500 Ancaster Fiat. 500- 20k miles - new gearbox - £3k cost!!!

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500 Ancaster Fiat. 500- 20k miles - new gearbox - £3k cost!!!

Davebinns500

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Can anybody help?? Carefully driven 500 soft top, now needs new gearbox at a cost of £3k. 4 months out of warranty. Dealership absolutely not helpful or interested. Any ideas anybody??? (Ps - adore the car - second one in 5 years)
Many Thanks
Dave
 
Can anybody help?? Carefully driven 500 soft top, now needs new gearbox at a cost of £3k. 4 months out of warranty. Dealership absolutely not helpful or interested. Any ideas anybody??? (Ps - adore the car - second one in 5 years)
Many Thanks
Dave

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Sorry to hear you've got a problem.

Please can you tell us a little more about your car - manual or dualogic, engine size, year of manufacture, and have you owned it from new?
 
Ps - it’s a dualogic twin air - bought from new, one careful lady owner ( my wife...). just packed up as warranty expired... ???
 
Ps - it’s a dualogic twin air - bought from new, one careful lady owner ( my wife...). just packed up as warranty expired... ???

Hi can you say what has actually gone wrong or what it doesn't do , there's a very long thread 're this gearbox, it's a ordinary manual box with a ordinary clutch, but is controlled by a "robot" often it's either the clutch or the actuator that gives the issue, and even the brake pedal switch can trip it up.
 
Ps - it’s a dualogic twin air - bought from new, one careful lady owner ( my wife...). just packed up as warranty expired... ������

Somehow I thought it might be.

The dualogic is well known for a variety of issues; see this thread (and consider posting there) for more details. The manual gearbox is extremely reliable and very rarely gives trouble.

As you're the first owner, at that age and mileage, it's worth raising a formal complaint with Fiat Customer Services; you may be able to get (and IMO certainly deserve) some contribution to the cost of the repair.

If Fiat CS won't help, (it seems to be very hit and miss) and it's possible to reset the warnings so that it appears to run normally, then the best advice I can give you is to trade it in at the earliest opportunity. Whatever you lose in the trade will likely be less than the cost in money and frustration if you keep it.

Whatever the cause, carefully driven one owner cars should not have major transmission failure after 20,000 miles.

And if they do, manufacturers and franchised dealers should not walk away.
 
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Can anybody help?? Carefully driven 500 soft top, now needs new gearbox at a cost of £3k. 4 months out of warranty. Dealership absolutely not helpful or interested. Any ideas anybody??? (Ps - adore the car - second one in 5 years)
Many Thanks
Dave

If its had on time servicing by FIAT.

Then contact FIAT.
IF they are prepared to assist @50% contribution can be offered.

Far from Ideal.. but £1500 for a new guaranteed system isnt ridiculous.

If its back in your court.

Take it to an Alfa specialist.. a repair will be a lot less than £3k.

Good luck.. :)
And keep us informed.

Charlie
 
I'd echo previous comments - phone Fiat customer services on 00800 3428 0000 (yes it really is 00800) and explain the situation. With you owning it from new and such low mileage, unless you've not stuck to the servicing schedule or have had it serviced outside the dealer network I'd be amazed if Fiat don't offer to contribute at least 50% of the repair cost given it's only just out of warranty in time, but not mileage.

If you owned the other 500 from new then playing the loyalty card is likely to win you goodwill.

Shame on Ancaster for not being more helpful - I take it you didn't buy it from them? If you did then I hope it'll be the last time you use them! (n)
 
I’d contact fiat U.K. and make a complaint, you don’t expect any car to suffer a major failure if the gearbox just out of warranty and if you kick off wIt’s fiat directly they may front half the cost of the replacement.

A friend of mine from work managed to get Audi to pay for the entire replacement cost of her DSG gearbox on her Audi A1 when it failed, despite being 3 years out of warranty
 
Ps - it’s a dualogic twin air - bought from new, one careful lady owner ( my wife...). just packed up as warranty expired...

It's a manual gearbox and clutch with a computer controlled hydraulic control module that operates the gearbox and clutch. Dropping into neutral is the default / error setting and is normally a pressure issue with the hydralic system.

The whole gearbox control unit including the actuator/pump/accumulator is currently for sale on an offer with Shop4Parts for £899 + VAT

https://www.shop4parts.co.uk/?name=store&op=Details&ProdID=22509&sku=270513

There was a new one on eBay for £760, but that seems to have been snapped up.

I have just sold my 2013 TwinAir Dualogic with 58000 miles and in those 5 and a bit years the engine and gearbox performed faultlessly... The only issues I had were one faulty coil pack and several changes of rear shocks and drop links, as the suspension noises pissed me off..

Also if you donate to the FiatForum, you get a 10% discount code for Shop4parts making the replacement part a bit cheaper!!

Fiat sells 1000s of these Dualogic 500s across Europe and although the 70 or so complaints on here would make you think this was a big issue.... You really are just unlucky
 
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Which branch of Ancaster - and when you say they are not being helpful, what are they not doing?


I'm sure that if they have been the main servicing dealer as well, especially if they supplied the car, I'm sure they will support you in going to Fiat.


Honestly, I'm sure Fiat UK will help, just be fair and reasonable, don't argue, just look for their support, and ask if they feel it is reasonable that the failure has happened?


At the end of the day, we all have a choice in these situations, i.e. once a car gets to an age, do we extend warranties etc... to give peace of mind.


Cars shouldn't go wrong, but the fact is they do, some from day one, others never go wrong.
 
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