SuffolkBexx said:

Further update and good news - they're not going to charge for the wheel! Shame about the gearknob, but no biggie.

The car is at status 50, so awaiting transport from Portsbury. The dealer says there is a good chance it will arrive by the end of the week, but not to hold him to that.

Can't wait! I'm over eight months pregnant now and having a lot of trouble getting into our CRV lol.

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Well done with your result I wouldn't worry about the matching gear knob
as IMHO it's not as nice as the wheel (I might be changing mine...)

I hope your next few weeks go smoothly


Chris

Good that you don't have to pay for the wheel.

Don't get too excited at the dealership when the car arrives- visions of 'Call The Midwife'!

Moultoneer said:

Well done with your result I wouldn't worry about the matching gear knob

as IMHO it's not as nice as the wheel (I might be changing mine...)



I hope your next few weeks go smoothly





Chris

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Thanks Chris. I would have liked to have seen the gearknob, but I'm not too worried as many seem to think it's not worth having. Hope it's not too much of a pain to get yours changed.

TwinAir Newbie said:

Good that you don't have to pay for the wheel.



Don't get too excited at the dealership when the car arrives- visions of 'Call The Midwife'!

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Haha, I'm hoping it won't come to that! That said, I've got a stash of puppy training pads to protect the seat upholstery just in case!

Just to update, the leather wheel was fitted today. It's definitely nicer than the old plastic one and I particularly like the addition of the two nobbly bits where your thumbs rest.

The dealership kindly loaned us a Nissan Qashqai for the hour the work was being done. That was something of a beast in comparison and despite having all the mod cons, I was glad to see our little orange rocket again.

Whilst I love the leather wheel in our T/A 4x4, the last thing I would call it is 'soft leather'. Quite the opposite in fact! It certainly does not have the same tactical feel as say in a BMW, but for the price it is a fine thing and is my personal preference over FIAT's standard plastic rimmed item. Re the gear knob, i can see why folk may prefer the plastic item, but I would not change it for a plastic one as it feels quite nice and chunky in the hand and is a good match for the steering wheel. Not sure if it is just the knob that is lather covered or if it also includes a leather gator.

all the best

4x4Panda said:

Whilst I love the leather wheel in our T/A 4x4, the last thing I would call it is 'soft leather'. Quite the opposite in fact! It certainly does not have the same tactical feel as say in a BMW, but for the price it is a fine thing and is my personal preference over FIAT's standard plastic rimmed item. Re the gear knob, i can see why folk may prefer the plastic item, but I would not change it for a plastic one as it feels quite nice and chunky in the hand and is a good match for the steering wheel. Not sure if it is just the knob that is lather covered or if it also includes a leather gator.

all the best

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I've just had another look (and feel ) at mine, and IMO the gaiter's the
best bit of the set Really nice soft leather.

The gear knob's OK and looks the part, it's just that I'd prefer it to be round!


Chris

SuffolkBexx said:

The dealership kindly loaned us a Nissan Qashqai for the hour the work was being done. That was something of a beast in comparison and despite having all the mod cons, I was glad to see our little orange rocket again.

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that'll be the imminent DPF failure looming..!!:yuck:

Nissan charge £1k each year to keep it running

stick with FIAT

varesecrazy said:

that'll be the imminent DPF failure looming..!!:yuck:



Nissan charge £1k each year to keep it running



stick with FIAT

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Funnily enough, we'd considered a Qashqai or a Juke in the past, but were rather unimpressed after being in the former. It felt very low down with poor visibility compared to the Panda and something of a tank to get around in. The fancy proximity cameras seemed to tickle my hubby, but not something we would ever fork out so much money for! Oh, and that bizarre electric handbrake, that took a bit of getting used to!

I've heard about this DPF thing elsewhere. Yet another reason I prefer to steer clear of diesels lol.

I was actually hoping we'd be given a 500 to drive around in, would have liked to have seen how it compares to the Panda.

just you wait, read the other posts on here, sometime down line... where people are complaining that the leather splits / slips it's hide and ends up stretched / puckered over time.

All that glitters is not always gold it seems

Aikidoamigo said:

just you wait, read the other posts on here, sometime down line... where people are complaining that the leather splits / slips it's hide and ends up stretched / puckered over time.

All that glitters is not always gold it seems

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Possibly true, but none of my recent cars have been owned for
long enough to assess the durability of trim items

The new Renault Twingo I'm contemplating has a very similar
leather steering wheel to the Panda, but about 10% smaller.

As I like a small wheel, that makes it even nicer


Chris

Aikidoamigo said:

just you wait, read the other posts on here, sometime down line... where people are complaining that the leather splits / slips it's hide and ends up stretched / puckered over time.

All that glitters is not always gold it seems

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The leather wheel in my 100HP was virtually unblemished when I parted with it after nearly five years and over 50k miles. I asked Vospers in Exeter for a price for a leather wheel for my 4x4 TA months ago, and have repeated the request several times, but they've failed to respond. I'll persevere as I intend to keep the 4x4 for some time and I prefer the leather wheel.

Let me know if they come back to please

Aikidoamigo said:

Let me know if they come back to please

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Will do - I'm Italy till late October and I'll see if I have more luck here.

I've been into the swish new showrooms of the local Fiat dealer near Spoleto (Satiri Auto) - list price for a leather steering wheel for the Panda is 360 euros - 290 quid - and is available in three working days. Though Italians are notoriously optimistic on things like delivery times, I'm inclined to think this would be right as they took the bother to check. I'm waiting to hear what they think it would cost to fit it.

My leather gear knob peeled in the heat of summer.
We have a similar leather gear knob on our vw, that is perfect after over 4 years.

I got fiat to change the knob under warranty. Hopefully this will last longer than the previous one at 16 months.

deeyup said:

My leather gear knob peeled in the heat of summer.
We have a similar leather gear knob on our vw, that is perfect after over 4 years.

I got fiat to change the knob under warranty. Hopefully this will last longer than the previous one at 16 months.

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As long as that was the only knob peeling in the heat of summer...

Shocking joke I know...

Super Uwe said:

As long as that was the only knob peeling in the heat of summer...

Shocking joke I know...

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Yes, was proper covered in my mankini , my arse cheeks were a different matter though

deeyup said:

Yes, was proper covered in my mankini , my arse cheeks were a different matter though

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Too much information



Chris