General Fiat Panda won’t start

[CuriousPanther98]

Hi guys just an update today I drove about 40 miles to go see my mum. I was nearly at my mums was literally 5 minutes away then my exhaust all of a sudden turned into a sports exhaust almost like as if my car had been straight piped. It was extremely loud and as I was driving by people were looking at me. Long story short I got to my mums phoned like 5 garages and they are all booked up until the 15th. When I asked about this they said that the front exhaust usually goes with a Fiat panda due to rust. I looked under and it was disconnected. So that’s another costly repair of a new exhaust system plus labour. Looking at possibly another £200 easily. This car has been a money put, just wonder when all this would stop. I have 2 options, repair the exhaust and sell it, or repair the exhaust and keep it and see what goes wrong with it next. What do you guys think I should do?

 

[CuriousPanther98]

Also to make things worse I phoned RAC again they came out and the guy was really cheeky. He was like “it looks like you have been driving this car with the exhaust like this for a while” found that really cheeky and disrespectful. I told him that just 2 days ago one of your guys was out to have a look at the starter because it wouldn’t work and you have that in your notes if you looked properly. I wouldn’t drive a car round the corner with an exhaust like that. Going to make a complaint against his attitude tomorrow. He was also wanting to put tape to “fix it” I told him I will not drive it anywhere as I don’t feel safe. He was adamant on putting tape till I explained to him I am not driving 40 miles back with an exhaust like that then he finally shut up and set up a recovery truck to come out and recover the car to the garage.

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi again

Its a 15 year old 'cheap car'..

As you will have noticed.. there are a band of us on here who keep these cars going with preventative maintenance and DIY repairs as necessary.

The 169 is one of the most durable cars out there.. our 2004 is still going.. I checked its MOT History


You got stitched.up by the Starter swap person... but it couldve been a £50 repair


Presumably a similar story with the exhaust.. a new pattern part will be less than £40.. and fitting is less than 30 minutes


Any car over 6 years old is going to need 'items' attended to.. Cambelt..Brakes. Tyres.etc

The 169 panda is as cheap as it gets..

 

[CuriousPanther98]

Hi again

Its a 15 year old 'cheap car'..

As you will have noticed.. there are a band of us on here who keep these cars going with preventative maintenance and DIY repairs as necessary.

The 169 is one of the most durable cars out there.. our 2004 is still going.. I checked its MOT History


You got stitched.up by the Starter swap person... but it couldve been a £50 repair


Presumably a similar story with the exhaust.. a new pattern part will be less than £40.. and fitting is less than 30 minutes


Any car over 6 years old is going to need 'items' attended to.. Cambelt..Brakes. Tyres.etc

The 169 panda is as cheap as it gets..

I completely agree, but regarding the exhaust the full exhaust system is about £105 online, excluding labour, usually something like this is about 1 hour to fit max but known what mechanics do and how they love scamming people they will probably charge me £120 for 2 hours labour although it only takes one. Absolutely disgusting taking advantage of people with no knowledge about cars, disgusting vile low life behaviour but I guess I have no one else that I could trust in my area.

 

[CuriousPanther98]

Hi again

Its a 15 year old 'cheap car'..

As you will have noticed.. there are a band of us on here who keep these cars going with preventative maintenance and DIY repairs as necessary.

The 169 is one of the most durable cars out there.. our 2004 is still going.. I checked its MOT History


You got stitched.up by the Starter swap person... but it couldve been a £50 repair


Presumably a similar story with the exhaust.. a new pattern part will be less than £40.. and fitting is less than 30 minutes


Any car over 6 years old is going to need 'items' attended to.. Cambelt..Brakes. Tyres.etc

The 169 panda is as cheap as it gets..

Regarding the maintenance you are implying that I have not maintained the car properly, mate calm down I have only owned the car for about a month now, as soon as I got it I done an oil and filter change bought the best oil for the car and top of the range oil filter because I am not a cheap skate, and every time I have had a problem with it I have quickly taken action and fixed it. It’s not me to blame here but the last asshole that owned this and didn’t look after it properly. Don’t talk to me about maintenance as if I don’t give 2 hoots about it.


“there are a band of us on here who keep these cars going with preventative maintenance and DIY repairs as necessary” implying I don’t care about maintenance as if it’s my fault these issues have arised

 

[jackwhoo]

Hi ,

I think you are doing a great job with your car .
Plus I'm sure there was no intended criticism of you (-:
Really appreciate you updating us of your first issue and the current issue.

Best wishes
J

 

[jackwhoo]

Perhaps someone can recommend a system to by online and then you can find a garage to fit it for you for a fixed price.

Not all mechanics are nasty bad hearted sorts

 

[CuriousPanther98]

Hi ,

I think you are doing a great job with your car .
Plus I'm sure there was no intended criticism of you (-:
Really appreciate you updating us of your first issue and the current issue.

Best wishes
J

Just being honest and wish my posts actually helped people who have a similar problem. Yes I know most people on here know what their doing and can do things them selves but there’s also a small minority like myself who want to learn from their mistakes and wish others would benefit as well.

 

[jackwhoo]

Helping other people is what I think the vast majority of people on here want to do.
Your posts re-starter motor problem will help people (-:

Where are you located? Someone may be able reccomend a garage ?

J

 

[CuriousPanther98]

Helping other people is what I think the vast majority of people on here want to do.
Your posts re-starter motor problem will help people (-:

Where are you located? Someone may be able reccomend a garage ?

J

Scotland, West Lothian

 

[jackwhoo]

@Pugglt Auld Jock

Anywhere near you jock?

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

@Pugglt Auld Jock

Anywhere near you jock?

I'm in North Edinburgh, Leith area, so depending on where in West Lothian this person is - it's a fair area - could be an hour's drive? but it's not quite next door. I'm very much a Borders man who has lived in Edinburgh for many years now so know the town pretty well also with some knowledge from my youth of East Lothian, especially the coast and around North Berwick and on out to as far as Dunbar probably. However, put me west of the Newbridge roundabout and I get a bit lost. The two Fiat specialists I know of in my area are Harrisons in Leith who are a wee family run traditional business and I don't think they have a website but reference can be had for phone number etc if you google them and McLennans in Loanhead: https://www.mclennansgarage.com/ of these two I know of Harrisons through personal contact and having had work done there and can recommend them. McLennans I only know of through word of mouth from others but they are well thought of.

Reading some of Curious Panther's posts it sounds like he/she hasn't had the best of experiences with garages/motor trade/mechanics in general and I'm very sorry to hear this as it saddens me so much to read of people who think badly of our trade. I'd just like to say though that exhaust systems can be notoriously difficult to deal with, especially removing old corroded parts without damaging the bits you need to keep - for instance the cat/down pipe in this instance. This car is getting on a bit in years so you might expect realistically to run into problems like this.

Buying exhaust parts on line always worries me just a wee bit, for two reasons mainly. Quality can be an issue but mostly if a part is wrongly supplied, poorly made or damaged in transit it can be a lengthy process to return it and get a replacement. I always buy this sort of thing locally and I find my local factor, SRS - https://allianceautomotive.co.uk/member/24736/srs-autoparts-edinburgh/ supply good quality stuff at very reasonable prices, sometimes even beating on line prices, with the advantage that I can just nip back to them in a few minutes if I need to change something or buy a clamp I didn't know I'd need.

Please feel free to ask away if you think I can be of help CP9 but I'm not offering, at 76 years old, to lie in the puddles and fit it for you.

 

[CuriousPanther98]

@varesecrazy

“It’s a 15 year old cheap car” no **** Sherlock since my first post on this was stating it’s a 2007 Fiat panda, arsehole **** you and your useless advice bet you wouldn’t be saying this if you read the full post instead of jumping the gun like your father did with his new mrs. Dickhead

 

[koalar]

Just being honest and wish my posts actually helped people who have a similar problem. Yes I know most people on here know what their doing and can do things them selves but there’s also a small minority like myself who want to learn from their mistakes and wish others would benefit as well.

You need to examine it. I hope it’s just the front flexi or similar that’s gone not the CAT

You also will to do a bit of research to get the best price. Find a few online price. Make a note of the of price and company then phone around

It normally goes a bit like this
How much is a centre section for a Fiat panda reg £))£&&)(

£50 plus vat

That’s expensive I seen them at £25 delivered to the house

Where was that

Quote the prices noted earlier

We can’t match that but can do it for £28

You then phone the next and quote their competition price

I bought mine from three different local motor factors. Cheapest was different suppliers

I had to take the manifold off as well as someone had welded the centre section to it. So needed a new exhaust manifold gasket as well

You’d have to look through my old posts. I did post where and how much

About £25 for the front and a little less for the rear

I used high temperature silicone sealant from the pound shop as the jointing compound. Which is fine as long as it’s only used down stream of the o2 sensors

Centre and back box can be done for around £60. I prefer to us local suppliers if possible. Their more reliable on quality

 

[CuriousPanther98]

You need to examine it. I hope it’s just the front flexi or similar that’s gone not the CAT

You also will to do a bit of research to get the best price. Find a few online price. Make a note of the of price and company then phone around

It normally goes a bit like this
How much is a centre section for a Fiat panda reg £))£&&)(

£50 plus vat

That’s expensive I seen them at £25 delivered to the house

Where was that

Quote the prices noted earlier

We can’t match that but can do it for £28

You then phone the next and quote their competition price

I bought mine from three different local motor factors. Cheapest was different suppliers

I had to take the manifold off as well as someone had welded the centre section to it. So needed a new exhaust manifold gasket as well

You’d have to look through my old posts. I did post where and how much

About £25 for the front and a little less for the rear

I used high temperature silicone sealant from the pound shop as the jointing compound. Which is fine as long as it’s only used down stream of the o2 sensors

Centre and back box can be done for around £60. I prefer to us local suppliers if possible. Their more reliable on quality

It is just the front flexi as the RAC recovery guy stated but I still want a whole new exhaust system because looking at that rear exhaust it looks like it’s about to go at any moment, reason I’m saying this it because of the rust on it. I would rather deal with the issue head on so I don’t have anything to fear from in the future.

 

[koalar]

Old cars in general are best run by people that do there own repairs

Parts are generally cheap
Labour isn’t

Thing will need replacing, drop links, suspension arms, shocks and so on from time to time.

As well as the normal service stuf

 

[CuriousPanther98]

@varesecrazy

Wish I was u ur so cool man, u know how to look after cars u must feel like superman, wish I was u lol buddy

 

[CuriousPanther98]

Old cars in general are best run by people that do there own repairs

Parts are generally cheap
Labour isn’t

Thing will need replacing, drop links, suspension arms, shocks and so on from time to time.

As well as the normal service stuf

“I completely agree, but regarding the exhaust the full exhaust system is about £105 online, excluding labour, usually something like this is about 1 hour to fit max but known what mechanics do and how they love scamming people they will probably charge me £120 for 2 hours labour although it only takes one. Absolutely disgusting taking advantage of people with no knowledge about cars, disgusting vile low life behaviour but I guess I have no one else that I could trust in my area”

 

[koalar]

It is just the front flexi as the RAC recovery guy stated but I still want a whole new exhaust system because looking at that rear exhaust it looks like it’s about to go at any moment, reason I’m saying this it because of the rust on it. I would rather deal with the issue head on so I don’t have anything to fear from in the future.

Found my old post

Back box £19.95 + VAT from CES
Centre pipe £26 inc from General Traffic
Exhaust manifold gasket £5.99 inc from Euro Car Parts.

 

[CuriousPanther98]

Found my old post

Back box £19.95 + VAT from CES
Centre pipe £26 inc from General Traffic
Exhaust manifold gasket £5.99 inc from Euro Car Parts.

Labour £120