The drivers side seat fabric in my Panda 169 Cross is wearing thin, so my local dealer for a price: The parts man nearly fell off his chair when he showed me the price. needless to say I didn't order it.
Dealer Prices
- Thread starter Moonroof
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Dealer Prices
Reply. You have paid for a storage unit for 15 years.. Of course it is expensive 
TBH, I wonder if you could run a profitable business seeking "passenger seat fabric" to the opposite LHD /RHS markets
A £200 scrap car will give 6 or 8 seat covers, 80% of which are in great condition
TBH, I wonder if you could run a profitable business seeking "passenger seat fabric" to the opposite LHD /RHS markets
A £200 scrap car will give 6 or 8 seat covers, 80% of which are in great condition
If that’s the offending seat it doesn’t look that bad, could do with a clean
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Cheaper than the seat for a Renault 12TS in 1979. (£2,500) Clearly they dont want to sell them. Too many trims and colours and too bulky to store. Find a good trimmer ad you will get a decent repair for a lot less. Or seek a second hand seat.
Lets face it Fiat and others do not want to support any vehicle over 5 years old (if they can get away with it) and come 10 years it's tough luck.
That is if you are lucky. For our 130TC bought new in 1988 I could not get front track control arms 6 months later! I won't go into the details but basically Fiat (and others) wash their hands of stock and production supply based on many factors but rest assured if you have a "special" model you are stuffed.
Any by "special" this also includes those marketing gimmicks like the Cinquecento Abarth and other fancy handbag tart-ups to attract and appeal. No offense meant as even I bought a Stilo Abarth and parts for this now compared to the base model are in scarcity and no longer supplied by Fiat.
On the other hand the bog standard Panda utility vehicle is in a much better position almost regardless of age.
More recent take the new 2015 uConnect systems and services. We are not even to 2025 (EU 10 years) and they are essentially if not totally gone.
They say that the motor vehicle is the second most expensive item we buy in our lives after a house/home yet it is written of and no longer fully supported by the manufacturers after, or even before, 10 years.
One has to ask oneself who is the mug here?
That is if you are lucky. For our 130TC bought new in 1988 I could not get front track control arms 6 months later! I won't go into the details but basically Fiat (and others) wash their hands of stock and production supply based on many factors but rest assured if you have a "special" model you are stuffed.
Any by "special" this also includes those marketing gimmicks like the Cinquecento Abarth and other fancy handbag tart-ups to attract and appeal. No offense meant as even I bought a Stilo Abarth and parts for this now compared to the base model are in scarcity and no longer supplied by Fiat.
On the other hand the bog standard Panda utility vehicle is in a much better position almost regardless of age.
More recent take the new 2015 uConnect systems and services. We are not even to 2025 (EU 10 years) and they are essentially if not totally gone.
They say that the motor vehicle is the second most expensive item we buy in our lives after a house/home yet it is written of and no longer fully supported by the manufacturers after, or even before, 10 years.
One has to ask oneself who is the mug here?
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If truth be known, once the vehicle leaves their forecourt, you are basically 'history' as they have had your money, and are no longer of any use to them, unless they are 'forced' to provide something under warranty, even then, they will argue and wriggle as much as they can to get out of doing anything.
(three months of use is NOT 'fair wear and tear!!)
That is sadly the attitude of most businesses these days, no matter what the profession is... sign of the times I suppose.
He is also very good at getting alloy wheels refurbished entirely for £50 each and a brand new tire. Infact he never calculates the prices of tires
This is standard practice across all brands (sadly). It was closer to £1,000 for the Avensis seat fabric when I looked a couple of years ago. As mentioned, there's a contribution inside these prices for the storage / warehouses where all of this rare seldom sold stuff is kept.
A place local to me which ships everywhere (Car Seat Covers Direct?) can produce you a tailored, custom bespoke set for the whole car for around £600. I think that includes any sort of pattern, material, colour combination and even logos / text you want. I think they're the type of covers that as they're made to measure, you'd remove some side trim panels etc to tuck them into so they look 98% factory and don't sag / fall off like the Halfords universal specials would
A place local to me which ships everywhere (Car Seat Covers Direct?) can produce you a tailored, custom bespoke set for the whole car for around £600. I think that includes any sort of pattern, material, colour combination and even logos / text you want. I think they're the type of covers that as they're made to measure, you'd remove some side trim panels etc to tuck them into so they look 98% factory and don't sag / fall off like the Halfords universal specials would
In my experience Fiat were okay here. Though it was the last remaining dealer in the country probably clinging to get any work through its system. They replaced a clearly damaged parcel shelf for me no arguing although they'd have been well within their right to say no. Hyundai are the absolute worst as somehow their warranty work makes them a lot less than their private fee.. for the company bragging about such a long warranty, it is the worst. They avoid covering things that are squarely covered by warranty.. Toyota aren't bad. They cover a lot in the new car warranty but sometimes took a second convincing.If truth be known, once the vehicle leaves their forecourt, you are basically 'history' as they have had your money, and are no longer of any use to them, unless they are 'forced' to provide something under warranty, even then, they will argue and wriggle as much as they can to get out of doing anything.
(three months of use is NOT 'fair wear and tear!!)
That is sadly the attitude of most businesses these days, no matter what the profession is... sign of the times I suppose.
I think any company, especially car company, with its head screwed on should and would care about after sales since 'reliability' is an important factor for people buying new and used cars alike. Whether it's true reliability (such as our proven FIRE engine Fiats, or Japanese cars) or perceived reliability (a door shut sound or German cars rep amongst fans or owners yet to find out the truth) it shifts a lot of units. Divorcing it from the car companies, even a decent franchise network should understand that fixing your dodgy door handle under warranty, even if they make less from the warranty work, is more likely to ensure you come back in 3 / 5 / 10 years time and buy another car, if not from the same make, from another make in their network.
Couldn't agree more.
The small family owned garage I use, is independent, and as such, relies on treating customers fairly, to get repeat business, or, work from word of mouth recommendations.
They have on several occasions done a 'goodwill' little job for me, knowing that they will probably get the big jobs for their trouble.
Daughters exhaust was banging when going over bumps, (wasn't fitted by them) but I asked them to look at it and let me know how much to sort. Couple of hours later, phone call to say it's fixed and ready to collect. Apparently, exhaust was incorrectly lined up by 'a fast fit.co' which meant the rubber mounting was distorted, resulting in it breaking one side, thus the rattle, as it was unsupported that side. He replaced the rubber mounting, and re-aligned the exhaust to sort it. When I asked how much I owed him, he said 'nothing it's OK, glad it's sorted'.
This is the sort of 'customer service' that gets him the £800 for a clutch & DMF on the multi, so the cost of a rubber mounting, and 1/2 hr work, was worth the effort. They know my cars, and I trust them to do a good job, at a reasonable price, and they know I am liable to return again, and to recommend them to others.
I've never had a Fiat Warranty Support issue problem. I've had mechanical issues fixed and paintwork done, last paint job being the Barchetta. The body/paint is interesting in that paintwork is technically 3 years and metalwork 8 years. On the metalwork they have the word "perforation" (meaning rust from inside and creating a hole/similar). On the "B" we had bubbling of the paint around to boot edges. No visible rust or perforation. Warranty wise Fiat could have said paint defect at 7 years old is not covered and there is no perforation so no valid claim.
Also I've not had any problems with Fiat Dealers even after Fiat Warranties have expired. And this is how it should be. After all much of their business comes from after sales work as margins on new cars are now very low and even often sold for less than they paid Fiat for the car if that sale keeps their bonuses and discounts running.
My beef with Fiat is that their spare parts business often just dries up well before the so call EU 10 year support criteria.
I've known Fiat Parts and Service Managers for many years. One for over 30 years. Parts wise they do struggle on price point. e.g. normal service items such a pads, discs, plugs, filters are so expensive from Fiat compared to the OEM equivalent parts from motor factors. These costs have to be past on to the customer. Also their discount margins have reduced over the years. In the old days "stock orders" of common parts had big discounts/savings compare to Fiat retail. Nowadays I gather they are only a few %.
Also I've not had any problems with Fiat Dealers even after Fiat Warranties have expired. And this is how it should be. After all much of their business comes from after sales work as margins on new cars are now very low and even often sold for less than they paid Fiat for the car if that sale keeps their bonuses and discounts running.
My beef with Fiat is that their spare parts business often just dries up well before the so call EU 10 year support criteria.
I've known Fiat Parts and Service Managers for many years. One for over 30 years. Parts wise they do struggle on price point. e.g. normal service items such a pads, discs, plugs, filters are so expensive from Fiat compared to the OEM equivalent parts from motor factors. These costs have to be past on to the customer. Also their discount margins have reduced over the years. In the old days "stock orders" of common parts had big discounts/savings compare to Fiat retail. Nowadays I gather they are only a few %.
