General Planning to buy 100HP

[dunc69]

Hi guys, first post!

Hoping to buy a 100HP in a couple of months' time. I had a 1989 Panda 1000S as my first car and have always fancied the 100HP. We need a small second car, so now's my chance!

Am a regular on Briskoda.net & own an Octavia vRS.

Have done loads of research online & read all the reviews I can find.

Looking to spend £5000, so 2007/2008, 30-50k miles seems to be my area. Does this seem about right to you guys? Considering they could be bought for under £8k new if you shopped around, they certainly seem to be holding their value well!

Is there anything in particular I should look out for?

One last thing - I do fancy a panoramic roof. Are there any known problems with these - corrosion, leaks?

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,
Dunc

 

[AB100]

I have one of the last 100hps - 2011 registered. This has the panoramic roof and subwoofer, but not the Bluetooth of the earlier cars.

Our cars lives outdoors parked on a steep drive. No issues so far and the roof is very nice.

Suggest take a ride on bumpy roads though as there are enough people who whine about the ride. I just got used to it. It WILL be much different to the big Skoda. Best enjoyed alone....

Enjoyable car and fun to drive. Used values are reasonable - those that bought new will lose most. And forget resale figures. 60% of a Panda is FAR less than 50% of any BMW.

 

[dunc69]

Thanks AB100.

Guess I'll have to try the ride for myself. To be fair the Octavia is firmish and my Golf 5 GTI before that firmer still. Suppose firmness can depend, and a car that's too bouncy might be an issue?

Do you know when the subwoofers came in? Were they optional or standard?
Not worried about Bluetooth.

The only option I regret not having specced for the Octavia was the sunroof. Aircon is great most of the time, but you can't beat open skies above, especially when weather's like this!

I was wondering if anyone on here has an older car (say 2007/8) with the panoramic roof and whether all is still good with it.............I've had problems with water ingress and rust with two previous cars with sunroofs - water ingress was Golf Mk3, rust a Peugeot 1.9 GTI.

Thanks again.

 

[Dan Friel]

I don't think you'll be needing to spend £5k on a 2007/2008, 30-50k miler... especially a private buy. The problem could be finding the roof, a 100HP is rare enough!

Subwoofer was an option, check under the drivers seat. Bluetooth and climate control are standard.

Good luck with the search..

 

[dunc69]

Thanks Dan - was basing my pricing on Autotrader and the 100HPs on there are nearly all dealer cars. Buying from a trader should give me some piece of mind though, I guess.

May have a look on PistonHeads too, but their filters aren't as good and you have to wade through loads more cars.

Cheers.

 

[Dan Friel]

Reckon you need to haggle hard and be prepared to travel. Seem to be a fair few on Ebay also..

 

[dunc69]

Dan, haggling is definitely the shout. There are two really tempting grey ones on PH at about £4500.

Are you happy with yours?

 

[Coolcarbon]

We bought a 100hp new in 2010 with the 'Roof' and sub as options, both worked well and were definitely worth it. However.....whilst the car was good fun, it was a 'firm' ride and became a wee bit tiring IMO, and no, that's not a whinge just what we found.

Then the winter came with loads of Snow which actually stopped us getting a car to our house in Scotland so we decided to change it for a 'Cross', with the roof and Sub.

Had the Cross for approaching two years now, no problems with the roof so far... It's good fun in the snow too...

 

[Thunderbug]

My 2007 100HP is for sale.

 

[Dan Friel]

Dan, haggling is definitely the shout. There are two really tempting grey ones on PH at about £4500.

Are you happy with yours?

Had it for two and a bit years, and has been great. Nothing ever really gone wrong, so cheap to run. Recent cambelt change came in under £200 all in - that's something to check on the car you buy. Bodywork paint a bit thin, so quite a few chips. I find the seat benefits from extra lumbar support, but that's an easy fix.

I use mine on a longish commute, and mostly on B and A roads. So it's perfect for that. The suspension can be a bit hard, and the damping needs to be sorted. But there's an easy solution for that - see the KONI threads.

No reasons to change it at all.

 

[dunc69]

Thunderbug, got your PM, have replied.

Dan, thanks for your thoughts too!

Definitely keen to buy one now. Have really enjoyed looking around the forum and learning about these fantastic little cars.

Keep the thoughts coming!

Not planning to buy until July, unless of course a 'too good to miss' car comes along.

Now keen on the Skydome and Subwoofer, but the right car is the most important thing - well looked after and loved, and at about £5k.

Cheers.

 

[BlueDan]

I'm very likely to be looking at a few myself now, this weekend/next week...

Can dealers usually be trusted if they say a vehicle has been HPI checked?
Any recommendations for HPI checking services, seen as prices wildly vary (eg £3 for SMS to £20.50 for the AA)

Reckon you need to haggle hard and be prepared to travel. Seem to be a fair few on Ebay also..

Any advice there? Anything other than low tax or MOT to try and knock them down on? Common faults that may be present?

Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[BlueDan]

Ah, I've just found some HPI checks don't tell you if there is any finance outstanding, which makes them as useful as a chocolate teapot.

Does anyone know the service intervals for a 100hp, knowing if one is due soon could be useful when haggling.

 

[Dan Friel]

If you buy from a reputable business, there's no need for HPI. They would do a check before buying anything themselves. Ask when you're looking.

Prices. Have a good look around the web, prices can vary a lot across the country and see what the real market rate is. Parkers and What Car provide a guide, but aren't gospel.

Check for cambelt changes and the state of tyres.

 

[BlueDan]

Brief look on AutoTrader finds three New Orleans Blue (preferred colour) from £4,279 - £5,299, 2007/2008 and 20-35k within a reasonable distance.

eBay just seems to turn up the same motors at the same prices as AT.

I hadn't considered that about the HPIs - of course, it'd be idiotic for a dealer to buy a car without checking if there was finance outstanding on it.

 

[BlueDan]

Quick note for dunc69, AutoTrader shows distances from you to the dealer as the crow flies which is nearly useless! Check on Google maps before you think a car is close to.

This one is on eBay, but way down south so far too far for me with other cars nearby.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=251073312658
Don't know if by "premium sound system" they mean the subwoofer or just because it plays MP3s.

 

[dunc69]

Dan, thanks for the link & thoughts. In fact, appreciate all the advice I've received as a newbie!

Have been a member of several forums (TVR, Golf GTI & still active on Briskoda) and this is one of the most friendly / welcoming.

Really excited about starting to look properly for a 100HP.

Once the new mortgage is sorted (hopefully very soon) I'll be full on into the 100HP market.

Can't wait! Thanks again guys!

 

[BlueDan]

Had a wee think and thought of a few other things (to put with cambelt and tyre condition):

Alloy condition
Exhaust condition
Paint condition
FSH
Interior - seat bolsters, steering wheel leather (apparently a problem with 100HPs?)
Service, MOT or tax imminent
General cleanliness of the engine - don't know if the 1368cc 16v top covers tend to leak like the 1108/1242 8v ones?
Filth in the coolant bottle (though probably a good reason to avoid a particular car)
Two keys

Anything else, anyone?

 

[BlueDan]

On one pic on AutoTrader they left the keys in the ignition, and I noticed there was one standard and one with a flip out blade and buttons for the locks. Is that normal, or did the last owner lose one remote key and had a regular one cut for less?

 

[FullMetalPanda]

On one pic on AutoTrader they left the keys in the ignition, and I noticed there was one standard and one with a flip out blade and buttons for the locks. Is that normal, or did the last owner lose one remote key and had a regular one cut for less?

Come on its Fiat we are taking about,the masters of cost cutting. You get one regular key with no buttons and one main central locking key with the buttons. So the tip is to look after your main key because its going to be expensive to replace it