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General Panda 4x4 NIGHTMARE, RIP OFF, Don't buy it!

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General Panda 4x4 NIGHTMARE, RIP OFF, Don't buy it!

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StephinScotland

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May 14, 2008
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Location
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Bought a Panda 4x4 brand new in January 2006 at Donald Mackenzies in Inverness (DON'T GO THERE!!!)

The boot lock broke in June 2006 and was replaced under warranty (- which should be an absolute certainty rather than something that you can be proud of... )

Brakes started squealing in spring 2007, I handed it in to get it checked - couldn't find anything but I was charged £60.

In October 2007 I discovered that the front tyres were worn down so badly on the inside that it wasn't safe to drive - again to the garage, new tyres for the front plus the second year service - £300.

Spring 2008. The brakes have been squealing all the way through and by now a constant screach is to be heard on every ride longer than 15 minutes. I can't face it anymore and take the train wherever I can.
Then a puncture and as Mackenzies don't do tyres I brought the car to an independant tyre sprecialist. "Did you know that your brakes are so badly worn that you will have to replace the pads as well as the discs all round?"

That car had been to the Fiat dealer twice in the 12 month before that, nobody ever picked up on anything and now I need to replace the lot???

Oh and guess what, the boot lock broke in February or March. I was too busy to bring my car to that dealer every other month and put up with it for a while.

MacKenzies then fixed the brakes and without telling me also fitted a new boot lock - not under warranty. £280 brakes plus £140 for the boot lock.
No, no warranty, the 2 years Fiat warranty is expired and the 3rd year dealer warranty doesn't cover it (Well, is ANYTHING covered by this 3rd year's warranty???)

I was furious :mad: and refused to pay the boot lock. Opened a case at Fiat UK but I was so pissed off with the car that I sold it. On top of the monthly rates to pay it off I paid over £800 on repairs and parts for a brand new car, it was crap on road and fuel consumption was astronomical for such a small car. And I didn't want to star putting money aside for the next boot lock in 1.5 years...

And Fiat UK tell me that NOW, that I am no Fiat customer anymore they cannot do anything regarding the boot lock and I would have to pay for that thing as well. :cry:

Whatever you do, DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE TO BUY A PANDA 4X4 AND CERTAINLY NOT AT DONALD MACKENZIES IN INVERNESS!!!!!:bang:
 
So sorry regarding your experience of the Panda 4x4 and your dealer.
The microswitch also failed on my boot lock but was repaired and has no longer given trouble.
The brakes do squeak but a good clean up helps. My front pads and discs were finished at 25,000 miles but this seems pretty much normal cos the car is very heavy for its size. Rear pads are not far off needing replacement at 27,000 miles but the discs are within the wear limit.
Tyres, well I had the Bridgestones to start with which were not good and wore unevenly despite a tracking check. Now run on Hankook Centums which are great and wear evenly.
With any permanent 4x4 vehicle you do need to rotate the tyres cos the transmission does not like differences in tyre diameter between back and front.
It's a heavy car with a lot of power loss in the 4WD transmission and low gearing so it is slow and heavy on fuel.
I don't think you got a bad Panda 4x4, just a dealer who maybe does not understand the car or your needs very well.
A shame because around Inverness this little mountain goat of a car would have been ideal especially when the A19 gets slippy.
Personally, I love my Panda 4x4 and will run it until it falls apart which will be a while cos I find it to be virtually bullet-proof.
 
That's an awful experience and I don't blame you for getting rid! Sadly, it's cases like these where dealer service makes or breaks a manufacturer's reputation and so often the dealers are too short sighted to see the bigger picture of repeat business.

Of course, with the invention of great fora/owner's clubs where people can ask about problems and compare notes it's much easier to be in control of the situation and know what the likely outcome should be and I've saved myself a packet previously.

Hope you have better luck with whatever car you choose to replace it with :D

Chris
 
StephinScotland said:
Bought a Panda 4x4 brand new in January 2006 at Donald Mackenzies in Inverness (DON'T GO THERE!!!)

The boot lock broke in June 2006 and was replaced under warranty (- which should be an absolute certainty rather than something that you can be proud of... )

Brakes started squealing in spring 2007, I handed it in to get it checked - couldn't find anything but I was charged £60.

In October 2007 I discovered that the front tyres were worn down so badly on the inside that it wasn't safe to drive - again to the garage, new tyres for the front plus the second year service - £300.

Spring 2008. The brakes have been squealing all the way through and by now a constant screach is to be heard on every ride longer than 15 minutes. I can't face it anymore and take the train wherever I can.
Then a puncture and as Mackenzies don't do tyres I brought the car to an independant tyre sprecialist. "Did you know that your brakes are so badly worn that you will have to replace the pads as well as the discs all round?"

That car had been to the Fiat dealer twice in the 12 month before that, nobody ever picked up on anything and now I need to replace the lot???

Oh and guess what, the boot lock broke in February or March. I was too busy to bring my car to that dealer every other month and put up with it for a while.

MacKenzies then fixed the brakes and without telling me also fitted a new boot lock - not under warranty. £280 brakes plus £140 for the boot lock.
No, no warranty, the 2 years Fiat warranty is expired and the 3rd year dealer warranty doesn't cover it (Well, is ANYTHING covered by this 3rd year's warranty???)

I was furious :mad: and refused to pay the boot lock. Opened a case at Fiat UK but I was so pissed off with the car that I sold it. On top of the monthly rates to pay it off I paid over £800 on repairs and parts for a brand new car, it was crap on road and fuel consumption was astronomical for such a small car. And I didn't want to star putting money aside for the next boot lock in 1.5 years...

And Fiat UK tell me that NOW, that I am no Fiat customer anymore they cannot do anything regarding the boot lock and I would have to pay for that thing as well. :cry:

Whatever you do, DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE TO BUY A PANDA 4X4 AND CERTAINLY NOT AT DONALD MACKENZIES IN INVERNESS!!!!!:bang:
Click to expand...

may i ask, if you can get your blood pressure down, what sort of mileage we are talking about on the various points of your narrative? just to get an idea of usage etc to teh point when your tyres needed changing, and then again with the brakes.

as for the 3rd year warranty, for me it has covered a new water pump, and that bootlock (btw: it's a tiny microswitch inside that goes belly up). as for the brake discs and pads wear, ours, a lighter 2wd eleganza wore the fronts out in 3 years and about 22k miles, the fault for leaving it too late to change just pads? mine, the mrs did mention the odd graouching from the front end, but there you go. it would appear circumstance with the car, the dealer and fiat uk have come together to taint your ownership experience, i'm sure you're not the first, nor will you be the last. but consider this....there are plenty more who have had a decent experience of all three.

i wonder, like mentioned above, if your first contact, with dealer or head office, was like the opener to this thread.......i know i'm less inclined to help a screamer.....

still, you've partially resolved the issues in a manner that satifies you, and perhaps you'll be able to move onto another car, at another dealer, and never have another issue, i wish you all the best(y)
 
Thanks for all your quick replies!
Trying hard to get the blood pressure down but it is quite hard looking at the money that I spend...

I felt that I did what i could to and had the car in twice for someone to look at the brakes. I understand they will wear and that that is not covered by warranties but that I expected the brakes to last somewhat longer than 28000 miles. I brought it back to get it cleaned and looked at twice but it didn't stop the screeching didn't make them live any longer.
I had a 10 year old Metro before that for 2 years and that car hardly cost me anything apart from 100 Pound for 4 new tyres... I sold it because it didn't feel safe anymore on those dodgy winter roads and getting a new car I thought that that would be the "no worries, just drive and be happy" thing I was after... Well, obviously didn't work at all...

I asked the dealer about the warranty and the boot look and they said now, no locks. I insisted that the part itself wasn't even 2 years old - no good. Horrible people in that garage.

I went Japanese now and will try the Suzuki SX4 4 Grip - hopefully that will do what the Japanese are so well known for: work....

Thanks

Stephanie
 
StephinScotland said:
I went Japanese now and will try the Suzuki SX4 4 Grip - hopefully that will do what the Japanese are so well known for: work....

Thanks

Stephanie
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

Might be of interest to you to know that the Fiat Sedici is a Suzuki SX4 just rebadged. They're built in the same factory and so on. I'd go for the one that's cheapest as there's going to be no difference in quality.
 
another contender for the panda tracking poll? lol

brake squeel is annoying, but obviously the car didn't win you over, because I'd never get rid of mine for that :p
 
Last edited:
To me the car sounds normal...

Of course the 4x4 is harder on the go-go juice. It's heavier and the gearing is different. And the average MPG for all the Panda models is well advertised.

Do you carry out your own weekly checks on things like tyre wear or tyre pressure, or vital car fluids? Sounds to me that you don't. You can't just leave a car and not do any checks between services. If you catch a niggle quick enough and sort it, it doesn't turn into a big problem. I caught the tyre wear quick enough myself (even before it had been discussed as a problem on here) which meant I didn't need to buy new tyres. I now regularly get my wheels aligned and my tyres are wearing well.

I will say, however, that the boot lock should have been replaced freely under the third year warranty by the dealer. Mine was...
 
I have been cleaning the car once a week top to bottom inlcuding under chassis wash, checking oil and other fluids once a month and also been checking tyre pressure and wear - I only checked the outside though and not the inside as I didn't know and didn't expect them to wear excesively on one side but not the other... I only saw it when I stopped in a bend and the wheels showed in their whole width - I would have never seen it otherwise I guess.
I am driving frequently and know that you have to look after a car and make sure it is all in working order... Still I am not a mechanic or car technician - I didn't take the wheels off to clean and check the brakes - that I left to the dealer who couldn't find anything and didn't get rid of the problem either. What more can I do than bringing it to the dealer - other than becoming a mechanic myself...?

I guess what I am most frustrated about is just the overall cost of all this and the boot lock on top - I have got the warranty bill which was 60 to Fiat / Alfa Romeo and the same thing 2 years down the line for me costs £140 - enough is just enough...
 
306maxi said:
Sorry to hear about your troubles.

Might be of interest to you to know that the Fiat Sedici is a Suzuki SX4 just rebadged. They're built in the same factory and so on. I'd go for the one that's cheapest as there's going to be no difference in quality.
Click to expand...

I know about that - the Diesel engine is the same as in the Sedici, the petrol isn't though. And Suzuki have a real 3 years warranty... I will see if that makes a difference...
 
The Beast said:
Might be worth knowing the only real issues with the Sedici and the SX4 are the gearboxes. Which are sourced from Suzuki. ;)
Click to expand...

Would you be able to provide a link or some other reference to back up that comment? I had a Swift for two years which was great - lovely gearbox. My Panda MJ gearbox has had to have a rebuild at 20k however(n)
 
Panda57 said:
Would you be able to provide a link or some other reference to back up that comment? I had a Swift for two years which was great - lovely gearbox. My Panda MJ gearbox has had to have a rebuild at 20k however(n)
Click to expand...

He didn't say the gearboxes in Suzuki's ALL break. He said there are problems. Some companies have problems with components. Either in a batch or in the design of the component.
 
Obviously this is Fiat forum and I suspect that the majority of posters are sympathetic to the brand and in some cases have a vested interest in that they work for a Fiat dealer.

Trying to look at things dispassionately it would seem that Fiat have a very long way to go in terms of their handling of customers. The '3 year warranty' is a PR disaster - there seems to be lack of clarity and some confusion about what is and isn't covered during the third year. Either Fiat UK should take on the warranty themselves and make it 'comprehensive' or abandon it completely. The 'dealer backed' third year is a mess. Added to this we have dealers making 'diagnostic' charges for investigating obvious faults that are covered under warranty. My guess is that Fiat UK are very very strict about paying dealers for warranty work (probably because of the poor quality of the product and consequent high number of claims received) and so the dealers try to 'hedge their bets' by charging customers.

Certainly my own experience (after owning a string of Japanese cars) is that Fiat are in their own world - its no wonder that they consistently come low down in customer satisfaction surveys. Their attitude to customers is stuck in the 1970's - they won't get away with it for long in the 21st century. The Japanese brands (Nissan, Suzuki, Subaru) basically jumped on any little problem and couldn't do enough for me. The two local Fiat dealers I have used seem to view me as a nuisance and any report of a fault is met with bemusement!

My Panda MJ has now had front shocks replaced, several tracking fixes (charged for), gearbox rebuild, diesel injection system repair work and several other lesser repairs. It is probably the most troublesome car I have owned (I have been driving for over 30 years and have owned a lot of cars in that time).
 
306maxi said:
He didn't say the gearboxes in Suzuki's ALL break. He said there are problems. Some companies have problems with components. Either in a batch or in the design of the component.
Click to expand...

Yes, I can read. However I wouldn't be surprised if the design of the gearbox in the SX4 is not very similar to that in the Swift - probably designed by the same team of people and using the same component suppliers. I was merely enquiring the veracity of the statement and whether he could supply a link etc. - what exactly is alleged to go wrong?
 
Steph, unless you've had experience of 4x4 vehicles in the past, could I suggest you might be happier avoiding them. Although they will get up that snowy hill or across that muddy field that stop other cars in their tracks, they can actually be harder to drive in certain snowy or icy conditions than a front wheel drive car with thinnish tyres. In addition, their abiliity to get moving more easily in slippy conditions can lead to complacency over the fact that they cannot stop any easier. Not patronising you, just sharing my own experience and a mistake that I can still make having driven 4x4's for almost 15 years.
In addition, they are more mechanically and in some cases electronically complicated and so may prove less reliable. I have owned 3 4x4's now and have had various tyre wear issues with them all and the extra weight and drive to all wheels wears the tyres more quickly. They are all heavier than their 2wd counterparts and so use more fuel. They are all more expensive to buy and suffer heavier depreciation.
I buy 4x4's from a weird "would be explorer" mentality. I chose the new Panda 4x4 because I always wanted the original but family size dictated that at that time I needed something bigger.
If you can find a dealer you trust and I know that there will be very little choice up there, try a front wheel drive Panda. My daughter has a 2 year old 1.1 Active that has clocked up 27,000 miles, plenty of life still in brakes and tyres, not a single warranty claim.
Or, how about the Honda Jazz. We've had one from new since 2003 that has done 43,000 miles, rarely does less than 44mpg, had one simple fault repaired free outside warranty as it was a known problem and will certainly give 10 years and 100,000 miles trouble free motoring.
Happy motoring, Chris.
 
Hi Chris!

Thanks for your comments! I indeed haven't had a lot of experince with 4x4 - the Panda was the first one and the only reason for buying it was my job - and that's why I went for another one again now. I need to be able to drive around on gravely construction site tracks, snowy uncleared tracks and roads, land rover and forestry tracks and many of the construction sites have H&S regulations with a 4x4 only policy... If it wasn't for that I probably would go for something none 4x4... On the other hand, roads up north here can be really nasty in winter and to see others around you sliding left right and centre but not having any problems myself was a good point about the Panda - it did give me that extra bit of comfort and security. But I knew full well that it still was a Panda and I would have never tried any proper off-roading...

I did love the little Panda for the first year and a bit but a combination of things going wrong and this dealer from hell just got me to a point where I did not want anything to do with them...

How wise the decision was only time will tell!

Cheers

Steph
 
Panda57 said:
Yes, I can read. However I wouldn't be surprised if the design of the gearbox in the SX4 is not very similar to that in the Swift - probably designed by the same team of people and using the same component suppliers. I was merely enquiring the veracity of the statement and whether he could supply a link etc. - what exactly is alleged to go wrong?
Click to expand...

Most of this stuff doesn't get reported. In the automotive media if you print negative stuff about a brand you'll find in the future it'll be harder to get a car to test drive and so on......
 
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