FireballXL5man
Member
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2009
- Messages
- 196
- Points
- 53
I've had quite an ordeal with my new 500.
The heated rear screen had a tiny break in one horizontal element from new, which meant that strip didn't work. The dealership said that a new rear screen was required. It was ordered from Fiat and duly fitted at the dealership by a national franchise, which they use.
On collecting the car, I was very disappointed to see several chips on the paintwork surrounding the window and the inside pillars were badly chipped all around, down to bare metal in places. the service manager agreed that it was a poor job and assured me that the paintwork damage would be rectified and the window refitted. They had the car for a week. When the car returned to me and I examined it under daylight, I could see that the respray was a poor job, not an exact colour match, especially under street lights, heavily swirled from buffing and with a distinct "tide mark" halfway down the tailgate where the resprayed paintwork met the original paint. All this for a few small paint chips which I could have touched in myself, but the dealership said it was up to them to put it right.
Apparently the national company who replaced the windscreen had to foot the bill for the paintwork rectification and had, in my opinion, gone for the cheapest option of getting in a local, I assume franchise, with a van and paint mixing/spraying equipment. When I pointed the work out to the dealership, they agreed that it was not up to standard on a brand new car, with no fault at all attributed to me in the first place. The service manager and his superior showed the paintwork problems to the young guy who'd carried out the respray. I stood and listened and it was clear that he had no solution.
I'v now been told that the company who resprayed the car are going to be responsible for footing the bill for another respray. They want me to take the car in to my dealer on Monday so that the lady who is the company manager (or maybe the lad who does the paintwork, after all I'd never know?) of the small respray company can drive the car the 26 miles to Birmingham where it can be properly resprayed in the dealership's main body shop with respraying facilities. At least, I assume that's where the car will be resprayed.
I've told the service manager that isn't going to happen, as I'm not happy with someone who I've never met, who isn't from the dealership from whom I purchased the car, driving it up the motoway. After all, how do I know that they have the necessary insurance? I offered to drive the car up there myself, all the dealership have to do is arrange a courtesy car for me to pick-up in Birmingham. He said that if that's the case, the paintwork company will have to foot the bill for my hire car (!)
The dealership have told me that they have used a local bodyshop in the past just a few hundred yards away who have a very high reputation and have produced faultless work. I've asked him why they can't do the work on my car, but apparently the paintwork company want to use the main dealership's Birmingam body shop.
I have a case number from Fiat for this problem as I contacted them initially when the windscreen was put in and the paintwork was damaged.
What would other 500 owners do in my position? I'd very much appreciate other people's opinions.
The heated rear screen had a tiny break in one horizontal element from new, which meant that strip didn't work. The dealership said that a new rear screen was required. It was ordered from Fiat and duly fitted at the dealership by a national franchise, which they use.
On collecting the car, I was very disappointed to see several chips on the paintwork surrounding the window and the inside pillars were badly chipped all around, down to bare metal in places. the service manager agreed that it was a poor job and assured me that the paintwork damage would be rectified and the window refitted. They had the car for a week. When the car returned to me and I examined it under daylight, I could see that the respray was a poor job, not an exact colour match, especially under street lights, heavily swirled from buffing and with a distinct "tide mark" halfway down the tailgate where the resprayed paintwork met the original paint. All this for a few small paint chips which I could have touched in myself, but the dealership said it was up to them to put it right.
Apparently the national company who replaced the windscreen had to foot the bill for the paintwork rectification and had, in my opinion, gone for the cheapest option of getting in a local, I assume franchise, with a van and paint mixing/spraying equipment. When I pointed the work out to the dealership, they agreed that it was not up to standard on a brand new car, with no fault at all attributed to me in the first place. The service manager and his superior showed the paintwork problems to the young guy who'd carried out the respray. I stood and listened and it was clear that he had no solution.
I'v now been told that the company who resprayed the car are going to be responsible for footing the bill for another respray. They want me to take the car in to my dealer on Monday so that the lady who is the company manager (or maybe the lad who does the paintwork, after all I'd never know?) of the small respray company can drive the car the 26 miles to Birmingham where it can be properly resprayed in the dealership's main body shop with respraying facilities. At least, I assume that's where the car will be resprayed.
I've told the service manager that isn't going to happen, as I'm not happy with someone who I've never met, who isn't from the dealership from whom I purchased the car, driving it up the motoway. After all, how do I know that they have the necessary insurance? I offered to drive the car up there myself, all the dealership have to do is arrange a courtesy car for me to pick-up in Birmingham. He said that if that's the case, the paintwork company will have to foot the bill for my hire car (!)
The dealership have told me that they have used a local bodyshop in the past just a few hundred yards away who have a very high reputation and have produced faultless work. I've asked him why they can't do the work on my car, but apparently the paintwork company want to use the main dealership's Birmingam body shop.
I have a case number from Fiat for this problem as I contacted them initially when the windscreen was put in and the paintwork was damaged.
What would other 500 owners do in my position? I'd very much appreciate other people's opinions.
