I've been quoted £390 by a main dealer. Am I being ripped off? If so, where would you suggest I go so that I can a)maintain my warranty, b) have my software updated and c) pay lots less.

Thanks in advance fellow 500 junkies.

phantasmagorical said:

I've been quoted £390 by a main dealer. Am I being ripped off? If so, where would you suggest I go so that I can a)maintain my warranty, b) have my software updated and c) pay lots less.

Thanks in advance fellow 500 junkies.

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Hello phantasmagorical,

Before I give any more input on this one, what has been the service history so far and what is the mileage as well?

If you can let us know then we can probably assist a bit more for you. It sounds like your dealer's quote is for a full 36k service which are generally quoted @ 3 and a half hours labour though.

There are also useful tips on this thread as well:
https://www.fiatforum.com/500/252370-have-i-just-been-mugged-off-servicing.html

Well ripped off. I paid £270 and even that was a bit much tbh.

phantasmagorical said:

I've been quoted £390 by a main dealer. Am I being ripped off? If so, where would you suggest I go so that I can a)maintain my warranty, b) have my software updated and c) pay lots less.

Thanks in advance fellow 500 junkies.

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Is this the same car that you got from new ?
IIRC if it is under 2 years old you wouldn't need the brake fluid changed.
If you have a quote it might be useful to see the breakdown.

£390

To my knowledge (and i'm sitting with FIAT's own 500 maintenance program beside me), the 36K mile service involves the following:

* Checking the condition of tyres, lighting systems, brakes, drive belts, bodywork etc.
* Check/adjust tappet clearance (1.2 8v PETROL ONLY)
* Check/adjust handbrake cable
* Check exhaust gas emissions
* Replace air filter
* Replace spark plugs (PETROL ENGINES ONLY)
* Replace engine oil and filter
* Replace brake fluid
* Replace pollen filter
* Replace fuel filter/green filter (DIESEL ENGINES ONLY)
* Check/top-up fluid levels
* Inspect condition of timing belt (PETROL ENGINES ONLY)
* Check ECU efficiency using Examiner

In bold I have highlighted the items which, you may/may not be confident enough to tackle yourself, but you can certainly buy the items relatively cheaply and have FIAT or an independant fit for you. To give you an idea, I have recently bought (high quality) oil and filter, pollen filter and air filter for less than £70. Checking things like tyres, fluid levels etc. you certainly should be able to do yourself as a car owner. My advice would be, buy the relevant service items, get a quote form a local independent (reccommended to you by someone if possible) and take that quote to FIAT and see what they can do for you.

I will be getting my own 36K service done next year, possibly at FIAT but probably at an independent, purely because i'm not confident enough in my own ability to be changing brake fluid.

After having my own brake fluid changed at 8K miles but with the car 2.5 years old - OK I concede - it should have been changed.
BUT if a car is less than 2 years e.g. March 2010 I would be inclined to skip it if it was going to save me an hour's labour (some are quoting 30 minutes).
I am also a little bit dubious as to how much new fluid is pumped through the system. At least with a filter change you can see the 'old' filters and you know that it's been done.
If I was getting new brake fluid I would buy it as close to the time of it being done so that I could maximise its '3 year' shelf life.
Re the brake fluid change the book does say at 36K or every 2 years.
How many 500s sold that are 2 years old and are being sold off the forecourt and a claimed full service history actually have the brake fluid changed - practically none here.
I would now agree with buying all the bits from a reputable supplier (you can get discount from the FF) unless there are VAT benefits e.g. a lower rate than buying it directly yourself. At least you will know which oil has been put in your engine so that if you need to top up before the next service it is with the same oil. Personally I like to use the recommended FIAT oil Selenia KPE 5W40.

Get a quote at a fiat specialist independent, their labor is much lower. The majority of that price is the labor, the parts themselves are not really expensive! You should be able to do it for 200 pounds with decent indie labor.

Regarding check gas emissions at the dealer they said that the Greek government makes you test emissions every year and they charge you 10 euros for it, probably adding some labor on top of that also! I said, no thank you! Emissions tests are generally just for the govt to take some more cash, besides i think they do it for your mot anyway, so i dont understand why they check it at the dealer?

ahmett said:

Get a quote at a fiat specialist independent, their labor is much lower. The majority of that price is the labor, the parts themselves are not really expensive! You should be able to do it for 200 pounds with decent indie labor.

Regarding check gas emissions at the dealer they said that the Greek government makes you test emissions every year and they charge you 10 euros for it, probably adding some labor on top of that also! I said, no thank you! Emissions tests are generally just for the govt to take some more cash, besides i think they do it for your mot anyway, so i dont understand why they check it at the dealer?

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Ahmett can you please, really please stop blaming this poor country called Greece? If you can't deal with the fact of how things are done here, you always have the option to leave. Correct? You're continuously doing that and please keep in mind that there are some people here who may get offended e.g me . It is required by law (i think it has been the same during the last 15 years) to renew the emission card once per year and there is not any extra labor cost for that, it's just 10 euros! I hope that you got it from somewhere else instead! Once, i forgot to do and i got a fine of 80 euros. Just for your info, you're not considered smart or important if you don't get this card. In Greece, those people who act like you, we call them τζάμπα μάγκες and please don't try to translate that because it cannot be! Well, you live in this bureaucratic - high taxed mess (this is what this country is in your mind) and it's fairly easy to find someone to ask

(Some of you may consider my reaction as inappropriate and i apologize in advance but im clearly stating the reason why im doing this. Its not this post leading me to react in this way - but all of these that i have read from him during the last 2 months - since i joined the forum)

Thank you.

Chrisilda said:

Ahmett can you please, really please stop blaming this poor country called Greece? If you can't deal with the fact of how things are done here, you always have the option to leave. Correct? You're continuously doing that and please keep in mind that there are some people here who may get offended e.g me . It is required by law (i think it has been the same during the last 15 years) to renew the emission card once per year and there is not any extra labor cost for that, it's just 10 euros! I hope that you got it from somewhere else instead! Once, i forgot to do and i got a fine of 80 euros. Just for your info, you're not considered smart or important if you don't get this card. In Greece, those people who act like you, we call them τζάμπα μάγκες and please don't try to translate that because it cannot be! Well, you live in this bureaucratic - high taxed mess (this is what this country is in your mind) and it's fairly easy to find someone to ask

(Some of you may consider my reaction as inappropriate and i apologize in advance but im clearly stating the reason why im doing this. Its not this post leading me to react in this way - but all of these that i have read from him during the last 2 months - since i joined the forum)

Thank you.

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I am just stating the way things are. If i was in England I would be doing the same. I am just talking about reality in the country I live in I have nothing against Greece i enjoy living in this country. I just wish some thisgn would be changed so life would be better. And my criticism of the emissions was not just based on Greece, its the whole world that makes an excuse of 'eco awareness' to raise more taxes on people. I think you need to understand that I wasnt against Greece, I was against the style of taking money from people through false eco pretenses. I hope you understand this idea. On the contrary, I want greece to get rid of some stupid laws so people in the country can be better off, I want to help Greece! Remember you said about numberplates taking 10 days? Well if it took 1 day instead of 10, the economy will be more efficient = richer Greece!

Anyway i did not do the emission card and its my choice. If you want to do it go ahead. I am just saying that it is completely unnecesary, I just see it as a tax. If people insist having 'clean' cars well it can be done with the MOT (KTEO in Greece). Nothing to do with being a 'gangster', I just dont see the point in doing it. Maybe you should call the people who drive badly on the roads and do dangerously illegal things like tinting 100% their windows or not indicating when driving or speeding a lot, 'gangsters'.

You need to analyse the situation before making such big criticisms. Logic not emotion!

ahmett said:

I am just stating the way things are. If i was in England I would be doing the same. I am just talking about reality in the country I live in I have nothing against Greece i enjoy living in this country. I just wish some thisgn would be changed so life would be better. And my criticism of the emissions was not just based on Greece, its the whole world that makes an excuse of 'eco awareness' to raise more taxes on people. I think you need to understand that I wasnt against Greece, I was against the style of taking money from people through false eco pretenses. I hope you understand this idea. On the contrary, I want greece to get rid of some stupid laws so people in the country can be better off, I want to help Greece! Remember you said about numberplates taking 10 days? Well if it took 1 day instead of 10, the economy will be more efficient = richer Greece!

Anyway i did not do the emission card and its my choice. If you want to do it go ahead. I am just saying that it is completely unnecesary, I just see it as a tax. If people insist having 'clean' cars well it can be done with the MOT (KTEO in Greece). Nothing to do with being a 'gangster', I just dont see the point in doing it. Maybe you should call the people who drive badly on the roads and do dangerously illegal things like tinting 100% their windows or not indicating when driving or speeding a lot, 'gangsters'.

You need to analyse the situation before making such big criticisms. Logic not emotion!

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Ahmett, who called you a gangster?! (wrong translation probably ). I always do reply rationally and i clearly mentioned that i didn't act in this way because of this single post. I don't want to elaborate further on that. I guess - hope so that i clearly made my point.
Probably i may be biased by the fact that you're doing that frequently and you're maybe just this type of guy who is complaining about everything. (Who knows!?) As you said, you may enjoying living here but all of these comments about bureaucracy, roads, taxes, people etc. reveal the exact opposite.

Chrisilda said:

Ahmett, who called you a gangster?! (wrong translation probably ). I always do reply rationally and i clearly mentioned that i didn't act in this way because of this single post. I don't want to elaborate further on that. I guess - hope so that i clearly made my point.
Probably i may be biased by the fact that you're doing that frequently and you're maybe just this type of guy who is complaining about everything. (Who knows!?) As you said, you may enjoying living here but all of these comments about bureaucracy, roads, taxes, people etc. reveal the exact opposite.

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Chrislida i wont argue with you. And you cant live in a world without complaining. If you think complaining is taboo then nothing will ever improve. The thinsg i talked about the roads, bureaucracy, taxes, and bad driving standards. If these improved Greece would be a better country. If you are against complaining then we should all be happy with where we stand and take life as it comes without improving anything. Personally I cant do that, I believe life is about constant improvement. If you disagree, then well we will agree to disagree.

I'm the person who complains and try to change things in the best way possible. (I'm just don't do that continuously as you do! You act like Statler and Waldorf dear )