Hello all....

I don't have a Fiat but my father does.....

He is 80 years old and has a 20011 Fiat Qubo which has been converted at great expense to cater for his wife's disability.....

6 weeks ago there was a gearbox issue which he took it to a Fiat service centre.

He paid for a diagnostic test which highlighted an issue with the actuator.....this unfortunately needs replacing.....

I have just seen the quote for this....there has been no breakdown of the cost of the part or the labour and for the length of time it will take to be completed.....

The amount quoted was £5600 on top of the diagnostic costs.....

My questions are

1. Is this a reasonable amount.
2. how long does it take to do the job.
3 how much, roughly should an actuator cost.(just a ballpark figure).

I personally think the garage has overquoted him....

I also am surprised that, seeing as he has only done 18000 miles, this part isn't working. Any thoughts in this.

Many Thanks in Advance.
Seamo

Hi. This is a reasonably common issue with a Duologic gearbox. Costs are conventially in the 1 , 2 thousand mark..not cheap m
but a fraction of what youve been quoted.
look in Grande punto section for more info

Charlie. OXFORD

Seamo said:

Hello all....

I don't have a Fiat but my father does.....

He is 80 years old and has a 20011 Fiat Qubo which has been converted at great expense to cater for his wife's disability.....

6 weeks ago there was a gearbox issue which he took it to a Fiat service centre.

He paid for a diagnostic test which highlighted an issue with the actuator.....this unfortunately needs replacing.....

I have just seen the quote for this....there has been no breakdown of the cost of the part or the labour and for the length of time it will take to be completed.....

The amount quoted was £5600 on top of the diagnostic costs.....

My questions are

1. Is this a reasonable amount.
2. how long does it take to do the job.
3 how much, roughly should an actuator cost.(just a ballpark figure).

I personally think the garage has overquoted him....

I also am surprised that, seeing as he has only done 18000 miles, this part isn't working. Any thoughts in this.

Many Thanks in Advance.
Seamo

Click to expand...

post form Barone


OK all, here's an update. I feel this is important for people with pre-owned older cars to fully understand.

Bearing in mind I only drove this car for 5 miles before the gearbox failed, I took it to a perfectly competent garage to check over and report back. When they picked the car up, it decided to work perfectly as it did all the first day. The 2nd day, it stuck in neutral again with warning messages about gearbox failure and the dreaded and very annoying warning chimes.

I think I am extremely LUCKY it happened because all that would have happened otherwise is, I would have got it back again only for it to inevitably fail again when I had lost leverage against the car dealer, i.e. after 30 days.

The garage then spent 5 days trying to find the fault never mind rectifying it. In the end, they came up with "pump failure" but still no clue as to the correct procedure to fix it, and this is the crux of the problem.NO-ONE outside of a Fiat specialist or a Fiat Dealership will be able to fix it (and even then it's 50/50). That is the risk that owners of pre-owned cars are taking.

I think it's a fine system. I really enjoyed the 5 miles or so I drove in it. It was unlike anything I have experienced in 50 years of motoring and was obviously well engineered. Fine as long as there is a warranty covering it but risky after that.

The dealer said he was broke and couldn't refund me so I opted for a lesser value Renault with a manual box. It's far bigger and thirstier than I wanted but I am so relieved to have got shot of the Fiat.

Thanks for all the info posted here, I hope my experience will help someone contemplating getting a car with one of these boxes. Please don't take the extreme financial risk and walk away even though the car is fine...

So, goodbye Fiat people. It was lovely while it lasted and now, I have to learn all the niggles that the dastardly French have engineered into the Megane just for the English

As they say in Rome - Ciao baby...

Is it a 5 or 6 speed? If the latter then its probably the clutch master cylinder, which is a £700-£750 Part.

If 5 speed then it shouldn't be anywhere near that much and they probably don't know whats wrong and are simply charging to replace the entire gearbox control / actuator system, which is likely to be needless.

Fiat really need to pull their finger out at training their so called techs in how to diagnose an issue correctly

Seamo said:

Hello all....

I don't have a Fiat but my father does.....

He is 80 years old and has a 20011 Fiat Qubo which has been converted at great expense to cater for his wife's disability.....

6 weeks ago there was a gearbox issue which he took it to a Fiat service centre.

He paid for a diagnostic test which highlighted an issue with the actuator.....this unfortunately needs replacing.....

I have just seen the quote for this....there has been no breakdown of the cost of the part or the labour and for the length of time it will take to be completed.....

The amount quoted was £5600 on top of the diagnostic costs.....

My questions are

1. Is this a reasonable amount.
2. how long does it take to do the job.
3 how much, roughly should an actuator cost.(just a ballpark figure).

I personally think the garage has overquoted him....

I also am surprised that, seeing as he has only done 18000 miles, this part isn't working. Any thoughts in this.

Many Thanks in Advance.
Seamo

Click to expand...

Way too much. The top price world wide appears to be £1,000 - £2,000 but most people appear to have negotiated a lower figure. Also, was there any special adaptation to the gearbox? That could ramp up the cost due to them not being familiar with the customised system. But £5,600? That's surely more than the car is worth! Get a 2nd opinion or call in AA/RAC...Oh, and get a breakdown of parts & labour. Please remember, that sometimes people will quote ridiculous figures because they don't want the job.... Keep us informed..