I think you have given them a reasonable chance to fix it. It is going to be a year old by the time they get it right so ask them if you can have either a new car or the present one at a second hand year old price. I have said on another post get onto the finance company as well. Dont take NO for an answer but always be calm and polite. Any free help line from your insurance company? Tansy

Just been told a story:

A guy bought a new Citroen from a dealer in Newcastle, he had lots of faults with it and the garage were unhelpful. He went out and bought a new car and a trailer big enough to carry the Citroen. Every day he would pull up outside the garage with the Citroen on the back of the trailer emblazened with all the facts of the problems he'd had, leave it there, go off to work then pick it up on the way home. Citroen gave him a full refund after he did this for the best part of a year.

04 Punto Sporting
1.4 16v
Broom Yellow

bit extreme especially if you're paying for two cars... but i appreciate the style of the action...

In America you may have had a full refund under the 'lemon' rule but we don't have that in Europe, though it's being considered.

But this is what happens when you buy a new Fiat, so...

I stick to Puntos that are at least 8 years old

Spirito di Punto | M-reg 55SX, black, 5dr. Clear repeaters. Remote locking fitted.

Spacecowboy you need to send a letter detailing all of the faults to Fiat UK and the dealer but put in it a deadline for all repairs to be completed to your satisfaction and say after that date all you want is a full refund or replacement new car if still not satisfied. Send it registered post and then find out how you take them to court if they don't pay up!

March '04, 5 dr 1.4 Stilo Active & Sept '00, 5 dr 1.2 HLX Punto.

Also state that you have forwarded the letter to your lawyer who has confirmed the date etc. could help (obviously you don't need to at this point). Best of luck, you have a good case.

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Uno 1.0ie Start. Standard.

Went to the garage last night and they wouldn't talk about it, said I had to put it in writing.
However, they called this morning and asked if they could have the car for a week from the 14th June. I will take this date as my deadline for the repairs to be completed. I'm still going to put a complaint in by email to the GM stating my problems and see what response I get. I'll post the email here when I get round to writing it.

Thanks for the helpful advice guys, we'll see what happens.....

04 Punto Sporting
1.4 16v
Broom Yellow

its a shame because there really good cars when there running properly. You shouldnt get this s**t when buying a new car you can always expect faults no matter what car you buy its how fast and heplful they are in fixing it that matters. Really p***es me off when massive companys try to f**k you over.

Sent the letter, didn't want to come across too angry..........what to you think?

Dear Mr McCormick

RE: 04 Punto Sporting (Reg - P7 HUT)

I am writing this letter to express my dissatisfaction with my car.
This is my third new car from your garage and have been totally dissatisfied with my 3rd vehicle.

I collected the car on March 2nd from Jon Attwood, who has always been more than helpful. At the handover Jon pointed out a couple of marks on the car, 2 paint chips on the body, a scratch on the sill and some chips out of a side skirt. I was happy enough to wait for the car to be booked in for these minor defects to be rectified.
During the second week I noticed a knocking sound from underneath the car when engaging the clutch. I called the garage on the 10th of March and was invited to bring the car in on the 16th March for a test drive with a mechanic. The mechanic advised that the noise was caused by the exhaust and that it would need a full replacement, a major component on a car only 14 days old. The service department (Lorraine) advised they would order the necessary parts and would contact me when they arrived. I advised Lorraine that there were other faults to be looked at too, the bonnet catch wouldn't work, there were rattles from the passenger seat and dashboard, there was a hole in the roof lining and the rubber seal had come away from the drivers door. These were in addition to the faults already reported at handover.

I was contacted by Simon (parts department) during the week beginning 17th May and he informed me that the parts had arrived and I was booked in for the 26th May. I advised him that there were other faults to look at and he informed me that they would be done on the day. I asked him clearly and concisely if he would like to see the car beforehand in case he needed to order anything but he replied it would just be done on the day. I repeated my question a total of three times but was given the same answer each time. I found this very strange as I have, on numerous occasions, had my car booked in for something to be fixed only be told it will need ordering and to come back in a few weeks.

I arrived to drop the car off on the 26th May and spoke to Lorraine, only to be told that roof lining's are not held in stock and that the person who 'does the paint' doesn't work on Wednesday's.

On arriving to pick up the car, the bonnet, door seal and rattles were fixed but the paint and roof lining faults still remained and as I expected, would have to be booked in again.
As for the exhaust, I was not only told that it had been replaced but that the new one also had a hole in it and had been patched up, however, upon leaving the garage the knocking noise was still present.
Almost three months waiting for an exhaust to fix the problem, the garage fit an exhaust with a hole and it wasn't even the cause of the fault.

To add to my troubles, I decided to wash the car the same evening and found a long scratch on one of the alloy wheels which I know wasn't there before going to your garage. I obviously cannot prove where and how this was done but I am certain it was done while in the garage's possession.

I am frustrated and disappointed with poor quality of the vehicle received in the first instance and the after sales care and fault diagnosis second. The excitement of purchasing a new car has been completely ruined. The idea of buying a new car is to have trouble free motoring backed up with the peace of mind that should anything go wrong there is a professional garage waiting to take care of any problems. The car is three and a half months old with 4500 miles on the clock and I feel like I have not enjoyed the experience of new car ownership.

The Car is now with the garage from Monday 14th, I could have the car back on Friday 18th but have asked and received a courtesy car until Monday 21st as I have matters to attend to over the weekend since I have no confidence that the car will be fixed when I return to collect it.

Come Monday 21st I will have given reasonable time to the garage to fix the problems.
If the car is satisfactory I would expect compensation in light of the troubles with the car.
If the car is not satisfactory I will have no option but to return the car in exchange for a refund, which, after contacting trading standards, I am, by law, entitled to.

Yours sincerely
Paul Hutchinson

04 Punto Sporting
1.4 16v
Broom Yellow

Very well worded letter Hope it goes well and they fix everything on the car or give you a new one .

Well I walked into the garage this morning to pick my car up and....guess what.... "it's not ready Mr Hutchinson"
I've had no responce to the email I sent the general manager so I called Reg Vardy head office to make a complaint.
Turns out the GM says he never received my mail, even though I have a delivery receipt.
I received a response from the GM not long after.....

Dear Mr Hutchinson

I am sorry to hear of the problems experienced by you with your car and it would seem, the service given by certain individuals here at the dealership. I offer you my personal apologies for the inconvenience caused.

I acknowledge that in recent months we have been experiencing some customer related issues within the service operation. This has been primarily due to a high turnover of staff and in particular After sales managers which I have struggled with for some time. I am glad to say that I have eventually secured the services of Derek Furby who has joined us very recently from one of our sister dealerships and will run both service and parts operations. Derek has many years experience and I am pleased to say he is already making a difference in terms of customer satisfaction.

Derek tell's me that the work on your car has been completed with the
exception of the headlining. Fiat auto UK have delivered your new headlining to us in a damaged state and we have had to request a replacement which is expected on Tuesday morning. I have seen the damaged and I can confirm to that this was not obvious until completely unpacked.

Derek has taken personal control of the situation and will discuss things with you in detail when you arrive to take your car back later in the week.

In the meantime, I am available on site most days on my direct line (number supplied) should you require any further assistance.

Thank You
John McCormick
General Manager

I'm unsure as to what my next move is now? Suggestions?

04 Punto Sporting
1.4 16v
Broom Yellow

If i were you id just see what happens now at least you got a human response . Sounds like there getting there act together so just go along with it but dont drive it home until they have fixed everything to your satisfaction.

And take it for a test drive first as well with an mechanic before leaving the dealership, just to make sure everything IS ok.



Punto 55 SX all in black... That's my bitch!

Sorry to bore you all with the latest update, I need to keep getting it off my chest otherwise I will explode....now where were we....I'd gone to pick it up Monday and they told me it wasn't ready, the reason being there was a crease in the new roof lining....

I called the garage 3 times on Tuesday afternoon to see if she was ready for collection, but no one called back. I left work at five and headed for the garage. I was halfway there when the garage called. "It's not ready Mr Hutchinson, we received another roof liner this morning but this one also has a crease in it". So they asked to keep the car saying they would have another roof liner in on Thursday.

Thursday came and something new happened, the garage called me without me having to call first! However it was only to say that the 3rd roof liner had arrived and this one had 2 creases in it!!! They offered me my car back and said I could book it in when the roof liner arrives again, but to be quite honest I couldn't face having to book it back in.

So, I'm now about to enter my 3rd week in this crappy courtesy car, I miss my ickle car so much now......

I'm so very very sick ....

04 Punto Sporting
1.4 16v
Broom Yellow

yeah I fell for you mate that is pathetic. By the way what coutesey car is it ? . I had a 1.2L vauxhaul corsa SXI for 2months!! bloody evil cars :I driving it was like some form of medieval torture get out after an hour with a sore ass [V].

Sorry spacecowboy, this is beyond a joke, you have decent justification to claim for compensation and should make your intentions for wanting compensation clear from now.



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Uno 1.0ie Start. Standard.

I had the same problem with the knocking noise when pulling away, had the dashboard stripped and rebuilt twice and eventually the problem was solved by the mechanics apparently greasing the engine bearings.

I have a meeting with the General Manager at 5:30 tonight where I'll be trying to push for some compensation (the car still isn't ready). I was think of asking them to tint my windows and upgrade the steering wheel to onw with radio controls on it. Do you think that's reasonable compensationb considering the problems I've suffered? Am I being unrealistic and asking for too much? Should I ask for more?

Suggestions/advice welcomed.....

04 Punto Sporting
1.4 16v
Broom Yellow

Originally posted by yorkie
I had the same problem with the knocking noise when pulling away, had the dashboard stripped and rebuilt twice and eventually the problem was solved by the mechanics apparently greasing the engine bearings.

Click to expand...

Just jacking the post slightly...

I had the same knocking thing with my 53 Sporting.
Apparently there were two perished hoses (I know, I know, hoses!) that were knocking together. The garage have re-routed said hoses in the interim until they can get the replacement parts in...No knocking any more!

Originally posted by spacecowboy
Suggestions/advice welcomed.....

Click to expand...

I'm a bit unsure as to where you stand when it comes to demanding a fresh car.

They ARE attempting to sort out the problems after all.
It just so happens that each and every roof lining they get in is f**ked (which I suppose is out of the garages control? It must be down to the courier?).

I totally appreciate you're getting mightily pissed with it all (I hate taking the car to the garage) but all you can really do is leave it with them.

Definitely don't take your car back though.

If I was going to go for compensation, I'd be after a set of Stilo Abarth alloys and a lowering kit!