Hey all

Little bit about me, my name is Dom... hey

Right onto the car

As you may have guessed from my Forum name, I'm a Panda 100HP owner. Only had the cheeky little bugger for 3 days so far so still very much in the honeymoon period! I've had my eye on them every since the Evo review (which I'm sure most 100HP owners & Fiat enthusiasts are aware of) but until recently I've always needed a motorway mile muncher.

This is my 11th Car and already in my top 2 on the favourite list! I've not had the Panda long enough to dethrone a Honda Integra Type R DC5 I had a few years ago but we'll see how the Panda gets on.

So hello to everyone, it's great to finally be here

Hi,

Welcome to the forum and I think your Panda 100HP looks awesome!!!

Matt.

It does look well in red.


Red paint....calipers. Obviously.

Hi there from a fellow 100HP owner!


(mine is the faster, grey model)


I was the same as you...wanted one ever since they first appeared.


Came close to buying one back in 07/08 when they were at great prices new on supasaver...


Came close again a few years ago when I looked at a 56 plate in some big warehouse sales place...very tempted...


But only eventually got mine in Jan, from a fellow Fiat Forum member.


Great car...on 104k now...seen better days...but it's still great.


Welcome and enjoy!

Welcome to the forum Good to have another fellow red 100hp owner!

Wrightyy

matty23 said:

Hi,

Welcome to the forum and I think your Panda 100HP looks awesome!!!

Matt.

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Cheers Matty, you got a 100HP?

AB100 said:

It does look well in red.


Red paint....calipers. Obviously.

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Thanks AB! Yeah red calipers are on the list of things to do to it! Gotta be done!

Punto MC said:

Hi there from a fellow 100HP owner!


(mine is the faster, grey model)


I was the same as you...wanted one ever since they first appeared.


Came close to buying one back in 07/08 when they were at great prices new on supasaver...


Came close again a few years ago when I looked at a 56 plate in some big warehouse sales place...very tempted...


But only eventually got mine in Jan, from a fellow Fiat Forum member.


Great car...on 104k now...seen better days...but it's still great.


Welcome and enjoy!

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Hey MC! Haha faster grey one! I like it

I actually bought mine from a garage that trades out of a warehouse, probably overpaid a bit and definitely got a lot knocked off my Alfa 159 that I traded in, but to be honest 100HP prices seem to be a bit all over the place at the moment. At the end of the day I am happy with the deal though, well I wasn't while we were exchanging keys but after about 5 minutes of driving it home, money issues went out the window! Well worth it regardless of price!

Good to hear your car is still going strong on 104k miles man. When you say its seen better days, is that cosmetically speaking or does the engine feel a bit tired now?

Mines done 63k just had new cambelt, waterpump & has FSH. I'm going to continue to look after it and will do all I can to keep it purring nicely!

wrightyy said:

Welcome to the forum Good to have another fellow red 100hp owner!

Wrightyy

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Hey thanks Wrightyy! I was stalking the forum a for a while before I bought my Panda. Seen quite a few of your posts among others. Seeing the love for the car and the friendly atmosphere on this forum really helped draw me to the car and the community on here!

Red all the way mate!

Don't about mileage, look after it and you will be alright. Mine is rapidly approaching 200k and still going strong.

Only just having to replace the original exhaust

elder81 said:

Don't about mileage, look after it and you will be alright. Mine is rapidly approaching 200k and still going strong.

Only just having to replace the original exhaust

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That's immensely impressive!!!

Other than keeping the service history full and up to date, what do you recommend I and fellow owners do between services to keep the engine well looked after?

Any advice here will be gold as I'm hoping to keep this car for a number of years.

I can't claim to have much influence on it as only had it for a few months, but the last owner did what it needed when it needed it and kept on top of oil and serviced twice a year. He kept all the receipts from his 7 years of ownership.

It does use a bit of oil now, but used to that as had a 20vt coupe so no bother.

Awesome! Just goes to show how long an engine can last if properly looked after

Very nice car Dom welcome to the forum, really like those wheels on those pandas, may have found new wheels for my fiat

ThatSilverMk2 said:

Very nice car Dom welcome to the forum, really like those wheels on those pandas, may have found new wheels for my fiat

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Thanks man

Just had a look at your mk2 on your profile! Looks really nice mate

The 100HP alloys are cool and they suit the car really well. I think they'd look great on your punto!

Dom100HP said:

Thanks man

Just had a look at your mk2 on your profile! Looks really nice mate

The 100HP alloys are cool and they suit the car really well. I think they'd look great on your punto!

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Haha thanks man, the punto isn't the best but its a start I guess. Should be nicer once done and yeah I think they would look nice. May go on the hunt for some wheels soon

Welcome along, as others have said keep an eye on oil level as they do use a bit depending on how hard you drive it and also keep the coolant clean and at the correct strength to avoid head gasket issues (they are rare).
Its also worth changing the gearbox fluid if it hasn't been done, its a very easy job and will keep the lovely gearbox working properly.

Welcome, nice looking panda

Dom100HP said:

Good to hear your car is still going strong on 104k miles man. When you say its seen better days, is that cosmetically speaking or does the engine feel a bit tired now?

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Just cosmetically really. A lot of the previous miles done were at higher speeds / A roads etc and this has left a few stonechips on bonnet, windscreen, paint chipping from wiper bases etc. But just cosmetic.


We also recently suffered a freak hail storm which left loads of dints in the bonnet and roof. Affected quite a few villages nearby. I enquired with the insurers and they suggested the car would be written off from this!
However I intend to leave it. If I find another bonnet, bonus, but the roof is a different matter


Inside though - you would never guess it has done the miles. Really hard wearing, everything still works (fingers crossed) and the engine is still smooth, works as it should.


I had to replace the auxiliary belt and I looked through the history and it has been done at least twice before, so I think it's a common thing on these.


They do use a bit of oil between services. I got mine in Jan and I've recently put a couple of litres in (approx. 5k miles done).


As you've seen, there's another 100HP on here with mega mileage...so you can see if they are looked after, they do last!

Gavv8 said:

Welcome along, as others have said keep an eye on oil level as they do use a bit depending on how hard you drive it and also keep the coolant clean and at the correct strength to avoid head gasket issues (they are rare).
Its also worth changing the gearbox fluid if it hasn't been done, its a very easy job and will keep the lovely gearbox working properly.

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Cheers Gav - Thanks for the tips on the oil, coolant and gearbox oil. I don't think the gearbox oil was done. I'll check the last service when I get home and if not I'll get on it.

Daveb100hp said:

Welcome, nice looking panda

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Cheers Dave

Punto MC said:

Just cosmetically really. A lot of the previous miles done were at higher speeds / A roads etc and this has left a few stonechips on bonnet, windscreen, paint chipping from wiper bases etc. But just cosmetic.


We also recently suffered a freak hail storm which left loads of dints in the bonnet and roof. Affected quite a few villages nearby. I enquired with the insurers and they suggested the car would be written off from this!
However I intend to leave it. If I find another bonnet, bonus, but the roof is a different matter


Inside though - you would never guess it has done the miles. Really hard wearing, everything still works (fingers crossed) and the engine is still smooth, works as it should.


I had to replace the auxiliary belt and I looked through the history and it has been done at least twice before, so I think it's a common thing on these.


They do use a bit of oil between services. I got mine in Jan and I've recently put a couple of litres in (approx. 5k miles done).


As you've seen, there's another 100HP on here with mega mileage...so you can see if they are looked after, they do last!

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Cheers for the reply MC and I'm really sorry to hear about that freak hailstorm man

I'll have to check through my cars history to see if the auxiliary belt has been done or not. Are there are tell tale signs when these start to go and need replacing? Also, how much did changing the belt set you back?

Really great to hear from 2 high milers reporting the cars working well when looked after!

WRT the aux belt - I started getting a 'ticking' noise from the engine when driving. It was hardly noticeably at first but got louder and something didn't sound 'right' at idle. Difficult to explain, but the ticking was noticeable when driving.


Had it checked out and sure enough the belt was pretty bad, lots of gaps and missing bits. New belt - no noise.


I had it done veeeery cheaply though..as I work at a garage.












I would say though normally...under £100? Others may be able to give a more accurate quote. I can't imagine it costing over £100 to have done, put it that way.

Punto MC said:

WRT the aux belt - I started getting a 'ticking' noise from the engine when driving. It was hardly noticeably at first but got louder and something didn't sound 'right' at idle. Difficult to explain, but the ticking was noticeable when driving.


Had it checked out and sure enough the belt was pretty bad, lots of gaps and missing bits. New belt - no noise.


I had it done veeeery cheaply though..as I work at a garage.


I would say though normally...under £100? Others may be able to give a more accurate quote. I can't imagine it costing over £100 to have done, put it that way.

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Cheers MC, good to know

Coincidentally this morning when I started the car, I heard a noise that sounds like a belt. Sounds a bit like a "whup, whup, whup" kinda sound.

I only heard it at idle and by the time I got to work, the engine had warmed up and the noise had gone. I popped the hood when I got to work and had a listen to the engine but it was all ticking over nicely by then.

It's just had a Cambelt change so I'm hoping its not a result of a bad job.