babbo_umbro said:

I had some terrible experience with Vospers predecessors - Sidwell Steet Motors - but have had no specific issues since Vospers took over. However, now the 4x4's out of warranty it will go to Mid Devon Motors, who have given us faultless service on umpteen cars over 25 years. They'll pop the Fiat over to Sanders (service only Fiat garage) at Milton Damerel to have the service indicator reset as they've done in the past.

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Ah I see, sounds like a good plan! I knew that I'd seen you posting in recent years about using Vospers, hence my post.

I'd happily use Sanders again, they did a great job on my Panda two years ago. But it's about an hour and a half away as opposed to 45min before we moved down to South Devon, so I'd have to tie it in to a day trip to Bude with the kids or something like that

Super Uwe said:

Ah I see, sounds like a good plan! I knew that I'd seen you posting in recent years about using Vospers, hence my post.

I'd happily use Sanders again, they did a great job on my Panda two years ago. But it's about an hour and a half away as opposed to 45min before we moved down to South Devon, so I'd have to tie it in to a day trip to Bude with the kids or something like that

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The price of moving to the soft south, I'm afraid.

While I have not used them yet, I hear Barford Auto Centre are reasonable and they are a former Fiat Garage so have the expertise. They specialise in used Fiats.

£400 to change the oil seems pretty fair to me. After all it takes half an hour and oil - available from Halfords ni the new year sale at £12 a can might not be OK but I am sure they ahve some at £85 a gallon that meets some of the current standards.......

Don't forget to add the cost of windscreen washer additive at £2.75 a shot . It is what the dealers put into a brim-full washer bottle to ensure its even fuller than Brim full...... What they don't seem to understand is that when I fill the washer up its to prevent this sort of nonsense in the first place.

Just booking my 2015 Panda TA Cross in for the second birthday service.

I've asked for a price that includes the cabin pollen filter.

I've done around 6500 miles in a year. Had the oil changed at the first service and it's still looking pretty clean.

What do we reckon on a price????

Cheers,

Simon

Squadrone Rosso said:

Just booking my 2015 Panda TA Cross in for the second birthday service.

I've asked for a price that includes the cabin pollen filter.

I've done around 6500 miles in a year. Had the oil changed at the first service and it's still looking pretty clean.

What do we reckon on a price????

Cheers,

Simon

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Assuming they'll be doing the full 2 year/18,000 mile jobbie including oil & filters, I'll start the bidding at £270. I'm thinking it might be slightly less than the £300+ I'd usually expect, because of the low mileage element, but not sure how that works on the annual inspection system they brought in a couple of years ago.

It really is a blo*dy minefield with Fiat Group service prices so it could be anything from £180 to £400, but yeah, I'll say £270.

I take it it'll be plugs, oil/air/pollen filters, oil, brake fluid & checks??

I opted for oil / filter last year, despite only doing 6k miles.

The bonus is the garage gives you a years worth of FIAT pan European breakdown coverage as part of the service.

My guess for TA 2 year service around £335 all in. Bear in mind I got 3rd service thrown in for mine and MOT. I supplied them oil filter and pollen filter as they've been good to me when lending me cars over the years for extended test drives with fuel in and so on. I still got a bill for £170 before it all got sorted. Also got spare key for free too

Squadrone Rosso said:

I take it it'll be plugs, oil/air/pollen filters, oil, brake fluid & checks??

I opted for oil / filter last year, despite only doing 6k miles.

The bonus is the garage gives you a years worth of FIAT pan European breakdown coverage as part of the service.

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Yeah, if you only had the oil/oil filter done last year then all the other bits you've stated should be done this time - all of the usual consumables are every 18,000 miles or 2 years, and brake fluid change is every 2 years as well.

I just had a look on the Shop4Parts website to get an idea of the cost of genuine Fiat parts for your TA - 2 spark plugs, oil filter, air filter, pollen filter and 5l of Selenia Pure K Energy oil comes to £125 delivered to your door. That figure is probably pretty accurate for your service as you wouldn't be using up all that oil in one go, but you would have the brake fluid and possibly coolant top up too.

A lot will depend on the labour charge from your dealer. Assuming they do all those bits, it should be around 2 to 2 and a half hours.

I'd be inclined to say Liam's estimate may be a bit on the low side based on the above, but equally it shouldn't be miles away from the £275 estimate. I'd go for around £300-320 - but only if they actually do all of the above!

Thanks. Been told c£250 so happy with that really. They'll revalidate the breakdown cover too.

Taking my young niece & nephew to the Western Loire in August so skimping is not an option.

I'll ask them about an extended warranty past the 3 year stage too, as per my other thread.

That sounds like a very good price. Need to book mine in once I'm back from hols - I'm expecting to have to pay £300+ in these parts, unless I go independent.

I would be very cautious with the so called 'assistance service' breakdown cover. Bought my 2nd hand Panda from the dealer recently and they mentioned this. I asked whether that was home-start and nationwide recovery to any address and they had no clue, no paperwork, nothing. I said, well, if there's nothing in writing then it doesn't exist. They said I still get it as part of the deal. I said, I still get what? They couldn't answer.

So I signed up with Britannia through my car insurance policy for an extra £70. Far better, as they explicitly tell you what you get for your money. Can you imagine having to call the Fiat monkeys at the roadside in a cloud of steam and having to negotiate what you're covered for when they know you have no choice? And imagine letting them try to 'fix' your car? They wouldn't have the first idea what to do.

Really, get separate breakdown cover. At least you know where you are with a proper recovery service provider.

The breakdown paperwork I got at the first service clearly stated it was an extension / re-validation of the first year cover.

Anyway, we've got comprehensive UK any car cover through the AA courtesy of Lloyds Premier Banking. Used that a lot with my wife's old Alfa

Norwich Road Garage Dereham Norfolk. Sensible labour rates and a very good job in my experience. Owner is Mr Jarrett

My nearest dealer (stealer?) in Cambridge wants £351 for an 18k service on my TA Cross. That includes a change of plugs and brake fluid. They have an online booking service which gives the price of a range of additional service items (air con service, etc) but doesn't give a price for the service itself, thereby necessitating a call to their service helpline. Muppets.

My next-nearest dealer in Norfolk wants £342. When I queried whether it was the same price across all their sites, I was told that the cost of servicing is fixed by Fiat. Now that sounds like a possible breach of competition law to me. Interestingly, the service agent on the phone couldn't confirm without going through their system again (I cba to wait for her to do that) whether the price would be the same at their London branch. I don't see how they can justify charging London prices in little ol' Norfolk, as their overheads (staff & premises costs, etc) are surely lower up here?

Alfashop in Norwich (highly regarded independent) will charge £280, which includes filters and plugs but not brake fluid (apparently they do a boiling point check rather than change it routinely, which seems sensible to me). They are lovely to speak to on the phone, compared to the automatons at the main dealers. They're not a massive amount cheaper, though, especially as I'll get a free MoT next year if I stick with my Cambridge dealer (who originally supplied the car). Hmmm...

gar074 said:

...apparently they do a boiling point check rather than change it routinely, which seems sensible to me...

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Seems absolutely stupid to me.

Hydraulic fluid needs to be changed either three years from date of manufacture, or two years from date of first use, whichever comes first, irrespective of its boiling point. Testing the fluid in the reservoir is in any case of only limited value as it may not be representative of the condition of the fluid in other parts of the system, particularly the calipers and rear wheel cylinders.

It needs to be changed because the corrosion inhibitors break down over time and once they do, all the steel parts inside the hydraulic system start to corrode, which ruins the seals and can require all kinds of expensive parts to be replaced. Factors would sell far fewer calipers & cylinders if folks changed their fluid at the recommended interval.

It's just as important to do the clutch as it is to do the brakes. Perhaps even more so, since there's a lot less fluid in the clutch circuit and hence less capacity to deal with the inevitable absorbed water.

Hydraulic fluid is cheap; you can buy enough to do both brakes and clutch for less that £10. Brake calipers cost over £100 apiece. Which would you rather pay for?

I take your point.

Had plugs, filters, brake fluid done last year at local garage for under £200. No oil as it had just been done elsewhere.
This year only need oil and checks and first mot £85.