General High mileage Panda?

[Derv drinker]

I have got the MJ with 85K on it, clutch at 72K, and recently a MAF sensor, other than service items, discs and pads, it has been reliable. My local dealer recently had a trade in with 160K on it which they sold originally, it was petrol. Parts are easy to get, and it is fun drive, quite tough as well as I found out when a ford Ka hit me in the rear on the M25. Her bumper was well damaged, local Fiat approved body shop found no damage to mine.

 

[JTD_Liam]

Compared to autotrader some of those seem quite pricey?

Looking along the lines of something like this: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../page/1/radius/1500/postcode/co49th?logcode=p

Ours was part of a fleet, YD57 or YC57.

Looks like the latest fleet out at the moment is WG58 WF58 or there abouts.

Also looks like a Northern Ireland ones have hit the streets as well.

I think they're either ex local authority or a utility company.

Alot of the ex-Fiat Fleet/Company cars have registrations starting WM, WN, WP & WV, i presume because theyre registered when they arrive at the port near Bristol, which is covered by the Westcountry reg prefix 'W'.

Obviously like Goudrons car, there could be other company fleet cars out there with other reg numbers, but i'd think alot of Pandas have lived their lives in private buyers hands, probably with only one or 2 owners as they have a good reliability record & don't get sold on much. It's not for example like your Vectra's and Mondeo's that are rife on the fleet scene.

The loud colour on the one on AutoTrader is Guacamole Green. It's a wicked colour, buy it! Or a Cocktail Blue or Dry Turquoise one. The Panda came in some awesome colours when it was first launched.

I've not owned a Panda so i'm not gonna try & pretend to know alot about what goes wrong. The only potential big bill is the Power Steering Motor, in what is otherwise an excellent package. Goudrons has already written a very comprehensive list of things to look out for anyway

 

[Wh05apk]

Thanks guys, the more I read, the more I think this is a fantastically sorted little car, obviously they have their problems, but for what is after all a cheap, low powered car, they seem to take the mileages well, unlike a lot of more "prestigeous" brands which seem to havea lot of common faults.

 

[ivantate]

+1 for the original pastel colours.

Far better than any silver and blacks.

 

[trackdayqueen]

Thanks guys, the more I read, the more I think this is a fantastically sorted little car, obviously they have their problems, but for what is after all a cheap, low powered car, they seem to take the mileages well, unlike a lot of more "prestigeous" brands which seem to havea lot of common faults.

Whilst the Panda is a good cheap car, it is built to a cost and this is reflected in the cheapness of materials used and also in limitations of what abuse mechanical components can take to an extent. For example I'd take a punt on a 100K+ mile BMW or most things Jap, but wouldn't go near a Fiat with that kind of mileage.

I would say a prestigious brand is preferable everytime as you get what you pay for rings true really. Whilst all cars do have common problem areas, I would say the Panda has just as many faults. The plus side is that parts are relatively cheap as it was not an expensive car in the first place.

As you are looking at buying an older Panda, I would check the car very carefully.

 

[Bri]

After working in the car industry for over 30 years i think you will find that the quality of the pandas build and quality is as good as most cars for sale at the moment.Ive got mates who have paid £60,000 for a top of the range "Range rover" and theve had nothing but problems "Trailing arm bushes gearbox problems and a few ECU problems,and a massive suspension problem" And these problems within the first two years of owning it....And ive got another mate with a nissan micra that is terrible on fuel and it rattles .

"Both the ZF and GM5 automatic gearboxes used in the Range Rover are prone to failure. Initial symptoms would usually be a reluctance to shift gear or the appearance of engine management or gear monitor faults on the dashboard."

"Rover's revenge: Furious driver dumps his £50,000 Range Rover outside showroom... emblazoned with a list of its 'faults'"
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/motoring...om--emblazoned-list-faults.html#ixzz1FkHeTLa8

It puts fiats faults into perspective dosnt it? "£50 grand range rover /fiat £9 grand"

 

[Wh05apk]

with referemce to "prestige" brands, my wife drives an old "v" e36 convertable with just over 100,000miles on which has been pretty reliable, but to be honest although it is built like a tank, there is always the threat of a big bill, my brother in law has a new 320d, which has already had 1 clutch, and will likely need a 2nd before the 3yr warranty is up.

The common theme when reading bmw/audi boards are posts saying they would advise buying an extended warranty, I've not seen any mention of these on here, hopefully as most of the faults are relatively cheap to fix.

 

[JD82]

My uncles 5 series needs a new engine at 80k and will cost him £1000's. To be honest I don't think more expensive cars are more reliable.

The parts on bigger cars will be higher quality because they have to work harder.

The Panda is one of the most honest cars under £10k, some of the materials in the trim are cheap and it shows, some of the wiring is on the thin side but other companies make the trim look all plush and then cut corners on the machanicals.

The drive system on the Panda is well proven.

My only critism is that shock asborbers and discs should be lasting longer than they seem to.

 

[JTD_Liam]

My uncles 5 series needs a new engine at 80k and will cost him £1000's. To be honest I don't think more expensive cars are more reliable.

The parts on bigger cars will be higher quality because they have to work harder.

The Panda is one of the most honest cars under £10k, some of the materials in the trim are cheap and it shows, some of the wiring is on the thin side but other companies make the trim look all plush and then cut corners on the machanicals.

The drive system on the Panda is well proven.

My only critism is that shock asborbers and discs should be lasting longer than they seem to.

Agreed. My experience of the 3 Fiats i've owned have been that the oily bits have been of good quality. Ive done just over 100,000 miles over the 3 of them & the only replacement components have been:

Punto Mk1 - Bought at 7 years old - 50,000 miles:
Exhaust - 55,000 miles - £less than 100
Rear Radius Arms - 60,000 miles - £150 incl. labour
Car sold at 75,000 miles.

Punto Mk2 - Bought at 4 years old - 25,000 miles:
Rear Brake Drums - 34,000 miles - £less than 100
Front Brake Discs & Pads - 55,000 miles - £150 incl. labour
AirCon Metal Pipe - 65,000 miles - £80 incl. labour
Car sold at 85,000 miles.

Stilo - Bought at 4 years old - 50,000 miles:
Front Suspension Coil Springs - 62,000 miles - £280 incl. labour
Rear Brake Pads - 62,000 miles - £100 incl. labour
Front Suspension Link Rod - 65,000 miles - £40 incl. labour
Current mileage 66,000 miles.

Obviously each car's had services & they've all had cambelts replaced as per the interval. Stilo also had water pump as per recommendation, but from the above, the only fault that has kept me off the road was the front suspension springs on the Stilo, which Fiat UK gave me £300 vouchers for (spring went into the front tyre). Most of the other faults were discovered during services or MOTs & i'd say things like exhausts & brakes are to be expected on any car.

The only thing would be the brakes wore quicker than i'd hoped on the Mk2 Punto, but since it was owned by one elderly owner who'd done 25k in 4 years before i got it, and hasn't happened on any of my other cars, it was probably more to do with his driving style than any fault of the car or me

I seem to find Fiat spend more of the budget on engine technology & most of the oily bits, and save money on suspension parts & the trim, which is more plasticky than some marques. However, at least with a Fiat you can see where the pennies have been saved. Just because a car has a squishy dashboard doesn't mean it's gonna be bullet proof. And Fiat's part prices are ALOT more reasonable than most.

The biggest worry you'll have with a Panda in terms of bills is the power steering, but recon units are available now, which saves a hefty chunk off the bill for a new unit. If you rag a Panda everywhere then it probably won't take the abuse of a BMW, but they are designed for getting people to work or for visiting relatives, not for beating Jason Plato round Donnington Park.