do we have to take it back to where we bought the car,as they have quoted us over 200 pounds for the cars 1st service,and it as only done almost 5 thousand miles,if we take it to a local garage what are the things we need to make sure are done

You need to take it to a garage that is VAT registered & genuine parts used.

A independant garage will not be able to carry out software updates/service light (if fitted) & will be unfamiliar with the car...but will be cheaper.

Have you phoned around other fiat garages?

deelightful3 said:

do we have to take it back to where we bought the car,as they have quoted us over 200 pounds for the cars 1st service,and it as only done almost 5 thousand miles,if we take it to a local garage what are the things we need to make sure are done

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that is the reason my cars never see a garage (except for MOT's) once they come out of warrenty robbing B'startds

allanhelen said:

that is the reason my cars never see a garage (except for MOT's) once they come out of warrenty robbing B'startds

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Price guidelines for servicing are set by Fiat not dealers.

T14086 said:

You need to take it to a garage that is VAT registered & genuine parts used.

A independant garage will not be able to carry out software updates/service light (if fitted) & will be unfamiliar with the car...but will be cheaper.

Have you phoned around other fiat garages?

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not other fiat garages just my local garage who said if they needed parts they would use genuine fiat ones,and they quote over 100.00 less

Its your car,do as you wish

Personaly I dont mind paying the bit extra to have a franchised dealer do the servicing, you will get something back when you sell it on as a FSH from a franchised dealer is seen as desirable in the used car-market. However, I think the main issue is not so much the use of genuine Fiat parts, more the software upgrades......non-franchised dealers will not have access to these.

Use of non-genuine parts will invalidate the warranty though.

sledge said:

Personaly I dont mind paying the bit extra to have a franchised dealer do the servicing, you will get something back when you sell it on as a FSH from a franchised dealer is seen as desirable in the used car-market. However, I think the main issue is not so much the use of genuine Fiat parts, more the software upgrades......non-franchised dealers will not have access to these.

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Depends how long you keep the car TBO if you pay full dealer prices for all repairs and if you keep the car for any decent lenght of time I can guarentee you will be worse off. Some of the best cars I have owned have come from private sales from true enthusiasts and have been serviced to a much higher frequency and std and haven't got a dealer service history but have every receipt for everthing spent on the car.

If you trade the car in how much premium do they give you for a FSH? half the time if its a car they won't put on their forcourt they wont give a toss

while the car is in warrenty it's unavoidable but to ripped off I'm affraid because it's not worth the risk of something not been covered

I love it.....this subject always triggers soooo many different opinions.
And in a weird kind of way everybody is right!

May I suggest you call a few dealerships.
Even though the 'time' given to work on a service is set by Fiat Auto the dealers decide how much they will charge as their hourly rate.......I found this to be different.....I called 3 dealerships and was given 3 separate prices for the same 1st service that varied by as much as £80

I would 'haggle' free first service into the original buying deal...forget your free mats etc,they're worth pennies.This would leave you only to pay for second service as by third service car is out of warranty so get it done cheaper elsewhere etc.

Now heres a point...you dont change the oil filter on certain cars/models at its service interval due to oil degredation sensor(s) which tell you when to do it (all this is part of emission laws so its not just Fiat) this also has to be reset by manufactuers equipment....wouldn't be first time I have a irate customer in for warning light on only to be told it needs oil change after just paying for a service elsewhere!

T14086 said:

I would 'haggle' free first service into the original buying deal...forget your free mats etc,they're worth pennies.This would leave you only to pay for second service as by third service car is out of warranty so get it done cheaper elsewhere etc.

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Might there be an argument for getting the 3rd service done by a dealer just within the 3 year warranty period - and getting the first MOT done at the same time. Then if there are any MOT issues which date from the original build (as opposed to "wear and tear") it will be the dealers responsiblity to fix them.

James

No because its not dealers responsibility to fix,its 3rd year cover which is not same as 1st & 2nd year warranty & has many exclusions.I would expect a car at its first MOT to pass if correctly maintained.

I've never believed in paying over the odds at a dealer for my sevicing.
IMO having a FSH doesn't make any difference whatsoever to the re-sale price - it's a 'nice to have', but you'll never, ever recoup your money from having it.

When I have had dealers service my car (not Fiat), I've never been convinced they've done everything - I got my Peugeot back after its first service from the main dealer without any of the fluids topped up. I compained about that.

I'd much rather take it to a reputable place that I know will do a good job.

However, I'm a bit concerned about the resets that need to be done - such as the oil change sensor. I thought that the sensor could detect the quality of the oil, and therefore wouldn't alert the driver if the oil and filter had been changed. Is that not the case on the GPs?

As I previously stated its your car to do as you please with wether you take it to dealer or backstreet garage or do it yourself.

T14086 - what about the oil sensor? You said in your earlier post that the oil degredation sensor had to be reset by the dealer....so does this have to be done after every oil change?

I never said "the oil degredation sensor had to be reset by the dealer",you can't reset a sensor,strictly speaking

T14086 said:

Now heres a point...you dont change the oil filter on certain cars/models at its service interval due to oil degredation sensor(s) which tell you when to do it (all this is part of emission laws so its not just Fiat) this also has to be reset by manufactuers equipment....wouldn't be first time I have a irate customer in for warning light on only to be told it needs oil change after just paying for a service elsewhere!

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No, of course not , but your above post definitely seems to suggest it....I'm probably just misunderstanding you.

All I really want to know is that if I change the oil and filter at a independent garage, is it possible that the car won't know it's got fresh oil and tell me to get it changed?

new2fiat said:

is it possible that the car won't know it's got fresh oil and tell me to get it changed?

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The car will seemingly know that you have saved money and will want you to report to dealer in order to rectify this.
In a dream last night I was working on a software update that allowed a dealer credit card to be inserted into the connect nav. This then allowed the bonnet to be opened for independents to do a service and to neatly bypass the original problem.

It'll never happen...politics