Be very careful when getting any work done!
I bought my 1.3 multijet panda only 5 weeks ago from Perrys Aylesbury (good deal!) and found some of the black paint was not quite perfect on the rear bumper. My local Fiat dealer is Stoneacre in Scunthorpe. They were supposed to be fitting a new air filter housing on Tuesday evening last week, but said they wouldnt have time to look at the paint. My car was very dirty but the body shop manager came through and asked if I'd show him the dodgy paint. On looking at the bumper I noticed scratches all along the top of the bumper! They had clearly used a dry cloth and scraped the dirt right across it. Ok its not a Jaguar and it may T-cut out, but to cut a long story short, they will not accept liability and deny doing it and Fiat Customer care so far have said they can't do anything! Has anyone else had crap service over something like this from Fiat or Stoneacre? I don't want my car anywhere near that place again and I'm considering what I can do about it. Sorry to go on. Be warned !!

Fiat dont do bodywork

T14086 said:

Fiat dont do bodywork

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Fiat - Customer Services = Not helping when alerted to problem with dealer

Stoneacre - Dealer = Damaging a new car and denying responsibility and refusing to repair.

Your issue is with the garage in question, if yo ucant get it resolved to your satisfaction then go to a solicitor/advice office etc. It wouldn't hurt to send pictures to customer services.

Sadly, having taken a bodyshop to the small calims court for issues including one similar to yours, I would have to say - don't bother. You will have to satisfy the District Judge that the damage was not there when you left the car with them and was as soon as you picked it up - impossible, unless you have independent witnesses who can all say on aoth they examined your bumper with you before and immediately after you took the car in! Digital photos are unlikely to be accepted because of "photoshop" etc i.e. they can be altered. Having wasted many hours of my life and several hundred pounds in court fees, lost earnings, reports etc - imho, cut your losses and use your funds to get a top class re-spray of the bumper instead. I know it should not be this way, but at least you will keep your sanity get your car back the way you want it.

Sorry to hear of your encounter silkblack, its a pity that if the garage did damage a car they would be honest and own up & rectify it for you

put it like this the attitude of the sales staff in Scunthorpe lead to me walking out that was before i parted with the money i ended up buying my car from Dancaster Stonacre and they couldn't do enough.....

their body shop is ok too my mate had his Suzuki swift in (they are a multi franchise) and spot on....

and if its Black paint DON'T use normal t-cut you want at the least t-cut Metalic or Meguires scratch X available from Motorsave

stoneacre of grimsby aint much better mate i had to leave my car with them for a few months after i had a new ecu and radiator fitted ( working in hongkong ) they stored it in there secure storage facility which turned out too be not very secure the yard was broken into using my car as a stepping stone out of the yard dammaged bonnet and wing, bonnet needed replacing
any ways i arrived home to collect the car they offered me coffee while it was returned to the garage .. they added up the storage costs and gave me the bill £1200 for 2 months secure storage thought fu@k thats steep but its secure and will be as i left it ..
car arrived at the garage and the damage was obvious as it approached the garage they asked for a card to pay the bill and i was like wtf pay to store it and it comes back like this no way a arguement ensued and i stood up told them to get too fu@k gave them the v5 and told them too keep it ..
manager said as a good will gesture he will half the storage fees another row later the starage was free .. after a walked out my phone rang asking me to collect my car i told them it was theres not mine and to sort it out any way 3 days later i was called to come too the garage there was "there car" with a new red wing and a black bonnet i said that looks nice but whats with the bonnet ,with out consulting the claims department id have too accept the car as is and a substantial refund i walked away and went too see a solicitor any way 3 days later the car has been fully serviced valeted painted full tank of fuel and a cheque for £1500 (what i paid for the ecu,rad and labour)
accepted the offer got my car back and have never used a stoneacre since was 6yrs ago and to this day me my wife and my imediate family havent used them

my advise is avoid them like the plague

silkblack said:

Sadly, having taken a bodyshop to the small calims court for issues including one similar to yours, I would have to say - don't bother. You will have to satisfy the District Judge that the damage was not there when you left the car with them and was as soon as you picked it up - impossible, unless you have independent witnesses who can all say on aoth they examined your bumper with you before and immediately after you took the car in! Digital photos are unlikely to be accepted because of "photoshop" etc i.e. they can be altered. Having wasted many hours of my life and several hundred pounds in court fees, lost earnings, reports etc - imho, cut your losses and use your funds to get a top class re-spray of the bumper instead. I know it should not be this way, but at least you will keep your sanity get your car back the way you want it.

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Thanks for that. I'm coming around to that conclusion. Its not worth the stress and time. Doesn't make it ok though does it. Perrys of Aylesbury where I purchased the vehicle actually advised me to involve Fiat Uk Customer Services and to write to the Fiat Head of customer services to report the garage but again its PROOF which can be difficult!
They also said they can't understand Stoneacre's attitude as they said its the service and warranty where they make the money so they thought they would have been a little more keen on resolving the matter.
Thanks for your reply on this anyway and sorry about your trouble you had. Its not the end of the world, but its the principle. How can you trust them with your car if they do this?

Andy Monty said:

put it like this the attitude of the sales staff in Scunthorpe lead to me walking out that was before i parted with the money i ended up buying my car from Dancaster Stonacre and they couldn't do enough.....

their body shop is ok too my mate had his Suzuki swift in (they are a multi franchise) and spot on....

and if its Black paint DON'T use normal t-cut you want at the least t-cut Metalic or Meguires scratch X available from Motorsave

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Yeah they are so cocky in Scunthorpe. A test drive I arranged for 'around 11.30' they asked me to come in didn't happen because when I arrived all I got was sarcasm and a guy saying ' oh he left at 11.30 for the day' so I asked why would he say to come in at around 11.30? The guy sat there looking at his watch and said 'oh well I make it 11.45' .
Thats how you sell cars!

I told him what a W-----r he was and walked out. And bought from Perrys instead which THANK YOU STONEACRE SAVED ME OVER A GRAND ON THE NEW PRICE!!
Doncaster do seem more helpful although a guy there Called Tony is their 'head office customer liason' guy. He is a lot of use as he is the one who said they wont do anything about it. Maybe I'll have to find out what car the Service manager at Scunthorpe drives and scratch his painwork and see if he likes it! lol

Not worth getting wound up really is it. How the hell do they get any recommendations when they tell lies?

i had the same when looking asked if there would be someone to value my car "yes" can i have a test drive" "yes" what colours do you have "a good range" got their at an agreed time the chap who did the valuations had gone home, there was no one to take me out on a test drive they only had one colour in then the w@nk3r wouldn't give me the APR figure "its only £xx.xx a week" i walked out..

Where you live jj58panda? anywhere near Goole if you want to try a bit of decent rubbing compound and can get to Goole

@ T14086

Thanks for your message; there was no way this guy was ever going to concede anything - he would have argued with you that today is not actually Sunday!

@JJ58PANDA

No - it most certainly does not make it right; but, once you have lost faith in someone's service/abilities, imho it's time to draw a line under it and move on. It is a sad fact that to stand up for your principles these days, you need bottomless pockets and the patience of a saint.

If ANDY MONTY's kind offer of compounding doesn't sort things (and I suspect it will), pm me for an excellent bodyshop just outside of York - one man band (with an assistant), good rates AND he repaired and matched perfectly the rear quarter and bumper of my wife's '57 Panda in metallic orange - and I mean perfect!

All the best,

Richard

silkblack said:

@ T14086

Thanks for your message; there was no way this guy was ever going to concede anything - he would have argued with you that today is not actually Sunday!

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suppose I would just see it as some drunken **** damaged my car on way home from pub or something so could do nothing about it or even a junkie as even if you took him to court the social worker would get him off leaving you with the bill and him to hopefully OD on next hit. Anyway yeah I see what you are saying but its a poor reflection on society.

One point.......is it possible that car was damaged while parked by another customer? I have seen this many times especially where parking is tight & not once has any of them admitted it but simply walk away.

Good point - entirely possible. More unlikely, but still possible - could it have been cat(s) using the bumper as a step up on to the roof, or even birds - I recall reading a while ago about some daft birds seeing their reflections in a windscreen, presumably thinking it was another bird and attacking the car, damaging the paintwork and pulling off the windscreen wipers! Iirc, the owner was sure it was kids, until he saw for himself! You never know...and that takes us right back to proving who is liable. Ho hum!

Never thought of cats, neighbours cat jumps on m bonnet when I get home cause its nice & warm (cat is left out all the time) but dont bother me but I appreciate that it bothers others.

Not defending Stoneacre by the way but just looking at it from another angle.

LOL @ the mental bird & its reflection!

T14086 said:

Fiat dont do bodywork

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Stoneacre are The UK's Largest Fiat Dealer Group awfull service and they did scratches right across the top of the bumper and deny doing it and the job was fitting a new air filter:shrug:

Arnold clark has more Fiat garages than stoneacre (16 compared to 11)

Yep absolutely awfull service T take a look

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/forum-printtopic-1-42514-0-0-asc-viewresult-1.html

Andy Monty said:

i had the same when looking asked if there would be someone to value my car "yes" can i have a test drive" "yes" what colours do you have "a good range" got their at an agreed time the chap who did the valuations had gone home, there was no one to take me out on a test drive they only had one colour in then the w@nk3r wouldn't give me the APR figure "its only £xx.xx a week" i walked out..

Where you live jj58panda? anywhere near Goole if you want to try a bit of decent rubbing compound and can get to Goole

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Yeah well I live in Scunny but I know Goole very well! Sorry only just read all these comments - seems to be a popular topic. Thanks for offer, been away from this had bereavement. Come back to me on it. Cheers pal. Stop press --- Going to see Jordans of Witham, Hull re- original paint concerns and it could end up all being sprayed anyway which would sort all the scratches that were courtesy of Stoneacre.

silkblack said:

@ T14086

Thanks for your message; there was no way this guy was ever going to concede anything - he would have argued with you that today is not actually Sunday!

@JJ58PANDA

No - it most certainly does not make it right; but, once you have lost faith in someone's service/abilities, imho it's time to draw a line under it and move on. It is a sad fact that to stand up for your principles these days, you need bottomless pockets and the patience of a saint.

If ANDY MONTY's kind offer of compounding doesn't sort things (and I suspect it will), pm me for an excellent bodyshop just outside of York - one man band (with an assistant), good rates AND he repaired and matched perfectly the rear quarter and bumper of my wife's '57 Panda in metallic orange - and I mean perfect!

All the best,

Richard

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Thank you. Come to think of it I have that lovely door dent I got only 7 days from new thanks to some generous Aldi car park user to deal with so perhaps can sort both together!!