Hi, gord here in wintry ontario canada (10ft of snow and counting (and no it is not all on the ground, that is the total snowfall so far, only about 4ft on the ground!)

i realize kind of late in the game for this auction but... no bids so probably make offer after auction over (looking for some answers from owner for now) and no not easy to see (other side of the country 3k km (3 time zones) away!

anyway, newbie to pandas but not fiats (have owned 7 fiat spiders including a turbo all long gone as well as a yugo convertible (still a fiat!)

looking for all your sage advice! :worship:

is there anything in particular i should be looking out for on these cars esp. since NO fiat dealerships in Canada ?
i have a very capable import mechanic for those things beyond me (worked on our saabs, fiats, vws, etc.)
but getting parts, the 4wd system, etc. etc.
longevity, known failure points etc. etc. (besides the typical rust/rot of any car but even then, where are they known to go?)

thx in advance

ebay number 120356047349 on ebay.ca
sorry too new to post actual link but it is mentioned in the ebay thread

thx
pls reply to [email protected] since on dialup so SLOW in the forum

someone in the ebay thread mentioned the black lower part covering up stuff >> all very true in rust/rot canada BUT being from Japan more likely just the paint scheme >> owned a mitsubishi jeep j53 and it had maybe 2 specks of rust! (they dont; get our snow nor the need for salt/sand on the roads)

Even if there was a dealer ship in Canada they'd not be interested in a 20 year old car... Let along one that has a transmission system thats totally unique to the model and not shared with one other car in the range.

Ok, bad new over

but the good news is that it's an easy little bugger to work on and keep on the road. I'd no mechanical knowledge when I first started this 'panda' business and now I'm able to tell garages all over the world what's wrong with my panda when it 'fails to proceed' LOL! If you can get a test drive in it and it feels ok then it probably is ok. It's 20 years of age, and the basic design is approaching 30 so it's not like an old merc or something where it was over engineered so much that it can cover up problems in later life. If he box whines then it's done, if it won't go into and out of 4x4 mode then it could be buggered, if there rust you can see then there will be loads that you can't etc

Your big problem will be parts. No FIAT FIRE engines were imported into North America and Canada and all the fiat suppliers and clubs (like www.flu.org) are all set up for x1/9s and spiders and some 128 stuff. Your panda will be a true orphan and that will make it hard work...

Jim