Well, pleasantly suprised today.

My little 1.4Sport 500 went in for it's 1st service today, low milage at 7028 so got that discount.

Total cost £147, was expecting a lot more from things I've read on here so, well chuffed now

On the downside though, locked my self out of the car (key dropped into boot whilst I was changed my shoes and when I shut the boot...boot locked as the doors hadn't been unlocked *sigh* ).

Man from AA turned up an hour and a half after calling, took him less than 1 minute to get into the car using a couple of wedges and a long welding rod.....SCARY OR WHAT ?

So, once I've got the money together, it's getting the Cat 1 alarm fitted. At least then I'll be alerted if some low-life tries to get in.

But, still chuffed about service price

Richard.

Fariniac said:

Well, pleasantly suprised today.

My little 1.4Sport 500 went in for it's 1st service today, low milage at 7028 so got that discount.

Total cost £147, was expecting a lot more from things I've read on here so, well chuffed now

On the downside though, locked my self out of the car (key dropped into boot whilst I was changed my shoes and when I shut the boot...boot locked as the doors hadn't been unlocked *sigh* ).

Man from AA turned up an hour and a half after calling, took him less than 1 minute to get into the car using a couple of wedges and a long welding rod.....SCARY OR WHAT ?

So, once I've got the money together, it's getting the Cat 1 alarm fitted. At least then I'll be alerted if some low-life tries to get in.

But, still chuffed about service price

Richard.

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Sounds like a success story after all. Often it takes something small like that to happen to make you to do something that should prove benefical plus give you cheaper insurance.
Is the 'standard fit' Meta Cat 1 classified ? My undestanding was that it was the only one that wouldn't affect the warranty since no wires were cut - a harness is used ?
After a mobile handsfree was installed on my wifes old 147 we had nothing but trouble with the electrics aferwards.

multispoke said:

Sounds like a success story after all. Often it takes something small like that to happen to make you to do something that should prove benefical plus give you cheaper insurance.
Is the 'standard fit' Meta Cat 1 classified ? My undestanding was that it was the only one that wouldn't affect the warranty since no wires were cut - a harness is used ?
After a mobile handsfree was installed on my wifes old 147 we had nothing but trouble with the electrics aferwards.

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How do you mean standard fit, there is no alarm as standard lol, if your on about the optional fiat alarm you can get, yes it is cat 1 classified and you get paperwork to prove it. you also get a rather handy keyring fob thats got the central locking and boot opening on it for the key that doesn't fold.

and i would imagine if your cutting into wires to fit one it would void its warranty unless you got a fiat approved dealer to fit it.

altogether for my fiat cat 1 alarm and fitting it was £330.

tbh 147 for a low mileage service is still far too much

blitz7287 said:

How do you mean standard fit, there is no alarm as standard lol, if your on about the optional fiat alarm you can get, yes it is cat 1 classified and you get paperwork to prove it. you also get a rather handy keyring fob thats got the central locking and boot opening on it for the key that doesn't fold.

and i would imagine if your cutting into wires to fit one it would void its warranty unless you got a fiat approved dealer to fit it.

altogether for my fiat cat 1 alarm and fitting it was £330.

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I was quoted €400 for a meta alarm (€300 for an ordinary alarm) installation through a very reputable Fiat dealer in Dublin but I could have to deal directly with the installer (not too sure if that means I'm no longer Fiat approved !). When I asked if the meta alarm could be installed and removed later on and would all the wiring be left in tact - he said that he would still have to cut wires. As you can guess - I didn't proceed. If any Irish person has had a Meta alarm system installed correctly could they PM me with the name of the Fiat dealer they used. I like the extra peace of mind that they give and the spare remote would come in handy.

306maxi said:

tbh 147 for a low mileage service is still far too much

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Agreed, but still a hell of a lot cheaper than I was expecting from a Fiat dealer.

Bought a lot of parts for my old Coupe from them and they cost a fortune, was expecting over £200 for the service so, £147 is fantastic...lol


As for the alarm, I have been quoted (rough price though) £280 by the dealer. Not sure if that's including or excluding VAT as I haven't got into the details yet. But it'll be a few months before I can actually afford to get it done though.

what's the point of having an alarm fitted? they can't steal your tape, they can't move the car and if you left something valuable in it, it'll be long gone before you know it. either way you end up only with some smashed glass or damaged lock.

durukan said:

what's the point of having an alarm fitted? they can't steal your tape, they can't move the car and if you left something valuable in it, it'll be long gone before you know it. either way you end up only with some smashed glass or damaged lock.

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1. Spare remote (from the alarm system)
2. Flashing light in the car - says I'm alarmed
3. There'll be a peep peep signalling that I'm alarmed
4. If you have leather seats and it's raining you might come back quicker so that they're not stained from the broken window. (ok a miserable one
5. May be a manatory requirement for some insurance policies e.g. on an Abarth
6. If you have an attempted break-in the car will tell you when you get back that someone was having a go at it - appears on the dash - you wouldn't park your car there again.
7. Some alarm systems have a perimeter sensor e.g. on convertibles like the 500c so it you put your hand near the roof it will go off whilst others have a movement sensor - handy if your car is being lifted or someone is jacking up your car to steel the wheels.
8. Noise is a great deterent for further damage e.g it might stop they damaging the ignition and breaking the steering lock - this will cost more than a window or/and a damaged lock.
9. Cann't think of any more .

multispoke said:

7. Some alarm systems have a perimeter sensor e.g. on convertibles like the 500c so it you put your hand near the roof it will go off whilst others have a movement sensor - handy if your car is being lifted or someone is jacking up your car to steel the wheels.

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I guess burglars are quite brutal there. here, with arriving of new tapes and immobiliser car thefts decreased dramatically and it's compeletely safe unless you forget something like a purse or a briefcase on your back seat. but back then screaming car alarms were a regular part of life, that was so annoying especially when you were asleep.

durukan said:

I guess burglars are quite brutal there (or maybe lazy ). here, with arriving of new tapes and immobiliser car thefts decreased dramatically and it's compeletely safe unless you forget something like a purse or a briefcase on your back seat. but back then screaming car alarms were a regular part of life, that was so annoying especially when you were asleep.

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Yeah but thats your country were talking about parts of u.k here lol.

blitz7287 said:

Yeah but thats your country were talking about parts of u.k here lol.

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yes I was implying that conditions are harsher than I though and fitting an alarm could be justified in uk.

durukan said:

yes I was implying that conditions are harsher than I though and fitting an alarm could be justified in uk.

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In summary I would say that if you had an Abarth in a city area you would have to have an alarm installed whilst with the standard 500 it would be debatable. Securing your car is not as important as securing your home - a lot of guys were having their keys robbed. A problem in my area is kits, wheels, mirrors being robbed to order - mostly off mercs & beamers. Some car owners are installing sensors to detect movement. False alarms are not being tolerated in our area - neighbours are quick to knock on each other doors. The attempted breakin 'sign' on my wifes mito has proved very useful and has warned us not to park in a certain 'part' of the road. I am also surprised at the number of people with NO WHEEL LOCKS on their alloys. With the excess on insurance policies now it does not pay to claim. And on the reasons given above - they have all happened to me - and that's why I ended up having a secure lockup garage.