thanks for that. so all in not a huge amount more than we have just paid for the two arms

If you had Fiat replace the arms with genuine parts then expect them to fail in the same period/mileage as a rough guide?

This issue has cropped up many times on the Panda thread too, with usual lifetimes from 20k to 40k. A lot will depend on the stresses it gets.
As a result of the regular threads, I bought a pair of bottom arms 3 years ago, as they were on offer, still not needed them yet. The rubber will probably age harden in the garage before I get to fit them!

The more they flex, the shorter their life. So not just bumps and potholes, but acceleration and braking will affect them. If they've been subjected to lots of late firm braking, they'll fail sooner.

Doubtful you can find any manufacturing defect in the bushes, so it'll be wear & tear.
Drive smoothly, avoid bumps and potholes.

portland_bill said:

This issue has cropped up many times on the Panda thread too, with usual lifetimes from 20k to 40k. A lot will depend on the stresses it gets.

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Yes, and in fairness to Fiat and by way of contrast, our Panda is now coming up to 75k and 7yrs on its original components - all I've replaced are the front pads & discs, one set of wiper blades, and one set of tyres.

Running on 155/80x13 tyres helps to preserve the life of the steering and suspension components.

My Parents 2012 500 needed new front suspension bushes at 3 years old / 30k miles. The 3rd year warranty covered them but we were the first owner & it'd been serviced within the main dealer network, whether that made any difference to Fiat honouring the repair I dunno.

Having recently been to Sheffield, I can say that the roads I experienced were pretty awful. Lots of potholes and damaged surfaces, probably worsened by the frequent bad weather Sheffield experiences throughout the Winter. Combined with the hills, any car is going to get a bit of a rough time if it's always driven round Sheffield, but our 500 didn't get a particularly easy time on the roads round here either - the small wheels virtually got lost in some of the holes they encountered. I wasn't overly suprised we only got 30k out of ours.

I replaced mine at around 50k and 7 years (MOT Advisory)- After discussing with the Garage (an independent fiat specialist here in Derby) The rest of the suspension components being ok we took the option to press out the old bushes and fitted new polyurethane ones (slightly stiffer than the originals).

This option was a lot cheaper but is a risk as if the ball joints fail later then the swinging arm has to be replaced. We thought worth the risk as the car is only doing 800miles a year now. The last two MOTs have shown no degradation in the ball joints.

muttleysdad said:

car is only doing 800miles a year now

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Sell it and get a taxi, insurance alone would pay for them? Though I can understand the wish to keep hold of it, my Mazda only does 5500 a year at the moment.

John202020 said:

Sell it and get a taxi, insurance alone would pay for them? Though I can understand the wish to keep hold of it, my Mazda only does 5500 a year at the moment.

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I keep it as a toy - It's had a leather Abarth interior fitted as well as a nice stainless exhaust with shotgun tail pipe, nice alloys plus a few tweaks under the bonnet. Next I'm looking to fit a square rag top sun roof like the originals but can't seem to find anyone that fits them.
Insurance isn't Much £160 a year fully comp and £30 a year tax - It's cheap enough to leave in the garage.

Everyday hacks are a 14 plate Panda and a 66 plate 500L. (just got rid of he punto).

muttleysdad said:

I keep it as a toy - It's had a leather Abarth interior fitted as well as a nice stainless exhaust with shotgun tail pipe, nice alloys plus a few tweaks under the bonnet. Next I'm looking to fit a square rag top sun roof like the originals but can't seem to find anyone that fits them.
Insurance isn't Much £160 a year fully comp and £30 a year tax - It's cheap enough to leave in the garage.

Everyday hacks are a 14 plate Panda and a 66 plate 500L. (just got rid of he punto).

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That's cheap, ins and tax for my Mazda £700

John202020 said:

That's cheap, ins and tax for my Mazda £700

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Sometimes getting old has its benefits plus I've limited the mileage on the insurance to 2K a year now.