Rich yes that's the dealer, it's only a small garage so get booked in early as they're really busy... very friendly bunch!

LC Motors of Newport are also a great bunch

T, they stripped the dash down and put it all back together and it's only *touch wood* happened once since so I never bothered to chase it up

And as for the mileage, well it's not a lot I know, but then my mum's Freelander is 6 years old and it's only got 22,000 miles on the clock!

Ozzie1989 said:

but then my mum's Freelander is 6 years old and it's only got 22,000 miles on the clock!

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Not bad for one of them......... considering their reputation for being unreliable :devil: (dons fire proof underpants).

T14086 said:

at 20mph takes ozzie longer to get somewhere

(did yo uever get dash mileage display fixed?)

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No the odometer is still showing '-----'.

Mrs_G resets the trip at each refill and keeps a running total. Much cheaper than the £300 estimate to get it fixed. If the Doblo was our primary vehicle for private motoring then I would bite the bullet and get it fixed. As the fault doesn't effect the useability of the vehicle and the vehicle is used to generate money rather than consume it, then the fault can stay unfixed.

Niall_G said:

Not bad for one of them......... considering their reputation for being unreliable :devil: (dons fire proof underpants).

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Freelander?
My neighbour had one, he went through 3 clutches in a year towing a medium size caravan. He gave up after the 3rd clutch and bought an X-Trail.

Niall_G said:

No the odometer is still showing '-----'.

Mrs_G resets the trip at each refill and keeps a running total. Much cheaper than the £300 estimate to get it fixed. If the Doblo was our primary vehicle for private motoring then I would bite the bullet and get it fixed. As the fault doesn't effect the useability of the vehicle and the vehicle is used to generate money rather than consume it, then the fault can stay unfixed.

Click to expand...

Suppose if you ever sell it you can get one from scrapyard & get correct mileage put on it?

RichDoblo120 said:

Freelander?
My neighbour had one, he went through 3 clutches in a year towing a medium size caravan. He gave up after the 3rd clutch and bought an X-Trail.

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The clutches aren't that strong on the Petrol models... I'm assuming it was a petrol right? The diesel models seem to fair a lot better when it comes to towing and are a lot more reliable.

We are very weary and have had a few 'head gasket' scares with the Freelander as we have the 1.8 K series petrol, but so far it's not doing too bad! It does so little mileage, I think if it was used more the head gasket would have gone by now easily, but it's short journeys nothing too strenuous and it never gets near any traffic jam.

Ozzie1989 said:

The clutches aren't that strong on the Petrol models... I'm assuming it was a petrol right? The diesel models seem to fair a lot better when it comes to towing and are a lot more reliable.

We are very weary and have had a few 'head gasket' scares with the Freelander as we have the 1.8 K series petrol, but so far it's not doing too bad! It does so little mileage, I think if it was used more the head gasket would have gone by now easily, but it's short journeys nothing too strenuous and it never gets near any traffic jam.

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Actually it was a Diesel, which makes me wonder if maybe it was more his driving. Wait and see how long the clutch lasts on his X-Trail .

spookeytookey said:

my firm has spent over £250000 on Fiats but because we bought them in Morecambe (RAYRIGG SUPERB) the local Fiat dealers are less than helpful.
PArk Gate Fiat try to worm there way out of any warranty work.
My door Checkstrap becale loose and they blamed me saying I waited to long.
I phoned them the DAY it started happening. They booked me in 1 week later.

ALso I have had to change 6 brake lights in 9 weeks
I asked them to investigate and they again blamed me for having TAXI equpment in my car. I said Fiat Fitted All my taxi equipment and the reply was..YOull have to take it up with Rayrigg Fiat Morecambe:bang:
They finally found out it was a faulty brake light switch!!!

Trust me I would think again before buying another Fiat not because of the car but because of the after sales service here.

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Many moons ago I bought a Talbot Alpine at the dealer in Halifax (I was up there on hols/visiting relatives & was looking for a new car). Anyway, came back down south with it.
Mid August the following year (so 1 year and 1 week old ) and the gear linkage fell off & was promptly mangled under a following lorry.
I contacted the main dealer in Halifax & explained the problem & where I was living (so returning to them was a major headache) & they said it would be fixed under warranty & to take it to my local dealer.
Only having 1st/2nd gears, I limped the car round to my local dealers - who refused to touch it as a warranty repair because I didn't buy from them.
My local Trading standards were neither use nor ornament - they could only suggest I write to my local dealer, explain the facts & ask them to carry out a warranty repair:bang: .
In the end, I asked the dealer in Halifax to contact Talbot head office on my behalf & ask them to contact my local dealer.
The best solution I was given was to pay my local dealer to fix the car THEN send my bill to the main dealer in Halifax for them to reinburse.
Then came another problem.
The Halifax dealer refused to reinburse the full amount because they said my local dealer's labour charges were higher than theirs - despite these charges 'supposedly' being set by Talbot.
I eventually got a full refund, but only because I involved a national newspaper (they had a 'consumer help' section & were very interested in my story - in fact, I got £100 from the paper as well so a bit of a result but it took about 6 months to sort & loads of time without a motor.

I thought things had improved these days because of the internet & people buying goods abroad etc. Although a shop is generally responsible for an item you buy from them, the manufacturer is ultimately responsible so an item can be taken to any local dealer?

spookeytookey said:

I wont pay the ridiculous Fiat service Prices, however the oil change light and the service light still obviously come on.
:

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As you know not all cars are like this, service indicator/oil indicator reset locked down by the manufacturers software. I`m surprised independents are not making more of a fuss, going to the press, EU, etc, as it has the potential to put them out of business in the long term.

IMHO market forces will come into play as owners such as yourself become aware of the situation and buy another make, or at least build free service indicator/oil light resets into the final stage of negotiating the purchase of the vehicle.

I think there will be a customer backlash on this service/oil indicator lockdown to manufacturers software. It only needs a Korean / emerging Chinese/ et al, manufacturer to become aware of potential lost sales and your average customer will go there.

Because it DOES seem `underhand` to not be able take a car outside the dealer network to be serviced.
You could argue the service is not really complete if the service indicator/oil light is not reset......
If i were in your situation and had been caught out and with a fleet to service, I think I would write to the local paper and MP.
Regards

oilrag said:

Because it DOES seem `underhand` to not be able take a car outside the dealer network to be serviced.
You could argue the service is not really complete if the service indicator/oil light is not reset......
If i were in your situation and had been caught out and with a fleet to service, I think I would write to the local paper and MP.
Regards

Click to expand...

Who would you rather have work on your car....

A all round general mechanic with a copy of autodata

or

A manufactuer trained technician with full back up.


For something that initially costs so much money (£8-12,000) & is relied on on a almost daily basis it seems strange that so many customers always 'scrimp' on saving a few quid for a decent service. It's something I come across every single day......."£240 for a service,no way" etc etc..............yet the same person is happy to go to Currys & spend £500 on a TV or £2000 on a holiday

It has nothing to do with garage making a few quid & even if it did cost say £20 to put the light out whats that in real terms...few packets of cigs,2 bottles of cheap vodka,curry & few beers,basic SKY package for a month,one sixth of your council tax for the month,less than your monthly water rates,half your phone standing charges,less than a letter from your bank telling you that you've gone over your overdraft limit,4 gallons of petrol........how many people here complain about these? (none is the answer )

The oil change warning is there for a reason......its telling you the oil is getting near the level where it cannot not properly lubricate/protect the engine.

A far better idea would be to lobby your local MP to make technology go backwards & build cars with points/condensors if you want to work on them yourselves & get rid of silly features like airbags,VDC,ABS,smart charge systems,CAN systems etc....

(before anyone says "yeah but my BMW service cost less than a Fiat one"...well compare the initial cost of that car & the profit the dealer makes from that compared to a few hundred they make on a Fiat...are you really paying less now for that service?)

T14086 said:

(before anyone says "yeah but my BMW service cost less than a Fiat one"...well compare the initial cost of that car & the profit the dealer makes from that compared to a few hundred they make on a Fiat...are you really paying less now for that service?)

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Which reminds me of recent adverts on my local radio station where independant garages are advertising 1/2 price service on a beemer with beemer trained 'technicians' (and the differece between a tech & a mech is???) "without affecting your warranty" and the beemer main dealer is still advertising their full price service .
Market forces?

As I drive through the country I see petrol stations charging as much as 5p/litre more for their fuel than a station 3 miles back - and there is nearly always someone topping up.

T14086 said:

For something that initially costs so much money (£8-12,000) & is relied on on a almost daily basis it seems strange that so many customers always 'scrimp' on saving a few quid for a decent service. It's something I come across every single day......."£240 for a service,no way" etc etc.

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Hi T, Its the principle of the thing. The car belongs to the owner and as such should be accessable for servicing.

As you know, I service my own cars and have `saved ( where is it Tens of thousands of pounds over 40 years working on the family fleet as well as friends cars.

No one is challenging the examiner and the DET technician in diagnostics. Its just that there is no need to lock out the independent, or DIY mech.

The Fiat dealer service under warranty on my cars have sometimes seemed less than adequate, Oil overfilled etc.
You can bet the DET technician would do better, but IMHO an independent or competent DIY ( I mean DIY competent to the re build of engines stage)
seems better than `The Apprentice` that It seems gets the routine servicing at some main dealers.
It was a Rover Main Dealer tech, (apprentice?) that once fitted ordinary thin wall rubber pipe as the leak off tubes on my Maestro diesel.. You can guess how long that lasted...
I`m supportive of main dealers though and in particular of the DET technicians that are the brains of the place. But also in the interests of fair competition, do not want the independents closing, or the few remaining competent DIY owners shut out by an examiner locked service/oil light.

Regards

I agree. I've always done my own work, aside from a 2 year period where I bought a brand new car & had to have the dealer service to satisfy the warranty (some 30 years ago).
The last service on the warranty was the 3 year/most expensive service.
The service sheet started out with 'new oil/filter, new air filter, new fuel filter, top up washer bottle, check antifreeze & top up as necessary...' After this, everything else on the list was simply a visual inspection of hoses, parts etc.
The cost (back then) was £180 - a lot of money
And this didn't include checking the timing.
Amusingly enough, if you had your car serviced, they would give you a 50% discount on your MOT (if it was done at the same time).
Interestingly, comparing the service sheet to the MOT checklist threw up a huge number of similarities.
In other words, all the checks they were doing for the service were the same checks they were doing for the MOT.
That was the last time I ever had my car serviced but now it looks like I'll be back to the dealer now I've got the Dobbin and have to satisfy the warranty.

As for 'scrimping' on the service, I've always used top notch oil in my engines, always flushing the old oil through first.
I base my oil on the age of engine, type of driving etc.
The dealer will have their oil delivered in 50gallon drums, one for petrol, one for diesel engines. I doubt they take age of engine or anything else into account.
(dons fireproof underwear & awaits a dealer reply)

sludgeguts said:

I agree. I've always done my own work, aside from a 2 year period where I bought a brand new car & had to have the dealer service to satisfy the warranty (some 30 years ago).

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The 30 years speaks for its self

I have a lot of sympathy for the service staff of Main dealers as some owners now seem so lacking in knowledge over even the most basic mechanical issues, the things they do to their cars beggers belief.

I think the service/oil light is an issue though and its very difficult for me to see it as other than locking a completed service to the examiner.

Its going to confront Fiat owners though as the car comes out of warranty... Oh, just thought.. Is it to lock owners into Fiat main dealer servicing DURING warranty?
Because, as we know any VAT registered garage can service the car during warranty.

Sorry for being a cynic
Regards
( written in the interests of critical debate)

sludgeguts said:

(dons fireproof underwear & awaits a dealer reply)

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LOL....everyones entitled to a opinion & all the better for it.

Few points...remember you can get it serviced wherever you want,if you want to get it done at a independent thats your choice but i'd check it afterwards/VAT number.I dont take an pleasure in reporting to a customer their £600 bill wont be paid by warranty as it has a incorrect service history.

If you not happy with a service,complain about it.Is there a viewing area in the garage to watch the work being carried out?

I have nothing against independants (I worked at many) but you have to take a step back and look at whole picture.Techs get paid more at main dealers,this is not so say all best techs are at dealerships as some simply dont like the dealership setup etc.Training is vital on todays systems...cars have advanced so much in last 5 years let alone 30,the budgets for training at dealerships is huge & no independent could afford these amounts.

From what I can attain alot of independents are becoming more specialised,bodywork/welding/electrical/MOT's etc in order to survive.However dont get me wrong there is a good working relationship between dealers & independents which I hope stay

Again in reference to the oil light,its there for a reason.

Yup, 30 years since I bought a new car. Dealer seviced every six months (as per book) for warranty (in them days it had to be dealer) and I wasn't prepared to pay the price for the final warranty service so did it myself.
I kept that car 15 years, doing all my own work. Since then, all my cars have been 2nd hand, private sales and all my own servicing/maintenance work.

The Dobbin is the newest I've bought in 30 years & comes with the remainder of the original warranty plus an extra 2 years' warranty - I know these can often be worth having.

I agree that oil lights are there for a reason but to have oil service reminder glaring at you all the time you're driving is just ludicrous.

I can appreciate that some drivers need a kick up the backside where servicing is concerned - to ignore servicing an engine is sheer folly but we don't need an in your face reminder.

T14086 said:

From what I can attain alot of independents are becoming more specialised,bodywork/welding/electrical/MOT's etc in order to survive.

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A generation of them seem to have disapeared from the general garage trade around here. There was a great one man garage around here that I knew for decades.
He actually showed me as a kid how to fit brake shoes, knowing full well that i would do it myself from then on.
( I Think he knew that as one of the local kids, if he didnt show me, I would attempt it anyway and learn the hard way)

Great guy, everyone respected him in the community. But get this. He *didn`t do electrics* Now i`m not talking about Can Bus, but the electrics on cars such as a 1967 Mini.
For that he `subcontracted` to an ancient bloke ( thats how it seemed at 17) who lived in a cottage nearby.

He shut up shop about 10 years ago, I think because he was becoming increasingly restricted in what he could do.

He was bought out by a couple of lads with modern main dealer training.

Regards

T14086 said:

If you not happy with a service,complain about it.Is there a viewing area in the garage to watch the work being carried out?

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The last time my car was in my local fiat dealers they said there wasnt a viewing area as they didnt do MOT's. So not all independents or main dealers have viewing areas.

sludgeguts said:

The Dobbin is the newest I've bought in 30 years & comes with the remainder of the original warranty plus an extra 2 years' warranty -

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You`re going to have clean hands for a while then

I had a Doblo and cut holes in the undertray so I could easily service myself after the warranty expired. A 2002 model though, pre service light issue.

Currently I have a late 2005 multijet Punto van. This too has no service light.

Everyone I knew who serviced their own car from our youth in the 1960`s gave up DIY servicing years ago, intimidated by the technology.
Sure, I dont mind paying dealer servicing prices if the DET technician is stood there interpreting the examiner. But for a regular service on the engine side, its just about only oil and filters these days.

I`m actually finding the van to be easier to service than all my previous cars.

Its just been the one service at 1 year done by Fiat ( 3/4 litre overfilled with oil, sucked to correct level at home with my extractor) But I have done several oil and filter changes.
Will be abandoning the third year warranty and servicing myself from then on as no apprentice is touching it again.

Pity really that you cant specify the DET technician for the routine service.....
Railroaded into a main dealer service for the warranty last year, I would have been willing to pay an extra £50 on the labour for that degree of competence and assurance.

Regards

Regarding viewing areas, some do/some don't.
I notice a few local garages allow you to stand by the reception desk & look into the workshop - but you often find your car is on the furthest ramp!
I'm very wary of having any work done at garages after having been conned by many.
Sis-in-law's car failed MOT on coil springs not seated properly, they could do the repair for £120.
I'd recently fitted new shocks so was surprised. I took the car in & asked the mech to put it on the ramps & explain to me what the problem was. He showed me the movement in the coils as the wheels hung in the air. I told him that as I put the new shocks on, I was wary of the movement but turning the coil so its end sat up to the stop meant the top end was 1" away, turn it back & the bottom was 1" away. I asked him how, in how professional opinion, the coil could otherwise be installed.
He agreed & wrote a pass ticket.
Another garage failed my OH's car on leaking shocks. These were the same shocks that she had fitted there some 6 months earlier - one of those rare occasions where a garage supplying & fitting something was the same price as me buying the item & fitting myself!
I wonder how they explained to head office why they were fitting new shocks F.O.C. to replace brand new shocks! & I guess it'd be a long time before they got an identical car in to fob them onto.
A local garage had my car in for accident repair work. Their list of charges included new oil filter, new plugs, new leads... On that occasion, I'd got the cheapest parts from Halfords when I did my service. The garage didn't even bother to clean the parts up. They were very red-faced when I asked them why they, a main dealer, carried out insurance repairs using Halfords oil filter, plugs and leads. I got a full service & tune out of that one & never been back since.
OH's auto choke on Sierra kept cutting out. Rather than telling me, she took it to main Ford dealer who promptly shoved in a manual conversion kit.
They didn't unwrap the cable fully, leaving it to knot up when fully installed.
They drilled into a switch blank plate to fix the choke knob - so when you pulled the choke knob out, everything came out!

OH's Astra was rear-ended, took her car into local insurance-approved garage (vaux main dealer. The paint job on the rear tailgate looked like it had been done by the teaboy.
There was a heavy line where they'd used masking tape across the panel - in fact, it felt like they'd left the tape in place.


I know that sometimes they can get things wrong but on the few occasions over the years where I've had to use garage services - there's always been some problems.