Hello

I hope some of you might be able to help me decide whether to buy a 2010 Eleganza or not. It is in good cosmetic and mechanical nick, low miles (under 10k) with decent service history.

I've read many of the posts on here which have been informative and helpful. I have two concerns and related questions: -

1. How common are the climate control/heater problems that affect Eleganzas and 100HPs? I have read about the plastic gears breaking resulting in no hot air. And experienced the problem where you have to jiggle with the fan speed and other controls to get hot air myself on a car I owned for a short time. (I posted about it here and ended up returning the car in part as a result of the helpful answers I received.)

Do some cars have a long and happy life without a heater problem while others are affected after a few years/miles?
Has anyone done a survey?? Does anyone have a feel for what the odds are of these cars will become problematic? 3:1, 30:1, 300:1...3000:1?

Or is it more the case that most/all are affected and it's down to use - a question of wear and tear? If it is, what kind of mileage do the problems start to appear?

I like the refinements of the Eleganza but if the the heater becoming a problem looks more likely than not, I'll look for a different model with the simpler set-up.

2. How bad does the suspension cup look in the attached photo of the car? The axle looks fine - just some surface rust. But the suspension cup looks worse. Should I be worried? Walk away? It looks like it might be solid underneath - although it is flaking a bit, it isn't coming apart in layers the way badly rusted metal looks. But I have no experience with Panda axles.

If I do get it, I would follow the advice from forum members of wire brushing it down and covering in something like thinned chain oil, waxoyl or combination.

(The suspension coil/spring looks pretty bad too but I'm not as worried about that because it is easily replaced.)

Thanks in advance for your help.

Personally I'd walk away and look for a 1.2 Dynamic Eco of similar vintage.

IMO the key to running older cars is to keep it simple, and the appeal of £30 tax is hard to ignore.

My Alessi is based on the Eleganza, so has the auto climate. It is now 12 years old and the climate control is working fine. There have been a few tales of flap gear failure, and if this happens the fix is not cheap. A risk with this or a 500. If mine goes, I can fix it, and have another car to use but if you can't fix it yourself, you have to consider the risk.

A lower model with manual aircon is a safer bet.

The rear beam looks OK, but will need attention as soon as possible to prevent further deterioration. Ideally the spring cup needs attention inside and out. Depends on your own abilities. Mine has lived its life inland, but others nearer the sea will deteriorate faster, or if used a lot when the roads are salted.

We can't make this decision for you, sorry. If I was looking for a replacement, from your description I'd be tempted.

I have a 2010 Eleganza and appreciate all the extra kit the model came with. I think the only things mine doesn't have are the steering wheel radio controls and the sliding rear bench.

(Touch wood) the climate control is fine. Very very occasionally it won't switch between 'screen' and 'car' but normally that works ok and it hasn't jammed permanently (yet).

The rear beam in the photo does look a bit crusty. I wirebrush mine each year, stonechip it, and then put some Bilt Hamber UC on it, making sure to cover the spring pans without blocking the drain hole. So far that has kept the rust at bay.

The point above however about the tax is worth noting - a Dynamic Eco from 2010-12 will have most if not all of the toys of the Eleganza plus the £30 tax.

PandaEleganza said:

a Dynamic Eco from 2010-12 will have most if not all of the toys of the Eleganza plus the £30 tax.

Click to expand...

By 2010, remote central locking, A/C and a rev counter were all standard on the Dynamic Eco, so not exactly a poverty spec car - and the seats are decent too! . Unlike the Dynamic, the Eleganza could never make it into the £30 tax bracket on account of those economy-sapping alloy wheels and their wider tyres.

I'd avoid the very last of the 1.2's with the 69HP Euro5 engine; strangely they actually produce less power below 3500 rpm and as a result are not quite as flexible to drive. Plus they are more of a potential liability in so far as they no longer have a fail-safe cambelt. They're easily identified by the VVT actuator and associated wiring in the cam cover.

The Euro4 1.2 169 dynamic eco was, IMO, one of the very best cars Fiat have ever produced, and certainly one of the cheapest to run. Back in the day, they were sold with substantial discounts; mine cost me £6672 new in 2010. It's now done 83k, and has cost me only service parts, two sets of tyres, a set of wiper blades, and one set of front pads & discs. The rest of the car is still completely original. 55mpg overall; motoring doesn't get much cheaper than this.

The auto climate control issue will happen to all eventually imo. It's just a case of useage, the stub that snaps will always fatigue and snap after a certain amount of actuations.

My girlfriends 100hp managed about 110k miles before breaking.

If you got one now that isnt broken already, you can make a small mod to it which should stop it ever snapping.


As for the underneath, it does look a bit scabby. I would say the spring is more likely to snap before the spring seat goes. They aren't as thin and weak as people have said, it's really not that common them actually breaking.

You have to consider that the pandas are pretty cheap to buy in reality, so you can't expect years and years of service without a bit of effort to keep it going.

Thanks for the replies.

jrkitching - Euro 4 or Euro 5 - the car was registered in Feb 2010. From what I've read, that makes it likely to be Euro 4/60hp. Am I right? Are there any distinguishing features other than under the bonnet?

dac69er - the heater mod sounds promising. Is there a post with a description that you can you link to?

Cheers.

AntoineV said:

jrkitching - Euro 4 or Euro 5 - the car was registered in Feb 2010. From what I've read, that makes it likely to be Euro 4/60hp. Am I right? Are there any distinguishing features other than under the bonnet?

Click to expand...

If it's an Eleganza, I'm almost certain it'll be Euro4; AFAIK the Euro5 engine was never fitted to that model, which was dropped when the change was made to the 69HP engine.

The Euro5 engine was fitted from about mid-2010 onwards; my 1.2 dynamic eco was registered in September 2010 and is a Euro4.