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Technical Back to Fiat yet again

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Technical Back to Fiat yet again

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StiloJoe

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Went back to Sunwin Fiat Derby where got the car from cos of a knocking noise from the front right suspension.

After a look at it they said i need a new drop link and its gunna cost me £64.13 to sort it. As my car was reg in 30th Jan 2004 should be still under warrenty as i mentioned that they said its not covered on the 3rd year but as ya can tell by the date its not in its 3rd year yet.

Has anyone had this changed under warrenty or anything?

Also got told that i have a slight leak on my gearbox oil but the last problem it went in for was to have the clutch changed Could they have done this themselves as i know i havent done a thing
 
custard boy said:
i thopught pretty much everything was covered within the 2 years?
Click to expand...

I thought that too Might badger em tomoz when it goes in again

Its things like this what **** ya right off and make a man do stupid things like buy a Vauxhaul :cry:
 
Hi All

Are the recent Stilos an improvement in terms of reliability and build quality on the early ones ?

My suspension has always creaked , but for over a month no warning lights ! which is a record for my 2002 1.6 Active.

The 3rd year warranty doesnt seem to cover much but they did change a water pump for me
 
ricardo said:
Hi All

Are the recent Stilos an improvement in terms of reliability and build quality on the early ones ?

My suspension has always creaked , but for over a month no warning lights ! which is a record for my 2002 1.6 Active.

The 3rd year warranty doesnt seem to cover much but they did change a water pump for me
Click to expand...


Well mines the face lift model (basicly badges lol)

Ive had 1. ECU
2. Clutch
3. Pressure airbag sensor (Drivers side)
4. Tomoz a anti roll bar lol
 
my gear box had a slight oil leek done late last year and my car is a 53plate so it had just gone into its third year warrenty and they repaired it with no charge, also they replaced my clutch at the sametime as i was complaining of the constant squeeking noise it made when changing gear!
 
bet u cant beet mine

1.new gear box
2.2x heads
3.1 block (pistons, valves etc....)
4.2x new inlet manifolds due to meltin wen piston 1 and 3 lost compresion (stopped workin)
5.front discs and pads replaiced due to catchin on something from new
6.radiatior replaiced due to crack in plastic
7.water pump replaiced
8.windscreen washer pump replaiced
9.back seats replaced

thank god for waranty. its put me off buying a fiat again. but still like the look of them

also new clutch at 7000 miles oh and midle pipe on car was wrong 1 from factory so had to get that replaced and exhaust manifold cracked of just below cat
 
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OMG that is truly terrible. My Vauxhall Vectra has not been any trouble. It is our main car and does about 600 miles a week at least.

I don't think I will ever buy a Fiat again. The Stilo is first and last. They are just not reliable enough.

' Fix It Again Tomorrow ' seems to hold true with these.
 
All cars can be unreliable its not just Fiats....example your Vectra well look here;(this is for Mk1 vectra as not sure what model you have)...

http://www.cavweb-forums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=20449

Point i'm trying to make is any make/model of car can be unreliable,there are no doubt similar postings like this for all cars & the same goes for my cars.Japanese cars are often made to stricter tolerances & higher quality control (thus slightly more expensive)but they still have problems like everyone else.
Alot of people say BMWs are reliable but I know of 3 techs who couldn't wait to get away from BM's as (in their words) they are a nightmare(likewise change BMW for any other manufacturer etc).Who do you believe & more than often the most common parts that fail are made by external manufacturers.
I can only go by cars I have owned & dealerships I have worked for & I honestly(and years ago I thought I would never say this!)can say Fiat are certainly no worse than anyone else infact I have been pleasently surprised...I even brought one 14 years after getting a 131 TC & swearing i'd never get a Fiat again!
 
Last edited:
Clearly every body can have a exception to the normal rules.

I too am going from personal experiences.

My last Vectra (51 Reg 2.0 DTi) Covered 95,000 miles, the rear tyres had done 80,000, the rear brakes had done the same. The front brakes had done 85,000 miles and JUST needed replacing as I part chopped the car. The front tyres did over 35,000.

Hardly anything went on it, and even then, the warranty was very good and covered it all.

My current Vectra (04 1.8 petrol) I have covered 20,000 miles since May 05. The only thing that has happened is the radio stopped working (warranty job - easy) the front tyres will soon be needing replacement. the car has done over 32,000 miles)

I have done more miles in 9 months in My Vectra than in 2 years in the Stilo. With NO issues to speak of.

The Stilo

Airbag failure
ECU failed (warranty was terrible on this)
Front and rear brake pads needed changing already (cars only done 29,000)
2 coils
Multiple engine faults - RAC cleared
Multiple engine failure Reappeared a week later. - No cause.


So that is what I am basing my comments on, not other experiences.

Fix It Again Tomorrow - I will never buy a Fiat again.
Service is a joke aswell, and costs stupid amounts for what is actually done. How the people on the desk can say the quote and not laugh is mind boggling to me.

I was not anti Fiat before, just owning one has made me be it.
 
*UPDATE*

Got the drop bars sorted under warrenty after i said its still in its 2nd year (muppet) and booked car in to have the bear box leak sorted :)

So all is well and got 2 new tyres today too as it was desparate for em
 
Well, all i can say is thati0m very very happy with my Stilo. I've had it for over a year and the only problem i've had was a piece that my mother broke off the door.
I don't know if later Stilo's have been revised (mine's a late 2004) but mine's been spot on all the way. Lovely engine, great gearbox and full of equipment, only botehred by the ocasional dash ratle but nothing out of the ordinary.
If the next Stilo is as beautiful as this one, i'm deffo getting one.......

By the way, as i've said beffore, the most problematica car ever owned by may family... a Jaguar!!!!!! can happen to nay make!!!!!
 
Stilo_ste said:
Clearly every body can have a exception to the normal rules.

I too am going from personal experiences.

My last Vectra (51 Reg 2.0 DTi) Covered 95,000 miles, the rear tyres had done 80,000, the rear brakes had done the same. The front brakes had done 85,000 miles and JUST needed replacing as I part chopped the car. The front tyres did over 35,000.

Hardly anything went on it, and even then, the warranty was very good and covered it all.

My current Vectra (04 1.8 petrol) I have covered 20,000 miles since May 05. The only thing that has happened is the radio stopped working (warranty job - easy) the front tyres will soon be needing replacement. the car has done over 32,000 miles)

I have done more miles in 9 months in My Vectra than in 2 years in the Stilo. With NO issues to speak of.

The Stilo

Airbag failure
ECU failed (warranty was terrible on this)
Front and rear brake pads needed changing already (cars only done 29,000)
2 coils
Multiple engine faults - RAC cleared
Multiple engine failure Reappeared a week later. - No cause.


So that is what I am basing my comments on, not other experiences.

Fix It Again Tomorrow - I will never buy a Fiat again.
Service is a joke aswell, and costs stupid amounts for what is actually done. How the people on the desk can say the quote and not laugh is mind boggling to me.

I was not anti Fiat before, just owning one has made me be it.
Click to expand...

Oh i'm not disputing you,as you say its all down to personal experience,my point is Fiat are no worse than anyone else & I feel they have a unfair reputation.A simple search like I done will reveal any make of car has its problems.I had a cavalier (2 years) which was a great car & never let me down once so i'm not anti-vauxhall.
Concerning your stilo problems well airbag & coils are known problems,annoying yes but easily fixed.ECU was poor but these things happen(what was wrong with it?)as for the RAC I wouldnt let them near my car to clear codes..its pointless as it doesn't get to the root of the problem & the dealer has no codes to work on as they have been cleared,result being customer is annoyed dealer cant find anything wrong...breakdown services fault not the dealer however breakdown services are tending to stop 'just clearing codes' after feedback from garages unless vital.
Pads at 29,000.....thats slightly better than average cant complain about that!
Oh well thats another £130 spent on my non-fiat(or vauxhall)again today after another breakdown(4th in last 6 months!)....but my wee punto just keeps on going & hasn't cost me a penny in repairs:slayer:
 
Done 17.5 K since mid May '05 and so far only faults were pair of Anti Roll Bar links at the front and software update due to rough running (warning light on eventually due to willingness to cut out in heavy traffic). Clutch pedal assembly issues and Aircon issues sorted under warranty by supplying dealer early on). It seems that the Friday afternoon / Monday morning cars of 70/80's urban ledgend are still out there! Have previously had a Suzuki Swift which I VT'd due to a paintwork defect from new which was rectified by a terrible partial respray (poor colour match and use of masking tape considered optional by Suzuki's bodyshop :mad:)
 
I agree with what you are are T, but from personal experience Fiat is not a brand I could buy again.

See my other thread about engine fault, with a list of all the codes cleared by RAC.
 
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