of this year in the UK and that we are only getting a turbo petrol automatic - and he said it'll be much more than the £14k starting price we've been expecting.

 

[The Panda Nut]

Do it Do it Do it.
Good sound advice from someone with no bias at all. Noop may have been cruising along at 3 figure speeds today but still said 37mpg. The problem he has is staying under the speed limit. Until he fails catasrophically, I love him to bits. If he does another few years He can be converted to batteries....

 

[SB1500]

Do it Do it Do it.
Good sound advice from someone with no bias at all. Noopmay have been cruisonalong at 3 figure speeds today but still said 37mpg. The problem he has is staying under the speed limit. Until he fails catasrophically I love him to bits. If he does another few years He can be converted to batteries....

I’m thinking long and hard about it.. that’s for sure. Some people say the TwinAir is love or hate so I’ll need to test drive it next

 

[The Panda Nut]

Well It took me while to get it. Let the car go its own pace knock eco off on any open road. I truly dont want any other car now. Im hooked.. This thing towed my caravan out of flooded field and up the motorway with ludicrous ease, its amazing on snow and ice, it can do 60mpg but usually does 44, it will sail along at 80 all day with little noise or strain. 250 miles are easy in it. The only downside is size if you have a family, but you can always get a roof box. If you dont force it it drives like an older 2.0 used to. Have fun whatever.

 

[SB1500]

Well It took me while to get it. Let the car go its own pace knock eco off on any open road. I truly dont want any other car now. Im hooked.. This thing towed my caravan out of flooded field and up the motorway with ludicrous ease, its amazing on snow and ice, it can do 60mpg but usually does 44, it will sail along at 80 all day with lirrle noise or strain. 250 miles are easy in it. The only downside is size if you have a family, but you can always get a roof box. If you dont force it it drives like an older 2.0 used to. Have fun whatever.

I noticed the 'eco' button was already on when I started it up. I presume the turbo is fine on a small engine given it's a small and light car? (unlike my Avensis, which in modest, gentle driving needed the turbo to move at any speed and completely destroyed any notion of good mpg)

 

[The Panda Nut]

I suppose I notice the turbo a little with eco switched on, but the car just feels muscular with it off. Driven in convoy with a 1.2, with eco, on it matches the 1.2 or indeed is a fraction faster. With eco off it romps away with ease. It is an aquired taste and you do need to start off watching the gear indicator or you will needlessly rev it too hard wasting a lot of fuel. Drive it mostly like a diesel and it comes to you. Its unlike anything else, because its better! but different. Dont reach for the gear lever let the turbo do its stuff. If your with eco people, its 874cc two cylinders of goodness. If your with Porsche drivers, its 50mpg anyone else just smile knowing if the weather is bad it will ALWAYS get you home. As you can tell I am a total addict. Get the car and you WILL need the T shirt.

 

[SB1500]

I suppose I notice the turboa little with eco switched on, but the car just feels musculat withit off. Driven in convoy with eco on iit matches the 1.2 or indeed is a fraction faster. With it off it romps away with ease. It is an aquired taste and you do need to start off watching the gear indicator or youneedlessly rev it too hard wasting a lot of fuel. Drive is mostly like a diesel and it comestoyou. Its unlike anything else, because its better! but different. Dont reach for the gear lever let the turbo do its stuff. If your with eco people its 874cc two cylinders of goodness. If your with Porsche drivers its 50mpg anyone else just smile knowing if the wearher is bad it will ALWAYS get you home. As you can tell I am a total addict. Get the car and you WILL need the T shirt.

It had that little bump on the drivers front corner - btw, not visible on the link as they've seemingly used photos from a few years ago when it was last on sale... crafty. And the service book stampted 2021... 2024... both Fiat dealers but no first service stamp in one year.. missing entries basically. Aren't TwinAirs extremely fussy on the right oil, and no doubt, changed on time?

My 2017 1.2 owners manual stated 'every 24 months' servicing - we obviously all know better than to leave it like that. Dealer said himself they see customer cars every year for servicing. Doubt the TwinAir would be a 24 month interval given the tighter spec on such a high pressure, high load engine?

My point being... perhaps they need to reflect missing services and that little damage in the price. They can tell me it's a rare, low mileage NI 4x4 so they can't drop it. But doubtful the other older folks just looking for a small car will be happy to pay said price for it or even know or seek out a rare 4x4 model.

..missing service stamps, too big a deal to ignore on a TA?

 

[The Panda Nut]

At that miles possibly not.Itmight wellbe a FSH just book not stamped. I had to goback with mine because they 'forgot'.
The lamp could be repaired with epixy putty and likely the Drl is just loose. Ive had to tiggtwn one up. O/s difficult to access. N/s easy. Like allthings you willknow if its right. If in doubt step away. Onthe surface it looks a decent deal. Getyourpen outif interested and say Im here to buy at x pounds less. Its never failed on a 2nd hand car. LET YOUR HEART RULE YOUR HEAD! Thats the unbiased ...... advice. Now I want another 4x4. TA service is 9K and in my view oil is needed every 6000 as its clearly getting burned by that time and while it may go the distance I'd rather pay an extra few poiunds and keep it really clean.

 

[SB1500]

At that miles possibly not.Itmight wellbe a FSH just book not stamped. I had to goback with mine because they 'forgot'.
The lamp could be repaired with epixy putty and likely the Drl is just loose. Ive had to tiggtwn one up. O/s difficult to access. N/s easy. Like allthings you willknow if its right. If in doubt step away. Onthe surface it looks a decent deal. Getyourpen outif interested and say Im here to buy at x pounds less. Its never failed on a 2nd hand car. LET YOUR HEART RULE YOUR HEAD! Thats the unbiased ...... advice. Now I want another 4x4.

True. Whilst I accept we'll never get a fairly priced car in NI, through a main dealer, because we're somewhat of a captive market with the effort of needing to go to the mainland for more choice... I wonder what might constitute a reasonable, and realistic discount from them. They've already offered £300 off but what's that against an engine issue? In fairness they gave me a decent deal / price drop on my CT which has only proven to be a disaster as it was so rough that nobody bought it for over a year, and sure enough, there has been some un-Toyota like trouble because of that. Even the discount didn't make it worthwhile. The oil issue is a bit harder to tell, isn't it?

I'm lucky in that... if not this one, another is likely to surface.

 

[The Panda Nut]

True. Whilst I accept we'll never get a fairly priced car in NI, through a main dealer, because we're somewhat of a captive market with the effort of needing to go to the mainland for more choice... I wonder what might constitute a reasonable, and realistic discount from them. They've already offered £300 off but what's that against an engine issue? In fairness they gave me a decent deal / price drop on my CT which has only proven to be a disaster as it was so rough that nobody bought it for over a year, and sure enough, there has been some un-Toyota like trouble because of that. Even the discount didn't make it worthwhile. The oil issue is a bit harder to tell, isn't it?

I'm lucky in that... if not this one, another is likely to surface.

These days £300 off is quite a lot of what I think they have in the car. I would do the pen thing pushing for £500 especially if its no PX. If they see you ready to sign an order at a grage they seem to loose it and often cave in. If the car is running well now, its not likely to fail especially if maintained. I live in fear of big bills dropping on me, but I was thinking today if I could buy another new 4x4 for an injection for say £5K I would leap at the chance , so Im notr sure why I worry. Repairs should be less than this. See if a warranty to cover DMF and Uniair for a year or two is available. They are B expensive though so saving that cost and adding it to a repairs fund may be more sensible. My 2019 is still running OK apart from the mooing clutch / axle / DMF. Its quieter now that a year ago so lack of use may be to blame. The jury is out on the cause. The biggest issue is finding somewhere / someone to maintain the car properly and to spec. At 6 years old I dont suppose FIat will ever help with anything so Im going to start maintenance at home next month.

 

[SB1500]

These days £300 off is quite a lot of what I think they have in the car. I would do the pen thing pushing for £500 especially if its no PX. If they see you ready to sign an order at a grage they seem to loose it and often cave in. If the car is running well now, its not likely to fail especially if maintained. I live in fear of big bills dropping on me, but I was thinking today if I could buy another new 4x4 for an injection for say £5K I would leap at the chance , so Im notr sure why I worry. Repairs should be less than this. See if a warranty to cover DMF and Uniair for a year or two is available. They are B expensive though so saving that cost and adding it to a repairs fund may be more sensible. My 2019 is still running OK apart from the mooing clutch / axle / DMF. Its quieter now that a year ago so lack of use may be to blame. The jury is out on the cause. The biggest issue is finding somewhere / someone to maintain the car properly and to spec. At 6 years old I dont suppose FIat will ever help with anything so Im going to start maintenance at home next month.

Got nothing off the 2017 Panda from Motorpoint (think it's their policy, but at 5.5k / two years old that was a steal in general). DS3.. nothing it was 9k but it was 6.6% mid-Covid pandemic so best finance deal I've had on a car (usually only bother with 0% on anything else but have since ditched finance altogether and hope to keep it that way). Avensis managed to get £200 off. CT... it came down a grand from sitting and managed to get another £300 off it as well as I could hear the desperation in their voice to shift it.

With this one, not so sure... He told me there was already 'quite a bit of interest' in it, and that being as rare as it is (in NI) it won't sit long. But he was very keen all the same to ask a lot what I'm currently thinking on Wednesday.

Asked yesterday about servicing... all he did was confirm the stamps in the book (2021, 2024) and offered to reach out to the last owner to ask about anything in between. It's mad how they can use reasons like "Oh, they probably forgot to ask for the stamp" when it's my money... but nothing but the stamp/invoices will count when it's them buying a car and 'their money'....

Anyway, it needs to be perfect. Unless he can somehow show me some evidence of the servicing (and calls me now since the last email) which shows it was serviced each year... and that it used the correct oil for the TwinAir (btw, what is that according to owners on here? Heard it changed from the earlier handbook recommendation) - that's the only way I'll take the chance on this machine. After the CT, ignoring any signs would translate to real hassle and expense. As you say, gut instinct and all.. I doubt the dealer will do that. Unless it really does sit, but someone will buy it eventually and I reckon he's happy to let it sit. At least for a few months.

In fairness this franchise (same one I bought the CT from) doesn't tend to argue over warranty stuff so I've grown a lot of respect for them for that. Even with my 17 Panda.. they fixed a couple of things that were just blatantly damaged no questions asked.. but as with the CT, it's fine for them to cover expensive repairs. My issue is.. all warranties expire someday!

Edit: Just rang S4P - answered right away ,no holding queues or automated crap. Confirmed 5W-40 is the current oil spec. Did say there were issues with the 'MultiAir' but not the TwinAir. Must do my reading on here regarding that. Said if serviced with correct oil, the TwinAirs are 'bulletproof'. That's what I want to hear!

 

[StevenRB45]

I don't think there's a Twinair without a multi air unit.

Seem to remember it controls the valves and is expensive to replace when/if it goes (part alone is 1k).

I will happily be corrected though.

I also seem to remember the 4x4 system is a long way from bullet proof as well.

Hence my pointing at 1.1 FWD as something you have a chance of fixing yourself if you wish to do so.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I don't think there's a Twinair without a multi air unit.

Seem to remember it controls the valves and is expensive to replace when/if it goes (part alone is 1k).

I will happily be corrected though.

I also seem to remember the 4x4 system is a long way from bullet proof as well.

Hence my pointing at 1.1 FWD as something you have a chance of fixing yourself if you wish to do so.

Hence the "KISS" advice - Keep It Simple Stupid. Advice I rather ignored by buying the Scala!

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Forgot to mention yesterday, what with the excitement of my new jump starter arriving, that Becky (our Panda) has passed her MOT with just another advisory on the rear axle (described as a subframe?). I have to say I'm really surprised (mind you I am a bit of a pessimist) and, because we're friends and he knows I "know about" cars, I mentioned this to the garage owner. He smiled and said yes, it is pretty crusty isn't it but they had visually examined it, tapped it with a hammer and scraped it with a screwdriver and reached the conclusion that it would go at least another year without any problem. He also said that the rest of the car was in very good condition and the axle is the only thing of any concern so if I want him to do the axle next year he'd be happy to replace it for me. Being a FIAT specialist this is a job they're familiar with and can usually be done in a day he says. It won't be "cheap" but not too crippling either. This is the axle he'd recommend: https://www.imaxle.co.uk/new-fiat-p...pEYXWCey98ubBoJY1bHZizT2Cfp6Ats8ntI_vZ0JfvMfG which is exactly the one I'd have gone for myself and I know it's also the one supplied to the trade by my local factor - he puts a bit on top for handling it though.

Does anyone on here know about this axle? I see it's recommended for cars built 03 to 11 which would be my 2010 169 model but I'm slightly worried by the bit further down in the "details" box which says it's suitable for vehicles 2003 to 2018. I thought the new bodied Panda (2011 0nward) had a slightly wider rear axle? However I've never looked into this in any great detail as I've only ever owned older models - Anyone know for sure?

 

[StevenRB45]

Hence the "KISS" advice - Keep It Simple Stupid. Advice I rather ignored by buying the Scala!

To be fair find a simple basic car now.

Even the Dacia has a turbo triple.

No such thing as an absolutely reliable car, all that changes is the exact list of "common" faults, how likely you are to experience them and how much they cost to fix.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Talking turbos. Day before yesterday, whilst walking back from the library, A medium sized BMW people carrier type thing pulled away from the kerb just as I was walking past it. As the revs rose you could hear the turbo whistle accompanied by a plume of smoke from the exhaust. Pretty sure it was a petrol? but whatever, that's going to be unpleasantly expensive I bet.

 

[porta]

Forgot to mention yesterday, what with the excitement of my new jump starter arriving, that Becky (our Panda) has passed her MOT with just another advisory on the rear axle (described as a subframe?). I have to say I'm really surprised (mind you I am a bit of a pessimist) and, because we're friends and he knows I "know about" cars, I mentioned this to the garage owner. He smiled and said yes, it is pretty crusty isn't it but they had visually examined it, tapped it with a hammer and scraped it with a screwdriver and reached the conclusion that it would go at least another year without any problem. He also said that the rest of the car was in very good condition and the axle is the only thing of any concern so if I want him to do the axle next year he'd be happy to replace it for me. Being a FIAT specialist this is a job they're familiar with and can usually be done in a day he says. It won't be "cheap" but not too crippling either. This is the axle he'd recommend: https://www.imaxle.co.uk/new-fiat-p...pEYXWCey98ubBoJY1bHZizT2Cfp6Ats8ntI_vZ0JfvMfG which is exactly the one I'd have gone for myself and I know it's also the one supplied to the trade by my local factor - he puts a bit on top for handling it though.

Does anyone on here know about this axle? I see it's recommended for cars built 03 to 11 which would be my 2010 169 model but I'm slightly worried by the bit further down in the "details" box which says it's suitable for vehicles 2003 to 2018. I thought the new bodied Panda (2011 0nward) had a slightly wider rear axle? However I've never looked into this in any great detail as I've only ever owned older models - Anyone know for sure?

Maybe a misprint as I’m sure, as you are, that it’s different for 10/11 onwards.
I did note, however, that they also do 03-010/11 4x4 axles