General advice needed

[pantalaimon]

thinking of getting one of the new panda's second hand towards the end of this year, any particular models that are better choices? My budget will only be about £4000 - £4500 so no 4x4 Is it just the active model that has the black bumpers? is the base model any good? I quite like the skydome :worship:

 

[Jai]

your budget should be more than enough to get a good spec dynamic/eleganza

http://www.findit.co.uk/cars/fiat/panda.php

autotrader et al is a good place to start, even the dealers are offering deals, if you must have brand new:

http://www.fiat.co.uk/cgi-bin/pbran...hhiikcefecejgdfiidgnl.0&contentOID=1074045888

 

[Andy Panda]

I went for the Eleganza as there didn't seem a great deal of price difference between that and the Dynamic with air-con.If you don't need air-con then I'd go for the Dynamic over the ActiveThe black bumpers of the Active really do make it look a budget car in my opinion plus the 1.2 is slightly more economical than the 1.1 as well as having more power.Happy hunting

 

[mark1962]

besides my 1.1 having a dud motor..it is slow, i feel its even slower than my old daewoo matiz 796cc

 

[hmallett]

The 1.1 doesn't get very good reviews. You should be able to get a Dynamic 1.2 for that price second hand.
H

 

[Wee Smurf]

:yeahthat:

The 1.2 engine is much better than the 1.1.

The best engine by far is the Multijet, but that will be way out of your price range and there probably wouldn't be that many used models for sale as yet.

 

[hmallett]

Well the MultiJet Dynamic lists at £7860 at the moment, so bearing in mind Fiat depreciation (partly due to high dealer margins at list price), it might be just about possible to get one for that price in 6-9 months time.
H

 

[Jai]

this looks nice:

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WW...urce=1&photo=1&sort=3&ukcarsearch_full=SEARCH

 

[pantalaimon]

do some of them really have cassette players, whats with that?

 

[Jai]

well like most cars its built to a budget, but a little looking will get you what you want quite easily. personally i wish mrs t had ordered the multi disc system, but there you go....

 

[Andy Panda]

Well it's in the best colour but then i'm biased

 

[Wee Smurf]

Old Dynamics have cassette players, but from 2005 they got CDs.
Personally I don't like the multi-disc system cause it takes up most of the glove compartment.

 

[Boanerges]

Re cassette players. I removed mine and fitted a standard single CD player available for £80 or so from most outlets. Despite appearances the standard Fiat unit when removed with the DIN prong thingies left a standard size slot to fit a DIN size cage. This leaves the cubby hole above for CD's , pens or stuff which you don't get with the standard Fiat CD player which takes up all the dashboard. I prefer this arrangement as you keep a bit more storage as there isn't much anywhere on the dashboard. Only negative is you have to take the front panel off when you leave the car, but saying that you can always choose your own CD player to suit budget and spec.
I would go for any 1.2 over a 1.1.