General New Abarth Grande Punto Esseesse Owner

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General New Abarth Grande Punto Esseesse Owner

Another update -

I hadn't heard a dickie bird for 3 weeks from either the dealer or the warranty company so I chased up the former on Monday, to be told they'd tried every which way but loose on submitting the warranty claim but without success. I therefore called the warranty company myelf who said no-one has called them from the dealer...

After discussing it further the warranty company agreed to call the dealer again and explain, again, how to submit a claim to them 'manually'. This appears to have been done yesterday morning as I have since had a follow up call from the warranty company to advise that they have asked the dealer to remove, strip and examine the gearbox to determine the exact fault. Problem is, this is at my cost until such time as the warranty company agrees to pay out. I responded with "no way" and explained that I don't have the finances to risk having to pay dealer prices for such work, and if the warranty company refuse the claim while my car and its gearbox are in several pieces in the dealer's workshop I'll then be well & truly caught with my pants down as I'll only have a choice between paying them plenty of money to put it all back together again without being repaired or an awful lot more money to repair it then put it back together.

If it ends up being my wallet that foots the bill it won't be a dealer who gets the work, it will be a transmission specialist, but by agreeing to the warranty company's suggestion that avenue will be blocked so I suggested a plan B is required - I'm thinking either they agree or refuse the claim now based on what the dealer reports is the problem and without me incurring any more cost, or, they allow the work to be carried out at Trade Transmissions as that is who I'd get to do the job if I end up paying for it anyway. Not sure if they'll like either of these plans though! The girl I spoke to in the customer care department at the warranty company seemed surprised when I said I wasn't prepared to take the financial risk and asked "is it a big job to remove & strip a gearbox then??"

The saga continues...
 
The warranty company has now agreed to bend the rules & have me take the car to Trade Transmissions in Peterborough for the gearbox to be removed, stripped & examined before they decide if they're going to pay out or not, albeit at my cost until the decision is made. I'm much more comfortable with that as it's where I'd take it if there was no warranty & I was funding the repair myself...this time next week I should know what's happening in terms of the claim but even if they refuse the car will be on its way to being fixed :)
 
Good luck, and keep us updated. Shame, these gearbox issues, they let an otherwise very good car down so frequently.
At least you are very, very knowledgeable compared with an average punter. I wish I had known that much too in 2011, when my 'ordinary' 1.2 GP's gearbox went terminal after just 13.000 miles and 3.5 years old. And not been raced, in case anyone wonders! I am still not sure whether that was internal bearing failure, or the well-known shaft oil seal failure ( I never noticed any oil on the tarmac, but it may have been slow loss).

Anyhow, let us know what happens; sounds like you are onto a financial winner eventually, thanks to your perseverance and knowledge. May God help the average punter.
 
Good luck, and keep us updated. Shame, these gearbox issues, they let an otherwise very good car down so frequently.
At least you are very, very knowledgeable compared with an average punter. I wish I had known that much too in 2011, when my 'ordinary' 1.2 GP's gearbox went terminal after just 13.000 miles and 3.5 years old. And not been raced, in case anyone wonders! I am still not sure whether that was internal bearing failure, or the well-known shaft oil seal failure ( I never noticed any oil on the tarmac, but it may have been slow loss).

Anyhow, let us know what happens; sounds like you are onto a financial winner eventually, thanks to your perseverance and knowledge. May God help the average punter.

I am pretty clued up on these things after 20 years of working on Fiat's but boy do I wish I did my homework on M32 gearboxes BEFORE I went looking for an AGPSS! I simply wouldn't have bothered & looked for an Evo instead. It seems astonishing that any car designed/built in the recent past could have such fundamental design issues, and that's perhaps why it didn't occur to me to research such things before I bought, but as you suggest it does spoil an otherwise good car. Fiat really should be dealing with it as a recall but no doubt as usual they probably don't care enough to bother. In my case I doubt I'll keep the car long after it's fixed as my affection for the car has completely waned over the last few months.

I was looking at other AGP's for sale on eBay last night, and each one I looked at I was thinking "49k miles, that'll have a knackered gearbox", "22k miles, that'll be half way to being knackered", etc...

My car was moved from the Fiat dealer to Trade Transmissions today (I'm not allowed to drive it according to the warranty terms, so that's another £50 out of my wallet for a recovery vehicle to move it) and they will start work on it tomorrow.
 
My gear box suffered the same fate after 3 weeks of owning it but now its fixed ive forgotten about it and i love my car again ! Should last another 50k again before replacement is needed, just oil every 6k and she will be fine !
 
I assume that's engine oil every 6000 miles! I must say, as a pre-caution I have changed my gearbox oilo too after 3 years, although partially because the 3rd gear remains notchy and has been from the moment the new=brand-new box went in. It's variable, some better days then others, and with fully warmed-up oil in box it's a little better.

Yes I know what you mean, another 50k miles . Lightning doesn't strike twice, but still......... When I asked my local gearbox specialists, they failed to confirm that FIAT had upgraded the bearings in the 1.2 box.

A bit like FORD's Focus Ecoboost cars which appear to have possible early clutch failures with drivers with no previous history of faulty driving--from 6k miles---, as reported on Don't get Done Get Dom, and in the DT.
 
Phonecall from Trade Transmissions today - "car is done, warranty company picking up the bill" :)

Collecting tomorrow and will get the full story on what needed to be done but to say it's a weight off my mind is an understatement!
 
Picked the car up this morning and the gearbox feels lovely - tight, slick and no whirring noise. Gearstick is completely wobble free in all gears when coming on and off the power too.

Trade Transmissions advised that as well as replacing all bearings in the 'box they had to replace 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th gear synchro hubs plus 2nd gear itself as all were showing signs of significant wear.

After a lengthy battle this is finally resolved as it should've been (i.e. under warranty) and kudos to The Warranty Group for sticking their hands in their pockets in the end.

Trade Transmissions have been first class throughout and I'd recommend them to anyone in the area for any type of gearbox work.

TIM Motors UK in Nottingham however have a lot to answer for in terms of telling me there was nothing wrong with car!!
 
Finally got round to swapping the white wheels for spanking new titanium ones:
IMAG0121_zpsqsor9xj1.jpg

Looks MUCH better :cool:

Suspension change this weekend in an effort to sort out the bouncing over bumps (y)
 
Wheel colour makes such a difference. Love the look of the esseesse wheels. Shame they are so expensive. They fill the arches perfectly and don't sit too far in like the others.


09 Grande Punto Abarth
 
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