As some of you may remember I bought a 5dr 04 Stilo Dynamic back in March and lets just say its been an interesting few months, from the radiator and water pump going after 2 weeks to the brakes squealing.

Anyway it had its 2yr service 2 weeks ago and the two things I asked them to check were the brakes (car pulls to left when you brake hard and brake pedal rises under heavy braking), and the front tyres (drivers one seems to be losing pressure and I thought they may need replacing)

Car goes through the service at main dealers with no problems according to them they say brakes are fine front has 5.9 mil and rears 6.5 left on them. They say the thread on tyres in 6 on front and 4 and 5 on rears, however other part of service sheet says 3 and 4 on front and 6 on rears!!!!!

Anyway to make a semi long story a bit shorter, I got stopped during a routine police check in London on Thursday and police check the tyres and say my drivers front is illegal or verging on it. I say no it can't be I've just had it serviced etc etc, show him the service sheet , it was him that spotted the difference in two service sheets. He shows me the gauge he has that says there is less than 2 mil on tyre etc. I try and argue the point or tell him that Fiat serviced it etc, but say ok I will change the wheel and put the spare on.... This is when I discover that they never replaced the wheel locking nut after the service so I can't even change the wheel. How much of a fool did I feel.

So I end up with a producer from this, took the car to a friend of a friends garage for him to look over it only to find that break pads are way less than garage says and both front discs are warped which explained the swerving while braking etc

So back to Fiat this morning and I think its time I took this further as garage are just wasting my time now and I can't even if I had a puncture change the wheel

Anyone got any advice on what I should do next, is it worth taking it to Fiat's head over and if needed trading standards??


sorry for long rant but majorly fed up now with them.

I can see why you are angry personally I think you have been to patient and because you are of the fairer sex they are taking the we we from the posts I have read on the forum if you are unfortunate and encounter a bad dealership you are well and truely up a gumtree and you would be better off going to another garage and turn your back on them because you will eventually end up going insane :bang: the trading standards part of your post well YES I definitely WOULD make inquiries with them a threat Verbal or Written from these people can very often make the difference between getting or as in your case NOT getting a decent standard of service sorry to hear you are having all these problems Sinnerb its great having you here with us in the Stilo section as is all you Lady owners but peticularly you as you have a 5dr [hope that made you smile ] go get em gal vent your anger show them you will Not be fobbed off GOOD LUCK

I too can appreciate your rants, as I've too had it with a particular dealership, Reg Vardy in Paisley)

I was told 3 weeks ago that my starter motor was on it's way out and to consider replacing it, but the supplying dealer would not authorise. One thing I did ask them to check was a "whining" noise, which I felt was a belt of some description, they said all the belts were worn, but was fair wear and tear.

As the car was still covered by a 1 month used car dealer warranty, I contacted the dealer I bought the car from and they asked me to take it to their chaps for a look see, their guys said straight away the starter motor was knackered, because the alternator belt was worn and not charging battery fully, as a result the previous owner wore the starter motor out trying to get the car started. They've agreed to install a new motor and replace all the worn belts, at no cost to me.

My latest rant is that I've found out I've got the wrong tyres on, I've got 205-50-16 when I should have 205-55-16 and now my brake lights are flickering after some "attention" was paid to the brake light switch following my recent ABS/ASR Failure.

Another call needs to be made today.

My advice would be to call FIAT UK and register a complaint. Get the complaint number, write to FIAT UK so they have a hard copy (& cc it to the dealer); this way, if you do get trading standards involved (put that on the letter; something like "If the matter is not resolved in a satisfactory way, I will have no choice but to seek further consultation from Trading Standards" . . . that should be a good start.

That service is appauling; I'd be furious in your shoes!

Well just had the service manager call me full of apologies and wants an opportunity to try and sort it out. I asked him how many do they need to do a simple brakes and tyre check as this I think will be 5th for brakes.
Told him I intend to take this matter as far as possible in order to have it rectified and asked him for the address of Fiat head office (I have this but wanted him to know I am serious)

On a side note this is what I found under the bonnet which was responsible for the banging noise I asked them to check out (They couldnt find the fault) , does anyone know what it may be.

sinnerb said:

On a side note this is what I found under the bonnet which was responsible for the banging noise I asked them to check out (They couldnt find the fault) , does anyone know what it may be.

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If it has a thread on the end then this should be in the boot toolbox.

It helps to locate the alloy wheels when mounting back on the axle. You screw it into the hub and use it to help locate the screw holes and then remove it when the wheel is in place.

Ah thanks for that, not sure why it would be under teh bonnet and not in boot, good to see that their head of service department didn't know what it was either ;-)

rroope said:

My advice would be to call FIAT UK and register a complaint. Get the complaint number, write to FIAT UK so they have a hard copy (& cc it to the dealer); this way, if you do get trading standards involved (put that on the letter; something like "If the matter is not resolved in a satisfactory way, I will have no choice but to seek further consultation from Trading Standards" . . . that should be a good start.

That service is appauling; I'd be furious in your shoes!

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:yeahthat: Found much below 3mm of tread on the front tyres of mine with the 15' steelies on was SCARY!

The way the police measure tyre thread depths is different to standard practice(police often measure across whole tyre,standard practise is center & in between both sides,however they really dont like it when you point this out!),this has long been a problem regarding police forces measuring tyre depths who will almost always back out of going to court & issue a caution insteard.

Fair comment on how police measure the thread left but still there is a big difference between 6, maybe 4 and then again verging on ilegal..

Latest update is that after an hour with the garage today, I have now handed the car back. They did offer me a MW 06 reg but basic model which I refused mainly because I dont want a MW and also it won't fit in my Garage,
So I am now in the managers 06 1.4AC and he has two weeks to find me a suitable replacement of simliar spec from 04 reg upwards. If after 2 weeks he doesn't have a replacement then I will recieve a full refund. (have this in writing)

So I think thats a very fair resolution and hopefully this car will be road wothy and brake when you need to ....

Lets see what the next 2 weeks brings now.

That is very fair......so after your refund you gonna get another stilo

I'm hoping he finds a replacement as I really enjoyed driving the car on the days it stopped when you wanted it to, went where you wanted, didnt squeal or rattle.
But if it comes down to a refund I may reconsider

I had many issues with my 1st Stilo too and after many phone calls and the supplying dealership paying over £1200 to sort problems out, I gave up and insisted they take the car back.

I doubt very much you will get a refund, regardless of whatever laws are in place, dealers will always find a way to get out of keeping to them.

In my case to expidite the situation I sent a rather serious sounding fax to the General Manager of the supplying dealership, in the fax I asked for a refund or to have the full purchase price (£4000) transferred to a vehicle of my choice, I did some hunting around and found a real steal which gave me a far better deal than I had before, I paid an extra £1K and got a newer car with Leather Interior and ALL the toys including Sat Nav.

Now I know I got a good deal, cause I checked with Reg Vardy and they couldn't match it, best they could do for £5K was a 1.2 Active, which whilst is nice and all, doesn't compare to what I have got now, teething problems aside.

When buying a used car from anyone, be prepared to have to "fix" a few things, have patience, but don't come across to defensive, I've found that as I know the names and contact details of many of the staff, I've been able to easily get them to do what I want. It also helps to ask the staff their advice, rather than saying "I've got a problem fix it", suggest to them you think there might be an issue, "What do you think", I've found this approach to be particularly helpful in my case and they seem to respond much better.

I wish you good luck in your search for a new car, don't give up on the Stilo, you will find one that "works" just be carefull in your selection and make sure you are selecting it and not them.

myworlduk said:

It also helps to ask the staff their advice, rather than saying "I've got a problem fix it" I've found this approach to be particularly helpful in my case and they seem to respond much better.

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If only all customers were like you

Yet day after day we get the "this car (4 years old I might add!) has 3 small scratches on it & theres marks on the interior door trims"

Well buy a f*cking new car you :tosser: if you want it 100% perfect you tight git.........not in those actual words of course,salesmen have a more 'delicate' way of putting it across

Hi

Just thought I'd update you all on latest saga with Fiat and for me it's good news..

After many negotiations with the dealer and them trying to palm me off with a GP and even and Almera at one stage, I now have a full refund for my car including the supagaurding and extra insurance etc. Just waiting on a refund for the service they didn't do correctly (which I feel I am entitled to).
So once the cheque is in my account I can finally get something else.

I would never have got rid of the car if the service dept had done their job which I made clear to the manager the other day, but when you send a car in 4 times because of problems with the brakes and they assure you they fixed them, only for 2 other garages to tell you the front disc's are warped it does really sit well.

No idea what to get but I know after the experience with this dealer and especially the service dept it won't be a Fiat again, which I am quite sad about as all I've had it Fiat's over past 9 yrs. These are the only local dealer so no choice really..

Oh dear its a sad day for the stilo section mourning the loss of a member a 5dr owner to but a least you have had your monies back so alls well in that dept I hope you at least log in from time to time to say hello to us all :wave: as we will all miss you three cheers for sinnerb our one time 5dr stilo owner good luck

My complaint with FIAT isnt about the dealership, as they have been great, its about their silly process and them not budging on what they are saying.

Passed another complaint to them directly this morning.

sinnerb said:

No idea what to get but I know after the experience with this dealer and especially the service dept it won't be a Fiat again, which I am quite sad about as all I've had it Fiat's over past 9 yrs. These are the only local dealer so no choice really..

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sorry to hear this.

However why not try another Fiat but use a different dealer? We get alot of people who travel 70/80 miles to come to us.We give them a lift into the town/train station or wherever & they make it a day out shopping or picnic etc,quite often they bring their pets aswell! We collect them & have the bill already done etc so they can get away quickly...the fact they come back year after year & continue buying new cars from us means they like the service they recieve....there are some very good dealers about
What about a croma? they are very trouble free so you wont need to go to dealer,even get it serviced elsewhere if you want.