This was the start to my Holiday!!! Blowout at 70mph in the fast lane of a motorway. Thank god I managed to control the car and get her to the hard shoulder! Managed to get 2 new tyres which cost me near £100 (I was desperate and kwik fit were the only place up here that stocked my size). However, when exiting the wheel the tyre made a right mess of the rear bumper. FIAT have quoted me £150 + paint + labour for a replacement. Would this be fixable with say fiberglass and filler? Really dont have the money to get fiat to sort it, even more so now I have had to get new tyres.

Ouch, hows the ticker after that

Trev

A bit of duct tape will hold it together until your finances are improved.
I'd keep a look out in the scrapyards as well as the dreaded eBay, and don't forget you can put an advert in FiatForum.
It's best to spray the bumpers while they are off the car, but get the spraying done professionally and fit it yourself.
Its only plastic, glad no-one got hurt.

udtrev said:

Ouch, hows the ticker after that

Trev

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Surprisingly it didnt even phase me! Guess im just glad I controlled it and relieved more than anything


Its currently well taped up with duct tape. Seems the liner has been damaged as well. Will be able to get it up on the trolley jack when i get home to see the full extent of the damage.

Just revisited this. Got down on the pebbles in the driveway and it appears part of the liner as well as the lip of the bumper (the bit the liner attaches to) has been ripped off. However, have managed to get the bumper to fit back together tho there is a small hole about the size of a thumbnail. I reckon I could fix this afterall with filler etc and I have primer, paint etc following my drivers side being keyed. At least it would do until funds dicate I can get it done proper!

Bad luck Steven. At least you controlled your stop and got out of it safe. Good luck in fixing it...

Wee Smurf said:

Bad luck Steven. At least you controlled your stop and got out of it safe. Good luck in fixing it...

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Thanks Deirdre. Was on the M2 at the time, luckily not in rush hour but its still not good on a space saver!!!!! Been up at the North Coast all week and have to say the wee Panda has performed admirably. Not too many of them up here tho!

Thankfully I've never had to use a space-saver. The Polo had a full-size spare when I needed it. Might be an idea then to look out for a full-sized spare???

I love it up around Portstewart. Took a wee drive up there myself a couple of months ago. Trip to Morellis for ice-cream :yum: lol... and then a wee drive past the house I lived in. I loved living there...

Unfortunately a full sized spare is not an option for me as I can just about get dads wheelchair in at the moment, so the reduced space would make this impossible. Was commenting tho that its as well the Panda comes with a spare, unlike many cars these days that just have a can of foam! A lot of use that would have been lol!

We are up at Castlerock for a wee relaxing one - today is the last day. Asolutely gorgeous up here but wouldnt fancy it much in the winter with the full force of the atlantic!

Got a quote from Mervyn Stewart for a new wheel liner - £30.71. Downeys still havent come back to me, and dont fancy a trip to SERE much. Passed a FIAT dealer in Moville across the border 2 days ago, I wonder what they would have quoted!

I would avoid SERE like the plague. They're the useless tossers Wrights used when I got my roof smashed (courtesy of some little scroats who were aiming stones at a bus - And MISSED IT!). They ordered the wrong parts three times and I was without Dez for a month as a result... Think the majority of the claim settlement was for the crappiest courtesy car ever. Needless to say, I didn't drive it, lol...

And yes, it's definitely cold up there in the winter. But still if circumstances were right, I'd move back...

Try fitting the full size spare and the wheelchair, hte full size doesn't make that much difference.

Yep I've got one in squirrile, bugga using a ruddy overgrown bike wheel


Trev

I didn't even realise SERE did fiat until I was looking for somewhere local to up here on the fiat website. I recall you telling me before about having probs with them now that you mention it. I take it Dez is all sorted now then?

Trev the wheelchair is already wedged in against the parcel shelf so I doubt it would fit but if I come across a 13" wheel I might consider it.

RE the bumper, I assume that the plastic bumper is purely cosmetic and the steel reinforcer does the real work so my temporary to permanent patchup job won't affect the structural integrity of the car and she will not fail mot on this?

I wouldn't totally write that bumper off just yet, not unless you can find another complete spare of course, that can be repaired (material dependant) by plastic welding / or a plastic bumper repair 2 pack kit.
Lots of effort involved with doing it this way, not least prep before paint, but at least you have this option if a spare cannot be found locally / or off the net

randysbits said:

I wouldn't totally write that bumper off just yet, not unless you can find another complete spare of course, that can be repaired (material dependant) by plastic welding / or a plastic bumper repair 2 pack kit.
Lots of effort involved with doing it this way, not least prep before paint, but at least you have this option if a spare cannot be found locally / or off the net

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I'm looking at patching it up with the bumper repair kit from Halfords (think it's David's branded). Already have an aerosol from the mtor factors which is a decent match. Can get a spare anywhere - believe me I have tried and really can't justify paying someone big money to spray a bumper for a car that's nearly 5 years old - I will never get that money back when I come to sell. Looks like I'm gonna go with the patch up job and a new wheel liner. Will have to find a way to attach the liner to the bumper tho as the clip is lying somewhere on the M2 northbound lol!

Yes Dez has been sorted a good while now thankfully. Glad I had protected no claims. He's going well at the minute. Doesn't seem to mind the daily trip along the Westlink... Doing almost 60 to the gallon.

As far as I know SERE are only a service centre and as such can only supply parts to trade and not the public.

And I know what it's like trying to fit things into the boot of a Panda - single buggy or double buggy? It's amazing what you can fit in...

tarbyonline said:

...really can't justify paying someone big money to spray a bumper for a car that's nearly 5 years old - I will never get that money back when I come to sell.

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True, you probably wouldn't make the money back. But the car would be easier to sell with an original, unrepaired bumper in place.

This model was released in 2003. Why fix, not replace with parts from your local scrapper.
I'm in the process of repairing much more serious bodywork damage on one of my cars at the moment.
As long as you've got a car that has been on the market for the last few years in a common colour you will find all the parts you want in a local scrapper and not even have to worry about paying for a paint job.
You just keep looking until you find a clean enough body part to replace what's damaged.
Bolt off, Bolt on.

Dipole, that was the original plan but so far NOTHING has turned up for any colour. Seem to be very few Pandas in the breakers. If I had a clio tho it wouldnt be a problem, theres loads! However, I do intend to patch it up and keep my eyes peeled. Got a quote from a place in the UK for £100 for one (+delivery) so there are some out there!

On a more positive note, I have now returned home with no further Panda related incidents!

Quick update for those interested. Pattern part replacement bumper fitted today courtesy of Ebay for less than half the dealer price. Just need to sort out a wee spray