Hello, just after some advice really. Well her goes picked up my brand new twin air and after just 70 miles it went into limp home mode with the ecu light on. The following day it went back to the dealers who informed me the throttle pedal had failed, so they ordered a new one. They fitted it but it was still the same, further investigation with fiat engineers and they came to the conclusion it needs a new ecu and a wiring loom. Well i was not to thrilled about it originally, but thought it was just the engine wiring harness that was required and was prepared to accept that. Well i have waited for my new car now for two weeks and the dealer is still waiting for the harness. I have now been informed that the main wiring harness is the one that requires replacing and the car will have to be gutted for it to be fitted. I have told them that I dont want it back now and have been given a case number. I am not prepared to take back a car after that much work has been done, like I said it only done 70 miles and it will never go back together as good as new. In fairness the dealer seamed as helpful as they could be, but this may change now. Was a real blast and a nice car when it was running properly. Where do I stand with this and fiat, any advice welcome, all I want is the new car im paying for, not one that will rattle after major repair work. Thanks.

I stand to be corrected but I think the Dealership is allowed 3 attempts in a "reasonable period" to fix it.
I totally get where you are coming from, but if you make sure the repairers are aware you will not accept a shoddy job it should be done to your satisfaction. Have they loaned you a car for free?

Hi, yes they have loaned me a car, they have had one attempt at fixing it with the throttle pedal. My only hope is the reasonable time factor, they have had it for two weeks and like I said they dont even have all the parts yet. I know it is not going to be the same afterwards, must be a friday afternoon car.

If Trading Standards still exist after all the Government cuts try asking them?

Edit :- http://www.autotrader.co.uk/advice/2010/09/buying/returning-a-car

Thanks everyone, I hope they just replace it, I dont want a refund just a working car.
When it was running it looked and went brilliantly and I am still looking forward to having one and hope this gets sorted ASAP. Will keep you updated, thanks.

I'm sorry to hear your story. I really hope it gets sorted out asap, as you must have been looking forward to getting your new car.

Thanks, I was really looking forward to it but just cant believe my luck. How has yours been performing apart from the fuel consumption issues people are having, didnt have mine long enough to find out. I have been sent a text messags from Fiat stating a claim number, does this mean the dealer has passed it on to Fiat customer relations to deal with, anyone know how long it takes them to make a decision and what delivery time can i expect if they replace it. Didnt have to wait for the last one as it was one they had in stock. Thanks.

Ours had a recall to fit a new turbo but all seemed well before the recall amd all is fine since the new one has been fitted, though it doesn't sound so charecterful since.

You should reject it clearly and unequivocally if you want to (so would I) and you must not do anything inconsistent with you disclaiming ownership of the vehicle.

As said, there really should not be too much trouble with this - if the car needs stripping down and being rewired after 70 miles and (presumably) only a couple of weeks' ownership.

Thanks for the replies, i only used the car for 24 hours. I actually collected it on a Saturday and it packed in on the Sunday and was back up the dealers on the Monday. Well so far I rejected the vehicle exactly two weeks after collecting it, as you know it spent most of this time at the dealers. I am not going to name the dealers because so far they have been quite helpful and after speaking with them today they understand and agree with what im saying and would like me to have the one out of the show room but are waiting for fiats response. After speaking to the main dealers, fiat customer services contacted me about my claim, the representitive said she would like to resolve the issue and went on to tell me i was rejecting the car on a waranty issue which they would like to progress ASAP and return the vehicle, I then replied it is not a waranty issue its a manufacturing defect from new and requires considerable work to rectify and so is not fit for purpose and will not be the new car I purchased, I went on to tell her that when I thought it was a simple repair that fiat have still failed to supply the part to the dealer within a reasonable time, not that it makes any difference as I have now rejected the vehicle, she then quickly ended the conversation. I will give them a couple of days and as much as I dont want to i will post it on as many forums as i can, and take legal proceedings and contact watchdog etc. What do u think, I thought they would be happy to OK the helpfull dealer to give me a replacement. Thanks.

To be honest if they fix it and it works properly then why reject it? Of course waiting 2 weeks must be really annoying but as far as fiat see it its a repairable issue. If they fix it and it works fine then keep it you will test it anyway. If it still isnt fixed then reject it and they cant say anything. If they fix it just ask for some present since you waited so long and it wasnt your fault, like free servicing for a few years or something like that. Dont go the legal way it will just make things much longer.

Give fiat a chance to make things right. The dealer cant do anything about it other then help you as best they can, they are the sellers of the car not the makers = ) At the end of the day at least you are driving a car, and i hope for you this is fixed as soon as possible.

Hi, im not having a go at the dealers, they have been quite helpfull to be honest. I dont mind a repair but the car interior will need stripping out, dashboard etc. I have worked on cars and have some idea of whats involved, this is a big job and they told me so. I dont think it will go back together as good as new, would you be happy with such a major repair after spending all that money, honestly? They dont have the wiring harness either.

waza said:

Hi, im not having a go at the dealers, they have been quite helpfull to be honest. I dont mind a repair but the car interior will need stripping out, dashboard etc. I have worked on cars and have some idea of whats involved, this is a big job and they told me so. I dont think it will go back together as good as new, would you be happy with such a major repair after spending all that money, honestly? They dont have the wiring harness either.

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Completly agree with you on this one

Keep us updated

Waza, first of all, commiserations - you are dreadfully unlucky for this to have happened and it is a terrible start to what should have been an exciting and enjoyable new car experience.

I'll start by saying that I don't have any legal qualifications, but as a layperson have successfully taken a County Court action against a leading high street retailer after a laptop failed just under 2 years after I bought it - so I do have recent experience of both the process of taking legal action and of my personal feelings & stress levels whilst doing so.

From what I've read so far, I'd say you have a very good chance of winning your case on the basis that the car was unfit for purpose when you bought it. That said, if the other parties involved choose to make things difficult, it could take you up to 6 months to finally resolve this and if you go this route, you'll probably need to make alternative arrangements now for getting a new car.

Remember that if you do go to Court, the case will be decided on the basis of the evidence presented - in your position, I'd commission an independent engineer to inspect the car before the dealer starts any further repairs. Choose one who is familiar with collecting evidence of condition for subsequent Court use. Armed with an expert's written report that the car was substantially defective at the time of orginal sale, you are practically guaranteed to win any subsequent action & you will hold all the cards in any negotiation you are having now.

Then, if you can sort it out amicably, do so. Although I think you'd win in the end, please don't underestimate the sheer hassle and stress involved if you choose to go down the road of taking legal action.

As to what to do, I'd say it's too close to call. The car can certainly be fixed - but like you, I'd be concerned about the quality of any repair, the likelihood of having to live with numerous annoying rattles, and the near-certainty of collateral damage after the interior has been stripped out & left lying about in a greasy workshop. Getting another new car will likely also involve you in considerable time and effort, so sadly this is looking like a 'lose-lose' scenario.

Really, this whole episode is an indictment of FIAT's dealer servicing network - in an ideal world, the required parts would have been available by next day at the latest, and everyone would have complete confidence that any officially franchised dealership would make a perfect job of the repair, working in a sterile environment & replacing any disturbed clips & fastenings. :bang::bang::bang:

Just don't go "nuclear" yet - be firm and polite with Fiat and they will back down. They just want to see if you are really committed to rejecting.

Once you hit the big red button there is a risk that they will dig their heels in or hand it over to the lawyers.

Make that your very last resort - you should certainly go "up the food chain" in Fiat first, and speak to someone more senior if you don't get any luck first time round.

RobinPJ said:

Just don't go "nuclear" yet - be firm and polite with Fiat and they will back down. They just want to see if you are really committed to rejecting.

Once you hit the big red button there is a risk that they will dig their heels in or hand it over to the lawyers.

Make that your very last resort - you should certainly go "up the food chain" in Fiat first, and speak to someone more senior if you don't get any luck first time round.

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Sadly I think depending on who you speak to at Fiat, sometimes you do have to go ballistic. I had some fairly small issues with my 500 and had to fight to get things sorted. I ask for the case to be reassigned to someone else because the guy I was dealing with was a complete bellend and the second guy was far more reasonable.

The customer service representatives refused many times to pass me onto anyone higher up the food chain. It was only the threat of going to a small claims court and knowing that the only thing that swung it for me was the fact that they knew that I could prove that there were people who had the leather on their seats replaced and they wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

It's going back in to have the airbox replaced and there's a problem with the car whereby the throttle snaps shut then opens again without any change in throttle input when you're pulling off from cold and of course that's got the potential to cause an accident when pulling out into traffic. I'm thinking about sending them a rather sarcastic letter asking them to accept responsibility for any accidents which may result from having a car which can't be trusted to accelerate out into traffic in a predictable manner. I somehow doubt that it won't get signed, but that I might get someone to actually look at the car properly

306maxi said:

Sadly I think depending on who you speak to at Fiat, sometimes you do have to go ballistic. I had some fairly small issues with my 500 and had to fight to get things sorted. I ask for the case to be reassigned to someone else because the guy I was dealing with was a complete bellend and the second guy was far more reasonable.

The customer service representatives refused many times to pass me onto anyone higher up the food chain. It was only the threat of going to a small claims court and knowing that the only thing that swung it for me was the fact that they knew that I could prove that there were people who had the leather on their seats replaced and they wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

It's going back in to have the airbox replaced and there's a problem with the car whereby the throttle snaps shut then opens again without any change in throttle input when you're pulling off from cold and of course that's got the potential to cause an accident when pulling out into traffic. I'm thinking about sending them a rather sarcastic letter asking them to accept responsibility for any accidents which may result from having a car which can't be trusted to accelerate out into traffic in a predictable manner. I somehow doubt that it won't get signed, but that I might get someone to actually look at the car properly

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Arse to sit on, surely?

RobinPJ said:

Arse to sit on, surely?

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True. It's a silly saying really. You don't stand on your leg, or at least I don't