I have just had to consign my old 'Old Geezers' car, a Vauxhall Agila 11 years old, to the great scrapyard in the sky due to costs of repairs etc.

I have just bought a 2005 secondhand Fia Panda with 57, 000 miles on the clock, and have been driving this for 2 days now. I quite like this little car, a bit cramped getting in and out compared with the Vauxhall Agila, but no matter.

A few things I have noticed - what does 'City' Mode do and should it be used at all?

Secondly - the car I have has central locking on a conventional key in the lock on the Drivers side (only lock). My question is, can the doors be locked from the inside when driving as a safety measure, as I have always done this when driving other cars in towns or city environment.

I have a Car Owners Handbook that came with the vehicle, but it is the functions on the car radio that have stumped my, how to turn it off, or change frequency/stations without getting too technical.

Finally, are there any things that I need to keep an eye on as new driver to Fiat Pandas? :worship::idea:

Welcome. City button makes the power steering lighter at low / parking speed

Doors car be locked internally from the drivers door

Welcome!

City mode makes the steering all girly and light. Avoid! Lol!
To lock from inside press the door handle in. Driver handle will lock the rest.
To turn radio off, hold in the big round button on the left hand side (volume button). A short press will just mute it.

Thanks, I will look out for this advice and try this out as I trundle my Panda, my new Old Geezers car around the highways and byways of Blighty, well Essex I mean.......

Why...? 2005 Fiat Panda, 60 thousand on clock, first MOT and service since i bought it. Gonna cost me £2.5K to get it through MOT etc. Car only cost me £3K last year.

Needs - new total or partial exhaust system, plus broken brackets (was highlighted at last years MOT). Previous servcing done by Quick Fit.

Two front shock absorbers need replacing, both leaking? No fluid or oil spotted under car when parked?

Oil leak on engine, needs attention. ( sump oil levels steady, no oil spots on ground under car)?

Rear shock absorbers brackets need replacing. (possibly wear and tear cause by potholes in the roads around where I live.

Front brake pads need replaceing, expected as mileage clocked up is around 60K. Read brake drums might need replacing as well, but expected.

Head lights out of alignment, require resetting, again possibly potholes have knocked them out of alignment.

Four tires - plenty of tread, so won't need replacement.

I tool out an RAC Plan b Warranty that covers "Mechanical & Electrical" problssm. I had an faulty EMU replaced last year at no cost to myself. The RAC issued Warranty also covers "Get you Home & Recovery" if broken down. Not sure how this operates as I have AA Membership?

Who ever quoted you £2.5k for that work is mugging you off!

You are being taken for a ride, I think you paid far too much for the car in first place . I only paid £6500 for a brand new one back in 2010, still have the car.

However even if all that work did needed doing there is no way it will cost that much also I have a saying that is age that kills cars not mileage. My car has only done 16,000 miles and has a rusting back box and the front suspension needs attention. The car has worked very very hard in the city all its life, yet 'only has 16000 miles' if it had 40,000 miles on it that were all done on the motorway I bet my car would have less wear and tear!.

Needs - new total or partial exhaust system, plus broken brackets (was highlighted at last years MOT). Previous servcing done by Quick Fit.

Not a big of expensive job, I can't imagine even a cat back costing more than £200 by an honest garage.

Two front shock absorbers need replacing, both leaking? No fluid or oil spotted under car when parked?

They don't always show signs of leaking, they are easy enough to test yourself by bouncing the car. As the front springs need to be decompressed it is a time consuming job, I was quoted £160 to replace the front strut tops (similar labour involved to changing the shocks)

Oil leak on engine, needs attention. ( sump oil levels steady, no oil spots on ground under car)? Unless the oil is leaking this won't fail the MOT, have you ever had to top up the oil? My car uses around 1 litre of oil a year it has done since day one and I consider it normal. It is also well within the specs of the engine.

Rear shock absorbers brackets need replacing. (possibly wear and tear cause by potholes in the roads around where I live. Very possibly but should be an easy job, my mate did them on my old Corsa in about half an hour.

Front brake pads need replaceing, expected as mileage clocked up is around 60K. Read brake drums might need replacing as well, but expected. Paid a local indie £45 including the pads for this job, it is very quick and easy.

Head lights out of alignment, require resetting, again possibly potholes have knocked them out of alignment. I wouldn't have thought it was a massive job.

Four tires - plenty of tread, so won't need replacement. It depends how old they are, tyres should be replaced every 6 years regardless as rubber perishes and old tyres can burst.

Out of that list even with high labour costs I cannot see how it can possibly cost more than £600 .

unclevanya said:

Why...? 2005 Fiat Panda, 60 thousand on clock, first MOT and service since i bought it. Gonna cost me £2.5K to get it through MOT etc. Car only cost me £3K last year.

Needs - new total or partial exhaust system, plus broken brackets (was highlighted at last years MOT). Previous servcing done by Quick Fit.

Two front shock absorbers need replacing, both leaking? No fluid or oil spotted under car when parked?

Oil leak on engine, needs attention. ( sump oil levels steady, no oil spots on ground under car)?

Rear shock absorbers brackets need replacing. (possibly wear and tear cause by potholes in the roads around where I live.

Front brake pads need replaceing, expected as mileage clocked up is around 60K. Read brake drums might need replacing as well, but expected.

Head lights out of alignment, require resetting, again possibly potholes have knocked them out of alignment.

Four tires - plenty of tread, so won't need replacement.

I tool out an RAC Plan b Warranty that covers "Mechanical & Electrical" problssm. I had an faulty EMU replaced last year at no cost to myself. The RAC issued Warranty also covers "Get you Home & Recovery" if broken down. Not sure how this operates as I have AA Membership?

Click to expand...

you need to go to an independent garage that prides itself on work done properly and without taking you to the cleaners
a customer of mine said last week im passionate about my product and i guess shes right
listen to the posts jd is right you are being trollied
theres basically nothing wrong with your car anyway

but what do i know

unclevanya said:

I have just had to consign my old 'Old Geezers' car, a Vauxhall Agila 11 years old, to the great scrapyard in the sky due to costs of repairs etc.

I have just bought a 2005 secondhand Fia Panda with 57, 000 miles on the clock, and have been driving this for 2 days now. I quite like this little car, a bit cramped getting in and out compared with the Vauxhall Agila, but no matter.

A few things I have noticed - what does 'City' Mode do and should it be used at all?

Secondly - the car I have has central locking on a conventional key in the lock on the Drivers side (only lock). My question is, can the doors be locked from the inside when driving as a safety measure, as I have always done this when driving other cars in towns or city environment.

I have a Car Owners Handbook that came with the vehicle, but it is the functions on the car radio that have stumped my, how to turn it off, or change frequency/stations without getting too technical.

Finally, are there any things that I need to keep an eye on as new driver to Fiat Pandas? :worship::idea:

Click to expand...

Welcome! You can lock the doors from the inside, push the handle towards the door on the driver's side and it will lock all the doors. You might actually have remote central locking but the remote key has been lost - this was the case with my first Dynamic but the inconvenience of using the key in the door wasn't enough to justify buying a new remote key.

If you have the factory Blaupunkt radio, holding the volume knob down will switch it off, and the << or >> keys will go down or up to the next station respectively.

City mode is up to you, personally I never used it in either of my Pandas or Punto. The steering is more than light enough! I did try driving the car for a little bit with City on a few weeks ago up to 30 MPH. It was a very bizarre experience, like driving on oil covered ice. No steering feedback at all!

They're definitely taking the mickey with that quote for MOT work. I got the discs and pads replaced on my Panda a couple of months ago for under £150 (from memory, it might have been cheaper) at a local garage I trust. Exhaust parts and suspension parts for these aren't expensive, and things like the alignment of the lights are just labour costs. Can't see how an oil leak would be any more than an advisory either.

I had a hell of a lot more than that done on my car and I didn't pay near what you have been quoted. Walk (No in fact run) away from whoever it was who quoted this rubbish to you.

And as far as Kwikfit go, I wouldn't even buy tyres from them. I hold no regard for them whatsoever!

unclevanya said:

Gonna cost me £2.5K to get it through MOT etc. Car only cost me £3K last year.

Needs - new total or partial exhaust system, plus broken brackets (was highlighted at last years MOT). Previous servcing done by Quick Fit.

Two front shock absorbers need replacing, both leaking? No fluid or oil spotted under car when parked?

Oil leak on engine, needs attention. ( sump oil levels steady, no oil spots on ground under car)?

Rear shock absorbers brackets need replacing. (possibly wear and tear cause by potholes in the roads around where I live.

Front brake pads need replaceing, expected as mileage clocked up is around 60K. Read brake drums might need replacing as well, but expected.

Head lights out of alignment, require resetting, again possibly potholes have knocked them out of alignment.

Four tires - plenty of tread, so won't need replacement.

Click to expand...

Is this the Panda or what the old VX needed?

Ah, just been quoted a lower figure than the original £2.5K. Now it is down to £1.7K. Still steep, but I need my car as I am a lazy so-and-so and usually take my car for a walk, with me in it....... llolol :worship::idea:

There is a gaaawd! the god of fiat Pandas................

Something is not right, if it really does need that much work doing you have been sold a lemon and you were proper ripped off. Maybe I should start a business selling scrap yard specials for £3k but then I would never be able to sleep at night. I can't even sell a computer unless I know the power supply is high quality (cheap ones are a fire risk).

YOU NEED TO TAKE IT TO ANOTHER GARAGE, THEY ARE TAKING YOU FOR A MUG!!!!!! Anybody that can just drop £800 of the price just like that is taking the mick!! I personally would not pay a penny over £600 for this work.