Hello FiatForum! Some of you probably remember me from 2014-2020 with my 2005 Panda Dynamic. What great years they were and the amount I learned from this very forum was incredibly useful and fun to put into action. I bought a newer Panda in 2019, a 2017 Easy model for the steal price of £5,500. Then about a year later, I turned against everything and bought a DS 3 which was a nice car and all, but ended up being a tonne of hassle... Moved on to my current car a 2018 Toyota Avensis which is a hell of a car, but Fiat has been creeping back into my mind. Especially as things get more complicated I find myself kicking myself for selling that black Panda I had... I could have had it paid off two times over by now!
I quit the forum back in 2020 as my activity then was not really very useful car-wise, but as I think more about Fiat's now I've decided to get involved again to help out with advice where I can and potentially discuss the far off day where I buy another Fiat. It is actually incredible how they get under your skin, those cars!
I look forward to trying to be useful on here and learning more from the people who helped me so much over the years. A few pics of my Fiat's, and my story since... (if this is too much waffle for the Welcome thread, feel free to clear after this)
Late 2015, the beginning of car ownership and many, many adventures....
I got this at around 98,000 miles in late 2015....
And there was plenty of time spent doing servicing, and maintenance - but mostly fixing bits that had fallen off...
The biggest job was the clutch in September 2016...
Most parts were removed and had something done to them, but it was all part of the fun...
In May / June 2019 it looked like there was some unknown critical engine fault, which later turned out to be what seemed bad fuel or something... but I ended up looking for a replacement as it looked like it was a problem which wasn't going away for about a week...
I did about 19,000 miles I estimate from this car in the space of a year...
This was taken I'm sure the first Monday of the first lockdown... The interior was such a step up from the first Panda I had!!! It still has appeal to me now, even though it's so basic...
And I've learnt how valuable that little phone holder was, given how much DS and Toyota's infotainment systems left to be desired! Your phone truly is your best navigation aid...
It might have been the boredom of lockdown more than anything else, but I started to look at other cars and worked out that for about £70 more per month I could get a bunch more features - dramatically more spec - and speed and whatnot, in a DS3 for sale locally so I went and traded it in... Other than a couple of days of being given my old Panda as a courtesy car for the DS3 having parking sensors fixed (which happened about 4 times), this was the last time I had driven my second Panda... A relatively local old lady bought it as I regularly see it driving in and out of town going the opposite direction to me. Glad to see it's still in use...
The DS3 was next and other than being quite a different car, where practicality wasn't valued at all, and some attempt at style was, it had a lot of issues fixed under warranty. One big one was the wing mirror issue / rust, but they insisted I use a local bodyshop who had absolutely butchered it... Misaligned panels, specks in the paintwork, buffer trails, overspray, chipped off paint on adjoining panels, and more...
It took two months to be put right by a credible body shop near Belfast... they paid for the car to be taken up there, apologised for the appalling treatment by the bodyshop (and struck them off their approved repairer list for all warranty work for Citroen / Peugeot / DS / Vauxhall ... maybe even Fiat now?) as they said the way they spoke to them was shocking too. They gave me THIS for two months, hired from Enterprise at what would cost you or me £650 per week...
It was insane. If you remember me on Fiat Forum in the past, you'll not believe what you're about to read, but I gained a whole new level of respect for German cars ... although in 2 months a lot did go wrong with this, so I'm not sure I'd ever put my own money into one, but man was it a hell of an experience. I got it with 4,000 something miles on the clock and gave it back with 9,000 something. Fascinating experience at no cost!
Eventually I got my DS3 back, and sure enough they fixed all the problems, two brand new doors and all components, brand new bumper, new door seals etc, total paint correction - even bits that were rough when I bought it all fixed, and four new alloys (originals were corroding). They did an amazing job, but still a tonne of wind noise and having come from the CLA 220 above, it just didn't feel the same!!! I washed my hands of the DS3 and managed to get nearly what I bought it for back.
The Present
Today I'm driving the Avensis below, which is a great car! I did the Chinese el cheapo interior light mod, and if anyone on here is interested in all the electrical stuff / know how I'm more than happy to help. It was inspired by the Mercedes to be honest.
The Future
Now, the real shocking bit to pretty much anyone I've mentioned this too is, how much I'd love to go back to a Panda, or even a 500C - always liked the roof down on a nice day idea. As much as that seems like a backwards step, I thought rejoining and getting involved the forum can't hurt in the event that down the line, I do come back to Fiat. I hope they do keep working on small cars with such appeal. I love the current / well, 2020 revision of the Panda. If I could trade in for one tomorrow, for better or for worse, I think I would..... One word, simplicity.
I quit the forum back in 2020 as my activity then was not really very useful car-wise, but as I think more about Fiat's now I've decided to get involved again to help out with advice where I can and potentially discuss the far off day where I buy another Fiat. It is actually incredible how they get under your skin, those cars!
I look forward to trying to be useful on here and learning more from the people who helped me so much over the years. A few pics of my Fiat's, and my story since... (if this is too much waffle for the Welcome thread, feel free to clear after this)
Late 2015, the beginning of car ownership and many, many adventures....
I got this at around 98,000 miles in late 2015....
And there was plenty of time spent doing servicing, and maintenance - but mostly fixing bits that had fallen off...
The biggest job was the clutch in September 2016...
Most parts were removed and had something done to them, but it was all part of the fun...
In May / June 2019 it looked like there was some unknown critical engine fault, which later turned out to be what seemed bad fuel or something... but I ended up looking for a replacement as it looked like it was a problem which wasn't going away for about a week...
I did about 19,000 miles I estimate from this car in the space of a year...
This was taken I'm sure the first Monday of the first lockdown... The interior was such a step up from the first Panda I had!!! It still has appeal to me now, even though it's so basic...
And I've learnt how valuable that little phone holder was, given how much DS and Toyota's infotainment systems left to be desired! Your phone truly is your best navigation aid...
It might have been the boredom of lockdown more than anything else, but I started to look at other cars and worked out that for about £70 more per month I could get a bunch more features - dramatically more spec - and speed and whatnot, in a DS3 for sale locally so I went and traded it in... Other than a couple of days of being given my old Panda as a courtesy car for the DS3 having parking sensors fixed (which happened about 4 times), this was the last time I had driven my second Panda... A relatively local old lady bought it as I regularly see it driving in and out of town going the opposite direction to me. Glad to see it's still in use...
The DS3 was next and other than being quite a different car, where practicality wasn't valued at all, and some attempt at style was, it had a lot of issues fixed under warranty. One big one was the wing mirror issue / rust, but they insisted I use a local bodyshop who had absolutely butchered it... Misaligned panels, specks in the paintwork, buffer trails, overspray, chipped off paint on adjoining panels, and more...
It took two months to be put right by a credible body shop near Belfast... they paid for the car to be taken up there, apologised for the appalling treatment by the bodyshop (and struck them off their approved repairer list for all warranty work for Citroen / Peugeot / DS / Vauxhall ... maybe even Fiat now?) as they said the way they spoke to them was shocking too. They gave me THIS for two months, hired from Enterprise at what would cost you or me £650 per week...
It was insane. If you remember me on Fiat Forum in the past, you'll not believe what you're about to read, but I gained a whole new level of respect for German cars ... although in 2 months a lot did go wrong with this, so I'm not sure I'd ever put my own money into one, but man was it a hell of an experience. I got it with 4,000 something miles on the clock and gave it back with 9,000 something. Fascinating experience at no cost!
Eventually I got my DS3 back, and sure enough they fixed all the problems, two brand new doors and all components, brand new bumper, new door seals etc, total paint correction - even bits that were rough when I bought it all fixed, and four new alloys (originals were corroding). They did an amazing job, but still a tonne of wind noise and having come from the CLA 220 above, it just didn't feel the same!!! I washed my hands of the DS3 and managed to get nearly what I bought it for back.
The Present
Today I'm driving the Avensis below, which is a great car! I did the Chinese el cheapo interior light mod, and if anyone on here is interested in all the electrical stuff / know how I'm more than happy to help. It was inspired by the Mercedes to be honest.
The Future
Now, the real shocking bit to pretty much anyone I've mentioned this too is, how much I'd love to go back to a Panda, or even a 500C - always liked the roof down on a nice day idea. As much as that seems like a backwards step, I thought rejoining and getting involved the forum can't hurt in the event that down the line, I do come back to Fiat. I hope they do keep working on small cars with such appeal. I love the current / well, 2020 revision of the Panda. If I could trade in for one tomorrow, for better or for worse, I think I would..... One word, simplicity.
