General To sell or not to sell?

[Aosta]

Would like some advice from fellow Panda lovers on whether to sell or not. Mostly what makes most financial sense but of course it's hard to keep the emotion out of it...


2011 Mk2 petrol, 90k miles, unusual colour and top spec being one of the last of the mark 2s so it's got fancy stuff like air con and wing mirrors big enough you can actually see something in them. Facing a repair bill of around a grand - standard Panda things of brakes, shock absorber, suspension bushes, new tyres but it's come all at once together. Could have other repairs coming up such as squeaky clutch when used a lot (traffic), mysterious occasional cough in the engine in 4th/5th gear at c20k rpm.


Would you:

a) repair
b) sell and replace with one that needs less work (however I'm a sucker for a mark 2 and would want to stick with that spec so looking at replacing with like for like and there's not many around)

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

[koalar]

doesn't sound right ?


post its fail


rear shocks, front arms and a complete rear brake rebuild aren't time consuming or dear. On a ramp with air tool


the only expensive bit is tyres. For a set of four you should be able to negotiate around £30 a corner or part worn at around £15. Cheaper in city centres.

 

[jrkitching]

The last of the 169's are worth hanging on to. £30tax, 50+mpg, cheap insurance, all the comforts you really need, and none of the troublesome ones you don't. It's one of the lowest cost cars you can run, period.

For anyone who can do the work themselves, this is an absolute no-brainer; £200 or so in parts, plus tyres, and a relaxed weekend's work would make it definitely a keeper.

Even if you're paying a garage to fix it, I'd still go for the repair (unless there's something really nasty lurking - please do check the twist beam is sound). £1000 to get another 2-3 years hopefully minimal cost motoring is a much better deal than anything you're going to find for that sort of money on a dealers forecourt.

I'd forget about trying to buy another one. There are a lot of overpriced panda 169's out there just now, and most of them are rubbish. Anyone with a decent one is likely to be hanging on to it.

The only way I'd let this go is if I could comfortably afford to buy a brand new car for cash, and I fancied a change.

 

[FiatMatt94]

I agree with the above comment, it is definately worth hanging onto as you probably wouldn't get another car that us as cheap to run, in the old days people used to keep cars going mechanically until the bodywork literally fell apart. £1k seems a bit steep for the parts that need changing even with labour, i'd consider getting some more quotes or try finding a local Fiat specialist who work on them all the time. Small cars like these are in high demand right now because of covid, fuel prices rising more & more & i'm sure the chip shortages have something to do with it too. Also if the rear beam is servicable consider dropping it down, cleaning it up & painting with decent paint as the factory coat isn't the best. If you know what to do you can service & maintain a car very cheap by doing the work yourself like I do, even when my car was new I did my own servicing as my dad who is a mechanic said from his experience when he has taken on 3 year old cars just out of warranty a lot of them had never had oil changes as the oil would be really black & dirty looking & have the original rough filter, even though it is stamped in the book, some main dealers take the money & don't do the job.

 

[AB100]

Keep it.

We still have our 2011 Dynamic plus the 2017 Lounge (which to be honest feels much nicer). As others say, repair in stages. Parts are very inexpensive.

Odd that you mention misfire as one developed on our 169. I'd discounted the plugs as they were Denso Iridium with less than 10k on them. Nevertheless I popped them out and one showed some 'browning' on the lower porcelain - suggesting leakage. Swapped 1 with 4 and the misfire moved. 10 minutes, £16 and four new standard Bosch plugs later and it's purring.

 

[Aosta]

Thank you so much for all the replies! Good to hear from people who know the market. Definitely seems like it'd be more expensive / wouldn't make sense to get another one then. I did 174k miles on my previous Panda (05 diesel) and would love to keep this one going as long as poss, it's just it's had a few more mechanical issues than the previous one so I was nervous I'd be chucking good money after bad on these standard repairs. I did think it seemed a bit steep (quote was from local Fiat dealer), so thanks for the confirmation on that, I'm going to take it to my local non-specialist garage for a second opinion. Thanks again for all the advice and help.

 

[jrkitching]

I did think it seemed a bit steep (quote was from local Fiat dealer)

That would certainly explain things.

A franchised dealer is no place to be going with a 10yr old car.

When was the cambelt last replaced? By 2011, the Panda 1.2 used an interference engine, so it's not a good idea to take liberties with the belt replacement recommendations.

 

[Aosta]

I ended up there after the local non-specialist garage wanted a second / Fiat specialist opinion on a previous fault that turned out to be the crank sensor, and it's just around the corner so quite convenient. But yep these prices have definitely made me think twice about going again, back to non-specialist I've used for years.


Thanks for heads-up about the cam belt.

 

[papanicola]

Squeaking clutch is when you press the pedal there is a noice near the battery area? If so it is a clutch slave cylinder. Again a cheap part and easy DIY job with basic hand tools.

 

[jrkitching]

Thanks for heads-up about the cam belt.

No problem.

Just thought it'd be a shame to spend all that money gettung an MOT and then have the cambelt (or, more likely, water pump, which amounts to the same thing) give way shortly thereafter. If it does break, it will likely write the car off.

 

[rmjbn1]

would love to keep this one going as long as poss, it's just it's had a few more mechanical issues than the previous one so I was nervous I'd be chucking good money after bad on these standard repairs.

Glad to hear you're keeping it, sounds like a good 'un I'd certainly be keeping it and keeping it away from main dealers and large franchises.

The faults listed are routine consumable items, and (although they might arguably fail more often) they're much cheaper than on most other cars. Shouldn't be too expensive at an indy.

If you feel you can do any DIY, then this will help ease the burden. If it's the front suspension arm rear bushes that have failed then it's common to replace the suspension arms, 3 bolts each side. Rear shock absorbers are two bolts each side. There's an excellent guide for this here; have a look and see if you'd feel comfortable tackling it.

 

[DaveMcT]

Squeaking clutch is when you press the pedal there is a noice near the battery area? If so it is a clutch slave cylinder. Again a cheap part and easy DIY job with basic hand tools.

It will be the "self lubricating" clutch release lever bushes.

The top bush can be oiled from above. It's best to take off the lever arm. It's retained by a circlip, so cover with a rag for when it pings off the pliers.