I thought I'd pass on the experience I'm currently going through with warranty claims and a certain local dealer, in the vague hope someone can fill me in.
I drive an '08 T-Jet Sporting (registered March 31) and have had it from new, albeit not from the local dealer I've had it serviced with - I bought it further south to save three grand, and since then have had it serviced locally. This is a local dealer that charged £260 for the first service.
In late Feb, during the spell of terrible weather, I started to lose the interior heating unless the car was moving. After a little while I checked under the bonnet only to find the coolant had about a centimetre or two left in it. After topping it up revealed that it only lost more coolant I phoned the local garage to book it in. This was in the second week of March. They inspected it for two hours and declared it was a faulty valve, for which the part would arrive in three days. I duly turned up later in the week, waited another two hours for the fitting, and drove away.
Roll forwards nearly two weeks later, I noticed it was leaking again. Phoning the garage up they invited me back for another inspection (April 12th). After having it in for another two hours, they then decided they couldn't see what the issue was and topped it back up with coolant, asking me to see if it loses any more and if so to then come back the following Monday for yet another inspection. So, I turn up the following Monday morning with the unsurprising loss of coolant, only this time they give me a delivery-mileage 500 for a courtesy car. Phoning them up at 4pm to get an update they tell me they've found out it's broken a hose and they're just trying to put the warranty work through now, and that the car was ready for pick-up. On turning up, they tell me the warranty claim was rejected due to hoses not being covered in the third year of the warranty, and I'd have to pay £350 to rectify the problem.
Understandably stunned, I reminded the girl on the desk that the car's issues stemmed back into the second year of its warranty - an issue that wasn't fixed at the time I originally brought it in. On this, the girl told me she'd speak with the service manager to rectify it and call me back the following day.
This is where it gets a bit less black and white and more in the grey realms - I get a phone call the next day telling me that instead of paying £350, the service manager has agreed to bring the labour charges down to make it £250. I (politely) remind the girl that I shouldn't be paying anything towards it given what we'd discussed, and after this I'm told the service manager would call me. This is last Tuesday lunchtime. On Wednesday afternoon I get fed up with waiting and call Fiat UK for advice on whether hoses are covered as well under the second year, and whether I can get the work done elsewhere. My details are taken and a warranty person is assigned to my case.
Come Friday, the garage hasn't phoned me but Fiat UK return my call at 3.30pm, to tell me that, after speaking with the garage, the only thing they can do is negate the cost of the hose as part of their customer service, and that to debate the warranty claim I'd have to talk to the garage again. They add that in regards to my issue the garage should be able to audit the claim back to the first instance of me bringing it in in terms of the warranty.
I ran out of time at work on Friday so I haven't called the garage back yet.
If you're still awake after reading this, any advice before I call them back in the week would be appreciated.
I drive an '08 T-Jet Sporting (registered March 31) and have had it from new, albeit not from the local dealer I've had it serviced with - I bought it further south to save three grand, and since then have had it serviced locally. This is a local dealer that charged £260 for the first service.
In late Feb, during the spell of terrible weather, I started to lose the interior heating unless the car was moving. After a little while I checked under the bonnet only to find the coolant had about a centimetre or two left in it. After topping it up revealed that it only lost more coolant I phoned the local garage to book it in. This was in the second week of March. They inspected it for two hours and declared it was a faulty valve, for which the part would arrive in three days. I duly turned up later in the week, waited another two hours for the fitting, and drove away.
Roll forwards nearly two weeks later, I noticed it was leaking again. Phoning the garage up they invited me back for another inspection (April 12th). After having it in for another two hours, they then decided they couldn't see what the issue was and topped it back up with coolant, asking me to see if it loses any more and if so to then come back the following Monday for yet another inspection. So, I turn up the following Monday morning with the unsurprising loss of coolant, only this time they give me a delivery-mileage 500 for a courtesy car. Phoning them up at 4pm to get an update they tell me they've found out it's broken a hose and they're just trying to put the warranty work through now, and that the car was ready for pick-up. On turning up, they tell me the warranty claim was rejected due to hoses not being covered in the third year of the warranty, and I'd have to pay £350 to rectify the problem.
Understandably stunned, I reminded the girl on the desk that the car's issues stemmed back into the second year of its warranty - an issue that wasn't fixed at the time I originally brought it in. On this, the girl told me she'd speak with the service manager to rectify it and call me back the following day.
This is where it gets a bit less black and white and more in the grey realms - I get a phone call the next day telling me that instead of paying £350, the service manager has agreed to bring the labour charges down to make it £250. I (politely) remind the girl that I shouldn't be paying anything towards it given what we'd discussed, and after this I'm told the service manager would call me. This is last Tuesday lunchtime. On Wednesday afternoon I get fed up with waiting and call Fiat UK for advice on whether hoses are covered as well under the second year, and whether I can get the work done elsewhere. My details are taken and a warranty person is assigned to my case.
Come Friday, the garage hasn't phoned me but Fiat UK return my call at 3.30pm, to tell me that, after speaking with the garage, the only thing they can do is negate the cost of the hose as part of their customer service, and that to debate the warranty claim I'd have to talk to the garage again. They add that in regards to my issue the garage should be able to audit the claim back to the first instance of me bringing it in in terms of the warranty.
I ran out of time at work on Friday so I haven't called the garage back yet.
If you're still awake after reading this, any advice before I call them back in the week would be appreciated.
