Hi and GP, Idea or Panda?

[HebdenHedgehog]

As above really

Hi and hello to an old forumite, about to return to the fold...

...for which I need a cheap to run but fun to drive Fiat to commute 12 miles each way in.

Suggestions please for under £2k - I have been thinking Grande Punto or Panda, maybe an Idea as a left field choice but I suspect they may be a bit pants to drive with verve?!

Any ideas welcome...

James (aka Hebden Hedgehog)

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi, and welcome (back),

for sub £2K;

any GP will be old / tired,

idea's are a funny market,
trim will soon add-up if your restoring one..!! handling = O.K. panda - esque

Panda, you'll be limited to a 1.1 \ 1.2,
BUT the older ones were best specced..!!,

charlie - oxford ( have all 3..!!)

 

[HebdenHedgehog]

cheers Charlie. I've been driving a panda 4x4 for the past six years so am loathe really to have another!

Just need to decide which oof the other two are better for my needs...!!

 

[Eklipze3k]

Welcome back Agree with Charlie, GP's in the kind of price range are likely to be the 1.2 and will feel very slow. The Idea is basically a Mk2 Punto and you should be able to pick up one with the 1.4 16v engine for that kind of money, which would be just as fun to drive (IMO) as a similar specced Mk2 Punto. Also, Ideas are awesome and more people should own them

 

[HebdenHedgehog]

Thank you. I have seen a 1.4 GP with c.67k at £2k which I thought was okay money.

Having looked it does seem that £2k won't buy many good Pandas, Ideas or GPs - I really don't want to buy a Ford Ka however good they handle!

 

[HebdenHedgehog]

Charlie - you call yourself varesecrazy? I'm just back from Varese! Was there for a quick visit to Lake Maggiore... small world?

 

[homeward]

Nothing corners like a classic Panda; is cheap to maintain; and will put a smile on your face every time you get into and out of it. Out of the three cars below, the 769 cc 750L gives more inane grins per mile than the others (and possibly any other car I've driven...).

Two grand will buy you a very smart one, too...!

 

[varesecrazy]

Charlie - you call yourself varesecrazy? I'm just back from Varese! Was there for a quick visit to Lake Maggiore... small world?

just got back from a Central Italian trip myself,

I've been riding Varese Built Motorcycles for "ahem" - quite a few years

Parent company has now been bought by KTM - Austria

so my 30 year love-affair.. may move into YET MORE FIAT's

charlie - Oxford

 

[HebdenHedgehog]

Charlie - cool. We had a very quick trip down from Yorkshire to Laveno-Mombello to collect some rare Alfa parts. Left home 15,00 on Sunday, returned 03.30 this morning. I'm feeling quite tired! I didn't do all the driving, split three ways. I loved the scenery south of Interlaken and esp the area around L-M. Just beautiful. My first, and probably only time there I suspect...

One of the most beautiful sounds I've ever heard was a MV Agusta F4 with some fancy exhaust - hair raising!

Homeward - I wasn't thinking of a classic Panda - I ran one of those for years too. A 1000S. Great car. I need something a bit more 21st century - it is to do a daily reliable commute and also be able to let me travel further afield, maybe even back to Lake Maggiore?!

My heart says GP, but I can see the sense of an Idea / Panda...

 

[Palio]

I agree with the Classic Panda thought, but if that's too old (great fun taking to Italy though!), how about a nice Coupe? You'll find a good one for that money if you're a bit selective - a nice little 2.0 20v n/a is just the job - still feels new & perfectly reliable if serviced properly. What's not to like? :idea:

 

[homeward]

Homeward - I wasn't thinking of a classic Panda - I ran one of those for years too. A 1000S. Great car. I need something a bit more 21st century - it is to do a daily reliable commute and also be able to let me travel further afield, maybe even back to Lake Maggiore?!

I was (slightly) joking: but if I wasn't such a doddery old wreck, a classic Panda would be my daily driver...

...and with such an apposite username, why not...?!

If you need to ask what hedgehogs have to do with pandas, then you'll need to learn the secret handshake, first; before being given a key to our wonderful asylum, er, house of fun.... :nutter:

 

[HebdenHedgehog]

I am being allowed a car under extreme duress - it HAS to be cheap to own / run etc!! I think a Coupe would lead to divorce........she doesn't understand the Italian Automotive Disease

It needs to have low VED, headline good mpg (not necessarily real world), powered by a FIRE is good for ease of maintenance; etc etc

 

[Eklipze3k]

Cinq/Sei

 

[HebdenHedgehog]

Too small, I also need to be able to carry a cello sometimes!

I have wondered about a Doblo....but...................