General Australian 500 owners!

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General Australian 500 owners!

No reflection issues on my cream dash, wheel, cowl etc. Maybe you sit too high/low??? LOL about service monkeys. Next time go back with 3 or 4 more all set at different times to mess with their heads...
 
No reflection issues on my cream dash, wheel, cowl etc. Maybe you sit too high/low??? LOL about service monkeys. Next time go back with 3 or 4 more all set at different times to mess with their heads...

Not quite sure how one can sit too high or low in a Fiat - the seat 'height' adjustment doesn't actually raise or lower the seat, it just changes the angle of the cushion. I sit in a position that's optimal for my average height but when the sun hits the cowl it wouldn't make any difference if the seat was higher or lower. I've experimented with dark coloured materials placed on the cowl but haven't found anything that makes much difference so far.

It can be very interesting to review the dashcam videos after getting the car back from the dealer. So far I've only had one tech who was smart enough to unplug it.
 
How much does it cost to do the service? I'm in Melbourne and my dealer is asking over $800!!! This can't be right...
Bill shock!

Front brakes were grinding so dropped car into fiat to have it checked out. Glow plug warning light coming on intermittently also so asked to have this looked at too. The quote is in:
New pads, rotors & one glow plug $618. GP was about $60, rotors $400, balance for pads. Labour will be $357.
Car has just over 60,000 km on the clock & this is the first time the brakes have needed attention so, judging by some of the other posts, I'm doing OK in this regard.

Am I completely out of touch with the cost of parts or is this ridiculous?
 
Bill shock!



Front brakes were grinding so dropped car into fiat to have it checked out. Glow plug warning light coming on intermittently also so asked to have this looked at too. The quote is in:

New pads, rotors & one glow plug $618. GP was about $60, rotors $400, balance for pads. Labour will be $357.

Car has just over 60,000 km on the clock & this is the first time the brakes have needed attention so, judging by some of the other posts, I'm doing OK in this regard.



Am I completely out of touch with the cost of parts or is this ridiculous?


We have a Toyota Corolla Wagon, bought new in 2005. It now had 95,000 km on the clock and we have never had it serviced. Two front tyres were replaced at 90,000 km, a new battery was fitted two years ago and the wiper blades have been changed front and back. We need to top up the oil with a litre of the black stuff every three months or so and the car returns around 10 to 12 l/100 km depending on whether we are doing town or distance driving. Breaks and rear tyres are still fine. Servicing is a rip off.
 
Am I completely out of touch with the cost of parts or is this ridiculous?

Pads & rotors for the 1.3 diesel are about twice the price of those for the 1.2 petrol.

Part of the problem may be that noone really wants to ship parts for a locally not-so common car halfway round the world, so there are probably fewer aftermarket options available to you.

By way of comparison, I replaced the pads & rotors on my 1.2 petrol Panda a few weeks ago for the first time after 50,000 miles. The pads & rotors together cost me a few pence over £40, and I did it myself so the labour cost me £0.
 
Pads & rotors for the 1.3 diesel are about twice the price of those for the 1.2 petrol.

Part of the problem may be that noone really wants to ship parts for a locally not-so common car halfway round the world, so there are probably fewer aftermarket options available to you.

By way of comparison, I replaced the pads & rotors on my 1.2 petrol Panda a few weeks ago for the first time after 50,000 miles. The pads & rotors together cost me a few pence over £40, and I did it myself so the labour cost me £0.


What's a rotor?
 
Bill shock!

Front brakes were grinding so dropped car into fiat to have it checked out. Glow plug warning light coming on intermittently also so asked to have this looked at too. The quote is in:
New pads, rotors & one glow plug $618. GP was about $60, rotors $400, balance for pads. Labour will be $357.
Car has just over 60,000 km on the clock & this is the first time the brakes have needed attention so, judging by some of the other posts, I'm doing OK in this regard.

Am I completely out of touch with the cost of parts or is this ridiculous?

Ebay is your friend
Quality Pagid rotors delivered to Oz $177 - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/300...e&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=107

OR

discs and pads delivered $175.17 - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/131...e&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=107

Glow Plug $40 delivered - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/261...e&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=107

I have always bought my own parts and fitted most things that don't require a hoist so labour is zero. I intend to go to an aftermarket approved repairer for servicing, Fiat themselves and go and get F_____ with their price gouging on servicing
 
We have a Toyota Corolla Wagon, bought new in 2005. It now had 95,000 km on the clock and we have never had it serviced. Two front tyres were replaced at 90,000 km, a new battery was fitted two years ago and the wiper blades have been changed front and back. We need to top up the oil with a litre of the black stuff every three months or so and the car returns around 10 to 12 l/100 km depending on whether we are doing town or distance driving. Breaks and rear tyres are still fine. Servicing is a rip off.
Surely it needs new spark plugs and filters?
 
Ebay is your friend
Quality Pagid rotors delivered to Oz $177 - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/300986698029?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=107

OR

discs and pads delivered $175.17 - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/131215376193?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=107

Glow Plug $40 delivered - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/261446830218?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=107

I have always bought my own parts and fitted most things that don't require a hoist so labour is zero. I intend to go to an aftermarket approved repairer for servicing, Fiat themselves and go and get F_____ with their price gouging on servicing
check out bosch service centers. they have great access to spare parts at reasonable prices and have very well trained techs. they do have shops in aussieland.
I exclusively go to them for anyting related to my car, with my warranty over I avoid any fiat dealer like the plague.
 
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We have a Toyota Corolla Wagon
...
We need to top up the oil with a litre of the black stuff every three months or so

I hope you're changing the oil and filter at least once a year (but preferably every 6 months if you're driving the car regularly), else the poor car will surely be suffering :D

Toyotas can take a lot of punishment but even they have their limits. No way I would even imagine doing that to a FIAT :eek:

Had to go to the petrol station to fill up my dad's Corolla tonight -- oh how I hate driving that thing, it's completely soulless.
 
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I hope you're changing the oil and filter at least once a year (but preferably every 6 months if you're driving the car regularly), else the poor car will surely be suffering :D

Toyotas can take a lot of punishment but even they have their limits. No way I would even imagine doing that to a FIAT :eek:

Had to go to the petrol station to fill up my dad's Corolla tonight -- oh how I hate driving that thing, it's completely soulless.


Nope, nothing. IT HAS HAD NO SERVICING EVER. To be honest we are running this as a long term consumer test. It started after we realised that the service intervals for the car are much less in Australia than they are in New Zealand, for the same car.

Consumers are being roped off and Victoria is one of only a few places in the world that a car can be run for this long without an inspection. The Corolla does burn a little oil but is on a good and safe condition. We will see how long it will go for.
 
You should be banned from keeping cars for life. Thankfully your 500 will break soon enough and teach you a lesson :)


Well in the UK we don't call whatever a rotor is, a rotor. So , I ask again, what is a rotor?
 
Well in the UK we don't call whatever a rotor is, a rotor. So , I ask again, what is a rotor?


A brake rotor us the shiny metal disc that you can see when you look at or through your alloy wheels, the disc pads grab the rotor to slow and stop the car. It's the 'disc' in disc brakes. Rotors do wear out and can be scored or damaged too.
 
Why does it matter? you're not going to replace it anyway......


The Corolla, is an experiment and not a statement of how we use or treat cars. My first new car was an Alfa which was serviced easily within the manufacturers recommendations yet had rusted away to the scrap yard within five years. My second new Italian car was a Fiat Uno 70SL, also regularly serviced, this too was a horror story of a car with problem electrics. My third Italian was a Lamborgini and it was the worst car I have ever driven.

Personally I replaced and rebuilt the engine of my first car, I wanted a larger engine, and know how a car works. I have seen the term rotor a number of times and the fact that they were being replaced , but I have always dismissed that they were the disc component as replace not at such low milage seems odd.
 
A brake rotor us the shiny metal disc that you can see when you look at or through your alloy wheels, the disc pads grab the rotor to slow and stop the car. It's the 'disc' in disc brakes. Rotors do wear out and can be scored or damaged too.


Thanks in the UK we refer to them as a disc. They can be damaged but not at 60,000 km. They should last years.
 
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In the UK they are called discs OR rotors. Jrkitching is in the UK.....

Discs don't get 'damaged'.... They wear and depending on your driving style they could last 10,000 miles or 100,000 miles plus.
 
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