General Panda vs. 500
- Thread starter Theleman
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General Panda vs. 500
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Indeed silly money they go for these days. I will be sticking with my Panda
Me too, but have you seen the cost of a new(ish) Panda Cross 4x4. Well north of £15,000 would get a nice basic Type 1 Transporter. T1 campers add another £10K.
Having said that, I wouldn't buy another new Panda. The one I have is enough for me
But wife wants a new car for herself, and I am thinking of Hyundai Tucsun.
No diesel
No turbo or gti
No 4x4
Just a standard petrol engined one we are after.
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We have two kids and two Pandas. On the rare occasions we need more than four seats, we just take both cars. A little more petrol 2x a year saves a fortune in the depreciation and running costs of a larger second car.
That said, I do like the newer Panda Cross models but cheap they are not.
That said, I do like the newer Panda Cross models but cheap they are not.
Yes, I feel that Panda is a great reliable wee car. Our Panda for example, has never failed to start even once. It never ran rough. It is the most reliable car I have had.
We have never had to call RAC for any problems for last 9 years, and I feel like asking them the membership money back
But for long distance drive on motorway, we thought we could go for something larger bodied and engine size for comfort.
We have never had to call RAC for any problems for last 9 years, and I feel like asking them the membership money back
But for long distance drive on motorway, we thought we could go for something larger bodied and engine size for comfort.
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Remembered another failure mode for the aircooled VW.
As they get warmer than intended, the cylinder barrel and head can expand, stretching the studs. As it cools, they do not shrink back to normal, so reducing the torque. The heads are a tight fit on a mild taper, no gasket, but they will then leak at that point, reducing compression and making everything messy. This can also allow the pushrod tubes to leak oil, so even that can be a symptom of overheating.
As they get warmer than intended, the cylinder barrel and head can expand, stretching the studs. As it cools, they do not shrink back to normal, so reducing the torque. The heads are a tight fit on a mild taper, no gasket, but they will then leak at that point, reducing compression and making everything messy. This can also allow the pushrod tubes to leak oil, so even that can be a symptom of overheating.
Yeah, I was under impression that air cooled classic beetles were great with no problems. But having read your info, I changed my mind on them. Not going to go near to the old vw beetles.
I think my Panda is best in reliability and economy of running with cheap road tax at £30 per year.
I think my Panda is best in reliability and economy of running with cheap road tax at £30 per year.
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For general transport, stick to something that's new(ish) and depreciated and keep on top of servicing. They don't need a lot TBH. For something nice to have, the Beetle car/van will hold its value and likely to appreciate as they are getting ever more rare. Not so good as a daily driver - too much maintenance and the miles affect it's value.
Engine access (especially in the back of a van) looks bad, but the engine can be removed almost as easily as a Panda front bumper & radiators so its swings and roundabouts.
Engine access (especially in the back of a van) looks bad, but the engine can be removed almost as easily as a Panda front bumper & radiators so its swings and roundabouts.
I could have bought 10s of vw beetles for £200 each in good running order in the 1990s, when the univ. pals were all going home selling and flogging their stuff cheap in hurry. But at the time I wasn't interested in these things. A bit of regret there
I was quite involved with beach buggys in my college days. I can testify to some of the problems you detail. However, like the Hillman Imp, it is so easy to just pull the entire engine when you've got a problem that I found them a delight to work on! Frequent regular oil changes absolutely essential and we found a straight SAE30 weight (maybe 40 if the weather is to be really hot in the summer) gave best results. Seemed to be able to cope with localized hot spots (which air cooled engines are well known for) much better than multigrade. I always run my lawnmowers on SAE30 for this reason.
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I have an electric lawnmower. and BTW Aldi have a nice looking Li-ion battery mower in their latest DIY range.
Multigrade oils retain particulates so they can be taken out by by the inline paper element oil filter. Monogrades like straight 30 do not trap the particles, allowing the dirt to drop though the sump strainer/screen. Cleaning that is another regular servicing job.
Engines with a gravity oil filter (sump strainer/screen) should NOT be run on multigrade because the dirt never falls out and leads to rapid engine wear.
and BTW Aldi have a nice looking Li-ion battery mower in their latest DIY range.Multigrade oils retain particulates so they can be taken out by by the inline paper element oil filter. Monogrades like straight 30 do not trap the particles, allowing the dirt to drop though the sump strainer/screen. Cleaning that is another regular servicing job.
Engines with a gravity oil filter (sump strainer/screen) should NOT be run on multigrade because the dirt never falls out and leads to rapid engine wear.
Can't stand that guy seems to hate everything that isn't American
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
I have an electric lawnmower.
Multigrade oils retain particulates so they can be taken out by by the inline paper element oil filter. Monogrades like straight 30 do not trap the particles, allowing the dirt to drop though the sump strainer/screen. Cleaning that is another regular servicing job.
Engines with a gravity oil filter (sump strainer/screen) should NOT be run on multigrade because the dirt never falls out and leads to rapid engine wear.
I bought an Aldi cordless chain saw. A great tool but the battery.... Its only 6 months old and it lasts about 10 mins. I am totally unimpressed. Just thought I would share that.
10 minutes should be enough to dispose of at least one neighbour between charges. Seems adequate.:devil:
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The battery lawn mowers claim a 40 minute cut time. Hmmm...
I suspect it's 40 minutes if you do the job 2x a week but put it under any load (long or wet grass) and the run time will plummet.
My 18V power drill will only give about 10 minutes of run time when it's working hard. I recently polished some aluminium cases and needed all three batteries to keep the job going. It's a Dewalt so the kit should be as good as it gets.
I suspect it's 40 minutes if you do the job 2x a week but put it under any load (long or wet grass) and the run time will plummet.
My 18V power drill will only give about 10 minutes of run time when it's working hard. I recently polished some aluminium cases and needed all three batteries to keep the job going. It's a Dewalt so the kit should be as good as it gets.
