Just bought a new car

Currently driving my dads clapped out 13 year old Fiesta because the head gasket sadly went in my Corsa.

Just ordered a new Panda 1.1 Eco in Met Blue . Should arrive off the boat sometime in May.

I have also done all the sums and even with finance it will cost me less than all the old bangers have to run.

I only do 4000-5000 miles a year and its all pretty much city traffic so the Panda was the perfect car. It felt a bit more solid than the Hyundai I10 I tested it againt.

With all my bad luck with cars I didn't have the heart to buy anything second hand.

 

Nice one.

 

Doesn't James May drive a Panda? It must be a gentleman's car.

 

Yep although mine is a base spec (less to go wrong). Its ideal for the city too as it has the 8v FIRE engine, if the cam belt snaps you just put a new belt on.

It has electric windows, power steering, central locking and a CD player but thats it. I have driven a friends and in a typical FIAT away at sub 40mph speeds it feels a lot faster than it actually is.

Just got sick of spending money on old cars because its dead money. I know this is also dead money but at least I have a new car out of it.

 

Are you a large chap, and can you fit in it okay? I'd share my Mum's Pug 106 but it's too small; my knees touch the steering wheel and the pedals are close together so my foot rubs on the adjacent pedal!

 

Yep

Afraid so.

Cars are dead money but I think you are right to go as new as you can.

Shame about the Corsa. You spent some time on that . I hope you got what you wanted for it.


My folks sue to have a Panda (2nd car). It went ok.

 

The Panda is a very cleverly packaged car so it is actually easier and more comfortable than my Corsa/Fiesta was. The slightly offset pedals may take some getting used to though.

I only got £250 for the Corsa, but with the header tank full of oil, the exhaust spitting out so much water you use a bucket to collect it, it had no MOT or road tax either so it wasn't too bad.

 

Out of curiosty what is it you do to your motors' AT??

 

Nothing was just bad luck. Garages wanted £600+ for the repair and as I could easily afford a new car I just decided whats the point.

It may well be a once in the lift chance to own a brand new car. My dad once bought a two year old Punto back in 1998 but all the other cars we have had have been old bangers.

 

Does a Panda run on bamboo?

 

Probably .

Knowing my luck the head gasket will go on it after 6 months though!

 

That's the spirit!

Anyway, you miserable sod, take comfort in the fact that it should be covered under warranty, and Italian engines are generally . So enjoy it!

 

Look, Fiat sell engines to a number of manufacturers and most of their products are bullet proof. BMW sold their 2.5 straight six diesel to GM and Land Rover, Fiat Diesels go in Saab and others, and as for the French stuff, well they are everywhere. Theres more behind the badge than you think.

My eldest daughter's Seicento can be left a week in the deepest freeze and it still starts first turn and goes perfectly.

Engineering is so good these days.

Good luck with the Panda. Don't be taken in by the balck eyes though.

 

yeah, he'll be moaning because it eats the fuel, shoots crap out of the exhaust and won't drive on the incorrect type of leaves...

 

Hmmm I do wonder what he does with them.

Weren't you replacing the front suspension on the corsa last thing at?

 

David I replaced the front spring in June. A week after that the MAF went but I diagnosed and replaced myself so it only cost £80 (would have been £500 at a Vauxhall dealer) so after that got the engine running perfectly. All was fine until a few months later the car kept bouncing over bumps. I checked the rear shocks and they were leaking so had to get them done. The back box also completely failed so needed a cat back at a cost of £100.

All was then well but then I got swine flu so couldn't drive for a week I then started my car and it had no compression I managed to get it going and I just put it down to a fluke.

A bit of water was dripping out the exhaust but I put it down to condensation.

In late december I fell on ice and broke my eblow only weeks after my dad broke his arm. It meant my corsa was parked up in thr freezing cold for a month.

When I started driving again all seemed fine but after about 10 miles I noticed the coolest level had dropped and it was fuil of crap (it always had been). I ran the engine for two hours and it was still dripping out water out the tailpipe this when I got concerned. There was mayo on the filler cap too.

I took it to my local machine saying I think thr hg had gone he said I was being paranoid but he then looked it and agreed but he didn't have any proper kit I then took it to another garage who confirmed the header was full of gases and coolant was leaing into the exhaust. I then decided to just get rid as the MOT was due too.

I am now driving my dads R reg Fiesta which has a floor made out of rust and holes it is currently registered to my name but as soon as the Panda arrives he is welcome to it back. I spent a a day on it a couple of weeks ago and actually managed to get it to drive really well (its on 85k now) but lifting up the carpets revealed the extent of the rust so I decided to I just wanted a new car.

After all my bad luck I didn't have the heart to buy anything second hand.

 

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I Just Bought a New Car... Now What?

Ashley Spetter, Knowledge Level: Novice, Keywords: car detailing, new car, new car owner, auto detailer


The best thing for any new car owner to realize is that you should care for your car like you would care for your child. Cars require a lot of maintenance and care for them to run smoothly and efficiently at any given moment. If you plan on keeping your car for several years and want it to look its best during your ownership, you should really spend the time or money to maintain the paint.

 

Keep it serviced regularly.

IMHO thats mostly the battlle

Hope the panda does well for you AT: