The rear bump stops on my Eleganza JTD Multipla have dropped out of the housings due to corrosion(45000 miles)I have been told that the rear axle needs to be replaced and that it would be advisable to replace the shock absorbers simultaneously. I have been quoted one thousand pound, including Labour charges. Am I being conned?

The mountings for the bump stops are a welded part of the rear subframe. A new subframe (from Fiat) is around £650 I believe. There was someone on the forum a while ago who said they could supply them for a lot less than that. A new pair of rear dampers will only cost about £50 absolute max.

That's the parts prices (inc. VAT). A garage will take 1/2 to 3/4 day to get everything fitted. So £1,000 sounds a bit steep, but if it's a main dealer probably not far off the mark.

The alternatives:

Get someone to fabricate new bump stop mounts and weld them to the existing subframe. That will be a cheaper option, but you'll need to hunt around to find someone with the skills to take the job on. Also, if you've completely lost the old bump stop rubbers, you'll have problems getting new ones as Fiat don't sell them on their own.

or

Get another subframe from a scrappy and have that fitted.

Thanks, widemouthfrog, I'll continue the research I notice FIAT ePER sells the frames for £300.00 approx. and the shocks for £50.00 the pair. I think I'll keep the motor, as I bought it new and it's only travelled 45K. I travelled 130 miles this week(round trip to the TITANIC Centre in Belfast) and she returned 54.5mpg. My wife wants to trade it in for a Renault Captur, in July. I shall attempt to resist the pressure.

Eper prices are well out of date...so don't take any notice!

If you're looking at the eper on this forum, ignore the prices - it's a 2005 version so well out of date. As a rule of thumb, I'm finding that the prices shown on the forum-hosted eper are about half what a Fiat dealer is currently charging.

Have you tried a search on here for the guy that said he could supply them at a cut price? Might be worth sending him a PM.

Further to what Jambo1 posted in another thread:

http://www.partsworld-uk.com/product/Rear_subframe_-_Multipla_91407501

One of the bump stops on my Multipla fell off, due to corrosion, and was rattling about inside the spring. I took it to two separate mot testers and both said don't worry about it, they're not doing much/anything anyway, just remove them. I took their advice, later passed the mot and haven't had any problems. Even when towing at the maximum permissible weight!

I just noticed a couple of places selling Febi bump stops specifically for the Multipla on ebay. Febi part number is 36970. Fiat do sell them as a separate part - 46550123 - not solely as part of the subframe as I've suggested before.

Best price I found them for was £9.10 each from AP on Amazon. Rytiss on here may do them for less .

Not much help though, if your subframe has rusted away.....

Original post was over a year ago, Agnelli's last post was in Feb, when he stated he was selling the Multi, looks like his missus got her way . . . bet they're both regretting that decision

For the record, I'd say dump the bump-stops.
Unless you're regularly overloading the car, they're redundant anyway.