What's made you not grumpy but not smile either today?

[bugsymike]

I remember in the '90's, when I was working in vehicle electronics, we had a new Jaguar XJ40 which needed to be returned from Cardiff to Coventry and I was asked to drive it up there. My departure was delayed whilst the body controller electronics were reconnected, so time was short and I had to really put my foot down to get there. I arrived at Jaguar Whitley at the end of the day, just as staff were streaming out past the car. I got a few strange looks due to that strong exhaust burning smell and little wafts of smoke from underneath.
Whether it was due to the leather seats or being a North American spec, I was sliding sideways across the seat as I took the corners

Got to be done.

 

[Cheest]

Whether it was due to the leather seats or being a North American spec, I was sliding sideways across the seat as I took the corners

Maybe my oldest daughter detailed it.

Her first street legal car was a 1984 Volvo 240DL wagon. We got it cheap and I had to do a timing belt and front crank seals on it. We took it for a test drive after that was done. Then she got around to cleaning the car. She washed and waxed the outside then vacuumed and Armor-All'ed the interior. Seats and steering wheel included. I got in the car to move it and slid across the seat to the passenger side. Tried to grab the steering wheel to stop myself but it was for naught.

That Volvo was a great little car. If she had a garage where she lived and I was made of money, I wouldn't hesitate finding another one for her.

 

[bugsymike]

Maybe my oldest daughter detailed it.

Her first street legal car was a 1984 Volvo 240DL wagon. We got it cheap and I had to do a timing belt and front crank seals on it. We took it for a test drive after that was done. Then she got around to cleaning the car. She washed and waxed the outside then vacuumed and Armor-All'ed the interior. Seats and steering wheel included. I got in the car to move it and slid across the seat to the passenger side. Tried to grab the steering wheel to stop myself but it was for naught.

That Volvo was a great little car. If she had a garage where she lived and I was made of money, I wouldn't hesitate finding another one for her.

Yes I quite liked that one and the earlier 145 estate with same engine. I have seen the same engine used in speed boats with a Volvo stern drive.
Nice simple engines to work on before they got all fancy and complicated.
I had a customer with the Volvo 460 GLT smaller auto saloon with same engine, after that they spoilt them by using Renault engines in the small models.

 

[The Panda Nut]

My experience of the VAG original fitment exhaust systems is that they're quite good. The Cordoba - 1.9 TDI - which I had for 16 years only had one system fitted. The Ibiza, at 8 years old was still on the original and it looked fit for a lot of running still. I don't remember exhausts featuring large with my boy's several Ibizas either.

Our Seat did 12 years on the first sytem and I fitted the VAG system that was a common one for various vehicles. This lasted only 6 years then an aftermarket one that was shot in 2 years.

 

[irc]

Just changed the third set of brake shoes in a week, having gone months without any at all.

Of the three, one (500) was caused by a leaking wheel cylinder, which in turn may have been caused by the replacement shoes fitted by a garage 3 weeks ago. Or it may already have been leaking and was ignored. Either way, 3 weeks isn't great for a set of brake shoes. Fortunately the brake pipes came off fairly easily and the drums were fine, so certainly could have been worse.

The other 2 sets (Pandas) were both the "my handbrake isn't very good" type of investigation, both resulting in finding lots of crumbled brake lining in the bottom of the drum, and a small amount of lining still attached to the shoes.
One of then had about 30mm of each lining still in place on each shoe on both sides. Impressively, it passed an MOT in December and has only done about 250miles since.
The other had nearly complete linings on one side, and no lining at all on one of the shoes on the other side, and a sad-looking 3 inch flap of lining on the other shoe connected only at one end.
Strangely, drums were fine on both cars - I was expecting deep gouges and scoring from the metal-to-metal contact, but found only a few light marks.

 

[bugsymike]

Just changed the third set of brake shoes in a week, having gone months without any at all.

Of the three, one (500) was caused by a leaking wheel cylinder, which in turn may have been caused by the replacement shoes fitted by a garage 3 weeks ago. Or it may already have been leaking and was ignored. Either way, 3 weeks isn't great for a set of brake shoes. Fortunately the brake pipes came off fairly easily and the drums were fine, so certainly could have been worse.

The other 2 sets (Pandas) were both the "my handbrake isn't very good" type of investigation, both resulting in finding lots of crumbled brake lining in the bottom of the drum, and a small amount of lining still attached to the shoes.
One of then had about 30mm of each lining still in place on each shoe on both sides. Impressively, it passed an MOT in December and has only done about 250miles since.
The other had nearly complete linings on one side, and no lining at all on one of the shoes on the other side, and a sad-looking 3 inch flap of lining on the other shoe connected only at one end.
Strangely, drums were fine on both cars - I was expecting deep gouges and scoring from the metal-to-metal contact, but found only a few light marks.

I used to find things like clutch jobs or cam belts came in waves also.

 

[SB1500]

Still no sign of the CT... they last called on Friday to give me an update. Speed sensor wire.. replaced, didn't solve the issue. Tried a bearing (sensor is built in) also didn't solve it. Told me they are ordering in a new brake booster (some £6k). I presume that would have come yesterday and been fitted today... I do wonder what the game plan is if that doesn't fix it... how much more can they afford to try?

Still, when the extended warranty is up in July... should I expect other huge failures?

I'm half tempted to ask them... if they wanted to take it off my hands for an attractive enough price and/or give me a deal on something else used from the franchise... could be a good way to get back into a much simpler, cheaper to fix Fiat... plenty of assorted 500's but not many with the black interior or slightly more 'manly' configs that I could get away with. Still, the simplicity, last chance to own one and all that feels nice to imagine. Not a Panda for sale approved in NI. Disappointing.

 

[StevenRB45]

Or you could just pay them to service it in July which re-extends the warranty?

 

[SB1500]

Or you could just pay them to service it in July which re-extends the warranty?

Right enough…. Well, they told me they can’t service it as a Toyota dealer. BUT… I could pay Lexus. Toyota can, but it won’t qualify for that warranty. Perhaps that’s what I’ll do. You’re a genius!

I was going to ask… is it worth £505 but then, that question was only valid before such a major part went And I’ve replaced everything but then… I suppose just for the warranty. It will be worth it.

for what it’s worth, this warranty they told me I have until July is the ‘Relax’ one, nor the one year used warranty. I suspect the last owner in 2021 paid for this and it was still active on the system. I kept my mouth shut and went along with it!

 

[StevenRB45]

Hold up, they are qualified to do warranty work for Lexus on it but not qualified to do a basic service?

Or is it at Lexus now? 505 for a service seems fairly barking for what is meant to be a very low maintenance drive train indeed. Surely all they can be doing on it is oil and check over the brakes.

My dad's Yaris was half that..no idea what mines gonna be in May but it'll get done considering just the warranty on the Citroën costs 400 plus a year..then I have to pay for a service on top.

 

[SB1500]

Hold up, they are qualified to do warranty work for Lexus on it but not qualified to do a basic service?

Or is it at Lexus now? 505 for a service seems fairly barking for what is meant to be a very low maintenance drive train indeed. Surely all they can be doing on it is oil and check over the brakes.

Me dad's Yaris was half that..no idea what mines gonna be in May but it'll get done considering just the warranty on the Citroën costs 400 plus a year..then I have to pay for a service on top.

It’s at Toyota but I bought it from them. They tend to have a couple of Lexus in stock used. They will service it and they get me service parts but certain things like trim or this brake booster which is apparently unique to the CT, they can’t get. Hence why I’m waiting so long.

At Lexus It’s £505 for major and £285 for minor. I did ask them last year if just having an oil change done trigger the Relax warranty. They said “we don’t really do that we only do the major or minor based on age and mileage” which didn’t impress me too much tbh. Lexus across the border in ROI, are slightly more expensive after converting currency but reckon they can do just an oil change for the Relax warranty.. but couldn’t guarantee much in the way of claims given it’s a UK car so that wasn’t much more useful sadly.

I think these services also are intended once a year and include the hybrid check but as I usually DIY service it twice a year I just take it to Lexus to do the hybrid check. Now overdue (by miles in January and by 12 months since the 10th) due to this fault. Failed because of a hybrid error triggered by the brake fault (no idea the logic in that one). Lexus also said 600 miles must be driven after the hybrid fault clears for their check… Toyota actually told me the day before I went up in late January that this fault (which came on that morning) wouldn’t affect it. 70 mile drive later failed the check.

I did tell them if anything happens to go wrong with that system in the interim I’d be expecting them to cover it because of how many weeks it took them to look into the issue… get approval to do the repair and order the parts..

So annoying though. Not quite the hassle-free experience that I’d imagine the Yaris is! But then my car is 8 years old so hardly new or fresh.

Very keen to hear the latest but trying to avoid ringing them or annoying them. The look in the technicians face last week when I went to collect my things to take to the courtesy car. From a very short, routine cable replacement to the wiring diagrams and troubleshooting. I didn’t envy the job he had ahead. Perhaps they’re playing part roulette at this stage..

 

[StevenRB45]

I'd imagine there's only a few of these boosters in the country, if they are 6 grand a pop it's not the sort of thing every dealer will have on a shelf unless they fail a lot which is not something I've ever heard of. There's a good chance it's coming from a distribution centre somewhere or other... possibly on the European mainland or at least UK mainland.

The Yaris is a 67 plate as well...it did need work at the service..well the OEM fit rear tyres had cracked so had to be replaced (DRAMA!).

 

[PuntoHowTo]

Still no sign of the CT... they last called on Friday to give me an update.

This is just getting silly now.

Buy an old Panda and you expect it to have a few problems and things to fix.
Bought a new panda (newer), which is by your reconning the best car in the world, it was the 'dream car' the parodical child, the one that got away....didn't own it long enough to back those claims up because you sold the bloody thing to buy a Citroen DS of all things in what a year of owning it? (all on finance deals taking a big hit to early exit the deal no doubt)

Citron DS, blah blah blah, no end of problems, that was predictable.

Finally finds some common sense and buys a Toyota..... Toyota uses a diesel engine out of a BMW which "can" be problematic at around 150K+ miles but also preventable with regular maintenance. So it stands to reason the sane and rational thing to do, at around half that milage, is swap it in for a Lexus! Because the BMW engined toyota was to much of a "reliability risk" and was about to grenade itself any minute. <-- the last bit is sarcasm.

Buys a Lexus that has been stood on the forecourt for a year... 1st alarm bells should have been ringing. Buys the complex hybrid version with a CVT gearbox. Second alarm bells should have been ringing. Google Lexus CT common problems At this point your ear drums should have ruptured from ringing alarm bells. Buys it anyway, a year in and the car is being true to form.... Unreliable, and so we have to hear all about it yet again, and how, yet again, he wants a panda....

Its just bloody boring now, honestly.

You could have bought a golf and had 10 years of pretty much trouble free motoring... then again we know how unreliable all German cars are, and that you believe all people who drive German cars to be "idiots" <--- you actually said that. you also said you like to deliberately damage German cars.... I can provide references for anyone who doubts me.
Even assuming you had some until now undiscovered allergy to German design practices, a 2009 ford focus would probably have been more reliable.

So he moans in other posts about the courtesy car a Toyota Yaris which is probably a million times more reliable than anything you've ever owned and actually quite well respected by the buyers and the motoring press. At this point @StevenRB45 i wouldn't waste my breath. If his car history were people, I think he'd warrant a diagnosis of Munchausen's by proxy.

Munchausen's by Motor? Clearly its just moan about everything, for every car to get attention for attentions sake.

Oh and all that without getting into the truly offensive posts he's made in the past, and egregious political stance that he doesn't like to draw attention to because it lead him to rage quitting the forum.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Used Fiat cars for sale. Fiat Dealer Edinburgh | Hope Scott Garage

Spend less on a used Fiat for sale in Edinburgh. At Hope Scott Garage you'll find a superb range of quality used cars on our forecourt.

www.hopescott.co.uk

Decided this thread was appropriate because in many ways I'm smiling at having seen this advert and I'm sorely tempted to go along and take a look at it. The garage is an old established one which is just round the corner from where Mrs J lived when we were courting. It's a small "family" business which is well regarded.

On the other hand it's a lot of money for a used Panda and I've always been suspicious of ultra low mileage vehicles. Even if owned by a "little old lady who only went shopping in it" I'd be expecting to see more miles on it.

The reggie no - PL - is somewhere way down south? so I'd like to know why it's found it's way up here and, with a car from outside my area, I'm always suspicious of flood damage etc. But, it's a bonnie looking thing in the photos isn't it?

Anyone able to tell me if the newer Pandas, like this one, are "infected" with the security gateway "thing" which makes using MES difficult if not impossible to use?

If Becky's rear axle fails her MOT 3 weeks from now and this car is still in stock, it's going to be hard not to go and take a look. - Maybe someone will buy it before then and take the temptation away. I'll probably be better off buying one of the last that qualified for the £30 tax anyway? as has been in the back of my mind for a while.

 

[StevenRB45]

PL is Preston.

It looks nice, do the garage HPI them etc?

Only 2 negatives for me are it's White..and the mileage.

I'm always suspicious of something that's stood that much will spend the first year in my ownership replacing anything rubber that's meant to bend but no longer does.

This may be because I bought a 19000 mile Fiat Uno..in white which was a lovely car except every rubber part had perished (it was 11.. although had been garaged as soon as exposed to weather it was not happy).

 

[porta]

Looks alright, and I think the Panda is one of the few cars that suits white. There’s no harm in just looking as you can just walk away. It does appear expensive, but then, I’ve not checked current resale values. As for one lady owner and low mileage, was it Michelle Mouton?
My mums car is like that, rarely goes anywhere but generally passes MoTs with no issues, but then, she has to buy a battery every two years, as the frequent ‘non use’ degrades the batteries beyond redemption, even with my brothers taking them off and charging them!

 

[SB1500]

Used Fiat cars for sale. Fiat Dealer Edinburgh | Hope Scott Garage

Spend less on a used Fiat for sale in Edinburgh. At Hope Scott Garage you'll find a superb range of quality used cars on our forecourt.

www.hopescott.co.uk

Decided this thread was appropriate because in many ways I'm smiling at having seen this advert and I'm sorely tempted to go along and take a look at it. The garage is an old established one which is just round the corner from where Mrs J lived when we were courting. It's a small "family" business which is well regarded.

On the other hand it's a lot of money for a used Panda and I've always been suspicious of ultra low mileage vehicles. Even if owned by a "little old lady who only went shopping in it" I'd be expecting to see more miles on it.

The reggie no - PL - is somewhere way down south? so I'd like to know why it's found it's way up here and, with a car from outside my area, I'm always suspicious of flood damage etc. But, it's a bonnie looking thing in the photos isn't it?

Anyone able to tell me if the newer Pandas, like this one, are "infected" with the security gateway "thing" which makes using MES difficult if not impossible to use?

If Becky's rear axle fails her MOT 3 weeks from now and this car is still in stock, it's going to be hard not to go and take a look. - Maybe someone will buy it before then and take the temptation away. I'll probably be better off buying one of the last that qualified for the £30 tax anyway? as has been in the back of my mind for a while.

Looks tidy inside and out. Yes it's white, like every other Panda I see, but has all the Lounge cladding to assert its status as the top Panda!

I see she is missing the leather steering wheel and the little space saving handbrake though, which were previously Lounge trim staples. Speaker situation seems fine, little grilles for the 5th and 6th on the A-pillar. Not too sure how worried you are about those minor details, though they did put me off a similar car last January.

Probably as fresh as you'll find a 1.2 FIRE engine'd Panda of this vintage now as in the coming years age will take its toll. So on that basis why not grab one?

As above, there's low mileage and then there's staying stationary for far too long. Though the seldom driven Panda in our family has had very little issues battery wise or much with anything as it still got a 4 mile journey to and from the local school on grandmother duty. Perhaps this one was the same - used often enough but for journeys you could skim a stone along? If it has been serviced like it should have been might be alright.

Nice to see a garage that actually cleans out and shines up the car before posting it... the dealers here are butchers. They've photos up with dirt from the previous owners, smudge marks all over the radios.. at least in theirs you can see the fibre from the cloth they used before the photo. I think that says a lot about a dealership when they take time for the details.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Looks tidy inside and out. Yes it's white, like every other Panda I see, but has all the Lounge cladding to assert its status as the top Panda!

I see she is missing the leather steering wheel and the little space saving handbrake though, which were previously Lounge trim staples. Speaker situation seems fine, little grilles for the 5th and 6th on the A-pillar. Not too sure how worried you are about those minor details, though they did put me off a similar car last January.

Probably as fresh as you'll find a 1.2 FIRE engine'd Panda of this vintage now as in the coming years age will take its toll. So on that basis why not grab one?

As above, there's low mileage and then there's staying stationary for far too long. Though the seldom driven Panda in our family has had very little issues battery wise or much with anything as it still got a 4 mile journey to and from the local school on grandmother duty. Perhaps this one was the same - used often enough but for journeys you could skim a stone along? If it has been serviced like it should have been might be alright.

Nice to see a garage that actually cleans out and shines up the car before posting it... the dealers here are butchers. They've photos up with dirt from the previous owners, smudge marks all over the radios.. at least in theirs you can see the fibre from the cloth they used before the photo. I think that says a lot about a dealership when they take time for the details.

Thanks for the comments folks. I've always thought white suits them well and goes very well with the black trim. Of course our Backy is white so we're probably biased!

Not fussy about leather steering wheel but actually like the "normal" handbrake. The split rear seat might come in handy if we've got a grandchild aboard and need the extra space. More interested in the history. going to look up the MOT history this afternoon although I'll be very surprised if it reveals much.

Preston? Thanks Steven. That's not all that far away from us, couple of hours or so driving in good condition so it's not like it's spent it's life in Brighton or Barnstaple.

The garage has a very good reputation and I'm guessing they'll be happy enough to let me crawl all over it if I decide to go further.

Anyone able to comment on the situation with regard to the electronic gateway "problem"

 

[mowermender70]

Used Fiat cars for sale. Fiat Dealer Edinburgh | Hope Scott Garage

Spend less on a used Fiat for sale in Edinburgh. At Hope Scott Garage you'll find a superb range of quality used cars on our forecourt.

www.hopescott.co.uk

Decided this thread was appropriate because in many ways I'm smiling at having seen this advert and I'm sorely tempted to go along and take a look at it. The garage is an old established one which is just round the corner from where Mrs J lived when we were courting. It's a small "family" business which is well regarded.

On the other hand it's a lot of money for a used Panda and I've always been suspicious of ultra low mileage vehicles. Even if owned by a "little old lady who only went shopping in it" I'd be expecting to see more miles on it.

The reggie no - PL - is somewhere way down south? so I'd like to know why it's found it's way up here and, with a car from outside my area, I'm always suspicious of flood damage etc. But, it's a bonnie looking thing in the photos isn't it?

Anyone able to tell me if the newer Pandas, like this one, are "infected" with the security gateway "thing" which makes using MES difficult if not impossible to use?

If Becky's rear axle fails her MOT 3 weeks from now and this car is still in stock, it's going to be hard not to go and take a look. - Maybe someone will buy it before then and take the temptation away. I'll probably be better off buying one of the last that qualified for the £30 tax anyway? as has been in the back of my mind for a while.

 

[mowermender70]

hi paj have sold my 2017 panda travelling up to see the boss in the mental health ward (32 miles each way ) bless it only done 49 thousand mls felt crampted as i am 6ft 1 ins regret the boss will never come home only places available when a place comes to take her is much further away hence gone mad got a quobo trecking diesel 1-3 and stays on our coast road better mowermender70