General 100HP conflicting brake advice

[Shedbuilder]

I recently bought a low mileage (10.5K) Panda 100HP from Bishops Guildford; a garage I will never use again. The car was advertised with a mileage of 9.6K but when I viewed it this odometer showed 10.5K. When I questioned this I was told that this was a mistake when the details were put together - I must remember that one! I then noticed that the rear bake discs were extremely worn. I asked for this to be looked into and was told that it would be. I later emailed the same request and was again reassured that the pre-sale safety inspection would highlight and fix any problems such as this.
Needless to say, shortly after purchase I began to notice an increasingly loud whining noise coming from the rear of the car when driving slowly and not using the brakes. I again left a message with Bishops who, now that the car had been sold, did not reply. Rapidly losing confidence in this shoddy dealership, I took the car to another Fiat garage who told me that the rear brake pads had been fitted incorrectly and that this had caused the excessive
and uneven wear. I would need new pads and discs immediately at a cost of
£240. I did this and the noise had now gone.
I wrote to and emailed the MD of Bishops. Some 6 weeks later (his reply had
been "lost in the post" apparently) he said dismissively that there was nothing
wrong with brakes and that it's impossible for pads to be fitted incorrectly. Can
anyone shed any light on this difference of opinion about the pads and also
tell me whether this appalling 'Arthur Daley' style service is just what one has
to put up with these days from a main dealer? Bishops Guildford 'where the customer always comes last'.

 

[R1NGA]

For what it's worth, I have a similar view of this dealer, as they are unfortunately my local too. Their Customer Service is hopeless (I was waiting 20 minutes for the bloke from parts to bring me my bits and pieces one day last week) and I was stung for £280 when my remote locking fob went Dis and needed replaced and recoded. Dead car on a transporter left me with little choice.

[After collecting parts last week I came out of the showroom and saw 3 Fiat Sales blokes stood around my car staring at the 'Supercharged' badge on the boot. They said they had not realised that Fiat did a 4x4 Abarth Panda but were surprised not more had been sold..... And they work for Fiat Sales. Hmmm. Guess I should have taken their "that looks like factory" view of the car as a compliment!]

As for brake pads being fitted incorrectly, maybe, but having replaced mine more than once, it's not difficult and you've got to be a bit dim to get it wrong. More likely that the repairs you requested before purchase were simply never done. I fear you'll have to put it down to experience and find another dealer.

If anyone has a better Dealer recommendation for those of us in the Guildford area, I'd be thrilled ot hear from you!

 

[Thunderbug]

I had a simular problem with my brakes as the person (a mechanic from the local Fiat dealer) before me drove the car very hard.

I bought Mintex brake pads & disc's off Ebay & fitted them myself. Cost me £80 for the set of front pads n discs & £28 for a set of rear pads. It's not worth going to a dealer & pay their prices as will always say its "wear n tear" when buying 2nd hard cars.

Kwik-Fit / Merityres etc do a free brake check & they use "Copper Slip" to stop the squeaking.

 

[Shedbuilder]

Thanks for the replies. I must admit I naively assumed that Bishops would do the decent thing and offer to reimburse me for the cost of the work, particularly as I had noticed the issue and asked for it to be looked at before the sale. Fiat customer services were very helpful and even paid part of the cost but they don't have too much control over below par dealers such as this one. However they did tell me that all complaints made to them are logged and can count against a garage's franchise renewal. Fiat also managed to obtain a copy of the safety inspection report from Bishops. Most of it is illegible, including whether or not it refers to my car, but I can just make out a tick in box next to 'brake pad and disc condition'.
Again any recommendations for Fiat garages, franchised or otherwise, in the Surrey area would be much appreciated.

 

[varesecrazy]

Hello ,
I'm not TOO shocked by your dealer experiences , BUT I'm astounded by rear pads in 10.5K..!!,

what state are the fronts in??, as they normally go first,

can't recommend a surrey dealer.. BUT have a look on the Alfa forums for a recommended independent , as their knowledge will bode well for your 100 , and should also be Warranty compliant too ,
Charlie

 

[Shedbuilder]

Hi,
Front pads and discs seem fine, which suggests that the rear ones were fitted incorrectly as the second garage stated - maybe by the previous owner as I'm sure Fiat wouldn't have done this. However having noticed and mentioned it more than once and then to see that the condition was marked as ‘OK’ by Bishops is straight out of the Arthur Daley book of second hand car sales.
Thanks for the Alfa suggestion, will look into it.