supermcc_afc Have Souls done the decent thing yet?

They sure ave! Today I dropped my car off to them for it to get the new replacement wheel put on it and I must say I was a little worried but they totally delivered on there promise! I picked it up later with 4 brand new rims (bk 299's) on it in mint condision looking great!

I must say they've been great about this matter, most garages wouldn't of taken care of me like they have, they replaced my damaged rims with brand new ones (all 4) and i must say there customer sevice has been top noch!

I'm really pleased with how they've handled this and i must write them a letter of thanks coz they've been great!

Well obviously it would have been better not to have the damage in the first place, but all credit to the dealer for putting it right without a fuss - a rarity these days!
H

hi, im one of your average mechanics who works in your average garage and trust me when i say if you take it to a manufacturer garage they will charge you over bored coz really your just paying for the name b4 i got my fiat punto the previous owner had the clutch done at a dealer garage and charged her £320 if i had done it would have cost me rougthly £40 and if i had taken to a local garage £120 locol garages are cheaper trust me and it is wise to have your car serviced regurally just to make sure everything is ok and safe regards tom

toms white punto said:

hi, im one of your average mechanics who works in your average garage and trust me when i say if you take it to a manufacturer garage they will charge you over bored coz really your just paying for the name b4 i got my fiat punto the previous owner had the clutch done at a dealer garage and charged her £320 if i had done it would have cost me rougthly £40 and if i had taken to a local garage £120 locol garages are cheaper trust me and it is wise to have your car serviced regurally just to make sure everything is ok and safe regards tom

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But local garages dont have dedicated diagnostic equipment,dedicated Fiat trained technicians some with over 40 years experience on Fiats,access to large amounts on information,Fiat backup(teseo) etc.Yes you do pay a little more but in the long run if you strike up a good understanding with your local dealer & healthy discount is easily obtained

well i work in the motor trade and what i have seen come out of fiat garages is disgusting.they come out with more problems then when they went in! a lot of independants have not got the diagnostic capability or knowledge to check modern cars over.they are still old school. and to get the relevant service info was blocked until recently by manufacturers.but the EEC has forced their hand to hand over this info.it was available on the black market from russia mind you. cars are getting ever more complicated with even basic models with air con,elec winodws,centrol locking,power steering etc.all potential failures.and the main franchises work on a menu system of cost.this is unworkable if say you cant get a spark plug out or a bolt off.they then have to cut corners to catch up time.the customer then is getting a sub standard service.this happens across all makes of cars.the industry needs shaking up.there are bodies who are supposed to police the industry.they do a poor job.my advice is find a good local garage who is geared up to modern servicing.go by word of mouth.unipart centres are usually ok.at 36 k, i would also swap the cambelt,tensioner and all other belts.dont rely on fiat recommendations.

I have used a local garage owned by someone I knew, trust him to do a good job, he does the MOTs but he has several people working for him and he can't do everything. It is not a FIAT garage so they don't know enough. Example rear ash tray removal to adjust the brake cable didn't take the little screw out just levered it out. Fastening the air filter caseing down on MK2 Punto 1242 8 valve pulled the threaded sleave out on left hand side which caused allsorts of noises and knocking. I had bits of sponge pushed in all over the place, tried new rear engine mount before I found it. Amazing the noises that made. T14086 and a couple of others on here are right, if you can find somewhere you can trust who have FIAT experience go there, since they know the cars they can do it right and a whole lot quicker and save you money. If the Fiat mechanics on here set up there own garage that would be the ideal solution. Bye the way I believe you don't invalidate your warrenty by getting servicing done at a non Fiat garage as long as it is done to their spec. The rules changed a couple of years ago I believe, perhaps T14086 can confirm or otherwise. Lincoln

yes,under EEC mandate,as long as work is carried out in accordance to manufactures spec using endorsed parts,then they can service your car.
regarding adjusting cables and refitting the filter,if a garage cannot do these simple tasks,then they should be in another business!

I'm not getting into the same argument here again as it's getting a bit boring now.

Go wherever you want after all you it's your money & you take your choice.

A few points,warranty is still valid aslong as Fiat parts are used.
If Fiat tehnicians are that bad why are they here giving out free information so anyone can save money,wouldn't be so many folk here if you had to pay to ask questions would there?
Alot of independants take customers cars to Fiat (and other makes) dealers to get repaired then add abit extra for themselves.
Dealers get daily calls from independents for help,free of charge.
Independant garages can access Fiat information....but trust me it costs £££ this will be passed on to the customer.
I have nothing against independent garages,have worked in many myself but I fear the growth in technology will sadly put more than a few of them out of business or just servicing,MOT,welding etc repairs only.
I cannot stress enough the striking up of a 'alliance' with a good dealer.You will learn to trust them & get to know the techs.Discounts will become available aswell as car collection,small jobs done free & a more honest and friendly approach is made by both parties.
I will also however defend good Fiat technicians who work very hard not only during working hours but also out of hours to enhance their diagnostic skills,it is unfair to call their work 'disgusting'.I have spent in the past up to 6 weeks away from home,in one year,from my wife & family on training courses,at least one hour every night on the internet here plus constantly reading through workshop manuals (they are piled up on my side of the bed!) so I do take offence to that remark.
In the end you are under no obligation to take your car to a Fiat dealer but please dont tarnish us all.

It is a shame that Fiat have such a poor reputation, but the service the majority of dealers provide is shameful. In some cases its before the car even gets to your stage, I gave up speaking to the service reception at Perrys of Aylesbury, they were unhelpful & aggresive a few years ago so never went back. I am running out of local dealers as they all have either denied something was wrong with car, best to date Perrys again who said I didn't have an oil leak it was dirty water....when I had to go down and show them the leak, a 45 minute drive in work time, they apologised and gave me my next service free, when they spent 3 days repairing it and then it still leaked when I got it back they gave me year 2 service free too! Or completely messed my car up Pinneys of Luton covered it in grease throughout, tech must have crawled round inside for fun putting hand prints around upholstery. They got a valet service in who managed to cover car in water stains.

I have a few local dealers left, and I hope I come across a tech at one of these as professional as yourself.

HornetUK said:

It is a shame that Fiat have such a poor reputation, but the service the majority of dealers provide is shameful.

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But you have to admit (maybe not in your region) overall it is getting better,it won't get better overnight but it's getting there slowly but surely! I could go on all night about why I think 'management' are getting it wrong in dealerships but one of the reasons which I'm sure you will agree with is lack of care/respect for the customers car which at the end of the day is a huge financial investment.Treat each customer as a individual

HornetUK said:

In some cases its before the car even gets to your stage, I gave up speaking to the service reception at Perrys of Aylesbury, they were unhelpful & aggresive a few years ago so never went back. I am running out of local dealers as they all have either denied something was wrong with car, best to date Perrys again who said I didn't have an oil leak it was dirty water....when I had to go down and show them the leak, a 45 minute drive in work time, they apologised and gave me my next service free, when they spent 3 days repairing it and then it still leaked when I got it back they gave me year 2 service free too! Or completely messed my car up Pinneys of Luton covered it in grease throughout, tech must have crawled round inside for fun putting hand prints around upholstery.

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Dealerships often change management/techs if things are not going well,'might' be worth trying again as Fiat are becoming more strict on dealers.
At least you don't have to budget for servicing........ever again by the way it's going Ask dealer for tech to wear gloves.......not mittens

HornetUK said:

I have a few local dealers left, and I hope I come across a tech at one of these as professional as yourself.

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I just treat the car as if it was my own......... actually thats a lie cause my cars are heaps,but if I had paid thousands then I would.Sereiously it's simple though isn't it.....p*ss of a customer & they ( and their friends) won't go near you again,do a good job or at least explain what you have done or trying to do and they respect you for it.Don't get me wrong I make f*ck up's same as everyone else but a quick look over the interior for fingerprints,quick check everything is ok & working correctly often makes all the difference

I have just had a 24,OOO miles service on a fiat panda at a fiat dealership done and the garage done a service sheet for a fiat punto 2001 thought the guys would have known the different by now not impressed.

jane robinson said:

I have just had a 24,OOO miles service on a fiat panda at a fiat dealership done and the garage done a service sheet for a fiat punto 2001 thought the guys would have known the different by now not impressed.

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Ooops I've done that In my defense there are so many different service sheets for different models & years.I personally find the service sheets useless & it's about time Fiat updated them & made them clearer for the customer (& tech )after all wheel bolts are not mentioned which is something I always check.

you said you check the wheel bolts ,this fiat garage didnt even take the rear wheels off man which should have been done for a 24,000 miles service on a new panda.

If the brakes can be inspected through the provided inspection holes there really wouldn't be any need to remove the wheels unless the technician had a concern.

we did ask the garage to check the rear brakes as there was a noise never mind it has been done now since i pointed this out ,we shall not be going back there again !

You actually asked them & they didn't even look!

Courtesy to at least have a look,but who would pay for the techs time? You wouldn't pay & Fiat wouldn't unless a definate fault was found & dealer/garage would do it for free however a quick look would of only taken 10 minutes!

i know its what you call bad service we even brought the car from them as well , trouble is they are the only fiat dealership in norfolk and we do like fiat cars we have had a few like the old panda, few puntos, uno, new panda which is my husbands i havent got a fiat .

has't no one ever had a experience with fiat. I guess if you were persistant in making sure they did everything correct then let them do it as long as it still under warrantey get your full moneys worth! Even if the door handel keept sticking and it was still udnerwarrent id go striaght to the dealer. If they did't wanna do it they would not offer the service full stop

Coshstar said:

has't no one ever had a experience with fiat. I guess if you were persistant in making sure they did everything correct then let them do it as long as it still under warrantey get your full moneys worth! Even if the door handel keept sticking and it was still udnerwarrent id go striaght to the dealer. If they did't wanna do it they would not offer the service full stop

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And quite rightly so if you have a problem that hasn't been resolved,such as a 'sticking door handle' as you mention,it is a defect.

Jane robinson,look on the Fiat UK website,there are loads of dealers in Norfolk area.