time's coming up for bit of work, so as a matter of intrest i called a dealership for a quote.......£410 seems more like an arm and a leg

so a quick flick through the aftercare booklet, the cars only done 30000 miles, so taking the 4th service at 48000 miles, i see:

check tyres : well even i can see they are still well over, wearing evenly, and all good
discs and pads : a year old, wearing just right
check rear drums : mechanic i use can check that
handbrake : pulls up fine
check under body condition : mechanic can see over on his 2 post lift
check drive belts : mechanic can check
chack and adjust valve clearances : guess what? yep
check anti evaporation system : oh yes
replace air filter : ok
check fluids : ok, will drain and refill
replace spark plugs : ok
check engine control system : using diagnostic socket, i think he has one
check mech transmission fluid : ok
replace pollen filter : will do
road test : how do i drive a car

now after all this as far as i can see, i need a set of plugs, an air filter, a pollen filter, brake fluid, engine coolant, and maybe a set of rear shoes, £60odd for parts, say same again for someone else to do the job. i know franchises need the money, but seems a bit excessive

410? what a complete joke.

take it to an independent and pay a third of that at the most.

Ask for Fiat bronze service, £79

Sound like a rip off to me!

well, my day off was well and truly buggered by the requirement to get the serving, MOT and the most filthy urban panda in history cleaned...

first the service....plugs, oil and air filter, new oil, that stuff you put in the engine oil and run for 10 minutes before you drain out, the dreaded pollen filter, just under £60 of parts, all easy enough to change except.....yes that flaming pollen filter, which took freaking ages to undo the 2 tiny 5.5mm heads, i mean c'mon, give me a break who the hell uses that size for anything?!:bang:

anyway all done, whilst poking round noticed the front pads wearing down a bit more than expected, it's done 8300 miles since they were put in a year ago, the car is mainly stop/start town driving, but this seems a lot. still more than enough meat on the pads to last into summer, where problem 2 can be addressed....a dripping water pump, oh joy...it only appears to be a tiny little drip drip, but.....the pink crusty stuff tells the tale, and will have to be done. while we're in there, may as well do the cambelt and associated bits. the mrs will be pleased..........

still MOT time was a breeze, sailed straight through, hit all the emissions easily

so i thought i'd treat the car to a full in and out clean, the local kosovan wash was empty, so they were able to lavish a bit more time on the panda, and did she need it, the ground was awash with the crap they sprayed off, but 20 mins work, and she's got spotless glass, alloys and paintwork, hoovered carpets, and reblacked plastic and rubber, the head bloke even asked when i was bring the red tub in (they used to wash it every week).

Well, today I took my daughter's 1.1 Active in for its 24,000 mile service and, after I had resisted all the sales talk, eg fuel treatment, brake fluid replacement, it still came to £247.
Luckily, I had a £100 off voucher. She will still whinge at me about the cost. Reason is that when she was a student, her Cinquecento just cost petrol to run cos I did all the servicing and repairs and paid for the insurance.
When this one is out of warranty I'm still prepared to service it for cost of parts only.
Am I a mug?

parts only won't be a major stretch, cambelt won't be for ages, so all you're left with are the filters, oil and plugs. check the pads, if they good, another middling expense that you can defer, same with the fluid, which is more a fiddly pain in the arse than expense to change

Fiat Dealers all work to 'Menu pricing'. Rather naively, I assumed that made they all charge the same price, but not so. For comparison, Anthony Betts in Hemel Hempstead charge £69 plus VAT per hour (that's £81). But not so far away Palmers Fiat in Watford charge £105 per hour (daren't ask if that includes VAT). We're talking here about 'visual checks' and unscrewing an oil filter --- not Harley Street consultants. 24,000 mile service price from Palmers -- a nudge under £300. But the parts list: oil, filter, spark plugs... er, well, that was it! Stick with the local mechanic! I will be for now.