your nearest dealer be dsalmon? i wouldnt go there anyway. better off driving an extra 40 minets to chadwell heath or using avanti in ipswich (independent)
General Oil change at 6k? Really?
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General Oil change at 6k? Really?
npmaylesby
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Alas not just a stamp. I know this place and they are a high quality service centre. They will be using high quality like for like parts and oil.
I have used the same place to do work on my Mazda, and the work cannot be faulted and the quality of the parts they use are OEM.
I really cannot see the point in paying £200 to get an oil change service. The car is a commuter for me. I only do about 7000 miles a year, and will change it when it either starts to look like costing me or I fancy a change. It is nothing more than that.
You can get carried away with the whole dealer service thing if you want, I have been there with my MX-5's. When I traded them in the full Mazda service history was worthless, no one is that bothered, no matter what they may tell you.
If the car is going they will offer what the book says and no more....
I have used the same place to do work on my Mazda, and the work cannot be faulted and the quality of the parts they use are OEM.
I really cannot see the point in paying £200 to get an oil change service. The car is a commuter for me. I only do about 7000 miles a year, and will change it when it either starts to look like costing me or I fancy a change. It is nothing more than that.
You can get carried away with the whole dealer service thing if you want, I have been there with my MX-5's. When I traded them in the full Mazda service history was worthless, no one is that bothered, no matter what they may tell you.
If the car is going they will offer what the book says and no more....
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Thanks for the info Ffoxy, very useful. I'll have a word when I go in for the oil change tomorrow.
I'm wondering if the fact that I bought the demo car from the garage has anything to do with it. The first 1000 miles of its life were spent doing test drives and short trips.
And I wish they hadn't put a DPF on the 500, maybe I should trade up to a GP with the 150hp multijet
Could be.... I know most test drives are done gently & as you say are short, so the need for oil change has come early.
I have nothing but praise for my MJet after 3 years, great fun, reliable, cheap to buy, quick as I want, looks great, all I wanted in a cheap car TBH.
I very much doubt the parts will be of good quality if you're paying £50 but it's your car. Just post your reg so people can avoid buying your car second hand.
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I actually agree on the bolded part of this, I was offered "book price" for my car which had always had Independant Servicing done on it, no-one asked or seemed to care who had done it, all the dealer was interested in was selling me a TJet as a replacement.
Dealer servicing has its advantages, such as bodywork corrosion claims etc, but FDSH stamps are not worth the cost, if it costs me an extra £1000 in servicing and I dont get that back at Trade In whats the point? Especially if I trade in at a different manufacturers outlet.
OP
OP
mattpolley
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Alas they are my nearest (and dearest, price wise). I always feel like I'm being fobbed off when I go in there. In the past I have always used Alresford Garage for servicing, if I end up keeping the 500 I'll probably end up taking it to them. And if it really does need an oil change every 6k, I'll do it myself.
To the op, as has been stated the DPF has given one or two on here problems, contact your dealer and FCS and ask why an oil change at 6K is needed. I think your in for a kicking though as previously someone had an oil change at 3k and this is so obviously wrong that they cant argue. 6K is a little too much for an a fault to be obvious (my opinion) i wish you luck though.
As for servicing, I can certainly see the logic in paying the absolute minimum on maintaining a car over the 2/3 years you have it and passing on what ever problems may occur to the next unwitting buyer.
I agree that a full main dealer service doesn’t actually add much to a resale at the end so why bother forking out unless your worried about the warranty. I have had an engine block crack whilst under a warranty and had a complete V6 short block replaced so i have experience the benefits. If all my cars had been fine maybe I too would think F*it and take the risk.
This is however a Fiat forum and people tend to like their cars more than most owners, some people come on here just for advise and couldn’t give a monkeys about the car as long as it looks nice and doesn’t break down, I lean more towards this more than a love of the 500's or other pieces of mobile metal. However, anyone like me planning to keep the car will undoubtedly maintain it better than people looking short term, but 2yrs of abuse is likely not to be spotted by most 2nd hand buyer or cared about by dealers if its a trade in and they think they can sell it to an other mechanically undiscerning customer who just likes the shape and its trendyness.
£50 for a full service is just too cheap though
As for servicing, I can certainly see the logic in paying the absolute minimum on maintaining a car over the 2/3 years you have it and passing on what ever problems may occur to the next unwitting buyer.
I agree that a full main dealer service doesn’t actually add much to a resale at the end so why bother forking out unless your worried about the warranty. I have had an engine block crack whilst under a warranty and had a complete V6 short block replaced so i have experience the benefits. If all my cars had been fine maybe I too would think F*it and take the risk.
This is however a Fiat forum and people tend to like their cars more than most owners, some people come on here just for advise and couldn’t give a monkeys about the car as long as it looks nice and doesn’t break down, I lean more towards this more than a love of the 500's or other pieces of mobile metal. However, anyone like me planning to keep the car will undoubtedly maintain it better than people looking short term, but 2yrs of abuse is likely not to be spotted by most 2nd hand buyer or cared about by dealers if its a trade in and they think they can sell it to an other mechanically undiscerning customer who just likes the shape and its trendyness.
£50 for a full service is just too cheap though
grungdog23
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Yes mine is the same, light and message came on 12,000 mile... even tho the service isnt due for another 6,000 mile!I was driving to the dentist this morning and my oil warning light started flashing. As it was only a mile from the Fiat dealer I thought I'd drop in and ask them about it. As I pulled up outside the screen on the instrument cluster said "change engine oil".
I spoke to the service dept and they said as it's a multijet it would need an oil change, at £68. I said that was strange, as service interval is 18k or 1 year and the car isn't a year old yet and has only done 6400 miles.
They offered me my first service now (£210!), but I said just do the oil for now.
Is this normal? And if so, does this mean I'm going to need an oil change every 6000 or so miles? When I bought the car I was led to believe service was every 18k, not 18k + oil change twice a year.
I have to say I'm not impressed right now
Hilarylew
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Guys,
If you disagree with something that some one has said the just say it once, don't keep banging on about it.
If the guy wants to pay £50 for a service then thats his option. You have told him that you don't believe that he will get a good one for that price.
That said some of you have dismissed this without useing the place that he is going to, your comments are based on what you think you know about your cars and although you wouldn't be seen dead in a place doing services for £50 there are people who are on a budget or have first hand knowledge of a place are happy with there choice.
Asking some one to post there reg so everyone can avoid it is in my book out of order.
Surely this forum is for advice not slagging people off because of there choices.
:bang:
If you disagree with something that some one has said the just say it once, don't keep banging on about it.
If the guy wants to pay £50 for a service then thats his option. You have told him that you don't believe that he will get a good one for that price.
That said some of you have dismissed this without useing the place that he is going to, your comments are based on what you think you know about your cars and although you wouldn't be seen dead in a place doing services for £50 there are people who are on a budget or have first hand knowledge of a place are happy with there choice.
Asking some one to post there reg so everyone can avoid it is in my book out of order.
Surely this forum is for advice not slagging people off because of there choices.
:bang:
yes the advice is that for £50 all he will be getting is an oil change, not a 'service' according to the manufacturer's service schedule
that is not a choice it is ignorance and neglect
Matt, I would just point out that you will not be able to reset the warning light/message. Changing the oil does not turn it off as it doesn't monitor oil quality per se but bases it's recommendation on driving conditions and the number of regeneration cycles the ECU has carried out. AFAIK, only a Fiat garage can reset the ECU using a piece of equipment called the "examiner" to reset the regeneration cycle data although some garages with diagnostic equipment might be able to reset the service indicator.
Also, as I mentioned previously there has been an update for resetting the DPF parameters that might resolve your problem if it hasn't already been done which an independent garage won't be able to do.
Most people on here are aware that I have had similar problems, ie. three oil changes in 9000 odd miles so I do know where you are both coming from. I would love to be able to go for 6000/12000 miles before my light/message came on.
i cant even servive my own car using after market parts at trade price or dealer parts at cheaper than trade with ff discount for £50
only examiner can re-set service indicator on 500 at present
Haven't you heard? There are business out there who are charities who will take every bit of care with your car that you would and service it with good quality bits for less than what you could do it for yourself?
Haven't you heard? There are business out there who are charities who will take every bit of care with your car that you would and service it with good quality bits for less than what you could do it for yourself?
i remember when KwikFit would suck oil out of your engine through the dipstick thus leaving all the crud in your sump and then just fill it back up
i thought someone was making it up until i asked one of said KwikFit Fitters and he confirmed it to be true
what i really don't believe is that people buy brand new cars and then wince at the maintenance costs
it's the same mentality that buy printers and then don't use them because the ink is expensive
Or the people who buy printers and then use refilled cartridges which then clog up the headsi remember when KwikFit would suck oil out of your engine through the dipstick thus leaving all the crud in your sump and then just fill it back up
i thought someone was making it up until i asked one of said KwikFit Fitters and he confirmed it to be true
what i really don't believe is that people buy brand new cars and then wince at the maintenance costs
it's the same mentality that buy printers and then don't use them because the ink is expensive
npmaylesby
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Oh well at least it'll make for a fun time in a couple of years time if people have warranty problems with their engine and they have treacle in there instead of oil because it never got changed
Why do people have to assume that just beccause something isn't as expensive as other places, the job isn't being done. The garage I use actually went away and phoned up the Fiat dealer to get the spec on the oil they used and ordered the self same stuff. The saving is being made by not overcharging for labour. Also becuase this is a small local garage, they are keen to get buisness, so are not likely to try and pull a fast one. In this climate of financial worry, a mass exodus of customers because of bad reports in the village will certainly see closure. It is in their interest to do a good job at a good price.
And as for the warranty. Have you ever actually tried to claim on one?
They are tighter than a badgers ***** almost not worth bothering with once the car is more than a year old!
here's a tip for you on human nature
if you got your car serviced (and built a relaionship) with your local dealer they will be more likely to look favourably on any warranty work
OP
OP
mattpolley
New member
Thanks for your thoughts guys and girls. I'll definitely be asking why it needs an oil change so soon, but there's not really anything I can do about it. As Tony has pointed out, even if I changed the oil myself I couldn't reset the light, which is really annoying when night driving!
I'll let you know what the garage says later. Still feels like I'm having my pants pulled down over this. They're saying I should change the oil now, and then have a first service in March which will include an oil change, even though the car will only have done a couple of thousand miles.
Shame really, my old Golf tdi PD managed nearly 20k between services (and oil).
I'll let you know what the garage says later. Still feels like I'm having my pants pulled down over this. They're saying I should change the oil now, and then have a first service in March which will include an oil change, even though the car will only have done a couple of thousand miles.
Shame really, my old Golf tdi PD managed nearly 20k between services (and oil).
Tight as a badgers.....?
Who cares? The warranty is there in black and white and if they try to weasel out of things then you start making legal threats. I'm going to keep receipts for all the bits I buy for my car and if Fiat want to be silly if there is a problem then I'll see them in a small claims court and I'll win. The law is the law and you don't just give up because a company doesn't want to honour their warranty, you fight it.
Again I simply don't see how a garage will make money when they have to put 3 litres of the proper spec oil in, an oil filter, an air filter and possibly spark plugs? I very much doubt you'll get proper spec proper quality parts.
If we go from shop4parts
Oil £22
Plugs £20
Air filter £9
Oil filter £5.68
Cabin filter £12
So all up that adds up to ~£68 JUST on parts. Shop4parts are cheap as well although no doubt you could get bits a bit cheaper if you shopped around. I suspect they'll be using their standard 5w40 which comes in a big drum and is probably not up to Fiat spec, and the cheapest filters they can buy.
