Fiat Panda

[Gromit37]

I test drove a Panda Twin air and loved it. I didn't stop grinning for ages. But that's purely down to the engine. It's a simple, unpretentious car, and more fun than a Fiat 500 for exactly that reason... but probably not to everybody's taste. The old 1.4 100HP was very plain and boring in comparison. Whether I could live with one is a different matter.

[waremark]

I drove one with an automated shift (and have driven a 500 with a similar transmission). I would only consider one with a standard manual gearbox.

[Kimosabe]

I rescued a panda from being scrapped once. Most fun i've had with a car. they aren't exactly plush but they are functional, especially when they have panels from several other cars fixed to them cos the old ones fell off the last time it hit 50mph. Cheap, easy and no worse than any other car in a traffic jam or in town. Motorways are a bit weird but you'll have the company of 'Smart' cars and people who can't think above 60mph.

[trashbat]

I think that ^ vintage of Pandamonium might be a somewhat different proposition to what the OP has in mind.

[Mr Cholmondeley-Warner]

Scooby / Panda / BMWChris isn't around to tell you about the Panda 100 he had, so I will.

It was a hoot. It was, as you've heard, very bouncy. It had a Sport button that made it even bouncier, to the point where on an uneven road you would get feedback through your throttle foot and induce kangaroo-ing to make the bounciness even more pronounced.

However it was very fast, for a little car, and cornered very flat. It was sold to another member later, and I believe he enjoyed it a lot as well.

It went through tyres quite quickly, and had to have some rear suspension components replaced quite early in its life. I don't think it was otherwise particularly expensive to run.

Somewhere on here you will find the tale of how I caught an unsuspecting Caterham driver napping and overtook him in it. We laughed a lot that day

[trashbat]

I'll add that if the suspension turns out to be the only thing you thoroughly dislike, you could spend about a grand to put it on coilovers. Cart before the horse and all, I know!

Damn it, I quite fancy one now.

[TheInsanity1234]

Well, looks like the possibility of me getting a car after passing has dwindled.

I'm more likely to wake up one morning and discover that I've gained all of my hearing than getting a car!

Oh well!

[trashbat]

Why's that?

[Kimosabe]

I think that ^ vintage of Pandamonium might be a somewhat different proposition to what the OP has in mind.

I see what you did there.

We named the car 'Pandemic' for similar reasons. People would let you out of junctions because they were too busy laughing at the car to allow them to drive.

I once lived in an ex Ambulance named 'Ambivalence' because it always left me with a feeling that it never wanted to either go or not go as much as it could have. Laminate flooring and an 'L' shaped bed were it's key features.

Anyway. I like Fiat Pandas because they're not pretentious.

[TheInsanity1234]

It's quite simply just that I don't have enough money.

My parents can't afford to help me with the costs of running a car, and the money I had saved up, I've had to dip into to the tune of £600 because of new glasses and paying off my phone.

So unless someone here is willing to give me lots of money in exchange for nothing, I'm not getting a car at all

[waremark]

Ah, sorry about that but now you are in the same situation as the majority of people of your age, unable to afford the running costs of a car. Hope your finances improve enough for you to get a car before too long, but meanwhile I am sure many of us would still like to meet up with you if an opportunity arises after you pass your test.

[TripleS]

Ah, sorry about that but now you are in the same situation as the majority of people of your age, unable to afford the running costs of a car. Hope your finances improve enough for you to get a car before too long, but meanwhile I am sure many of us would still like to meet up with you if an opportunity arises after you pass your test.

....or beforehand, in my case. I'm not averse to a modicum of dangerous living now that I'm well past the 'three score years and ten' etc.

Sorry about the news of financial constraints though. OTOH I'm having to make do with a car that's nearly 15 years old. It's a good job I'm easily pleased.

Best wishes all,
David.

[TheInsanity1234]

The issue is, I had found a Panda that was about £1200, and got a quote from Tesco insurance (with the black box) for about £1200 for a year, and that would've fitted my budget very snugly, but quite well, as I had about £2500ish saved up, but I've had to dip into those savings, which has left me in a situation where I've got money saved, and I'm only a few hundred short of getting on the road. I suppose if I were an ordinary teenager, £1900 would be heaven, judging by the way some of my "friends" at school talk about having £50 to spend.

Oh well, hopefully one of my grannies will want to congratulate me on my successful test pass this Wednesday, and offer to stump up money to buy a car for me

[fungus]

Lack of funds has always been a problem for teenagers, even back in the late sixties when I bought my first vehicle, an A35 van that was only six years old, but was a complete banger that would break down fairly frequently, and would take virtually every penny I earned to keep it on the road, and that was using parts from a scrap yard, and doing the repairs myself, which admittedly was much easier in those days.

Things haven't altered, one of my pupils told me that a years insurance on his 1L Citroen Saxo was £5K.

There is also more for you to spend your money on today. As you said, you had to pay off your phone, and it seems that some of these things are expensive. Being technophobic, I only use the most basic, cheapest phone I can find on pay as you go.

[skodatezzer]

Ooh, test on Wednesday, is it? You realise you'll now have an entire forum holding its collective breath, and with fingers and toes crossed for you (howzat for a mixed metaphor!! ). Anyway all the very best with the test - I'm sure you will let us know how you get on!