General Picking your brains on multijet buying advice

[AndyRooo]

Hi all,

I am looking at getting a 2013 Panda 4x4 and was wondering if I could get some buying advice on common issues to look out for, any red flags you may see or whatever is worth mentioning.

The car in questions is a 2013 1.3 MultiJet, at 85,000 miles. Partial service history, I'll find out what that includes when I see it in person. MOT history indicates its resonably clean however brake line corrosion and front suspension seem to be issues, most likely needing replacements. Any thoughts? Cheers in advance.

Car in question -> https://www.baileymotorgroup.co.uk/cars/fiat/panda/1.3/1024395/

 

[varesecrazy]

Check to MOT history,
what's the mileage intervals like..?

The DPF side might struggle with low use,

Generally good motors though!

 

[jackwhoo]

Prop shaft centre bearing rubber part fail every 2 or 3 years and the fix is not cheap.
Dreadful fast rust dissolving metal engine under tray/sump guard.
Body resists rust well but components underneath rust and sellers can easily give it a cover up spray of black to fool buyers.
Any mention of oil leak could be a hard to access engine breather system.

 

[jackwhoo]

The last v5c was issued 9th October 2023.... so someone potentially bought it and sold (or traded )it very very quickly
It had an mot on 20/12/23 No advisories......but the mot 8 months and 1300miles prior to that had 5 advisory notes potentially expensive to repair.
I expect the dealer had an mot done and "encouraged" the tester not to list advisory notes-it shouldn't happen but it does.

 

[AndyRooo]

Check to MOT history,
what's the mileage intervals like..?

The DPF side might struggle with low use,

Generally good motors though!

Milage between MOTs ranges, min is about 3k miles, max about 10k. More recently it has been used less, about 3k a year. There's gaps in the MOT records, a few months here and there where one had expired before another test was completed.

 

[AndyRooo]

The last v5c was issued 9th October 2023.... so someone potentially bought it and sold (or traded )it very very quickly
It had an mot on 20/12/23 No advisories......but the mot 8 months and 1300miles prior to that had 5 advisory notes potentially expensive to repair.
I expect the dealer had an mot done and "encouraged" the tester not to list advisory notes-it shouldn't happen but it does.

Yeah I noticed that too. It seems a bit sketchy, I asked the about the brake lines and noisy suspension mount and he said the top mount is no longer an issue on the current MOT so we can only assume it has been repaired, although there is no service record of this. For brake lines he said they do not need replacing in the opinion of the garage who undertook the MOT, and condition is in line with a 10 year old vehicle.

 

[jackwhoo]

Assuming is a really really bad thing. Dealer should know about cars and have looked but have chosen not to.I met dealer who didn't want to know anything about the bits of cars that weren't easily visible because that way he could assume it was all perfect.

Condition in line with 10 year old vehicle.... that is a very woolly statement.

The tester for latest mot should definately have noted if brake lines covered with grease etc .
It very much benefits a dealer if the mot they get has no advisory notices on I can't say any more on that .

It's euro 5 so not ulez compliment if that affects you.

Do you really need 4x4? If not look for 2wd.

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

They're fairly robust motors if looked after. This one sounds like it might not have been.

The oi change interval is between 18,000 and 24,000 miles (it varies according to how it's driven and flashes the oil pressure light to indicate 'oil change needed now'). Or, max every two years regardless of miles. On that basis it should have had five oil changes by now. There is actually very little else to service: air filter same as oil change, diesel fuel filter every 36000 miles, and the drive belt for alternator etc every 120,000 miles, or six years.

At 50,500 miles and heading for 6 years old (in May) mine is still in good order. Most bits underneath are still shiny or rust free (regular hosing out helps here) but the engine under tray did have some slight corrosion (nothing too serious but removed and Hamerite painted and been fine since). But, bits of any 4x4 or even 2WD Panda that's not been regularly washed underneath will rust - not 'dreadfully' but enough over time.

The particulate traps don't 'block' so long as it gets a run now and again -- the electronics won't let you get to a point where it won't regen. But low mileage and short journeys don't help it.

At 85,000 miles it is likely needing its second set of rear discs to be fitted which can be a bit of a mare to do (check other posts here, although my local independent Fiat specialist did it in an hour, rather than the five that some have suffered). Probably will have glow plug issues too at that mileage (cheap and easy-ish to replace)

And yes, the propshaft centre bearing support (the rubber ring that holds it in place) may not be so heathy. Easiest fix there is new propshaft for about £280 plus fitting.

It's correct that front to rear brake lines (and fuel pipes too) run inside a plastic cover, and the tester isn't allowed to remove this.

In spite of all the above, its lack of service history and dubious MOT history (gaps are not good), I'd steer clear. There will be others out there.

 

[AndyRooo]

Hi again all, a new update, as per your advice we steered clear of that one. Too much unsureness overall. Instead we got quite lucky with a 2013 1.2 easy that came up near us for £3,990, with 20k miles on the clock. Much cheaper tax than the 4x4s that we don't really need, although I still want one some day because they're just cool. Thanks all for your advice, I'm sure I'll be back with more questions soon enough

 

[varesecrazy]

Sounds like a good car
We bought a 2013 with 11k just before lock down.. Still on factory tyres

Still a few things to attend to now, then keep an eye on as the months pass

If you are new to FIAT some of it will be a little alien..
Duckbills as a prime example

 

[WitleyPanda]

When low mileage the rear brake discs corrode, as do the front to a lesser extent, and calipers seize. Sump guard. Check the springs, check the start/stop as will getting near end of life of battery. Check body around the jacking and factory jig points. check exhaust. Now doing 18K a year and happy vehicle.