- Joined
- Oct 12, 2003
- Messages
- 16
- Points
- 8
After 1 year and 11 months, I have finally got rid of my 1.8 Dynamic 3 Door. It is now 3 years old with just 21000 miles. When it worked, I really couldn't have wished for a better car. Great fun to drive, comfortable inside, sexy looks, all the gadgets you need, and surprisingly powerful. I used to have a great laugh trying to burn-off Imprezas at traffic lights. Obviously I never won, but I think they appreciated my cheek. 
Oh, and it was cheap too.
But, I can't be doing with it that now that the warranty has expired. It went in for repairs on average every two months. Here is a list of everything that went wrong whilst I had it, with the number of garage visits required to fix each fault shown in brackets. (All but the last point were fixed under warranty).
* Handle on passenger seat not actually attached to passenger seat (2 visits)
* Passenger seat jams when moving it backwards/forwards (2 visits)
* Petrol cap lock failure (1 visit)
* Airbag warning light comes on randomly (6 visits + several angry letters and calls to Fiat)
* Stereo disables itself for up to 24 hours if engine is started whilst stereo is "on" (1 visit, but still not fixed)
* Severe squeaking and rattling in upper glovebox lid (1 visit, but eventually fixed it myself with blu-tak and an electric screwdriver)
* Trim come right away from the inside of passenger door (1 visit)
* Windscreen wash fluid pump failure (1 visit)
* Passenger door lock failure (1 visit) (click)
* Leaking heater matrix / aircon system leading to swimming pool in driver's footwell (1 visit, but temporary fix only) (click)
So, all arguably "minor" faults... but too many of them for my liking. Especially, when my nearest Fiat service centre is 15 miles away, and they're pretty erratic to say the least. Often they'd loose my bookings, or return the car to me without actually repairing it. In particular, my last experience left me suspicious enough not to want to have anything to do with them ever again.
The seller (another used-approved Fiat dealer) wasn't much better, as they failed to register the warranty in my name, so although I usually didn't have a problem with getting warranty repairs, I never heard about any recalls. I now know from this forum that there was at least one recall outstanding on my car.
Finally, I was pretty shocked about how little I managed to part-ex it for. I was prepared with the knowledge that Fiats do not hold their value well, but I was expecting more just a handful of magic beans in return, if you know what I mean.
I think maybe if I was handy with a spanner, I'd have kept it. I suspect that my next car won't be as much fun (nor as inexpensive to buy), but I hope it can go for a period of more than two months without requiring the services of a mechanic.
One final plus point about owning a Fiat, when something goes wrong, you can always come to this forum. You'll probably find someone else who's had the same issue. If not, there'll be a great community of people willing to help.
Thanks for all the assistance guys, I'd have been b******d without you. Goodbye!
Superleccy
Oh, and it was cheap too.
But, I can't be doing with it that now that the warranty has expired. It went in for repairs on average every two months. Here is a list of everything that went wrong whilst I had it, with the number of garage visits required to fix each fault shown in brackets. (All but the last point were fixed under warranty).
* Handle on passenger seat not actually attached to passenger seat (2 visits)
* Passenger seat jams when moving it backwards/forwards (2 visits)
* Petrol cap lock failure (1 visit)
* Airbag warning light comes on randomly (6 visits + several angry letters and calls to Fiat)
* Stereo disables itself for up to 24 hours if engine is started whilst stereo is "on" (1 visit, but still not fixed)
* Severe squeaking and rattling in upper glovebox lid (1 visit, but eventually fixed it myself with blu-tak and an electric screwdriver)
* Trim come right away from the inside of passenger door (1 visit)
* Windscreen wash fluid pump failure (1 visit)
* Passenger door lock failure (1 visit) (click)
* Leaking heater matrix / aircon system leading to swimming pool in driver's footwell (1 visit, but temporary fix only) (click)
So, all arguably "minor" faults... but too many of them for my liking. Especially, when my nearest Fiat service centre is 15 miles away, and they're pretty erratic to say the least. Often they'd loose my bookings, or return the car to me without actually repairing it. In particular, my last experience left me suspicious enough not to want to have anything to do with them ever again.
The seller (another used-approved Fiat dealer) wasn't much better, as they failed to register the warranty in my name, so although I usually didn't have a problem with getting warranty repairs, I never heard about any recalls. I now know from this forum that there was at least one recall outstanding on my car.
Finally, I was pretty shocked about how little I managed to part-ex it for. I was prepared with the knowledge that Fiats do not hold their value well, but I was expecting more just a handful of magic beans in return, if you know what I mean.
I think maybe if I was handy with a spanner, I'd have kept it. I suspect that my next car won't be as much fun (nor as inexpensive to buy), but I hope it can go for a period of more than two months without requiring the services of a mechanic.
One final plus point about owning a Fiat, when something goes wrong, you can always come to this forum. You'll probably find someone else who's had the same issue. If not, there'll be a great community of people willing to help.
Thanks for all the assistance guys, I'd have been b******d without you. Goodbye!
Superleccy
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