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Technical Advice Need please...

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Technical Advice Need please...

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philscanlan89

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Hello Ladies and Gents, I am very new to this forum and would deeply appreciate some advice and insight into a few problems with my 2006 grande punto.

I have just picked up my car from Desira after it's diagnostic test to find a whole list of problems that I was completely unaware of. Initially I sent the car in as the seatbelt warning light kept going off along with the alarm whilst driving(even when seatbelts were fastened!) Unfortunately car's and mechanics are not my speciality so please forgive me if I appear to have no idea what I am talking about!

If any of you ladies and gents have a moment could you please explain to me what the following problems are and possible how easy and how much they are to fix. Like I said , unfortunately car's are not my strong point!

1.Oil sweating from rocker cover gasket?
2.Slight leak from gearbox ( how dangerous is this?)
3. O/S Anti-roll bar link knocking?
4. Front pads 50% - 60% worn
5. Front disks lipped and warped? ( Given quote for £366.29 to fix)
6.Exhaust system corroded.
7.Handbrake overtightened.
8.Air intake pipe bracket worn.
9.Gearbox starting to become noisy.
10.Clutch pedal slightly stiff.
11. Front lower grill hanging out.
12. Seat belt buckle (Given quote for £103.99 to fix)

The above list of problems wear written on my visual health check list given to my by Desira ...

any info you have would be very much appreciated!!

thanks

Philip
 
5. Front disks lipped and warped? ( Given quote for £366.29 to fix) [/QUOTE said:
I can't answer all of your questions but regarding your brakes i have a small amount of experiance with these and £366 to just replace the disks is ****ing criminal over charging. For my mjet new disks and up rated pads cost about £80 posted, If you are not that mechanicaly confident then kwik kit quoted me £175 to replace front disks and pads.

Personaly it sounds like you are being taken for a ride i would take your car and money some where else other wise you are going to be footing a massive unnessesary bill. Just a guess are you at a fiat garage ?

Also why has the health check noted you have a corroded exhaust, so what exhausts and normaly mild steel and hang off the bottom of the car hence they will rot unless it is blowing you don't need to touch it.
Click to expand...
 
LOL!

Take it to a proper garage, ASAP, but first make sure you ask for a quote on all that work, post it on here so we can all have a laugh.

If your car was in that state, it would be very, very noticable, regardless of whether you're mechanically competent or not.
 
peter7889 said:
I can't answer all of your questions but regarding your brakes i have a small amount of experiance with these and £366 to just replace the disks is ****ing criminal over charging. For my mjet new disks and up rated pads cost about £80 posted, If you are not that mechanicaly confident then kwik kit quoted me £175 to replace front disks and pads.
Click to expand...

I can tell you now that there is very little profit in those figures when using genuine Fiat parts. The cost of genuine bits from Fiat has rocketed in recent times, but it's out of the Dealer's hands. :(

At the end of the day (regarding health checks), the Tech's have to note everything down, no matter how insignificant it may seem, because you can guarantee that if the vehicle goes elsewhere and someone else mentions it, the owner will likely question why the previous Tech didn't highlight it. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't in this trade.

Fiat's healthcheck forms work on a green/amber/red basis (ok/may need attention soon/urgent or unsafe), so really the only things that you (philscanlan89) need to get sorted asap are those in red. Was all this not explained to you by the Service Advisor?

Personally from looking through that list, only the ARB droplinks should really be urgent, plus maybe the front discs, although obviously it's hard to determine without seeing how bad the engine/gearbox leaks are and if the exhaust corrosion is bad enough that there's a risk of a leak at a weak joint.

If you really are concerned about it, ask if the Tech or DET can place your car on the ramp and physically show you and explain the issues. They don't bite! They'd even be happy for you to get a friend/family member more technically minded to look with you and decide what to prioritise.

At the end of the day, they would like to keep your custom as much as any other garage. You don't have to accept the initial quote using genuine parts, so ask what discount or deals they can do, if they can source cheaper pattern parts, discounted labour and so on. (y)
 
1.Oil sweating from rocker cover gasket?

is the breather hose clogged up (top of this guide) https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto-guides/234763-spark-plug-change-1-2-8v.html

if not give all the rocker box bolts a 1/4 turn (do not force them if they dont go the rocker gasket is easy ish to change



https://www.fiatforum.com/punto-gui...ket-without-having-leak-again-week-later.html



2.Slight leak from gearbox ( how dangerous is this?)

Depends where the oil is coming from and if it is actually oil and not grease washing out of the drive shaft boots

3. O/S Anti-roll bar link knocking?

https://www.fiatforum.com/stilo-gui...ur-drop-links-anti-roll-bar-links-30mins.html


4. Front pads 50% - 60% worn
5. Front disks lipped and warped? ( Given quote for £366.29 to fix)

shop about if your not happy about DIY changing its not a massive job but rather safety critical ask about a few local independent places that offer free checks show them their form and ask for a second opinion


6.Exhaust system corroded.


they all rust if its secure and not blowing its not really an issue and as above with the brakes ask a local fast fit place for their opinion and a quote

7.Handbrake overtightened.

has the car been stood a while?


8.Air intake pipe bracket worn.

https://www.fiatforum.com/grande-punto/205942-noise-under-bonnet.html

cable tie it (y)


9.Gearbox starting to become noisy.

GET THE OIL LEVEL CHECKED ASAP (as the above leak could have the box running low on oil

10.Clutch pedal slightly stiff.

get your head in the foot well and use a bit of slilicone spray oil on the pivot (do not use WD-40) and do not get it on the pedal rubbers for obvious reasons the GP used a Hydraulic clutch so no cable to give resistance

11. Front lower grill hanging out.

push it back in so it clips in place before it falls out



12. Seat belt buckle (Given quote for £103.99 to fix)

whats wrong with the buckle
 
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It's a no win situation for the garage though...they are slated for prices or accused of scouting for work but they would be a poor garage if they let a car go out or did not inform the owner that there was a oil leak, brakes were poor, tyres illegal and were stopped by the police as the first thing the owner would do is blame the garage:rolleyes:

There is no obligation to get the work done but simply a health check of the vehicle at the time, it's standard practice. Take it elsewhere if your not happy it is your choice completely.
 
These health checks are quite good. Arnold Clark Renault were offering them last summer, took my car there and they pointed out 4 ('critical') faults, and made it out like there was only two ways I could leave the garage:

In a brand new Renault or by paying the £450 they quoted me to fix the car.

I took my keys back and took it to an independent that got all the work done for £110. Saved me a lot of labour trying to diagnose the problems. Thanks AC.
 
T14086 said:
It's a no win situation for the garage though...they are slated for prices or accused of scouting for work but they would be a poor garage if they let a car go out or did not inform the owner that there was a oil leak, brakes were poor, tyres illegal and were stopped by the police as the first thing the owner would do is blame the garage:rolleyes:

There is no obligation to get the work done but simply a health check of the vehicle at the time, it's standard practice. Take it elsewhere if your not happy it is your choice completely.
Click to expand...

If you are trying to charge somebody over £350 to change the front disks not even the pads as well then i think you ask for everything you get. For a skilled mechanice with a ramp, the correct gear and of course they will have done it many times before i can't see why they should charge for any more than an hours labour + parts.

If i can sourse disks for £55 posted i am sure they can or even get it cheaper than that. So they are trying to charge £300 an hour give me a break if you think that is a fair rate or work you are either deluded or just stupid.
 
peter7889 said:
If you are trying to charge somebody over £350 to change the front disks not even the pads as well then i think you ask for everything you get. For a skilled mechanice with a ramp, the correct gear and of course they will have done it many times before i can't see why they should charge for any more than an hours labour + parts.

If i can sourse disks for £55 posted i am sure they can or even get it cheaper than that. So they are trying to charge £300 an hour give me a break if you think that is a fair rate or work you are either deluded or just stupid.
Click to expand...

Can you source GENUINE FIAT discs from Fiat themselves for that price? Honest to God, Dealers buying the discs from Fiat are charged a RIDICULOUS amount. However, if requested they will shop around the local suppliers and get some pattern ones in. They quote the price for the genuine discs because it's what they have on the shelf as part of the stock which they have to buy from Fiat.

Also, you wouldn't fit old pads to new discs anyway, so the quote probably includes the cost of pads too. ;)
 
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