General What to buy to replace a Mk3 Panda?

[The Panda Nut]

I like a Suzuki

If the Swift is MHEV only now, then Ignis would be my choice if it has to be new.

Or +1 for a recent used pre-MHEV Panda or Swift. MHEV is probably fine in the right circumstances, but I don't think it's for me.

There's nowt else out now that appeals to me.

A new Ignis is a thing of the distant past now. Sadly.

 

[porta]

I don’t think VAG are any better @ThePandaNut all cars are pretty much of a muchness now, they’ve all got the same electronics and all are having similar issues.
They’re all sharing parts/motors/floor pans much more than say a strada and delta, now it’s sharing them with multiple companies.
I think Marchione was right, there’ll be just four companies left and even then it will be just a badge engineering oligarchy…what capitalists said that was everything wrong with communism is being played out by capitalism…

 

[porta]

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[AnthonyH]

Until last week, I'd dismissed the idea of an EV. But at the price point of the inster, maybe I should take a closer look...

Thus far, I've not even driven an EV.

EVs are the future, there are advances in battery technology regularly, but they're still too limited in my opinion. Give it another 10 years and those problems will be gone.

The SUV are popular in the UK, so i'd run with one of those.

So my recommendation is...the Grande Panda with ICE.

 

[DTanner]

Well, the trusty Mk3 Panda will be 15yrs old this year and basically it's just plain worn out..

This is an interesting thread for me. I bought my Panda new 16 years ago this year and I feel it is starting to show its age. It is our only family car in this time and, starting from no experience, I am the only one to work on it (only been to a garage for the MOTs). It was £5,500 new (£3,500 for the base model but we went for the upgrade to the 1.2 Dynamic Eco) and that includes a £2,000 scrappage discount (£1,000 from the UK government matched by Fiat).

We ordered it custom so had to wait for it to be manufactured and shipped as we wanted a full spare wheel and three seats in the back. It arrived in time to pick up my first child from the maternity ward. Now with three kids (15-11) it is getting tight and the car is aging a bit. I took a moment to look at other options last year and suffered sticker shock on the prices - damn. Was looking at Ford Grand C-Max and Citroen C4 Grand Picasso. Decided I would wait it out a bit more.

The Panda has been amazing. Low cost investment and cheap as chips to insure and tax. The maintenance costs are really low and I feel the price for spare parts remains really reasonable (had to replace an ignition coil recently and it was £14.05). Not sure how we will move on, but we probably will - or maybe buy a new family car and keep this as a run about for the kids.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I think our Panda may have had a reprieve once again.

When it does go, then favourite to replace it is a BMW i3/S, which is still a compelling proposition IMHO.

 

[Twotone2]

I've just bought oil and an air filter from the Fiat Workshop £85 delivered, five litres tub of oil and the filter.

The oil price is up quite a bit on last year. I did check out shop4parts but even with the forum discount the Fiat workshop was cheaper but £10 for delivery though but that's included I've a discount card for them too.

 

[jrkitching]

Thanks everyone for all your replies thus far. It's both confirmed a lot of what I've been thinking, and given me a couple more options to consider.

The Panda has been amazing. Low cost investment and cheap as chips to insure and tax.

Mine too, basically the same story. Pretty much everything on it is original; I've replaced two sets of tyres, three sets of wiper blades, the thermostat, battery, exhaust, droplinks and rear shocks, but the rest of it is as it left the factory.

But 115,000+ miles means there are a lot of end of life parts that really do need replacing now. The clutch is on the way out, probably needs new hydraulics and an input bearing too, front seats are threadbare, it needs another set of tyres, a battery, probably most of the front suspension, sump & twist beam are definitely past their best, the digital part of the display is intermittent, the power steering occasionally cuts out, and Ladykitching won't drive it anymore in case it throws a wobbly. At least £1000 in parts, just for the immediate stuff, at least a week's work; and it'll still be an end of life car that could fail outright at any time; I'm in the fortunate position of being able to afford better and it's time to move on.

I know whatever I replace it with is going to cost several multiples of what it's cost to run the Panda, but life is just too short to spend any more of it on keeping this car going. And Ladykitching would be VERY unhappy if it was still here at the end of summer.

For the last forty years, I've adopted a strategy of buying new, doing all my own maintenance, and keeping to end of life. That's probably no longer realistic; I think now I'm going to have to fundamentally rethink my attitude to car ownership.

I don't do a lot of long journeys now, indeed, I don't do that many miles, period. And secondhand EV prices haven't held up too well, making them look... ... interesting?? But that's a sea change in thinking; not sure I can get my head around it.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I don't do a lot of long journeys now, indeed, I don't do that many miles, period. And secondhand EV prices haven't held up too well, making them look... ... interesting?? But that's a sea change in thinking; not sure I can get my head around it.

If I can, you can

Seriously though, we're in a very similar position I think. Panda's on 131K miles and I've spent a lot on it over the past 25K miles I've been running it - and it's still asking for more! EVs are perfect for our everyday use - 2 school runs of 20 miles each, plus local bimbling. The battery's never going to fail, the motors are utterly reliable, which leaves you with the conventional bits and the electronics. The reason why we're looking at i3s is the following they have, and the number of specialists who now know them inside out, including the electronics. I reckon it'll be perfect when we can bear to let the Panda go.

Something like this is an awful lot of car for the money, with BMW Warranty, and remainder of its 8-year battery warranty too:

BMW i3 Series i3s 120Ah 5dr

BMW Approved Used cars for sale. 12 month unlimited mileage BMW warranty, roadside assistance and MOT cover. Find your nearest BMW dealer for more info.

usedcars.bmw.co.uk

 

[jrkitching]

If I can, you can

I've got an extended test drive in a R5 booked for tomorrow.

Having taken a Polo out yesterday, I don't think any of the current crop of three pot turbocharged 1.0 cars are going to do it for me. I found the Polo marginally less worse than the i10 & Picanto, but going for any of them would basically be choosing the one I hate driving the least. And I doubt any of them would realistically be owner maintainable in the way the Panda has been.

I reckon that the kind of ultra low cost motoring I've had from the Panda simply can't be repeated in 2025, and the key point is that even just keeping the one I've got would no longer be a low cost option either.

Looks like I'm going to have to increase my budget.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I've got an extended test drive in a R5 booked for tomorrow.

Having taken a Polo out yesterday, I don't think any of the current crop of three pot turbocharged 1.0 cars are going to do it for me. I found the Polo marginally less worse than the i10 & Picanto, but going for any of them would basically be choosing the one I hate driving the least. And I doubt any of them would realistically be owner maintainable in the way the Panda has been.

I reckon that the kind of ultra low cost motoring I've had from the Panda simply can't be repeated in 2025, and the key point is that even just keeping the one I've got would no longer be a low cost option either.

Looks like I'm going to have to increase my budget.

Be interesting to hear your impressions - I know the R5's very highly thought of, but I think it looks rather big, and is certainly a heavy little Hector - but that's most EVs anyway.

I'm convinced 2nd owner EV is the way to go for lowest-cost motoring going forward.

 

[varesecrazy]

Be interesting to hear your impressions - I know the R5's very highly thought of, but I think it looks rather big, and is certainly a heavy little Hector - but that's most EVs anyway.

I'm convinced 2nd owner EV is the way to go for lowest-cost motoring going forward.

Daily running costs yes,

Tyres are 1st bugbear,
then niche part failings

Longer term.. Hard to say

But my 12 year old Punto is likely to be simpler than an 8 year old EV, And also at the price point that it's "throwaway".

We loved our 169, but annual mileage doubled, so a 6 speed replaced it

My in laws ordered their 13 reg same time as my Punto, took 5 months from Korea.. That may well upset any plans of an August "new car day".

Tough to move on isn't it!

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Daily running costs yes,

Tyres are 1st bugbear,
then niche part failings

Longer term.. Hard to say

But my 12 year old Punto is likely to be simpler than an 8 year old EV, And also at the price point that it's "throwaway".

We loved our 169, but annual mileage doubled, so a 6 speed replaced it

My in laws ordered their 13 reg same time as my Punto, took 5 months from Korea.. That may well upset any plans of an August "new car day".

Tough to move on isn't it!

Tyres are a bugbear - why so, I've never heard of that as a problem, and there's plenty of tyres for cars, various? I'm guessing I'm missing something.

Which 'niche parts' are you thinking of in particular?

Little is simpler than a 12 yo Punto - except perhaps a 12 yo Panda? But stuff fails just the same - my point is that the big, expensive EV bits simply don't fail because they're intrinsically more reliable than an ICE of whichever flavour - as is its drive mechanism vs a clutch or auto. The rest is standard, generic car parts bolted to it, except the brakes last way longer because of regen.

There were all sorts of dire predictions about EVs and few, if any, have come to pass. My only hurdle is cost of entry and some sentimental attachment to the Panda tbh - the equation may be different for someone who's happy to wield a spanner in anger, I guess.

 

[varesecrazy]

Tyres are weight rated "specials", and don't last the 30k of my twinair

500e has LED lights that need a factory order when they die, many flash modern headlights are crazily expensive too

 

[Bonefish Blues]

From my readings I think the short tyre life's a bit of a myth - unless you're driving a billionty-six torques EV-monster, when really one should have been comparing like with like anyway, where an ICE would also destroy its tyres in short order.

Modern lights, fair point, but not limited to EVs, just a 'progress not really being progress' thing. But I also give you my Panda's endless appetite for ruddy DRL bulb holders at £26 a shot

ETA
Part of the reason I'm so enamoured of the i3 is it was designed as a clean-sheet, and compared to its peers, it's really rather light (aluminium and carbon fibre construction) and so has a gentle footprint, as it were.

 

[porta]

From my readings I think the short tyre life's a bit of a myth - unless you're driving a billionty-six torques EV-monster, when really one should have been comparing like with like anyway, where an ICE would also destroy its tyres in short order.

Modern lights, fair point, but not limited to EVs, just a 'progress not really being progress' thing. But I also give you my Panda's endless appetite for ruddy DRL bulb holders at £26 a shot

ETA
Part of the reason I'm so enamoured of the i3 is it was designed as a clean-sheet, and compared to its peers, it's really rather light (aluminium and carbon fibre construction) and so has a gentle footprint, as it were.

It’s really not a myth…our ‘local’ multi franchise is definitely experiencing premature tire wear and tears

 

[gazz_bee]

Tyres are weight rated "specials", and don't last the 30k of my twinair

500e has LED lights that need a factory order when they die, many flash modern headlights are crazily expensive too

500e uses standard tyres, nothing unusual about them. 185/65/R15s Hankooks on the 500e Icon are about the same price as 165/65/R14s were for my Panda. The price difference increases once you spec with bigger alloy wheels though as would be he case if you compared a 1.2 against 100Hp boots. Tyre wear is a function of right foot rather than weight - the 500e weighs about the same as a Mini One.

I can also vouch for all bar LaPrima versions having Halogen headlights which are absolutely useless.

There isn't a lot of A segment choice any more unfortunately. I've always had a soft spot for the Aygo as it has a similar charm to the Panda but is a bit low rent in places.

 

[The Panda Nut]

From my readings I think the short tyre life's a bit of a myth - unless you're driving a billionty-six torques EV-monster, when really one should have been comparing like with like anyway, where an ICE would also destroy its tyres in short order.

Modern lights, fair point, but not limited to EVs, just a 'progress not really being progress' thing. But I also give you my Panda's endless appetite for ruddy DRL bulb holders at £26 a shot

ETA
Part of the reason I'm so enamoured of the i3 is it was designed as a clean-sheet, and compared to its peers, it's really rather light (aluminium and carbon fibre construction) and so has a gentle footprint, as it were.

Apart from badge stigma it is a very interesting package. With hopefully good build quality its one of the best options I agree. The i3 and also the i8 are two very good cars. A BMW in my Panda house though.... The thought gives me indigestion!
One of the biggest problems with the EV revolution is the fact that everyone, and his brothers, their relatives from every country on earth, and the factory dog are making the things. Parts are going to be a terrible issue I am sure, mainstream must be the way to go, After a while the hangers on will all go bust as the market wont stand all these different makers, and things will be clearer. But utter lack of stability in the market, the technology and the number of manufacturers is not great for longevity, depreciation and parts backup. Lack of trained staff, and the difficulty of getting work done outside the main selling dealers may make the future very very expensive. Im sure it will level out in the end, but until, then we need stability and continuity that we had in the likes of long running models like the Panda, Ford Fiesta and the VW Golf and Polo etc. I would be looking to lease not buy to get some fix on the costs. I dont hate the idea of EVs but I am very fearful of what it means having a near 100% reliance on the dealer network for the forseeable future. Sorry Sir we dont repair those 5 year old things anymore.....

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Fair comments indeed. Again, the i3 has something of a following and several specialists (who will, of course, be naff all use if BMW doesn't support it too!) so I'm emboldened to take to plunge.

PS
I had my only BMW in 2000 and said never again, but a quarter of a century's nearly never, innit!

 

[SPORTPACK50]

Pandastic: Fiat cuts the starting price of its new baby SUV by £1000 | Autocar

Steel wheels and clear glass cut price of new petrol-engined miniature crossover by £1000

www.autocar.co.uk

Maybe??