Hi all, been lurking the forums for the past few months, finally posting my ride!
TL;DR - my new Panda City Cross!
The Car
1.2 petrol, Black, spacesaver wheel, 60/40 seats - not a massive spec list but it's inkeeping with the simple car!
My thoughts after a month:
I have some additions to the car planned:
The Buying Story (the ramble)
I had been driving a modified Honda (as tasteful as a modified Honda can be, I stand behind all the parts being quality and from legitimate companies - no fake wheels or exhausts) whilst it was great fun to drive it was completely impractical. My mind was fully set on a new car when I drove to Ireland with my girlfriend in the summer and her 15 year old Aygo could fit more luggage in, and could actually get on/off the ferry without scraping - coilovers are cool until you get stuck!
My first thought was the new Suzuki Jimny. I'd be using the car to about 10% of its offroading potential but it does look very cool. However internet speculation and hype meant that the early indications of a £13k-£15k base price were way off the mark, and the issue of basically no rear seats meant that for carrying more than 2 people it would be no more practical than the Honda.
Whilst watching videos of the Jimny I started getting YouTube suggestions for the Panda, in various trims. I'd had a 2006 Panda Eco that I bought from my parents as my first car, and whilst it had been sold on after a few electrical issues that lead to me not trusting the car I did love how easy and practical it was.
I test drove a Panda in the midlands, a few hundred miles from home but close to my girlfriend at university and the salesman at the dealer was actually a genuinely nice guy (like all of us I've had some frustrating experiences - the local Honda dealer is well known in the area for being terrible at communication). I almost left that day with a Panda Waze, the part-ex for my Honda was actually quite good, but sadly didn't take in things like the wheels and head-unit, which I knew could be split from the car and sold for another few thousand (import wheels from Japan - no fake parts
), and the Waze did not have the 60/40 seats that I wanted for practicality.
A few days later when the dealer confirmed their deals for the quarter I put down a deposit on a City Cross in black, with spare wheel and 60/40 seats, and went to work trying to sell the Honda privately. Fast forward a few weeks of rediculous trade offers - drift cars, direct swap for a bone stock version of the Honda with more miles because "it would be easier to sell", and a very clearly financed and modified Fiesta ST were some highlights - a guy 2 miles from me asked if he could see the car that afternoon. A quick test drive and I was following him back to his to do the paperwork. I've sold 2 cars privately and both have ended up working out fantastically - I'm assuming that's my luck of selling privately all used up! Even more good news the next day as the Fiat dealer called to say the car had arrived from Italy a month early! The next weekend was back up to the midlands to collect the car. Whilst I understand the sceptism from "stealerships", there are still some good ones and deals can be had, like a few have said on here, you should never be paying list price from a dealer.
TL;DR - my new Panda City Cross!
The Car
1.2 petrol, Black, spacesaver wheel, 60/40 seats - not a massive spec list but it's inkeeping with the simple car!
My thoughts after a month:
- so much easier to park, and get in and out of everywhere without worrying about scraping or curbing expensive wheels
- very comfortable interior and seating positioning - I do a lot of trail running so to not have to climb down in to a car after running for 3 hours in the cold and mud is pure luxury
- very easy to drive, in traffic or motorway speed
- bigger than the last generation of Panda, space for 5 people comfortably
I have some additions to the car planned:
- some interior accessories for storage - a seatback storage pouch as some things like sunglasses do rattle a bit
- mud guards
- roof rack and roofbox & bike rack (after spending a few days in Norway last autumn I'm fully set on spending a little more and getting a very slimline roofbox rather than a cheap Halfords job)
The Buying Story (the ramble)
I had been driving a modified Honda (as tasteful as a modified Honda can be, I stand behind all the parts being quality and from legitimate companies - no fake wheels or exhausts) whilst it was great fun to drive it was completely impractical. My mind was fully set on a new car when I drove to Ireland with my girlfriend in the summer and her 15 year old Aygo could fit more luggage in, and could actually get on/off the ferry without scraping - coilovers are cool until you get stuck!
My first thought was the new Suzuki Jimny. I'd be using the car to about 10% of its offroading potential but it does look very cool. However internet speculation and hype meant that the early indications of a £13k-£15k base price were way off the mark, and the issue of basically no rear seats meant that for carrying more than 2 people it would be no more practical than the Honda.
Whilst watching videos of the Jimny I started getting YouTube suggestions for the Panda, in various trims. I'd had a 2006 Panda Eco that I bought from my parents as my first car, and whilst it had been sold on after a few electrical issues that lead to me not trusting the car I did love how easy and practical it was.
I test drove a Panda in the midlands, a few hundred miles from home but close to my girlfriend at university and the salesman at the dealer was actually a genuinely nice guy (like all of us I've had some frustrating experiences - the local Honda dealer is well known in the area for being terrible at communication). I almost left that day with a Panda Waze, the part-ex for my Honda was actually quite good, but sadly didn't take in things like the wheels and head-unit, which I knew could be split from the car and sold for another few thousand (import wheels from Japan - no fake parts
), and the Waze did not have the 60/40 seats that I wanted for practicality. A few days later when the dealer confirmed their deals for the quarter I put down a deposit on a City Cross in black, with spare wheel and 60/40 seats, and went to work trying to sell the Honda privately. Fast forward a few weeks of rediculous trade offers - drift cars, direct swap for a bone stock version of the Honda with more miles because "it would be easier to sell", and a very clearly financed and modified Fiesta ST were some highlights - a guy 2 miles from me asked if he could see the car that afternoon. A quick test drive and I was following him back to his to do the paperwork. I've sold 2 cars privately and both have ended up working out fantastically - I'm assuming that's my luck of selling privately all used up! Even more good news the next day as the Fiat dealer called to say the car had arrived from Italy a month early! The next weekend was back up to the midlands to collect the car. Whilst I understand the sceptism from "stealerships", there are still some good ones and deals can be had, like a few have said on here, you should never be paying list price from a dealer.
