Buying Advice - 1.1 Active

My girlfriends Daewoo Matiz met its death last night on the motorway, seized engine according to AA guy, maybe due to cambelt failure.

So i'm on the lookout for another motor, must be insurance group 3 or below which sort of narrows it down a bit !

I've seen an advert for a 04 plate Panda 1.1 Active - 37k miles with full service. Non fiat dealer. Car looks very tidy although nothing like seeing it in the flesh !


Questions..

1. what is frequency/mileage for cambelt change on these engines ?
2. what was the original warranty - 3 years, can i take extended Fiat warranty out after some sort of Fiat inspection , and at what cost ?
3. i'm assuming the Active was the base model ?
4. what goes wrong - engine, electricals?
5. what to check/look for ?
6. typical mpg ?
7. road tax band ?

Thanks in advance.


Alternative seems to be a Ford Ka - 53 platers are similar money. I had a Ka as a runaround myself for a short while, drove well enough but engine seemed tired after 50k miles and rust patches in common places !

yes the 1.1 Active is the base model

a much better bet than a Ford KA, as the KA is a rust bucket with a very thin layer of paint and most of them left the factory with rust on the underneath within a day, plus the car has a very old fashioned engine design

common problem with KA is spark plugs seize into cylinder head meaning that they have to be drilled out when they need changing, suggest you do your best to avoid this as its not cheap

new panda active is only 5000 quid brand new, and the new ones have ABS etc which the older ones do not

disadvantage of Active is no Cigarrette lighter which will be an issue if you need to run a Satnav etc, at that kinda age price difference between Active and Dynamic is often marginal, I would be tempted to do an autotrader search for a dynamic?

cam belt change will be a multiple of 12000 as I think thats the service interval, no doubt someone will come along and say

biggest risk with panda is the power steering seems to be a common source of failure leading to a grands bill if youre out of warranty

dunno about additional warranty

panda however will not rust away to nothing like the KA will

whats your budget?

72k on the cambelt and deffo a much better motor than the KA.

Electronic steering failure seem to be the only real costly problem to worry about.

My 1.1 active (06 plate, 28k miles) rarely drops below 45mpg, and if you're cruising along the motorways it'll give 50mpg+ quite easily. Its a pleasant enough car to drive, although the lack of power can sometimes be a little frustrating, especially during the caravan season!

I've a 1.2 Panda, it's a cheap little beast to run

I think you will find that the Panda has a non interference engine - ie the pistons and valves shouldn't be kissing cousins if the cambelt goes


Trev

I'd say try and find a 1.2 dynamic if you can. I think its worth it for the extra kit you get over the poverty spec model.

Bro's wife has a Ka and the steering rack went at about 65,000. Garage said that is a common problem so look out for that.

I'd take the panda but maybe a better spec like dynamic. How much is the Active going for?

I have an 04 1.2 dynamic which I enjoy to bits. I havent driven an active but if you want a bit of power then the 1.2 is best mine struggles quite bit at times.

Plus the cigarette lighter thing I couldn't be without it for the sat nav and my electric tyre pressure pump.

As for the steering problem that was mentioned it is quite common but as most people who use this site use it when they have a problem don't take it as the bible that it will go wrong. Talking from experience when my steering went Fiat customer services are extremely helpful.

In terms of MPG i'm sure someone will disagree but there isn't a lot of difference between the two models. My 1.2 at the moment is doing about 43MPG and I trash it and do a lot of country/variable speed roads with plenty of hills and not much motorway driving. On the motorway I average about 52MPG.

Just curious what the reason it has to be insurance group 3 or below is?

Chris

Could be age of driver or how many years no claims? I mean i'm 20 with three years no claims and if I went over a group 3 then it would probably cost a bomb?

My own personal experience of insurance groups is that there seems to be little correlation in how much it costs vs the group it's in, unless you go for something very desirable. For example with similar NCB, my Gp11 Mondeo was costing me a smidge more to insure than my Gp5 Panda, yet my Gp6 Fabia was costing more than both. There are plenty more factors involved in determining an insurance premium than just the group it's in

With the number of instant quote sites around, I'd be picking a car I liked and then hunting out the insurance deal, rather than the other way round where I might compromise too much and end up with a car I didn't really like....

Chris

ah Chris something you said made me remember something I did to prove a point to someone.

To insure my 04 dynamic panda is £450 a year fully comp and I wanted to prove that it were cheaper to insure the panda than to insure on a mates 12 year old 1.1 106 Peugeot. It were another £300 than the panda so yes I suppose you do have a point there Chris.

Many many thanks for the replies folks

the one i'd original seen was 04 plate, 36k miles with fsh - £2995. According to whatcar valuations its a bit overpriced (about £150) and i think whatcar are always a bit optimistic, so maybe £2700 is a fairer price.

Today i've found a 54 plate one, 18k miles, thats up for 3495 , reduced from 4295 ! (selling tactic !!). They will give £500 deposit for the finance too, so in effect its 3000. I just need more details and to look at the cost of paying off the finance after 2-3 months, cos its bound to be silly apr rate ! Waiting for delaer to reply to email.


I take on board the 1.2 dynamic - maybe a bit nicer place to sit for a motorway cruise, and air con is always a bonus, but something else to go wrong too lol!

Trouble is there are only 20 cars within 40 miles of me , ranging from 2995 to 3995 - most are 1.1 actives, a couple of 1.2 dynamics at 35-40k miles and 3700 pricing.

It really is worth finding a Dynamic (They don't all have aircon). A chap asked us about an Active a few weeks ago and bought it despite the majority of people suggesting he go for the Dynamic and he's not stopped moaning about it since.

JON

But how many days a year is air con going to be keeping you cool, dry and comfortable and how many days a year is it going to be broken. The only problem I've ever had with air con in my last 3 cars was a £15 sensor

One thing to consider too is that when you come to sell, air con will make it much more desirable

Chris