bozzy said:

Must be an age thing. I understand him most of the time.

Good luck SHC.

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I understand PNL........does this mean I'm old before my time

I can sort of understand him... Does that mean I'm getting old?

hmallett said:

So you're saying that if you buy a Fiat, you know you're buying inferior quality?
H

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no, i find fiats build quality bloody good, but im saying that you cant really compare build quality of a car that is expensive and has had real quality materials used compared to a "cheap" car make that uses excellent materials for that price range

my big bro had an merc a class, new one, worst car hes ever owned, ended up payin more to repair it than the cost of the full car!! no garage will touch them becuse of the amount of work just to do a very simple task!!! it ended up gettin rear shunted and the airbags failed so my big bro n his gf got bad whiplash n both have back problems now.

hope u dont have the same terrible experiences as so many other of this type of car owners have had

xxx

SHC said:

I've owned Fiats for 12 years from a Panda to a Stilo. This car has had several faults and the future did not look rosy. (the drivers side door trim just "fell" off!). So I've traded in the Stilo and got an 04 plate Mercedes-Benz A Class A140. I know this car had problems at launch in '98 but they seem to have been addressed by Mercedes. This car has build quality that the Stilo just cannot compete with. Every shut line is perfect, the plastic trim fits perfectly, I could go on. It's a shame that the Stilo had to go but even though it's a bit better built than Fiats of old, it still isnt good enough. Well thanks for all the help given over the months and good luck with your cars.

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:nerner:

LOL!!!! My dad has been a mercedes Benz specialist all his life training as an apprentice at a franchise then going on to be in part ownership with the franchise in my local area up until 18 years ago when he started his own mercedes and volvo specialist garage - Having onwed and sold on over 100 mercedes, when encountering Fiat and comparing them with the likes of mercedes and volvo ESPECIALLY the new ones, he cannot faul the differne. New mercedes are soooo crap, im honeslty not being nasty its just a fact. Takea merc from around 10 years ago and in its lifetime doubled from now, it will have had less problems and last longer than a new mercede will have in its first 6 months and that is FACT

sammiboo said:

must be something in the air.... we seem to be losing a few stilo owners lately

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We might be losing one in our family, there have been talks of mum's Stilo and dad's 5 series going to get either a 3 or 1 series BMW. :yuck: I say, :yuck:

3 series - dull and common

1 series - overpriced and a crap boot the golf is a much better car and a few thousand less

As for the A-class i have had experiences of sei hitting A-class and sadly the A-class won so its quite strong, but a shame the interior can be be picked out of matalans home winter catalogue

AppleSei said:

As for the A-class i have had experiences of sei hitting A-class and sadly the A-class won so its quite strong

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I wouldn't put too much credence in that. It's pretty much a universal rule that the vehicle that has the most energy will always come off worst in an accident.

The fact your Sei crumpled is actually a good sign as it shows it's designed to protect the occupants.

alainax said:

my big bro had an merc a class, new one, worst car hes ever owned, ended up payin more to repair it than the cost of the full car!! no garage will touch them becuse of the amount of work just to do a very simple task!!! it ended up gettin rear shunted and the airbags failed so my big bro n his gf got bad whiplash n both have back problems now.

hope u dont have the same terrible experiences as so many other of this type of car owners have had

xxx

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Airbags don't operate on a rear-end shunt. The impact is bourn by the seat back.

If it cost's more to repair than it's value I would imagine any insurance company would write it off.

What work is he paying for on a new car (the new one has only been on the market about 8 months)?

Old car of mine was shunted in the rear...I was hoping for a write off(needed the cash)but because I had comp insurance they fixed it(even though bill came to twice value of car)

Argonought said:

I wouldn't put too much credence in that. It's pretty much a universal rule that the vehicle that has the most energy will always come off worst in an accident.

The fact your Sei crumpled is actually a good sign as it shows it's designed to protect the occupants.

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who said it crumpled i didnt.

I just said i hit the rear of an A class but i didnt say where and the degree of impact.

You assumed the rest

AppleSei said:

who said it crumpled i didnt.

I just said i hit the rear of an A class but i didnt say where and the degree of impact.

You assumed the rest

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OK, so how did you come off worst then?

Argonought said:

OK, so how did you come off worst then?

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Because i had 400 quid damage and they required a 7 quid touch up stick

AppleSei said:

Because i had 400 quid damage...

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You say you took that level of damage but didn't crumple your front

...did you wreck your suspension or something?

I didnt hit the rear i only hit the N/S rear of the merc. Only needed a new passenger headlight and indicator, the rest was in labour and cosmetic repair. But a headlight was the only new part and no repairs to bumpers etc

C ya mate, i too have lost faith in fiat.
Think the guys that built my stilo had drunk too much home made wine...
But as with any new design there will be faults, which my 02 was.
Having spent £8500 onit and god knows what else when 3 years was up.
it was time to get out.
hope new car is fun and a great runner.

all the best unrealuk.