Hi,

My Fiat 500 Twinair is approaching its third birthday and I need some advice on servicing. I brought it second-hand from The Car People about 10 months ago and have covered just under 10,000 miles in that time.

It's 1st service was done at an official Fiat dealership at 8297 miles. The Car People then serviced it when I bought it at 13712 miles - that is stamped into the second service box in my service book. It is now on 23148 miles.

Seeing as the Twinair has 18k miles service intervals, should I wait until it gets to 31000 miles? Or should I get it done now seeing as it is a year since The Car People did it?

I got a few quotes, Fiat Piccadilly Wakefield wanted £159 for a third year service (assuming all of the second year stuff was done by The Car People) or £220 if now. Turin Motors leeds quoted me £279... which seems awfully expensive.

Would really appreciate some advice!

How long do you intend keeping the car?

I'm assuming as the vehicle is coming to its third anniversary, it will be due an MOT soon?

How many owners has the car had before you?

You could have a low mileage service done at a Fiat dealership for around £150, but you need to have a look at your service sheets to see exactly what has been done by the place you bought the car from and of course the original first Fiat service. If you opt for a main service, you could expect to pay anything from £250 upwards. There are stories of people being given ridiculous quotes. On our old 1.2 POP, a Fiat dealership quoted me £450 for a second year service. I took it to an independent and paid £179. You need to shop around and I do mean, shop around. Get at least four quotes from different dealerships. I usually cover a 40 mile radius of my home by phone to see what is on offer.

I'm betting here that the plugs have not been changed yet. Also, the brake fluid. I would bet that has not been changed?

As for the Fiat third year warranty, I'm guessing you didn't take that out when you bought the car and as it stands, as the car is almost 3 years old, it is irrelevant anyway.

A good independent Fiat specialist can carry out a service quite possibly, considerably cheaper price than a dealership. The perks however of taking it to a Fiat dealership, is that they will carry out full diagnostic checks as part of the service and update the cars software if required and do any recall work necessary. Some independent garages can do this, but it depends whether or not they pay their subscriptions for Fiat Technical update data.

Hi Frupi,

I don't intend on getting rid of the car anytime soon, it suits me fine so I would like to keep it for at least a few years yet. It is due it's MOT in September and the third year warranty isn't an issue as I didn't sign up for it. It had 1 owner before me.

I'm not sure exactly what has been done, it's not stated where they've stamped it in the service book.

Should I be going for the 18k service then, considering it has had two services before it even got to 18k?

Hi again, oh, and welcome by the way. Just re read my post and I didn't say that first off! I'm tired too, long day lol!

If you are keeping it, then probably the independent route for a competitive price might suit. However, I would urge you to check the service sheets you hold for the vehicle, if you have them of course.

Accepting that the first service by Fiat was more than likely just a oil and filter change, I'm guessing unless you have anything that states to the contrary, that the place you bought your car from, won't have carried out anything other than another basic service.

If I were you, at the mileage you currently have, I'd have a main service to include the brake fluid and plugs changed. I would as in my first post, still advise you get some quotes from other Fiat dealers but make sure you quiz them on exactly what they would do for the money. I'd be inclined to have a dealer service, purely for the reasons I mentioned earlier, software updates and possible recall issues. I mention that, because our own TA, a 2012 built car, has just had the under dash wiring recall sorted. Fiat probably don't have you listed as the owner of the vehicle because it has probably fallen off their radar after being sold on from the first owner, though with recalls, you should still receive notification in the post. We didn't/haven't received notification of the dash recall and we bought our car new from a Fiat dealer. These things just take time to catch up sometimes.

In summary, I'd have the car serviced now and get the MOT done at the same time seeing as it is due next month anyway. You can have it done a month before it is due and the time will be added to your certificate. I suspect you are aware of that anyway.

ntanswell said:

Hi Frupi,

I don't intend on getting rid of the car anytime soon, it suits me fine so I would like to keep it for at least a few years yet. It is due it's MOT in September and the third year warranty isn't an issue as I didn't sign up for it. It had 1 owner before me.

I'm not sure exactly what has been done, it's not stated where they've stamped it in the service book.

Should I be going for the 18k service then, considering it has had two services before it even got to 18k?

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Is this dealership anywhere near you? Their fixed price 'Gold Service' is £199

http://www.pentagon-group.co.uk/offers/servicing-and-repairs/fiat-fixed-price-servicing

You will of course have to wait until the car is exactly three years old to qualify!

A new Fiat dealership has just opened in Leeds. Arnold Clark near Salford Van Hire, it might be worth a look.

Frupi's suggestion for using Fiat's 3yr+ package is good. The Gold Service sounds fairly comprehensive to ensure all will be replaced if you are unsure it was by The Car People.

DONT USE A FIAT DEALER! What software update? This is not an iphone haha. If you are in warranty, call a fiat dealer and give your VIN and check if there are any updates/recalls for your car since in many cases they are too useless to call you to inform you.

If you are out of warranty, find a guy who knows what he is doing and make sure he uses the right parts (how hard can that be?). After that, get everything changed for piece of mind.

So, I would do: brake fluid, spark plugs, all filters, oil.

MN500 said:

A new Fiat dealership has just opened in Leeds. Arnold Clark near Salford Van Hire, it might be worth a look.

Frupi's suggestion for using Fiat's 3yr+ package is good. The Gold Service sounds fairly comprehensive to ensure all will be replaced if you are unsure it was by The Car People.

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Arnold Clark. Please avoid like the plague. I could write a book about this bunch of cowboys. No offence T if you are watching. However, I am sure he would agree.
Seems this outfit, in my opinion based on some 30 odd years experience (of personal, family, friend and acquaintances) are just not fit for purpose.
No wish to offend any particular employee, just seems the company does not take customer care seriously.

ahmett said:

DONT USE A FIAT DEALER! What software update?

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Sometimes ahmett, you really do disappoint me. Not that you'd probably care anyway lol!

That statement you made is just a bit silly. Independents can be good, I know, I used one for our last POP for the second service but sometimes, just sometimes, franchised dealerships can make the mark. I'm not just saying this because of my obvious excellent experience with a Fiat dealership in the last 48 hours either. It could be that if the OP finds a good dealership in the area he lives and gets a Fiat 'once over', it might actually be for the better of the car. Personally, from his description, I would do exactly that and take it to a dealership purely because he's not 'fully aware' of the car's service history other than what is stamped in the handbook.

Whether you choose to accept it or not, there are occasional software updates to vehicle ECU's to correct known faults and not all independents are able to do this. The last independent I used found a historic stored gear lever selector code fault, so what, big deal, I have a code reader that could see and clear that too.

frupi said:

Sometimes ahmett, you really do disappoint me. Not that you'd probably care anyway lol!

That statement you made is just a bit silly. Independents can be good, I know, I used one for our last POP for the second service but sometimes, just sometimes, franchised dealerships can make the mark. I'm not just saying this because of my obvious excellent experience with a Fiat dealership in the last 48 hours either. It could be that if the OP finds a good dealership in the area he lives and gets a Fiat 'once over', it might actually be for the better of the car. Personally, from his description, I would do exactly that and take it to a dealership purely because he's not 'fully aware' of the car's service history other than what is stamped in the handbook.

Whether you choose to accept it or not, there are occasional software updates to vehicle ECU's to correct known faults and not all independents are able to do this. The last independent I used found a historic stored gear lever selector code fault, so what, big deal, I have a code reader that could see and clear that too.

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I'm sorry frupi but throwing away a minumum 100 GBP a year (much more if you need to change brakes/suspensions or any other repairs) for a 'Fiat Service' is not my cup of tea.

And by the way, my independent is Bosch Service and they always have the latest diagnostic equipment supplied directly from Bosch; after all, Bosch is a world leader in automotive electronics, and many of Fiat's electronical parts are also supplied by Bosch.

It seems you are the type to pay over the odds for a 'real' service, well i am not that person, and i bet you, with an equal amount of miles given, my car is better looked after than yours.

ahmett said:

It seems you are the type to pay over the odds for a 'real' service, well i am not that person, and i bet you, with an equal amount of miles given, my car is better looked after than yours.

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It may surprise you ahmett, you are completely wrong about that. I am the most careful person I know when it comes to money. The one thing I refuse to do though is get stuff done on the cheap just because it might look a great deal on the surface.

You seem to forget here, the two 500's we've owned have been both virtually new and brand new and hence came with Fiat warranties intact. There was actually no way on this planet that our current TA was ever going into an independent garage for its first service with known warranty issues that needed sorting.

You come across to me as the sort of owner who finds servicing vehicles a massive chore. I've read your posts concerning your thoughts on servicing and trust me, you would be the last person I would ever want to buy a car from :devil:
Oh and believe me, both of my vehicles are routinely checked, in the case of the TA, oil monthly, tyres weekly and the usual general cleaning maintenance stuff. My other car is well and truly over serviced because I know all of its foibles, but I do all of the servicing on that car myself because it is of course well out of warranty and I save myself a complete fortune.

frupi said:

It may surprise you ahmett, you are completely wrong about that. I am the most careful person I know when it comes to money. The one thing I refuse to do though is get stuff done on the cheap just because it might look a great deal on the surface.

You seem to forget here, the two 500's we've owned have been both virtually new and brand new and hence came with Fiat warranties intact. There was actually no way on this planet that our current TA was ever going into an independent garage for its first service with known warranty issues that needed sorting.

You come across to me as the sort of owner who finds servicing vehicles a massive chore. I've read your posts concerning your thoughts on servicing and trust me, you would be the last person I would ever want to buy a car from :devil:
Oh and believe me, both of my vehicles are routinely checked, in the case of the TA, oil monthly, tyres weekly and the usual general cleaning maintenance stuff. My other car is well and truly over serviced because I know all of its foibles, but I do all of the servicing on that car myself because it is of course well out of warranty and I save myself a complete fortune.

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Oil monthly? I check mine every 10 days or so = ) and for warranty i go to fiat dealers, they cannot refuse to do warranty work even if you dont take the car for a service. so the smart money would go do the warranty for free at a dealer and then go get the normal easy service stuff done at an indie.

it is a common misconception that people think they need to service the car at a main dealer under warranty. this is simply not true and there is even legislation to protect the driver in the event of a warranty claim without having been serviced at a main dealer. when i got things fixed under warranty, fiat never even bothered to look at my service book, just the VIN of my car and whether it was still under warranty or not!

ahmett said:

Oil monthly? I check mine every 10 days or so = ) and for warranty i go to fiat dealers, they cannot refuse to do warranty work even if you dont take the car for a service. so the smart money would go do the warranty for free at a dealer and then go get the normal easy service stuff done at an indie.

it is a common misconception that people think they need to service the car at a main dealer under warranty. this is simply not true and there is even legislation to protect the driver in the event of a warranty claim without having been serviced at a main dealer. when i got things fixed under warranty, fiat never even bothered to look at my service book, just the VIN of my car and whether it was still under warranty or not!

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Why would you want to check your oil every ten days or so? Do you drive like a total idiot revving the arse off the car at every opportunity? Is your engine now so knackered you feel the need to keep on checking whether it is bleeding out?

Yes, normal people do take their car to the dealer for warranty work, no one in their right mind is going to want to pay for stuff that would get replaced for free.

Your quote 'Fiat never even bothered to look at my service book' Strange that one, first thing I was asked to bring along to the service. It has been stamped correctly and a full documented service sheet provided with all of th work done.

It might be a common misconception with some people that they can't get work done at an independent when the car is still under warranty. EU block exemption rules have now been in years, plenty of us know this and hence why I used an independent for the second service on our old POP.

I'm sorry to disappoint you ahmett, but I don't have a vitriolic hatred of Fiat dealerships - not all anyway! :devil:

ntanswell said:

Hi,

My Fiat 500 Twinair is approaching its third birthday and I need some advice on servicing. I brought it second-hand from The Car People about 10 months ago and have covered just under 10,000 miles in that time.

It's 1st service was done at an official Fiat dealership at 8297 miles. The Car People then serviced it when I bought it at 13712 miles - that is stamped into the second service box in my service book. It is now on 23148 miles.

Seeing as the Twinair has 18k miles service intervals, should I wait until it gets to 31000 miles? Or should I get it done now seeing as it is a year since The Car People did it?

I got a few quotes, Fiat Piccadilly Wakefield wanted £159 for a third year service (assuming all of the second year stuff was done by The Car People) or £220 if now. Turin Motors leeds quoted me £279... which seems awfully expensive.

Would really appreciate some advice!

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Hi ntanswell,

Welcome to the forum by the way.

Servicing schmervicing. It's a blinking minefield sometimes!

I don't know if the Car People are going to be particularly helpful or not, but I would give them a call and ask them if they can enlighten you as to what exactly was done on your car as the info in the book is not very helpful.

Stamps in a service book are OK, but unless they are accompanied with an itemised list of work done, they're pretty much useless as you can't be sure exactly what has been done.

Regarding Piccadilly's quote - if they are going to do the oil/filters, spark plugs and brake fluid for £220 now, then that may not be a bad shout at all. Doesn't seem like a terrible quote - but again, it all depends on what they are going to do!

But first of all I would speak to the Car People and let us know how you get on.

Agree with points above. £220 now seems a good deal to be honest.

Good luck with the previous garage obtaining the service sheet. If they can come up with it, all well and good. I suspect though as I said before, with the few miles the car had on it when it was bought, I doubt anything other than a general maintenance check, oil/filter change would have been done, especially selling a car where there's no MOT involved either. A quick on/off the forecourt sale on a newish car.

Yes, a vehicle with no itemised service sheets should be treated carefully...

Thanks for all of your advice.

I will call the Car People tomorrow and try to obtain some indication of what was done at service.

I think I will go with a Piccadilly £220 service, and get everything done. Will try and get them down on price as much as possible and get all of the extras (courtesy car etc) thrown in!!

Good luck with it my friend and I hope you negotiate an even better price.

Now to stand by for the flak you're likely to get for sucumbing to a franchised dealer service lol! Personally, I'm with you on this one.

Edit: I would still ensure you get the plugs and brake fluid changed.

I have just phoned the Car People and they didn't do the plugs or fluid so I will definitely get that done.

I'm not wedded to a franchised dealer. I did try a local independent (Turin Motors) and they quoted me the most ridiculous price of all, £279.

Lol! Trust me, that £279 you were quoted is believe it or not, lower than some of the quotes I've been given in the past by a long margin. Others on this forum will I am sure testify that they too have been given even more bizarre over the top quotes for a service. Therefore, the £220 quote by the Fiat dealer is pretty good for what is essentially going to be a main service, indeed the first 'proper' service it will have had in a couple of years.

PS: Make sure the pollen filter is included in the service too. Often forgotten by some garages. Yours will be more than ready for a change.

£220 is a very good price these days. Cars are not cheap to buy or to run no matter how you work it, but the alternatives or either worse or not there.

More and more people have given up and are leasing and settling for a relatively fixed monthly cost which will continue until the end of their motoring lives. The majority of my work colleagues have turned to leasing over the past two years, and it is noticeable that now when you see car ads the buying price is often not even quoted.