Katiegan's Garage | Winter Plans

[Katiegan]

That's very nice for 400 pounds. Very good condition.

Wish I could find stuff like that (in good condition) here in America for a decent price, but the auction dealers (read; people who buy cars at auctions, and then try to sell them for a profit) are very prevalent in the area I'm in.

I'm very lucky to have got it at that price. There's no way I could find another in this good condition with such low miles for £400.

Cute little car, love the colour. Never thought you'd end up with a blue Fiat. 👍

Neither did I.

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It's a pretty dumb idea to buy a Dodge Caliber in the states, but your neighbor must be some special kind of stupid to buy one in the UK, where you can get literally any small car as a hatchback.

Congrats on the pimp sled car, though.

He had a Citroen C4 before the Caliber, so yes, he is indeed special kind of stupid. But today he told us we're allowed to park on that drive where the Caliber is if we want so he can't be that bad, I guess.

Thanks.

 

[Aesthetics]

I've finally found a place where my avatar is relevant.
Congrats on the first car though, and don't back up into your friends like what I did.

 

[ildd]

That is an awesome color. And name. I wish I could come up with car names of my own

 

[Anthony]

I've always had a soft spot for Pandas and yours looks very nice, especially for a £400 car. Take good care of it.👍

 

[Doodle]

Congrats.

 

[R5]

Love the colour, and Pandas are a great car in general.

A little small for me, but yeah.

 

[Legro]

Yay a Panda.

Plus, that blue colour looks magnificent on it.

 

[Danny]

Congrats, K8e.

 

[Cano]

Aprove on the name. And the colour.

 

[ExigeEvan]

A classic first car! I wouldn't worry about the bumpers, you'll put a few more rubs in them before you're done with the car.

 

[daan]

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I love how you're at pains to point out that this wiznae you!

 

[yabiggoose]

Can it gymkhana though?

 

[ULTRAVIOLENZZ]

Never say no to panda.

 

[homeforsummer]

As I said in the other thread, great choice. The Panda came at a time when Fiat really sorted its crap out so it's actually a pretty solid car, as well as being a great small car - something Fiat has always done well. You'll get used to the light steering too and I always found the high-mounted shifter a lot of fun, as it's only about a hand-span away from the wheel.

As for this:

• Find out why the airbag light is on

I suspect electrical gremlins, and a quick google seems to suggest it's just a switch that needs replacing.

 

[GTP_Ingram]

£400 barely guarantees a car with all four wheels attached at the moment, so to get a Panda with such a low mileage for that is an absolute steal!

It's a pretty dumb idea to buy a Dodge Caliber in the states, but your neighbor must be some special kind of stupid to buy one in the UK, where you can get literally any small car as a hatchback.

Ah, but you see the Caliber is worth a fortune here because that's the only one they ever sold in the UK.







...Only joking. They're not worth a fortune.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Don't these cars have a non interference design in the case of cambelt failure? So that's good...

 

[Ibonibo]

Well you got a nice bargain deal there. Nice first car to learn on 👍 Nice

 

[Katiegan]

Appreciate all the kind words, guys!

Love the colour, and Pandas are a great car in general.

A little small for me, but yeah.

Believe it or not, it's not small enough for me.

Because I stand at a mere 5 feet, with the seat all the way forward I still can't depress the clutch fully without over stretching my leg. I've had to put a cushion behind the seat cover so I can reach it . But luckily, because I'm so small, I'm not too close to the steering wheel with the seat so far forward so the airbag won't blow my head off in the event of a crash.

Can it gymkhana though?

There's only one way to find out...

Search for videos on YouTube of people driving dangerously because I'm a good girl who'd never do such a thing!

As I said in the other thread, great choice. The Panda came at a time when Fiat really sorted its crap out so it's actually a pretty solid car, as well as being a great small car - something Fiat has always done well. You'll get used to the light steering too and I always found the high-mounted shifter a lot of fun, as it's only about a hand-span away from the wheel.

Yeah, as I've said before I'm really pleasantly surprised with it. Street cred aside, I think it's a fantastic little car.

I suspect electrical gremlins, and a quick google seems to suggest it's just a switch that needs replacing.

Do you know if it's the switch to turn the passenger airbag on or off in the glovebox or a separate switch? I thought at first it was on because the passenger airbag was off but the switch in the glovebox says it's on.

Don't these cars have a non interference design in the case of cambelt failure? So that's good...

Ooh, that's something I never thought about. For some reason I had it in my mind it was chain driven. I'm not even sure the last time the cam belt was changed, if ever.

A quick Google says it should be changed at 5 years or 72,000 miles. The car only has history from 2009 onwards as that's when the previous owners bought it. I'll have another look through the paperwork and see if I can find a receipt for the cam belt. If not, I'll probably just do it at work anyway.

 

[homeforsummer]

Do you know if it's the switch to turn the passenger airbag on or off in the glovebox or a separate switch? I thought at first it was on because the passenger airbag was off but the switch in the glovebox says it's on.

I didn't really investigate, but I suspect there's also a switch under the driver's seat (or the passenger's too).

 

[Katiegan]

I didn't really investigate, but I suspect there's also a switch under the driver's seat (or the passenger's too).

Ah, another one of those. I'll plug it in to the code reader at work and see what it brings up.

Also, just looked through the paperwork again and there's no evidence of the cam belt ever being done. I'll certainly be doing that at work in the coming week. I imagine a cam belt kit and water pump won't cost too much for those, but I'm not sure how simple it is to change them. I'm sure the mechanic I work with will help me out.

The auxiliary belt has started slipping on start up too since we brought it home, so I'll check that out too.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Might need a tensioner pully too.

 

[yabiggoose]

AWD WRX STi running gear swap.



Should be a nice and economical first car. Can't say (as an Australian) that I'm aware of what they are like as we don't have them.

But from what I've read they seem to be pretty good, honest cars. Especially for the price you paid lol

 

[Legro]

AWD WRX STi running gear swap.

Beats this.

LS swap all the things.

 

[Katiegan]

I regret absolutely nothing.

 

[Katiegan]

I've added more power inducing stickers. Still without regret.

Excuse the poor lighting, it's in the garage.

I'll be taking it to work on Saturday to get the mechanicy bits done. All of the parts are ordered apart from the tyre, which I'll order tomorrow. I've also decided since they're so cheap (most expensive is a Pirelli for £29) I might as well buy two and put them on the front.

 

[Katiegan]

Been a while since I updated this!

I still haven't passed my test yet so the Panda hasn't been driven all that much. I've probably put less than 20 miles on it since buying it. I should be ready for my driving test within the next few weeks though.

As for things on the list,

• New petrol tank flap (the one from it came with the car, but the brackets that secure it to the hinges have snapped, and the paint on the flap has chipped from being kept in the glovebox for so long, so it'd be easier to just buy another)
  
• Replace rocker cover gasket due to the current one leaking slightly
  
• Find out why the airbag light is on
• Buy one new tyre (currently has three brand new Westlake tyres, then one Michelin which is low on tread)
• Put an aftermarket stereo in it because it only has a cassette player and no CD player (my boss says I can just take one from the stores at work, he the real MVP)
• Get this supa fly sticker yo!
• Replace cam belt & water pump

• I've still yet to find a tank flap for it. I've contacted a few breakers on eBay but they don't seem to be getting back to me. I might just try seeing how much one would be from Fiat themselves.
• The rocket cover gasket still needs replacing. I was told by Euro Car Parts that it didn't have one and instead it used sealant, but when I took the rocker cover off, lo and behold it had a gasket. I just cleaned up the area where the gasket sits and put some sealant on the gasket anyway.
  
• The airbag light seems to be intermittent. I drove it today and it didn't come on. I've also yet to code read it.
• I replaced the tyre, and chose to buy two to stick on the front since decent tyres were so cheap for it (bought two brand new Hankooks for £40). The Michelin tyre I took off had a tube in it!
• I'm not allowed an aftermarket stereo. I've been told I shouldn't be listening to music and instead focusing on driving.
• Supa fly sticker was bought amongst others.
• Cam belt and water pump were replaced, it was an easy enough job but because I'd never done a cam belt before it took all day. Then we got a big air lock in the cooling system that took forever to get out.

After all that, a few weeks after doing the cam belt, the radiator went. It's probably been about a month since then and I finally got round to replacing it today. It was a super easy job and I feel a bit foolish for putting it off for so long.

I'm hoping to put some more miles on it tomorrow since it hasn't had a proper run in a long time now.

 

[ildd]

I don't see a problem with listening to music while driving. It's a whole hell of a lot better than looking at your phone (i guess the phone is now your radio? )
maybe for a beginner it makes some sense. Just hope you never get stuck in traffic for a long time

 

[Katiegan]

I don't see a problem with listening to music while driving. It's a whole hell of a lot better than looking at your phone (i guess the phone is now your radio? )
maybe for a beginner it makes some sense. Just hope you never get stuck in traffic for a long time

Well, I already have a radio, just one that doesn't have a CD player or an aux jack. I would prefer to be able to play my own music rather than just listening to the radio all the time, but hey ho.

 

[Aki Ko]

I'm not allowed an aftermarket stereo. I've been told I shouldn't be listening to music and instead focusing on driving.

If you are working and pay for your own car, you are allowed an aftermarket stereo if you buy it yourself.

 

[Katiegan]

If you are working and pay for your own car, you are allowed an aftermarket stereo if you buy it yourself.

Of course I'd pay for it myself, I pay for everything for this car myself. Alas, Papa Katiegan thinks otherwise.