100HP9.jpg

Panda I got myself a 100HP - Finally!

Introduction

Hello Fellow Fiat fans.

I just got myself a 100HP - Finally! I have been looking for at least 3 years, and the last year looked very hard.
They are hard to come by in Denmark, and often fetch too much money. The word is that that just over 30 cars got imported, so as you can imagine, it's not often one comes up for sale.

I got lucky, and spotted an add for a very cheap one almost immediately. It was by far the cheapest one i had seen for sale, and the wording in the add didn't exactly make a good case for the car. It was described as being basically a shed, that needed restoration, and there was no mention of all the repairs that had been done, for example two brand new front calipers, and a new Varta battery. The mileage was lower than advertised, and the MOT ran for 3 months longer :confused: :p








It was owned by an older couple, and their son was selling the car for them. He was very helpful all the way through, and sent a lot of pictures (the add had only 3). Still there were many unknowns, and you just never know until you drive a car do you? As I had to travel 5 hours by bus and ferry, and drive it home again, I had to really want the car badly, but I just didn't. I had planned to go early saturday, but got cold feet, and dropped it. By sunday, the regret set in badly, and to my surprise it wasn't sold yet. So monday after work, and a trip to the dentist, off I went.

I had made a bid over the phone, to knock the price a bit. As i started to inspect the car, i found that all tires were worn completely down, the exhaust was rusted away, the fogs were blind, the left rear light busted, a rear wheel bearing had gone, and so on and so on. This was on top of all the things I knew before hand. I said to the son that I was sorry, but I could not stand by my offer at all, and that I was sorry for wasting his time. I could finish my inspection, and make an offer, if he was interested. He was ok with that, and I ended up making an offer 2/3 of the price i had made over the phone.

Then it was time to meet the parents, and going into the house, it was like stepping into a time capsule. The house was built some time in the 60s I guess, and everything looked to be from that time period. Don't get me wrong, it was very nice to be there, and I really enjoyed their hospitality, but I would never in a million years have guessed they drove a 100hp. I was offered coffee, and sweets, and I started explaining the state of the car, and finally made my offer. After 5 seconds the wife said, "ok, we will do that", and then that was a deal - Sweeet!
After all the car deal stuff was done, we had good chat, and I was offered a meal before the long drive home.
It was just one of those very pleasant experiences, meeting good polite people, and a deal where everybody was satisfied.

I was allowed to take a picture of the family with their 100HP, which I thought would be a nice thing to have, to remember that day.
So with a big smile on my face, I started the long drive home.




I have never bought such a healthy car, that need that much work before. For its relatively high milage it is in very nice condition, and it shall be saved, and be loved half to death just like my other Panda which I still have (https://www.fiatforum.com/members-motors/436690-my-new-panda-newbie-saying-hello-denmark.html)
Better to keep Pandas in pairs, so they have each other for company :D

20191119_143804.jpg


So to finish this off lengthy post a few observations about it so far:
It's quicker than I thought, and especially 2nd gear is a hoot <3, and it's more economical than I thought, especially on the motorway. I'm also surprised how totally different it feels compared to a 1.2.

I have started making a shopping list, and looking into what parts to get, but I need your opinion and you help with a few parts. Hope you are up for that :)

Have a nice weekend!
Interesting read, thanks.
I would never have guessed it was that high in the UK, as your cars are so cheap, compared to Denmark, and we only manage 8.8 years according to a fast google search.
Hats of to you!

Yup, there shall be no "senior citizenship" for the old Panda - wroom wroom :)
 
Interesting read, thanks.
I would never have guessed it was that high in the UK, as your cars are so cheap, compared to Denmark, and we only manage 8.8 years according to a fast google search.
Hats of to you!

Yup, there shall be no "senior citizenship" for the old Panda - wroom wroom :)

My insurance was £830 last year for 10k miles on a 1.4 tipo , with 3 years no claims and a lisence for 3 years
 
Yes, I was amazed to find it was that high in the UK (and the US is very similar). Last time I'd heard it quoted it was depressingly low, around 8-9 years, which is what it used to be in the mid-90's.

Rust has always been the big car killer here, and I imagine it's the same story in Denmark? Thankfully cars have improved so much for rust-prevention in recent years. I still can't get over the great condition of my cheap little 16 year-old FIAT!

Either that or they're fiddling the numbers. Or maybe because classics are very popular in the UK, driving the average age of registered cars way beyond that actually seen on the roads?
 
Last edited:
My insurance was £830 last year for 10k miles on a 1.4 tipo , with 3 years no claims and a lisence for 3 years

Insurance is steap when you're young. I feel your pain - been there!

Yes, I was amazed to find it was that high in the UK (and the US is very similar). Last time I'd heard it quoted it was depressingly low, around 8-9 years, which is what it used to be in the mid-90's.

Rust has always been the big car killer here, and I imagine it's the same story in Denmark? Thankfully cars have improved so much for rust-prevention in recent years. I still can't get over the great condition of my cheap little 16 year-old FIAT!

Either that or they're fiddling the numbers. Or maybe because classics are very popular in the UK, driving the average age of registered cars way beyond that actually seen on the roads?

We use a lot of salt in the winter, so rust is pretty bad here too. We can consider ourself lucky that our cars were galvanised, which is still a mystery to me. Maybe it's because it was made in Poland, and they wanted to sell more cars to countries with harsher environments? They did start to cut corners though, with no paint in the engine bay from 2006? and forward, and who knows what else. My 2007 is more rusty with less mileage than my 2005 was before I sold it.

I think you are right about the classics influencing the average lifespan. I would be interesting to know the average lifespan of cars from 2000 and up.
 
Last edited:
The big diesels HGVs have ultra fine bypass filters that extract the fine dirt so the oil stays good. They top up as necessary but almost never need to change the oil.
 
Last edited:
Ha ha, I'm glad you said it and not me! Welcome to the club, youngtimer:D

My insurance was £830 last year for 10k miles on a 1.4 tipo , with 3 years no claims and a lisence for 3 years

Yeah, I'm not sure when insurance costs finally start to drop for new drivers. Have to confess I was on my parents' insurance for about 10 years:eek: before I finally had my own policy... on a 2CV... 3rd party only...

It's one of the reasons we chose the Panda whilst my girlfriend's learning to drive- it's group 2 insurance in the UK, so about as low as you can go, and these things make a biiiig difference when you don't have many years' experience behind you.

Testacorsa's right, though, we do get a good deal on motoring costs in the UK. There was some rubbish in the papers years ago about 'Rip-off Britain', all right some things cost more (diesel), but these things even out and generally we don't do too badly.

I like the German model where it's the car that's insured then anyone can drive it with permission. Sounds much easier. But then my German friend assures me that everything is 'Much Better In Germany':)

I've spent some time in Ireland where tax and insurance is soooo expensive I don't know how anyone affords to drive. Parts are so dear and limited in choice I used to wait till I went back to the UK and bring parts with me.

When my Canadian brother-in-law moved to the UK he couldn't believe how cheap car insurance is here. He promptly got himself the Porsche 944 he'd always wanted because the premium was 'only' £1500:)
 
Last edited:
Back
Top