Planning to get a Panda 100HP. I need a fun little city car, something bit different to the usual fiestas and corsas etc. Something frugal yet chuckable and that can still get a couple of mountain bikes in the back if needs be. The little 100 seems to fit the bill quite nicely. Plus i love its looks.


So I'm currently on the look out for a good one, with reasonably low mileage and that's not too old.... but that's also cheap! Ha.


Couple of questions though:

The ride. I've driven one and thought it was ok. But it was a short drive so i never had chance to get a full feel for it. I've read the Koni Dampers are a great addition and easy to fit etc, but are they still available? Is it just the dampers that need replacing or any other parts too??

I've read quite a bit on these little pandas now and haven't really noticed any trends or common problems/issues. Are there any issues I should be looking out for at all - either common ones or perhaps more rare issues??

Perhaps related to the above question; Do you think its best to go for an older car with less miles, or a newer car with more miles.
So, say a 2007 with 25,000 Or a 2010 with 55,000.
I guess what i mean is, do parts wear more by age or mileage on these little cars??


Then there is the age old debate of which colour to go for! Although, distance to view and amount of cars on the market will probably more likely answer that question for me!


Anyway, Thanks in advance for any advice!

SH4RKY said:

Planning to get a Panda 100HP. I need a fun little city car, something bit different to the usual fiestas and corsas etc

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Hi & welcome :wave:

The 100HP is exactly that.

Exhausts & suspensions tend to fail relatively early on most Fiats; the 100HP is no better, but these are hardly major items & it seems you might well be upgrading the suspension anyhow. The cambelt & water pump should be replaced after at most 48000/4yrs; it is an expensive repair if it breaks. Other than that, there are no major problems, but as with most cars these days, check there are no warning lights illuminated and make sure you get both keys with the car as replacing a key is not cheap.

Avoid anything which shows signs of abuse & be careful not to pay over the odds; as usual there is a fair bit of overpriced rubbish overhanging the market. Parkers guide is as good as any as a point of reference. A decent, well cared for 5yr old 100HP with normal mileage (50k) should go for around £3500 if sold privately and at that price is good value, particularly when compared to a 100HP (aka 1.4) 500 of similar age, which will likely be at least £2k more.

Cars are designed to be used, not to be left standing around; service history & condition are much more important than mileage. A well maintained high mileage car can often be somewhat of a bargain; a low mileage car can have its own issues & usually attracts a premium which isn't always justified.

Good luck with your search; come back if you have a specific car in mind & we'll all let you know what we think of it.

If you do high mileage go for the lower mileage example if you want to sell it on and have average mileage, if you do low mileage and fancy using it as a bargaining tool, get the higher mileage one as the mileage will probably even out then.

I use mine up and down the motorway to and from work and I think it's a great little cruiser. Don't be put off - go for it - I had the same questions as you 3 months ago and took the plunge. Best thing I ever did!

They're truly a fantastic little car. Fun, practical, good looking and rare all for a few thousand pounds. What's not to like !?

They seem like pretty solid little cars, if safety is of concern to you I'd avoid going anywhere near the NCAP site... I get the feeling the Panda would crumple like a paper bag if it was crashed into any modern car. It only got 3 stars back in 2003, I dread to think what that would be now .

Moral of the story: don't crash it.

Matt100HP said:

They seem like pretty solid little cars, if safety is of concern to you I'd avoid going anywhere near the NCAP site... I get the feeling the Panda would crumple like a paper bag if it was crashed into any modern car. It only got 3 stars back in 2003, I dread to think what that would be now .

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It would still be a 3 star now

Seems you need to look at a bit more than just the star rating, a lot more info when it's broken down in the results section

Thanks for the feedback so far!

Yeah, the NCAP was a little worrying. To be fair it fails badly on pedestrian safety and the car they tested didn't have a passenger airbag. But yeah, little old car = dont crash.
Shame not many cars have the side airbags as an option.

I've been pretty lucky with my current set of cars (ZT V8 and a Defender) as i went for mechanically sound cars rather than pristine low mileage examples. Ok, i had to tidy them up a bit but they have never let me down. Will probably go with the same philosophy for the panda too i think.


Going to look at a car tomorrow. Its a 2008 white one with a sunroof! (never seen one of those before). Unfortunately its about £1000+ too expensive though. It's £5200 for a 2008 with 25,000 miles. Will check condition and see if price can come down, but I don't think anyone who sets a target of 5k will lop a grand off in a private sale... (cam hasnt even been done either)

Im interested in a grey one with a good service history and cam / water pump change etc. But again its 4100+ probably. In my head im looking at 3500-4000, but at the moment autotrader isn't delivering many examples that fit that criteria.

I'm in no rush though, so potentially i can wait for the perfect car
Although, i hope this white one works out as it looks slick!

Most Easterly Pandas said:

It would still be a 3 star now

Seems you need to look at a bit more than just the star rating, a lot more info when it's broken down in the results section

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I thought they revamped the star ratings a few years back? Tbh, it was before I could drive so I never paid it too much attention.

I do know NCAP stars only count for hitting a car which is +/- 150kgs of yours. That means the Panda got 3 stars against another Panda sized car. I dread to think what'd happen if you ploughed into an Audi Q7 or something similar...

I think in summary we can say: don't crash, you'll most likely come off worst.

Matt100HP said:

I thought they revamped the star ratings a few years back? Tbh, it was before I could drive so I never paid it too much attention.

I do know NCAP stars only count for hitting a car which is +/- 150kgs of yours. That means the Panda got 3 stars against another Panda sized car. I dread to think what'd happen if you ploughed into an Audi Q7 or something similar...

I think in summary we can say: don't crash, you'll most likely come off worst.

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It's equivalent of hitting an identical car tbh.

You've not seen the Audi Q7 and 500 then (a 5 start car)?

http://youtu.be/6pVF1Wr7GLQ

Like you say, best not to crash, and this applies in anything really. 4x4 hitting a tree at 50 will be just as bad as any other car tbh.

cracking little cars which are more than capable of embarrassing bigger more powerful cars. (I'm sure we all have stories) They seem to hold their money pretty well so I'm not sure you will find what your looking for for less than about £4k.

Best of luck and out of interest what area are you in?

Most Easterly Pandas said:

It's equivalent of hitting an identical car tbh.

You've not seen the Audi Q7 and 500 then (a 5 start car)?

http://youtu.be/6pVF1Wr7GLQ

Like you say, best not to crash, and this applies in anything really. 4x4 hitting a tree at 50 will be just as bad as any other car tbh.

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Pause that video at 1:16 for a horrible image of the Audi's bonnet being past where the steering wheel was on the 500 .

Yeah...don't crash a Panda.

SH4RKY one has just popped up in the classifieds within your price range I believe, and only 20k on the clock :£

SH4RKY said:

Going to look at a car tomorrow. Its a 2008 white one with a sunroof! (never seen one of those before). Unfortunately its about £1000+ too expensive though. It's £5200 for a 2008 with 25,000 miles. (cam hasnt even been done either)

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Book price for a 2008 with 50,000 miles sold privately is £2750-£3500. Add around £750 for the mileage & deduct £250 for the cambelt & I'd say you should be looking to pay £4000, but it would have to be absolutely mint before I'd pay £4k for a 5yr old 100HP, however low the mileage.

jrkitching said:

Book price for a 2008 with 50,000 miles sold privately is £2750-£3500. Add around £750 for the mileage & deduct £250 for the cambelt & I'd say you should be looking to pay £4000, but it would have to be absolutely mint before I'd pay £4k for a 5yr old 100HP, however low the mileage.

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Book price has to be offset against supply and demand though, book price can only easily be adhered to when the market is saturated, which unfortunately it's not when it comes to 100hp's. This is why the Panda Cross is always well over the book price also

Most Easterly Pandas said:

Book price has to be offset against supply and demand though, book price can only easily be adhered to when the market is saturated, which unfortunately it's not when it comes to 100hp's.

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Book price is based on actual sale prices achieved and takes supply & demand into account.

That said, it's better to pay a bit over book to get a really good car, than settle for an average example that's on the money (the book valuing system tends to undervalue pristine cars, and overvalue bad ones).

In the final analysis, something is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. But if you are trading in, or are unfortunate enough to have the car written off, you may have a very hard time persuading the dealer/insurers to cough up the extra you paid over book "just because there aren't many for sale & that's what they cost".

Most Easterly Pandas said:

This is why the Panda Cross is always well over the book price also

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And it's not so very long ago on this forum that someone had a great deal of difficulty getting book money for an absolutely mint, late model low mileage Cross.

jrkitching said:

Book price is based on actual sale prices achieved and takes supply & demand into account.

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I disagree. Again I point at the Panda Cross as key example of this.

I paid 3200 in January for a July 07 HP with full history and 38k on clock. Every other car was at least 700 more for same year or 08/09 cars with double the mileage were a grand more.

Look hard enough and the right one will come

I've just noticed this one.

Too expensive at the asking price, but it hasn't sold & it could be worth making an offer.

I'd put it somewhere between £3600-£3850.

Dev100 said:

I paid 3200 in January for a July 07 HP with full history and 38k on clock. Every other car was at least 700 more for same year or 08/09 cars with double the mileage were a grand more.

Look hard enough and the right one will come

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Exactly. 95% of the cars currently offered for sale are around 20%-40% over book. A handy little bonus for the seller if the right mug comes along.

Now try selling one & see how hard it is to even get close to book for a first-class car.

jrkitching said:

I've just noticed this one.

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Yeah, i have that as an example (amongst others) to try and smash the price down of this white one. Ideally I want 20%+ off, which I just cant see anyone is going to accept. Especially when, as mentioned by jrkitching, most 100hps on sale are well over book value. :bang:

I missed a grey one earlier in the week which looked pristine and was up for just £3250. It sold, so i guess it was about right on price!


This one is rather interesting too:
ebay.co.uk/itm/07-Fiat-Panda-1-4-16v-100HP-/151014253705
One of the cheapest I've seen. Interesting to see it was up for £4695 if the window price was to be believed!!