Fiat Panda folk; I need your advise.

My missus [Lauren] bought a Panda CLX in a very nice sort of turquoise colour and is very attached to it.

She bought it under my advise (having had 3 good ones myself a few years ago).

Unfortunately 'Pandora' has a catalogue of problems that are likely to amount to a bill at least double maybe 3 times what she/it (the car - not Lauren) is worth.

I have already done extensive welding to the sills to get it through the last MOT (and set fire to the carpet inside in the process - oops?)

For the next MOT it will require between £300-£500 worth of welding to the rear suspension mounts, which is beyond my ability to weld, and my garage of choice didn't really want to do the job either.

Is Pandora only suitable now for spares? Or have these vehicles become so rare now that they are ALL worth saving, irrespective of condition and cost?

Tempted to sell it for parts and search for a another Panda between £300 - £600.

Or keep it for parts if you're going to look for another. Parts are getting harder to get. This is purely what it's worth to you, that sounds like a fair bit of welding, and if the rot's got hold you may well finish up chasing welding jobs forever unless you spend even more cash and get it stripped and catch all the rot properly now. You'll not get your money back anytime soon so anyone that's saved a car like that it's a labour of love.

Difficult to say without seeing it, sometimes only a patch is needed despite the failure sheet making it sound like the car is going to turn to dust any minute.

I've had quite a few with rust in this area and found that finding someone with the right attitude to Pandas and the work makes a huge difference to the price. Someone who doesn't really want to do the job will quote you £500, where as someone who does can charge £50 + a beer.

Whether its scrap or not will also depend on the condition of the rest of the car. Where are you based, if you're not far from me and can pop in I'll happily take a look and give you a better idea.

To be honest, it's not the tidiest Panda in the world. It does need a new wheel bearing, a new drivers door, new heater control valve (heater stuck half on!), its rusty around the wheel arches, engine looks like it's had the idle system bodged (sounds a bit erratic) and the gearbox has spent the best part of it's 90,000 miles without any oil (and is now nasty and graunchy).

It does have the benefit however that unlike most Panda's it has not as yet been cubed and recycled as baked bean cans and is quite a nice colour (not another red or white one) and does hold 6 months of MOT.

To be honest she does need a car, and she is not capable of driving anything other than a Panda. Therefore for the right price we would rectify every single problem on the car so long as it doesn't bankrupt us.

We would drive the length of the country to find someone who would repair it for £50 and a beer! 'VmanC' we are in Chislehurst Kent, which is not a million miles away.

Also, are lower door skins obtainable?

edmundhill685 said:

Chislehurst Kent,

Click to expand...

Too far for me

£500-£600 welding. That using gold plates

Could get mine welded up by my mechanic for only £200, for complete sills and more.

I'd shop about first personally.