Faults:

The Gearbox started to make a lot of noise. The choke had to be left on a lot of times. The engine would stop working very often. The seats where totally worn out. The car was also rusty.

General Comments:

The gearbox was not smooth. The car did not do well on bumps because it's so short. It also doesn't feel very safe. This is the last car I would want do have an accident in.

The only plus on this car is it's low price. However, you can get much better cars for just a little bit more money. I paid 300 euro and got 0 back. Panda's are very cheap, but not worth even that. I'd rather have a 10 year old Toyota than a brand new Panda.

In retrospect, the almost 30 years old Beetle which I had prior to this car was even better and much more reliable.

Faults:

Exhaust.

General Comments:

What a fun car to drive! I felt like a rally driver in my little Red Devil! It was my first car and I got it really cheap (100 pounds), so I drove like an idiot. But the Panda didn't give up! Using the hand-brake on every corner was a lot of fun. Compared to the Panda, my currently owned Escort is quite boring.

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong so far, but sometimes the clutch fails a bit and then the gearbox makes some really scary noises.

General Comments:

The car is reliable, and always starts. When I bought it (very cheap) I immediately replaced the oil, oil filter, air filter and radio-wiring.

I also added some engine-cleaner and injection-cleaner into the tank and mixed the oil with a lubricant similar to slick-50.

I changed the windshield wipers, coolant and used some tectyl-amber to protect the engine and body from rust.

Faults:

Not much. A new exhaust pipe was fitted during last APK (MOT). Some small things had to be replaced, but I could do it myself. A lot of spare parts are available nearby (a sub-dealer), and he is really very cheap.

General Comments:

When warm, he is really fast. I can drive 14 to 15 kilometers on a liter (and I don't drive slowly), and he drinks no oil or water.

A little bit of rust found its way to the doors undersides, but it's still controlable. Until it rots, I like to drive this crazy thing. He outruns everyone in the city and you can drive it for almost no money.

Big cars however, like to push me off the motorway when I'm in overtaking someone.

Also, my Panda has got a 'cruise control'. With maximum choke, you drive sixty km/hs without touching the right pedal!

Faults:

Well, quite a list, but mainly small things;

Mass cable.

Camshaft (second hand for only 15 quid).

Light switch.

Light cable.

Ignition (twice).

Discs (front).

Turning-point of the left door.

Trunk lock.

Tab of the heater.

Spark-bulb cables.

Connection point of the lambda sond.

General Comments:

It may seem like quite a list, but most of it was due to bad maintenance by the previous owner. This car has in the last 3 years run over 45.000 miles and it only left me standing once. Costs seem to be stabilizing now, since we maintain it quite well. We have an excellent dealer, and most of the things that break down are merely annoying. The thing is fun to drive, pretty fast once it's warm (100 mls/hr on the German autobahn) and very very cheap to drive.