It has no bearing when it was noticed, not everybody looks at the wheel arch if it dirty.

That is not a stone chip as it doesn't start from a localised position, paint is also coming off in a line which a stone chip wouldn't induce. That is either a poor repair where the galvanising has been removed or it was faulty paint.

poggy said:

It has no bearing when it was noticed, not everybody looks at the wheel arch if it dirty.

That is not a stone chip as it doesn't start from a localised position, paint is also coming off in a line which a stone chip wouldn't induce. That is either a poor repair where the galvanising has been removed or it was faulty paint.

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I would imagine a good body shop would be able to tell you exactly what caused it. Worth asking a couple.

Yes, thanks I will go to an independent bodyshop and ask for their opinion as I have had no joy with Stoneacre who insist that it is due to stone chips and not covered by warranty. Though that does not explain how it passed their body inspection 3 months ago when serviced. They even returned it to me washed.
Whenever I mention it to colleagues as work they keep asking why I am surprised that it has rusted as it's a Fiat! If the bodyshop feel that it is down to a defect in the paint I will instruct my solicitor to write to Fiat UK and Stoneacre. In any event - Fiat UK should be concerned about Stoneacres ability to conduct the visual body inspection.

you have anti perferation warranty (7 yrs) on your car, BUT anti perforation means a hole caused by rust, if not all way through then irrelevant. Anything else fiat will be in right to say no. Paint warranty is 3 yrs i believe

v12ock said:

you have anti perferation warranty (7 yrs) on your car, BUT anti perforation means a hole caused by rust, if not all way through then irrelevant. Anything else fiat will be in right to say no. Paint warranty is 3 yrs i believe

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So - what about the fact that paint seems faulty and inferior and shouldn't the metal be galavanized to prevent this sort of rust happening? Is it realistic that a four year old car should start to rust - if so Fiat have not advanced much from their rust buckets of the 70s! Moreover, I paid for a full Fiat service at Stoneacre three months earlier. This included a visual health inspection of the bodywork and their report said the bodywork was fine - either they were negligent in examining the bodywork or this rust appeared within 3 months of that inspection. Anyhow, I have made a complaint to both Fiat and Stoneacre 3 weeks ago and will wait to see what happens.

To all the three year plan people out there!

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Fix-Rust-Spots-On-a-Car/?ALLSTEPS

krossi said:

So - what about the fact that paint seems faulty and inferior and shouldn't the metal be galavanized to prevent this sort of rust happening? Is it realistic that a four year old car should start to rust - if so Fiat have not advanced much from their rust buckets of the 70s! Moreover, I paid for a full Fiat service at Stoneacre three months earlier. This included a visual health inspection of the bodywork and their report said the bodywork was fine - either they were negligent in examining the bodywork or this rust appeared within 3 months of that inspection. Anyhow, I have made a complaint to both Fiat and Stoneacre 3 weeks ago and will wait to see what happens.

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I'm pretty sure your car has had repair work done too it, badly, following some accident.


Fiat are not to blame fo rthat. The dealer you bought it from might be.

krossi said:

So - what about the fact that paint seems faulty and inferior and shouldn't the metal be galavanized to prevent this sort of rust happening? Is it realistic that a four year old car should start to rust - if so Fiat have not advanced much from their rust buckets of the 70s! Moreover, I paid for a full Fiat service at Stoneacre three months earlier. This included a visual health inspection of the bodywork and their report said the bodywork was fine - either they were negligent in examining the bodywork or this rust appeared within 3 months of that inspection. Anyhow, I have made a complaint to both Fiat and Stoneacre 3 weeks ago and will wait to see what happens.

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I use Rockingham in Corby rather than the muppets at Stoneacre. I have no faith in them. ( they couldn't even flash the ecu without busting it )

RobinPJ said:

I'm pretty sure your car has had repair work done too it, badly, following some accident.


Fiat are not to blame fo rthat. The dealer you bought it from might be.

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I bought it from Marshalls Peterborough it was pre approved - 6k on the clock. I have since contacted them and they assured me that it has not been damaged or repaired.

krossi said:

I bought it from Marshalls Peterborough it was pre approved - 6k on the clock. I have since contacted them and they assured me that it has not been damaged or repaired.

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how do they know if the previous owner had a small repair done or not?

:yeahthat:

All they'll know is if its been subject to an insurance total loss claim or not.

Well - let's see what Fiat say - I am more than happy to subject it to inspection to an independent expert. In any event it still doesn't excuse Stoneacres incompetence - why say they had carried out a visual health inspection and the bodywork was fine 3 months earlier when it clearly wasn't.

krossi said:

Well - let's see what Fiat say - I am more than happy to subject it to inspection to an independent expert. In any event it still doesn't excuse Stoneacres incompetence - why say they had carried out a visual health inspection and the bodywork was fine 3 months earlier when it clearly wasn't.

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Tbf stoneacre are well renowned for being rubbish...managed to send a bloke on swift owners home with a bonnet catch that wasn't attached to anything, then in a separate incident nicked a rad hose so by the time he got home he had no coolant.

So at least they don't just restrict their rubbish service to Fiat

krossi said:

Well - let's see what Fiat say - I am more than happy to subject it to inspection to an independent expert. In any event it still doesn't excuse Stoneacres incompetence - why say they had carried out a visual health inspection and the bodywork was fine 3 months earlier when it clearly wasn't.

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Call me a old cynic but as far as I'm concerned these visual Health inspections only pick up stuff they can charge you for.

Spinnerdcc said:

Call me a old cynic but as far as I'm concerned these visual Health inspections only pick up stuff they can charge you for.

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Cynic indeed.

However they only pick up things you can visually see. If OP didn't see the damage 3 months ago then how they expect stoneacre to I don't know.

Well I have sold the car on after Fiat came back to me and said that it must be stone chips or a previous repair that caused the rust. They would not entertain the idea of an independent inspection. I gave up.... as couldn't be bothered to litigate:bang:.
My complaint to Stoneacre Head Office also went unanswered. They said they had referred the matter on to their area after sales manager for his attention but 3 weeks later and he still has not bothered to contact me.
Despite Fiat's fancy marketing the rust and reliability issues still haunt them, and their customer service seems to have imported the permanent 'siesta' mentality.
I got a terrible trade in price £5,800 (08 Multijet 60k) but just glad to get shot of it what with the rust (£400 to fix as the whole back wing would have had to be painted) and the airconditioning condenser unit was also rusty and on the way out and would have set me back another £315. Also advised that the rear exhaust was also rusty on my last Stoneacre service and that would have been another £150. Remarkable how they managed to pick up the rust on the a/c condensor unit and exhaust but missed the rust on the wheel arch when doing the visual health check of the body work!
So Stoneacre use them at the risk of your pocket!
Fiat UK
As for the Fiat 500 - I still can't help falling for its looks but must let my head and experience rule over my heart

Did you try to contact the previous owner? Would be interesting.

I should imagine that he feels his life is too short and he needs to move on...

I had a small area of rust on the front arch of my Bravo. It was just 2ish years old, with 15k miles on the clock and very well looked after - washed regularly with good quality shampoo and always kept polished and waxed so looks like new all the time. See this thread...

https://www.fiatforum.com/bravo/296893-165t-sport-small-rust-spot.html

Photos are about half way down the page.

In the end I just sanded the rust away with a very fine sanding sponge and then just used a touch up pen and lacquer to seal the fresh metal so it looks as good as new. Since then I have installed after market mud flaps to help prevent further damage. Genuine touch up pens are available from the Fiat Accessories website.

Hope this helps

Edit: Sorry just went back and read your comment about selling the car. When dealing with Fiat, if you get no joy with the dealer phone the head office in Slough and ask to speak to someone in the directors office. Alternatively email their directors - [email protected], [email protected]. For some reason emails to Andrew Humberstone appear to bounce back, but still find their way to his PA. Avoid the customer relations department in Italy, they have always been completely useless in my experience.

lol. One car rusts, most probably because the previous owner performed a shoddy repair and apparently the rust issues are still haunting fiat.