Yes, someone had tried, unsuccessfully, to break into the Panda, presumably to steal it as there was nothing of any value on display and the car still has the original head unit.  Crouching to examine the lock, you could plainly see where a screwdriver had been inserted and wiggled about with increasing force.  So much so, in fact, that the lock section of the handle has been lifted away from the door and left a dent underneath!

This has resulted in my being unable to open the driver’s door and therefore, unable to use the car until it has been repaired.  It couldn’t have happened at a worse time, as plenty of work and a business trip has made it impossible to take it to Fiat for repair.  Well, I say that, but wrong information given by the service centre saw us use the only time we had to visiting the wrong place.

The Panda is now booked for the 29th October at the correct location, where I imagine a hefty bill awaits.

There was actually plenty of tread left of the Eagle F1’s the car came with, but the rubber had started to crack, so a search for the best price started.  If I wanted to continue with F1’s then a set of 4 195/45/R15’s would cost 400 euros fitted, or I could go for Rainsport 2’s at 380, however I had them on my Golf and wasn’t that impressed.  So, I decided to go for the F1’s again and cough up the money.

But when it came to the day I just couldn’t do it, instead I took a trip around some more dealers to see if I could better the price.  I was shown some Toyo Proxes T1-R’s which have essentially the same tread pattern and stickiness as the F1’s, and were 370 for 4, but if I went for 195/50/R15’s they were 290 for 4!

What can I say, stuff the slightly higher sidewall and possible iffy speedo reading, that was a big saving.  An hour later and they were on the car.

The first journey was a strange one and saw me visiting the nearest petrol station to check the pressures and sure enough, tyre man saw fit to pump my new Proxes to between 33 and 35psi, hence the odd feeling.  Pressures adjusted properly and a decent drive later, I can honestly say I don’t notice any downsides with this change, in fact, the upside is the increased sidewall has lessened the crashy nature of the Panda on the potholed Athenian tarmac!  Grip is also excellent and the car feels like new again – it really has made a massive difference!

My original F1’s lasted 26,800kms, which I don’t consider too bad, especially on Greek roads.  I’m hoping the Proxes will prove equally as long lasting.  Anyone else made this change?

As summer is now in full swing, I’ve noticed my tyres really are on their last legs.  Not because of available tread – of which there is quite a bit – but due to the poor tarmac quality robbing them of grip, especially under acceleration.  Seeing as I’m still on the originals, I can’t complain too much about the impending bill to change all four, but it will need to be done before the winter or any long journey.  I will probably go for the Eagle F1’s again, as I consider 25,000kms to be a decent figure for one set, and the performance they offer when at their peak is excellent.

In another 1000kms or so, it will receive the scheduled oil change, plus I really hope to get it professionally valeted, as the interior would benefit from a good clean.  Outside there is a scuff on the rear corner which needs to be addressed, but as I’m responsible for this one – rather than one of the millions of careless parkers in Athens – I’ll have to swallow my pride and take it in.

As the car is two and a half years old, I shouldn’t complain about a scuff joining a tiny parking ding on the base of the passenger door.  There are far newer cars in far worse condition here!  The Panda continues to be the best car purchase I’ve ever made, and it’s still great to drive.

I had been burning my CDs with an HP laptop and a program by Sonic, which although slow, did the job.  I have recently switched over to an Apple Mac and having transfer my music library over to iTunes on my MacBook, decided to burn a new CD to give it a try for our brief recent holiday.

On went ninety or so tracks and the CD played from beginning to end, twice, without a hitch!  So, I can only presume it was my older laptop’s DVD burner or the Sonic program which didn’t agree with the Panda’s stereo.  If anyone else out there has had the same problem, try another PC or try iTunes to burn it.  It’s so far worked for me!

Duly delivered at 08:30, we left the Panda and went about our days business.  Since we have had the car for well over a year now, it had a  minor service at 15,000 so it was running perfectly well, however the brakes had started to squeak and the tyres (still the original Eagle F1’s) have given up some grip thanks to a couple of very hot summers, so I was predicting the worst when it came to these two items.  The alarm had also begun to emit an odd sound a few moments after it was set – intermittantly of course – so this, along with the other two points were mentioned when we handed over the keys.

The car was completed at 4pm and upon collection we were told the brakes still had a good 6,000km’s in them, the tyres were fine and they could find no problem with the alarm.  Otherwise, the full service had been carried out and we paid just over 250 euro for the work, 100 of which was labour.  The experience at Spicar was far better than our first visit and I found them helpful and prompt.

Driving the Panda since them has been a different experience.  It has felt livelier, with more linear acceleration and considerably more punch.  The brakes have benefitted from their fluid change and feel far better under foot and my confidence in them has returned.  Prior to the service, the 100hp had felt less perky than it had, so clearly the service was much needed, despite my diligence when it came to oil changes and attention to driving style.

The alarm has continued its odd behavior and it will have to return again, but as the problem doesn’t occur each time it’s set, the chances are when I go, it will be fine.  Still, it doesn’t seem to affect its operation, so it’s not a big concern at this stage.  Spicar recommended a further visit in 5-7,000km’s time for an oil change and the next big service to take place at 40,000km’s.  A recent change in circumstances has seen the Panda used even less during the week, so it may be sometime before we head back to Spicar!

Anyone familiar with Delphi will know how mountainous the area is, so we had a great mix of fast motorway and wide, twisty mountainside roads on which to play.  Before setting off naturally I checked the oil and coolant, and although the oil was fine, the Panda needed coolant.  We picked up some Paraflu from Fiat and topped it up to the maximum.  I didn’t notice the car running any differently (as it’s always steady in the middle of the temperature dial), but the airconditioning seemed more effective!  

With a final fuel fill-up and tyre pressure check, we were on our way.  The National road is a hideous stretch of tarmac, filled with even more careless drivers than Athens itself, and this time traveling considerably faster.  But at a steady 120kph, it soon passes and as long as you keep your eyes on the idiots around you, it’s all fine.  Turning off the three-lane road gives a new challenge, as everyone moving quickly know has a single lane road on which to make progress – resulting in dangerous overtaking moves, often over double white lines.

Once into Arahova and friving around the magnificent mountain roads, it’s all much more civilised.  Exploration was enjoyable and just taking an unusual route revealed another impressive view and many hairpin bends followed by long straights.  Best of all was the quality of the roads themselves, as they yielded much more grip than the central city tarmac at home.  Here is a picture of the Panda enjoying the scenery.

This short break reminded me of what a great car the 100hp is, especially with Sport mode on and making quick progress!  Hopefully it won’t be too long until a similar trip.

Despite this restricted use, the Panda is running fine but it does feel like it needs a good thrashing to wake it up.  A planned getaway in August may require a car journey, so perhaps it will be then.  Its friend the Suzuki Swift is away on a road trip in Europe at the moment, which the Panda no doubt is jealous of!

Anyway, rest assured the Panda is still great and problem free and this blog is still up and running!

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The service technician told us they would do the oil and filters and a few other bits, but the Panda would have to return at 20,000kms to have the air filter and something else done, it just wasn’t worth doing it at the present mileage.  It seemed odd at the time, but it does make sense, it’s just a pain to keep having to return.

Five thousand kilometres is a long way off anyway, I have barely pushed 500 in the month since it was serviced and don’t expect to have to go before the end of summer.  We picked the car up the following morning (it was ready before, but it was impossible to make it before their 4pm closing) and noticed an immediate difference when driving away, not only was the engine smoother and slightly more responsive, but the brakes had stopped their infernal squeaking!   It was something we mentioned when it was dropped off and they said they had a cure, but to be honest I didn’t expect anything much from them, and it was nice to be proved wrong.

Since then the car has been perfect and a just over 90 euro, the price was reasonable too.  Shame they didn’t clean it though.  So, a far better experience with Spicar Fiat this time.  I hope it will continue.

We purchased our 100hp on the opening day of a new Fiat dealership on Vouliagmenis Avenue and were their first ever sale.  They organised a test car for us, took the order and also sorted out our insurance too, making the actual buying process a very pleasant one.  When we picked up the car from the main dealer we were walked through all the features and the car was in perfect condition, so all was good there.

Just before the 5000km oil change I was involved in a small accident and of course, the car went to Fiat to have the work done.  I took essentially how long they said it would and the work was top-notch.  Through this episode we were not supplied with a loan car and our request for the guilty insurance company to pay for a hire car was rejected, so no car for two weeks.  This is less a problem with Fiat, who did at least try to get a loaner for us, and more a problem with Greeks having so many accidents, dealers would lend out more cars than they would sell.

The oil change was completed a week or so after the car was returned and the saga of that is detailed in other posts.  It wasn’t good, but it could have been much worse too.  Since then I have only returned to the main dealer once with a punctured tyre and they sent me to somewhere to get it fixed.  The car is booked in for its first service on the 14th April, so we will see what happens then.

As the Panda is my only car, I do need it to be a jack-of-all-trades, something it handles well.  I can fit shopping in it, it has been to Ikea and done some carrying about, it has transported four people (very occasionally) comfortably enough and when none of those things are needed, it entertains nicely too.   It’s also a breeze to park, not too wide or long and not so flashy that I’m afraid to leave it places.

Aside from a less than perfect dealership experience, everything has been good here too.