Hi all,

I've got a new Panda Active Eco on order having traded my old Seicento with them using the government scrappage deal.

Cant wait for it to come! its due to arrive in about 4 weeks.

The question i have is this, I want the roof bars that go along the length of the car and also the bump strips on the doors. when you add these on the fiat web site the roof bars are £175 and the bump strips are about £30. I thought this seemed quite a lot and so was expecting the dealer to do some sort of a deal, but they said they cant because they have already knocked so much off the car. This isn't stricky true cause under the scrappage deal Fiat are still selling it for the same £ as before.

anyway...the dealer just called me and said the roof bars are £175 EACH and the bump strips for both sides will be £80!!! why would they price roof bars individually?

Has anyone else got these extras and did the dealers do any sort of deal on them?

thank you!!!

wow thats alot there prob bumping up price as you got car cheap init

tell them/show them the website prices of the specific parts you want....
there are several strips - the more chunky sidestrips are more, I seem to remember.

Is that all? Over £600 for the roofbars for the Croma.

All the parts are bought via the Eper and not factory fitted. That's why they're priced individually.

Think I would search the scrap yards first before I pay those kind of prices..:idea:

Panda roof bars will be a common component I would have thought.

Are the bump strips a stick on item?As i think that is one thing thats lacking on my eco.Its so easy to get dings in supermarket car parks

I was quoted £80 for the bump strips when fitted by the dealer. They are £20 on a new factory built car only. If you go on the Fiat website and look at accessories it does give ther dealer fit prices, I think the bump strips show at £76 and a few pence.

And I have seen them [bump strips] on ebay as an after market part..from poland..

Just wondering why you cant order accessories on a car with the scrappage allowance.
Is the dealer just being awkward?

I suppose it might be worth writing to Fiat directly for advice on this as I am sure you dont want to be climbing around scrapyards.

it's amazing how the prices have shot up as scrappage approaches - maybe I'm being cynical but I'm not sure the buyer is seeing much of the £2000, But roof bars, I always think they look great but how do you use them, do you stick an old mattress on the roof and then put the 4 x 2 timbers on top of that. If I put my 2.4 m long 4 x 2's crossways and tie them to the roof bars then they're going to stick out a bit. I've never managed to work out how they're supposed to work unless you have some cross bars. But £175 each that's just criminal.

Even if you pay for the rails you still need to fork out for bars before you can carry anything.
I went for a basic Active with nothing on it. A set of Thule bars for the Panda costs £100 (Linky) and there's no drag when you're not using them.
Rubbing strips never did anything to prevent dings on other cars I've had so I didn't get them either.

hmm, thanks for the info. I dont think the fact that im using the scrappage scheme makes any difference. The dealer just said that the roof rails and the bump strips are extras that they will fit when the car arrives. I'm not even intending on using the roof rails - i just think they make the car look a bit better - which is why im even more reluctant to go paying £175 each for them.

I was alsways under the impression when you buy a new car, the dealers will be up for doing you some kind of a deal on these kind of extras.

My parterns taking my car over there this weekend to get scrapped and is going to have a go at seeing what he can get them to do! I'll let you know how he gets on. I'm not holding my breath. think i'll just have a bob standard panda for the time being.

Putting a roofrack on a car with roofbars is much, much, MUCH easier than one without. No risk of paintwork damage. No streching door seals on ones where it clips under the doors. Plus the bars are often cheaper as they're more of a standard than having to fit an individual model's mounting points.

They're a stanadard on the Marea weekends I had and fitting my dad's Thule bars from his volvo was easy peasy. The other advantage is you have something to tie to beyond the bars.

I think roof bars look excellent on cars of a particular shape. The Panda has that rugged shape which just looks perfect with them. I wouldn't worry too much about getting them immediatly, but I'd certainly be checking the scrap yards from time to time.

lotty said:

hmm, thanks for the info. I dont think the fact that im using the scrappage scheme makes any difference. The dealer just said that the roof rails and the bump strips are extras that they will fit when the car arrives. I'm not even intending on using the roof rails - i just think they make the car look a bit better - which is why im even more reluctant to go paying £175 each for them.

I was alsways under the impression when you buy a new car, the dealers will be up for doing you some kind of a deal on these kind of extras.

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It is nothing to do with the scrappage scheme, you are probably getting a car the dealer has pre-ordered. As it wasn't ordered with the side strips you can't have them for £20 but have to pay the dealer fit price of £80. If you wanted to wait longer for your car (and annoy the dealer ) you could get them to order you a car from the factory with these options added.

is really true? Im going to be annoyed if that is that case because the car wasn't one they already had on order. they had to order it esspecially for me (because i want white and white was only added the week before i ordered) - hense the 8 week wait! and i made it perfecty clear when i placed the order that i wanted the bump strips and roof bars. the dealer said nothing about it being cheaper if i order it with the car, he just said they'll deal with all that once my car arrives as its all fitted by them at the dealership.

Thought all Panda Eco's were white?

no - the only free colour was that faded yellow. they a few other colours to pick from (not including white) but they are all an extra £375!!! then a few weeks ago - just before i ordered mine they added white as a free colour.

Hellcat said:

Thought all Panda Eco's were white?

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I hope not, sure mine is black .

I was also quoted £80 for rubbing strips which i declined, the dealer explained that Fiat supply them at that price? I did see the web site price, but i was not bothered that much. I just park it in the furthest corner of the supermarket (to find some old bucket sat next to it on my return).

hitme said:

It is nothing to do with the scrappage scheme, you are probably getting a car the dealer has pre-ordered. .

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Or it has been sat at the docks for 3 months waiting for a buyer