So, today I registered Monty with the German authorities and obtained new number plates.
This, of course, entailed the removal of the blasted Stoneacre plates.
The front bumper being plastic, all was well underneath, albeit slightly mucky.
The back, however, was a different matter. There are four plastic inserts to screw the number plate into. Did Stoneacre bother with those? Did they eckerslike! No, they drilled two holes straight into the back of the bootlid and screwed the number plate right on there.
This has two effects. Firstly, it makes a hole in the bodywork. (I know - obvious, huh?) Secondly, it means that the numberplate is forced flat against the body of the car, meaning that any moisture that gets down there has no place to go to and tends to hang around for a good long while.
Now, I bought my car about 20 months ago, give or take a week or two. It had been with Stoneacre a couple of months by then. Whether they sold it from new or not I am uncertain. So, it is safe to say the number plate has either been on there for approaching two years, or possibly five years if it is the original plate.
I may be a woman, but I do know perfectly well that metal with a hole in it and another metal item screwed into it is a perfect recipe for rust. And that, ladies and gentlemen of the Fiat Forum, is what I found.
I seem to recall that there is an eight-year anti-corrosion warranty on the Stilo, among other Fiat models - correct? This being so, and the hole in the car not having been made by me but by the dealership, do I have any way of getting Fiat to fix this up?
Bearing in mind that I am still waiting for a new cord for the parcel shelf (which had a bracket broken off as well as a missing cord when I bought the car), and that the sticking rear brake caliper that was a recall issue had not been dealt with (costing me over £300 within a month of buying the car to replace the rear brakes both sides), is there any point in my contacting Fiat about this?
I will be sending this to Stoneacre Worksop, of course.
I suppose I should count myself very lucky to have had next to no problems with the Stilo so far (quickly touching wood)!
Tax disc and State stamp on the rear number plate - much cleaner set-up than the UK!
This, of course, entailed the removal of the blasted Stoneacre plates.
The front bumper being plastic, all was well underneath, albeit slightly mucky.
The back, however, was a different matter. There are four plastic inserts to screw the number plate into. Did Stoneacre bother with those? Did they eckerslike! No, they drilled two holes straight into the back of the bootlid and screwed the number plate right on there.
This has two effects. Firstly, it makes a hole in the bodywork. (I know - obvious, huh?) Secondly, it means that the numberplate is forced flat against the body of the car, meaning that any moisture that gets down there has no place to go to and tends to hang around for a good long while.
Now, I bought my car about 20 months ago, give or take a week or two. It had been with Stoneacre a couple of months by then. Whether they sold it from new or not I am uncertain. So, it is safe to say the number plate has either been on there for approaching two years, or possibly five years if it is the original plate.
I may be a woman, but I do know perfectly well that metal with a hole in it and another metal item screwed into it is a perfect recipe for rust. And that, ladies and gentlemen of the Fiat Forum, is what I found.
I seem to recall that there is an eight-year anti-corrosion warranty on the Stilo, among other Fiat models - correct? This being so, and the hole in the car not having been made by me but by the dealership, do I have any way of getting Fiat to fix this up?
Bearing in mind that I am still waiting for a new cord for the parcel shelf (which had a bracket broken off as well as a missing cord when I bought the car), and that the sticking rear brake caliper that was a recall issue had not been dealt with (costing me over £300 within a month of buying the car to replace the rear brakes both sides), is there any point in my contacting Fiat about this?
I will be sending this to Stoneacre Worksop, of course.
I suppose I should count myself very lucky to have had next to no problems with the Stilo so far (quickly touching wood)!
Tax disc and State stamp on the rear number plate - much cleaner set-up than the UK!
