Fiat maintenance?

[a4973]

Size of fiat panda

Hi thinking of getting a panda. As hv not seen a actual car can anybody tell me sizewise its similar to wat car? Ie picanto, getz, matrix?

 

[tk]

Hi thinking of getting a panda. As hv not seen a actual car can anybody tell me sizewise its similar to wat car? Ie picanto, getz, matrix?

interior size wise i find panda smaller & narrower than picanto.. plus the rear seats a bit too upright for comfort..

 

[aaur4man]

tk is right.

the default fabric seats arent exactly comfortable for rear sitting. since the 2nd hand i looked at is going black from yellow, i got the dealer to make new leather seats. I believe it should improve the comfort level by the little.

legroom wise is quite ok due to upright sitting. front cabin is alright as the gear stick is on the dashboard side. iirc the normal gear stick area is now a cup holder. so driver naturally has to sit closer to the wheel, giving more space behind. not recommended for tall ppl above 1.8 in my opinion.

across the board, fiat vehicles have very cold aircon.

i saw picanto beside the panda, and indeed back seats are slightly wider.

it is more for 4 seater rather than 5. 6 definitely is no go. boot space is miserable, if u need a bigger boot for HB, go for getz.

however, getz and picanto are both 1086cc. getz goes 0-100 in 16.1s, picanto 15.6s.

panda is 1242cc and 0-100 in 14s yet lighter (and smaller of course) than its 1.1 counterparts.

ex owner real fc was 14.2km/l. Paper is abt 17.

with 4 heavy ppl it can still pack a punch when moving from traffic light.

u can check the specs at www.getcarspecs.com

The few reasons why i got panda instead of getz or picanto is because when u close the panda door, u feel secure.

I have not tried getz at all, but picanto wasnt as sturdy.

For year 2004, Panda gets 3 stars for Euro Ncap while Getz 1.3L is 4.

Year 2007, Panda has improved with 2 airbags. Probably Ncap would be slightly better.

Panda has better front impact absorption while Getz has better side impact relief.

For ppl with children, getz would be better.

Other things include:
Remote lock
Remote Boot release
Front power windows
Great for manual suckers like me
Blaupunkt cd player (German but not sure good or not anyway gives u a conti feel lol)
Electric Steering / Steering Lock (i would say driving is easier, less strength needed for ladies as well)
Default solar films
Default roof rack

Minus points:
Narrow (like QQ in a conti build)
No hand handle on rear seats
No rear power windows
Small boot
No fuel cap release, u have to manually use key to turn the cap which quite awkward too
Stock fabric is very lousy

Repair parts will cost more than popular brand/models, esp for Panda since i believe not many owners compared to punto/bravo.
Electric driving pump does spoil as tested by me. Now still warranty agent will change, who knows in future change how much it would be.

 

[aaur4man]

Fiat owners what is your insurance? 55yo no ncd OPC 1.2M cheapest $2000 sia.

 

[lattesurf]

ya about there. i'm paying $1.9k with MSIG, insurance under my mum's name, opc, 0 ncd.

 

[aaur4man]

damnit. first year lan lan must go with dealer.

next year will personally get all the quotes.

 

[MoreGoodYearsAhead]

anyway thanks for the comments.

have gotten a fiat panda. not good for 5 seater but comfort and safety is there. more sturdy than korean same price range.

Hi Bro,

Im abit curious.
Let me guess, your Panda is not black and white but Lime Green.
Car Plate: SGX60--P.

If im correct, did the dealer told you the history of the car.
If its not, kindly ignore my post

 

[alfaman]

panda rocks.

jeremy clarkson had one and gave it 4 stars thumbs up!

Go for it! but manual please!

 

[aaur4man]

ya manual

 

[gohsj89]

oic.

thats good to hear. lower costs

another stupid question: how to open the fuel cap?

me and dealer couldnt get it out. surprisingly dealer knows less abt the car than i do.

hold on the knob with yr left hand.
then insert the key with yr right hand.

left hand hold on there.
right hand turn anti clockwise.

this is one dumbo design from fiat.

 

[aaur4man]

seem like monday then can try

seem like caltex for the try.

 

[aaur4man]

panda rocks.

jeremy clarkson had one and gave it 4 stars thumbs up!

Go for it! but manual please!

i think he didnt give it 4 stars but 2 instead lol.

top gear gave it 65%.

 

[Shingoz]

hi guys, have just gotten a 2nd hand fiat punto grande (manual) today...

it's a 2008 reg car but the mileage is 50k already...hence i am thinking of going for a major servicing....

since its under warranty, do you guys recommend that i go to tts for servicing? else is there any workshop that is recommended? i have the intention to fix a spoiler on it too.....

 

[lattesurf]

TTS???? Then be prepared for a $500-600 servicing invoice! LOL
It's not cheap to do servicing there, plus i don't trust them.

Wanna service can go Alfa Sportivo, Alfa City or Ienergi, much cheaper around $200-300, depending need to change what things. They have the diagnostic tool thingy which can reset your servicing interval as well.

 

[aaur4man]

ienergi .

 

[Shingoz]

i thought of going Alfa Sportivo because of the location....

but....for a general major servicing....are all 3 recommended? thanks guys.

 

[ProjectMayhem]

i thought of going Alfa Sportivo because of the location....

but....for a general major servicing....are all 3 recommended? thanks guys.

for peace of mind, try Alfa City - they are just across the road from Alfa Sportivo in the same lane

 

[Shingoz]

for peace of mind, try Alfa City - they are just across the road from Alfa Sportivo in the same lane

Thanks dude, as in alfa city is more established?

btw would those big servicing company like star be recommended too?

 

[lattesurf]

I would recommend that for periodic oil & oil filter change, fluid top-ups, simple part changes (eg brake pads, spark plugs, etc) can go to any workshop that you're comfortable with. Not necessary to go to that 3.

Other things which require more specialized equipment like the diagnostic thingy or involve more complex parts like timing belt, gearboxes, etc , have to go to either 3 workshops. Also, major servicing which require a reset in the servicing interval have to go to these 3, unless you can live the service check light on your dash board.

 

[ProjectMayhem]

Thanks dude, as in alfa city is more established?

btw would those big servicing company like star be recommended too?

well when it comes to major servicing, personally i would say they are a safer bet coz they only use original parts....even the engine oil is selenia oil which is the default engine oil recommended as per car manual

ienergi is another workshop i recommend. but down there maybe they might not have all parts required so it might take some time to service your car coz they still have to go out and buy it first before can fix it. however their workmanship and service is top notch. the owner of the workshop used to be a guy working in TTS workshop from what i heard and his knowledge on fiats is really good. if ur looking to increase performance and use other better rated parts for better performance for your fiat, this is the workshop u should seek advice from.

alfa city is also good but they only use stock original parts.

i wouldnt recommend u going to any other place bro.....to me a fiat is a car thats not as simple as a jap car....so u need somebody who knows about it in detail to service it properly....

once my rear brake light blow already coz of normal wear and tear.....i brought it to a normal workshop outside....i randomly choose some workshop in an industrial area at eunos....they couldnt even figure out how to dismantle the rear brake light area....took them pretty long to figure it out....then when take out already, they dun have a bulb that can fit into it.....so in the end i couldnt fix my rear brake bulb there....then worst of all, they couldnt figure out how to fix back the rear brake light unit into the car....took them almost 2 hours (in between jobs and customers) just to dismantle something as simple as a brake light unit and put it back together (not fixed properly some more) without getting anything done....

in the end i took it to ienergi and got my car serviced for EO as well since gonna due soon anyway.....very fast brisk job.....i was out of the workshop within less than an hour....

for things like simple EO change, brake pads, brake discs etc still can go outside any normal workshop and change it.....coz very straight forward....but for anything other than that please go to a workshop which is familiar with fiat...and please bring your own oil filter when u go change EO at outside workshop....they might not have it for our car...u can get many fiat parts at Tanly Motor (waterloo centre) including the EO filter and then bring to workshop and ask them to fix

oh yeah....i almost forgot....the car is programmed to remind u to service ur car every 20k....the only place i know where can update that properly is alfa city n tts....they are the only ones with that machine that connects to ecu to do that service update