A few weeks ago, my 2007 Panda dualogic (<45k miles) went into the garage and what with it being Christmas, not much has happened.
Having not used the car for 3 weeks, I drove it 100 yards then stopped to load up the kids and it would not go into 1st. "Gear unavailable Check Handbook", also gearbox warning light flashing. Bizarrely, the handbook mentions neither. Mechanic later explained that it was stuck in 2nd. Never tried 2nd gear in manual mode but I think engine is programmed not to start when you do that anyway. They claim they can now get it into 1st and 2nd but otherwise no dice.
-Pump noise is still active when I open driver door
-Puddle of liquid was under car when we pushed it off (can't be sure it wasn't already there, but pretty sure it came from the car)
They have said I need a new gearbox and an actuator. They got a quote from Fiat for £2k for the former and about £900 for the latter. Fiat would not give out part numbers to source them elsewhere which the independent garage assumed was because they were trade so they asked me to phone. I got selespeed unit part number but Fiat explained that the gearbox could be one of four and they could tell me what it probably was but they would rather not as they couldn't be sure.
I phone Fiat CS and they said the same. Only way to check is by taking apart the car. Garage says they will charge me £120 to find out part number by checking the actual gearbox as it is very inaccessible and will take a mechanic 2 hours. They seem keen to find a way to avoid this, so they can give me a quote for free. I do not know if the 2 hours will save time with the eventual gearbox install or they will put the car back together while they source the parts.
The Fiat dealer said that it will probably just be the selespeed unit as they fail far more often, but the garage says that's irrelevant, as the reconditioned ones tend to come together anyway, and it makes sense to replace both at once. They say the install will take 3-4 hours and they will source the parts on ebay. There is a gearbox actuator on ebay for £350 (including installation, with exchange of broken equivalent). I do not know whether that means just the actuator or the whole thing as one unit.
Obviously, the garage will not want to give an indication of part prices until they can source one they trust but they said Fiat want 10x what they expect to pay.
I guess I'm posting to ask if anyone who knows about these things can confirm the veracity of what I've been told and if there's anything else I should consider. I largely trust the indy garage (they're my neighbours and they've been very reasonable about everything so far), and they claim they have 2 automatic specialists and all the relevant diagnostic equipment.
I have never owned a car before this. It cost me £2k 6 months ago. I researched whether or not Fiats still had gearbox issues before buying as I knew a few people who went through gearboxes often in manual Puntos back in the 90s. I found nothing. Now I keep finding references to dualogic failures all over this forum (although admittedly not in the sticky in this forum which I think I looked at before buying, and they seem to be more common in the 500 forum). The fiat dealer I spoke to on the phone explained that gearbox problems and particularly dualogic failures are very common at low mileages. I have to say that my feelings towards the car have changed drastically and I feel a bit cheated. I loved it a month ago. In my ignorance, I thought spending £2k on a car would mean it would not need to be repaired anything like as often as a £1k car, but instead it just means you have to keep paying to repair it, as selling it for parts would be throwing away £1500. But if I get it repaired, it's likely to end up back in the garage within a year. The car seems to have gone through about 5 owners in its 9 year lifespan, suggesting this may be a chronic problem.
Having not used the car for 3 weeks, I drove it 100 yards then stopped to load up the kids and it would not go into 1st. "Gear unavailable Check Handbook", also gearbox warning light flashing. Bizarrely, the handbook mentions neither. Mechanic later explained that it was stuck in 2nd. Never tried 2nd gear in manual mode but I think engine is programmed not to start when you do that anyway. They claim they can now get it into 1st and 2nd but otherwise no dice.
-Pump noise is still active when I open driver door
-Puddle of liquid was under car when we pushed it off (can't be sure it wasn't already there, but pretty sure it came from the car)
They have said I need a new gearbox and an actuator. They got a quote from Fiat for £2k for the former and about £900 for the latter. Fiat would not give out part numbers to source them elsewhere which the independent garage assumed was because they were trade so they asked me to phone. I got selespeed unit part number but Fiat explained that the gearbox could be one of four and they could tell me what it probably was but they would rather not as they couldn't be sure.
I phone Fiat CS and they said the same. Only way to check is by taking apart the car. Garage says they will charge me £120 to find out part number by checking the actual gearbox as it is very inaccessible and will take a mechanic 2 hours. They seem keen to find a way to avoid this, so they can give me a quote for free. I do not know if the 2 hours will save time with the eventual gearbox install or they will put the car back together while they source the parts.
The Fiat dealer said that it will probably just be the selespeed unit as they fail far more often, but the garage says that's irrelevant, as the reconditioned ones tend to come together anyway, and it makes sense to replace both at once. They say the install will take 3-4 hours and they will source the parts on ebay. There is a gearbox actuator on ebay for £350 (including installation, with exchange of broken equivalent). I do not know whether that means just the actuator or the whole thing as one unit.
Obviously, the garage will not want to give an indication of part prices until they can source one they trust but they said Fiat want 10x what they expect to pay.
I guess I'm posting to ask if anyone who knows about these things can confirm the veracity of what I've been told and if there's anything else I should consider. I largely trust the indy garage (they're my neighbours and they've been very reasonable about everything so far), and they claim they have 2 automatic specialists and all the relevant diagnostic equipment.
I have never owned a car before this. It cost me £2k 6 months ago. I researched whether or not Fiats still had gearbox issues before buying as I knew a few people who went through gearboxes often in manual Puntos back in the 90s. I found nothing. Now I keep finding references to dualogic failures all over this forum (although admittedly not in the sticky in this forum which I think I looked at before buying, and they seem to be more common in the 500 forum). The fiat dealer I spoke to on the phone explained that gearbox problems and particularly dualogic failures are very common at low mileages. I have to say that my feelings towards the car have changed drastically and I feel a bit cheated. I loved it a month ago. In my ignorance, I thought spending £2k on a car would mean it would not need to be repaired anything like as often as a £1k car, but instead it just means you have to keep paying to repair it, as selling it for parts would be throwing away £1500. But if I get it repaired, it's likely to end up back in the garage within a year. The car seems to have gone through about 5 owners in its 9 year lifespan, suggesting this may be a chronic problem.