Last car for retirement.

harz99

Hi everyone, thinking of buying a final car for mostly shopping and the occasional fair weather trip further afield.


At the moment I am toying between an old shape 2010 Panda 1.2 Dynamic Eco with 66k miles and all the service history cambelt etc. done, or same age MCC Smart Pulse MHD 40k miles and service history.


Not looking for alternative cars, just views on these two.
Which would you choose and why?

Silver-Surfer_2

I know the Panda gets some good press, James May claims he owns one. Not heard too much about the Smart b

JP08

Of the two, the Fiat. Especially if you have grandkids, or a garden. It has a back seat (that folds down).

BeenThroughItAll

Personally, neither of those would be my choice, but if I were to have to choose, it'd be the Panda. The Smart is not renowned for its reliability, but the Panda is a fairly tough little thing.

AdrianC

Can you really cope with the lack of space in a Smart? As your only car?

s_b

go for the panda
its £30 a year tax and not bad economy although if you live in a hilly area the eco model loses puff on big hills so you end up gearing down
if you get one have the back axle rust coated as on this year forward they rust really bad to the state the cups under the springs rust through and the springs come out
good little cars with only a few problems easily and cheaply fixed

AlexMac

I've driven both in Italy as hire cars and while the panda punches above its weight and feels bigger on the inside than the outside, the Smart waqsa nightmare; especially on narrow country roads, where I felt like an insect beside lorries. The Smart was only helpful in narrow alleys (common in centro storico in Italia, but the gearbox always felt it was screaming.... (as was my passenger next to the lorries!)

bigjl

I have been given a lift in a Smart.

Jerky gearbox, noisy and not blessed with good reliability.

DUTR

AdrianC wrote: »

Can you really cope with the lack of space in a Smart? As your only car?

My brother used to have a Smart, managed to get a washing machine in the back.
Agree with the other posts though the Panda out of the two.

force_ten

it doesnt matter what you buy as long as it is Beige

knightstyle

Just to say that both cars are very different. The Smart is a city car, great for two people with easy access to shopping etc in the boot. The Panda is bigger, much less fun to drive but again is not a long journey car if you want to be comfortable.
I think you need to consider what you are going to do when you retire, if go on longer frequent trips then look for a larger car with bigger wheels to smooth out the potholes.
We are in Lincolnshire and the roads terrible so went for a Nissan Juke, small 2WD car with large wheels.