Hello to everyone that reads this thread and benefits from any future information posted on it.
Firstly, I must say that I have followed this fiat forum as a guest since November 2013 and thought I was about time I joined and said my thanks to all of the informative guys on the Panda (2012) section. You have all helped ( some in particular, who I will surely talk to and thank personally in time ) me buy my 3rd Fiat in my lifetime but more importantly, my first ever brand new car.
A brand new car only became an option for me due to the valuable information with regards to Fiat's Privilege Purchase Scheme talked about on here and the fact that Fiat.co.uk allows you to play with the figures using the "finance calculator" within the "configure" area of the website.
I now have a red panda cross TA heading towards me, hopefully in time for the festive period. It has £905 of options, £3250 Fiat Deposit Contribution, 1.3% (£285fee) and the total interest over 34mths is 80p. Yes £0.80.
So the exciting wait has started and once I'm living day today with the cross, I'll surely post about every/many aspects about it, so others may benefit from my positive &/or negative experiences. As I said before, the experiences of several people on here, helped me choose, firstly; panda, then twinair. I was close to going for a trekking several months back. Then changed, preferred the 4x4, then back to the trekking. Then heard rumours about the cross. Then saw the cross launch in march. Then got a massive shock with its price, so it was back to the trekking or 4x4. It was only when the Privilege Purchase Scheme Q4 Price List was published (2weeks late) that the FDC was that attractive and it included the cross, it was game on!
My first fiat was my first car, Fiat127 - 1300GT - 75hp - Black with orange trim. Taught me lots about cars at a young age and I became a dab hand at fibre-glassing bits where the italian metal had virtually dissolved in the UK rain.
Several cars later, I was driving an Alfa 159 up until 2 months ago, when it ate its gearbox. A fortune to fix, so I grabbed a Gumtree bargain, a 51plate Punto HGT.
Roll on delivery day
Bundes

Awesome, our 1st cross is ordered!

Bet you can't wait?!

Welcome to the forum btw.

deeyup said:

Awesome, our 1st cross is ordered!

Bet you can't wait?!

Welcome to the forum btw.

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Yes welcome :wave: 80p interest is ridiculous - I'd never have considered that route!

There are at least 2 orders previously on the Cross thread below, maybe the 3rd?

Palio said:

Yes welcome :wave: 80p interest is ridiculous - I'd never have considered that route!

There are at least 2 orders previously on the Cross thread below, maybe the 3rd?

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Congratulations, that's a brilliant deal

Once fully run-in (allow 5000 miles ) your 90HP should be ample-
yesterday my TA Trekking's performance 4-up on the hills of west
Somerset really surprised me (it's usually only got the driver...)

I keep having to remind myself the engine's got only half the cylinders
and only a nadge more cubic capacity than my gutless old Mini 850!

Fiat have produced one of the all-time greatest engines, IMHO



Chris

Sounds like a cracking deal and imho I think it looks great in red. I have ordered a Tuscany green one, a tentative December quoted for delivery so far. The forum does indeed have 3 angry Panda's on order, a yellow a red and a green.

Who will be first

Doesn't matter of course but fun anyway.

Thanks for the welcome guys.

I'm so excited with the prospect of living with the twinair engine. I feel like test driving it daily until my one arrives.
Absolutely delighted with the deal I got myself. My dealer had never dealt with a Privilege.P.S. offer before, and couldnt quite believe the figures I presented to him. Thats until he entered them himself.
I found that the key variables for getting a 16850 (17135 with 285fee) Cross for 13885.80 were: Take the deposit as close to the max as you can afford. Max is 3490 + FDC 3250. Then reduce the months to 34/35/36ish and play with those miles per year. I went for 12K/yr. The fiat configurator has kept me occupied for hours over the last year and working out the optimum deal for myself was great fun.
In a sense, I'm honoured to be the 3rd on here to have opted for the 2014 Cross but being 1st to have gone for the red is cool enough for me.
Is it here yet?...

Bundes

I think it will probably depend on options selected as to when eventual delivery happens, you could end up being first Bundes

I too am really looking forward to life with the TA (I mean the engine not the army!) I know it has a reputation with regards to fuel economy but I also know that if you put some effort in you will be rewarded (though for the first 5K you might as well not bother). My usual style of driving is not going to be conducive to eeking out the last dregs of motion lotion but you can have fun trying to eek out the economy just as much as driving it as if on a qualifying lap.

Even on a brief test drive I can't remember being as happy with an engine since the V6 in my GTA.

Due to the panda factory being closed from the 16th to 27th Oct, it is possible that all 3 will be on the same transporter. I reckon my one will be last off as I'm in Scotland. I just hope its dry the whole way from Naples coz I cant wait to treat the underside. But what with? Any recommendations? Someone I know recently claimed the best way is not to paint the underside but to actually spray with engine oil (in a controlled manner obviously), and yearly. From that idea, I came up with using a silicon spray that I have access to at my work. It'll get into every nook&cranny but once used then paint will never take. Has anyone ever solved how to stop a fiat from rusting? Or is that just part of being a fiat that lives on an island?
Bundes

What options have you chosen?
Heated screen was a must. Seats came with but I wasnt fussy. Front seat/table again was a must due to reading about its space benefits inside the car. Not that I carry ladders. The space saver, as every car should have a jack! Comfort kit for the height adjustable seatbelts. The only luxury (in my mind) option that I went for are the rear tints.
I really like green on the 4x4 but thought the red suited the black ringed lights better on the Cross.
Either way, we are both gonna have a great fun winter

If you swap Comfort kit for reverse sensors (I can reverse but have got so used to them....) and paint yours green you have my car Certainly won't be down to the options then as regards build date.

I recently had a blowout on the M6 just south of Penrith and for one horrible moment thought the VRS had a tin of gunk rather than a spacesaver (My Yeti had gunk) fortunately it had an almost but not quite full size spare. The tyre was totally cream crackered so I vowed never ever to have a car again without a spare of some sort. The Fuhrer would have been most displeased if I could not have delivered her to her trail race

I have a set of winter tyres/alloys for the Fabia but they take up too much space in the Fuhrer bunker and they are never on the car when you need them. Never had a heated screen but they seem like a great idea and I will never buy a car without heated seats as it sooths my knackered spine no end. The tints hide the bikes and/or the Pike fishing gear, essential. I wonder if those wonderful roof rails are practical as well as decorative?

Bundes said:

Due to the panda factory being closed from the 16th to 27th Oct, it is possible that all 3 will be on the same transporter. I reckon my one will be last off as I'm in Scotland. I just hope its dry the whole way from Naples coz I cant wait to treat the underside. But what with? Any recommendations? Someone I know recently claimed the best way is not to paint the underside but to actually spray with engine oil (in a controlled manner obviously), and yearly. From that idea, I came up with using a silicon spray that I have access to at my work. It'll get into every nook&cranny but once used then paint will never take. Has anyone ever solved how to stop a fiat from rusting? Or is that just part of being a fiat that lives on an island?
Bundes

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I've never lived too near the coast but the last Fiat that I had which had any real rust issues was a Ritmo Abarth 130TC back in the late 1970s. Since then we've had an Uno turbo ie, several Pandas - mark 1, 2, 3 and 4 - a Cinquecento Sporting and a Seicento - there were minor rust problems with the earliest Panda and the Seicento but nothing significant. I am fussy about keeping my cars clean all round.

babbo_umbro said:

I've never lived too near the coast but the last Fiat that I had which had any real rust issues was a Ritmo Abarth 130TC back in the late 1970s. Since then we've had an Uno turbo ie, several Pandas - mark 1, 2, 3 and 4 - a Cinquecento Sporting and a Seicento - there were minor rust problems with the earliest Panda and the Seicento but nothing significant. I am fussy about keeping my cars clean all round.

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That's virtually a relationship you have had with fiat over the years.
So you never underseal any of your cars? You just clean the surfaces that came with the car from the factory?.
I only ask this as I remember reading about and seeing photos of the underside of the 2012 4x4 on this very forum. Sure it was critical of coverage of the underbody paint, especially running down the central areas.
So maybe I shouldnt even consider painting any bits.

I must say that I have enjoyed your posts over the last year babbo, and your fiat advice will always be listened to. I dont think my cross will ever return to Italy but it will see lots of Scotland & the UK.

Bundes said:

That's virtually a relationship you have had with fiat over the years.
So you never underseal any of your cars? You just clean the surfaces that came with the car from the factory?.
I only ask this as I remember reading about and seeing photos of the underside of the 2012 4x4 on this very forum. Sure it was critical of coverage of the underbody paint, especially running down the central areas.
So maybe I shouldnt even consider painting any bits.

I must say that I have enjoyed your posts over the last year babbo, and your fiat advice will always be listened to. I dont think my cross will ever return to Italy but it will see lots of Scotland & the UK.

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Between my first Fiat - a 1937 Topolino 500A - and the Ritmo Abarth there had been a Millecento (1100E), a 124 Estate, an 850 Sport Coupé, another 500A, a 500C, three rear-engined 500s - including an early one with the smaller engine and front-opening doors and one that I fitted with a BMW 700 flat-twin engine - two 600s - one with a Giannini 850 engine - a modified Mirafiori Sport, plus a selection of pre-Fiat-group Alfas and pre- and post-Fiat Lancias. So I have quite a bit of form, I'm afraid.

Bundes said:

A brand new car only became an option for me due to the valuable information with regards to Fiat's Privilege Purchase Scheme talked about on here and the fact that Fiat.co.uk allows you to play with the figures using the "finance calculator" within the "configure" area of the website.

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So are the interest rates under the PPS the same as those available to buyers outside that scheme? I thought the rates for PPS buyers were supposed to be more favourable.

Just done the underside and all the visible bolts with Waxoyl... really easy to apply when heating the can in a bucket of hot water and spraying on with a pump action garden sprayer.

Did ours the weekend we picked it up, after only four miles on the clock!

Interest rates are better on the PPS... and if you buy over 3yrs you will save a packet compared to the four years they always quote.

Mark, it'll be here as soon as I can get it ?

simon_16vpunto said:

Mark, it'll be here as soon as I can get it ?

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Hi Si. As you can see I have finally joined the forum that I've been following and talking about for nearly a year. It was great to thank them for all the amazing info I have gained. I think its been the best possible deal available on the new cross that I've got via you & fiat.
I see you joined up in 2006! You love your fiats. I might read ur old posts later.
I hope my posts on here can add to the help that future buyers can gain from reading this forum. I gained, that's for sure, otherwise I'd be buying a trekking at full price rather than a cross at a bargain price.
I know you'll keep me informed on its progress but do you have any idea if Dec is even likely?
See you on Saturday for tato's 90th

gar074 said:

So are the interest rates under the PPS the same as those available to buyers outside that scheme? I thought the rates for PPS buyers were supposed to be more favourable.

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Hi there gar, I knew you'd post on my thread at some point as I've read lots of your questions to the others in the know.
All I can say is, don't get hung up on the APR rates between the PPS and non PPS, its so marginal, trust me. My interest is 80p but my rate is 1.3%, its coz no one can escape the 285 fee. Using the fiat website, my rate was still 1.3% but the interest was 2.45.
You must play with the finance calculator and work out the deal for yourself. The FDC is currently 1400 but is 3250 in the PPS. As long as the customer deposit includes 1850 of the extra PPS FDC then the figures will be virtually bang on. My monthly only varied by 5p.
My advice is simple, if you want a cross, then now is the time to save 1850 over buying it by non privilege methods. Yes you need a nice deposit and be willing to pay 4900 as a final payment after 34 months if you want to only pay 13k for a 16k new car. Yes its still a lot of money, buying this car was a massive step for me and every extra pound that remains in my bank account or pocket is a right result.
Are you truely in the market for buying a brand new car? If so, take the plunge, its the right car.

Great news to see 3 new Cross's on order already, and some excellent deals around too.

On the subject of rust I personally wouldn't bother with anything extra unless you want to go for some sort of record in having the longest lasting Panda Cross. Having owned 3 Fiat's and now an Alfa, and worked in a Fiat/Alfa/Mazda combined dealer (which also serviced many other makes), the Fiat's & Alfa's were leagues ahead of the Mazda's underneath in terms of rust resistance.

I know it's easy to say this when you're a Fiat-fan but I was genuinely quite shocked at how different the brands looked underneath at a few years old. My 2004 Fiat Stilo with 104k on the clock, which gets washed underneath about twice a year only has a bit of rust on the exhaust, there's nothing else anywhere visible and it's just sailed through another MOT. Compare that to several Mazda's that I saw underneath that were littered with scabby rust patches and probably worse (I only glanced at them). Might be the connection with Ford that did Mazda damage, so it might improve now, but I think save for the subframe issue on the old Brava/Bravo/Multipla models and floor pan rust protection problems on some Alfa 156/147's, Fiat Group have pretty much put rust problems to bed long ago.

I reckon most modern Fiat's will die or become uneconomical to repair long before corrosion becomes a problem, as is the case with a lot of modern cars. Just hose it off underneath, particularly when road salt is being used, and you'll be fine.