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Technical  Bugger

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Technical  Bugger

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flying shed

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:( Just found that the radiator has sprung a minor leak. As mine is well past 'warranty' mileage @ 92k, Fiat wouldn't even replace the failed wiper mechanism at 2 years 7 months with 60002 miles on the clock ( tight gits:D ), has anyone had any cooling system work carried out? If so how much ££ can I expect????
Cheers all, Shed
 
T14086 said:
Not Fiat warranty in third year its third party warranty so its their desi
sion.
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Third party!... as much use as a chocy teapot. Still I suppose it fills the brochure nicely.

'Sorry sir the vehicle has passed the 60k milestone' ( six of them getting to the poxy dealer..... should've phoned first and had it collected, why not I'm sure I could spare another day or three off work waiting for them respond) :bang:
 
flying shed said:
Third party!... as much use as a chocy teapot. Still I suppose it fills the brochure nicely.
Click to expand...

Ask any punto owner how handy 3rd warranty is when facing £600 for new steering column or £300 for engine ECU...or doblo owner when heater matrix leaks(dash out job)it does have its uses but as I stated its up to them what is/not covered.
 
My wiper mechanism went about two weeks ago but thankfully the car is only about 18 months old. Oddly enough the same thing happened to my last Punto at about the same time.
 
Fiat's attitude with regard to warranty sucks.

Their mind set seems to be 'we're not paying if we can get away with it'. Its put me off letting my other half buy another one - great tho the Doblo is.
(Her next van will probably be a VW Caddy or Transit Connect.)

If Fiat think so little of their customers I don't want to be one. The other commercial vehicle I run is an Iveco. They have a much better attitude to customer relations - several items fixed on mine well outside the warranty period - as a gesture of goodwill.(They fitted a new Turbo during one service as the original was showing signs of wear - 55,000 miles beyond warranty. Prop shaft bearings also done for free at about 70,000 beyond warranty).

I'll obviously consider another Iveco when this one goes. Seems strange as Fiat own Iveco but the staff seem to come from different planets.

I feel even more pissed off with Fiat as we paid 'top dollar' having the Doblo serviced at a Fiat dealer (2 years, approx 120,000 miles) only to find it counted for sod all when we suffered the wiper mechanism failure. We should have just had it serviced by our local independant garage and saved enough on the servicing costs to buy umpteen new wiper mechanisms. Lesson learned here and 2 customers lost for ever to Fiat. Tossers.
 
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EXACTLY what Niall said!!(y)

I've even had better service and customer care from Landrover for christ sakes!!..... and they are the ones that could teach Dick Turpin a trick or two!:D
 
Iveco has a rather small customer base compared to Fiat,if Fiat done too many goodwills(and they do a awful lot believe it or not!)they would be out of business within a few years.Imagine a few million customers moaning about ECU's,wiper linkages,steering columns etc after the warranty has run out,the cost doesn't bare thinking about!
Third year warranty is independent,NOT Fiat or dealer,read your third year warranty policy to see what is & what is not covered,they make the rules.
 
In all fairness I have to say it depends on the dealer you go too... Some are great, such as the one I choose to visit (even though there are others that are closer) and there are others that are really bad! As T14086 said, the 3rd year warranty is by another company, so maybe it's not fiat you should be blaming, it's some of their dealers, but don't tar them all with the same brush there are some good ones :)
 
T, are you employed by Fiat???

As far as the third year warrenty is concerned in my case it has proven to be as much use as the afore mentioned chocolate tea pot.

If it is such a lottery as to what may or may not be covered, if it depends on you getting a good dealer or for the planets to be in alignment between 8 and 8.15 on the first monday....... then why bother???

It's like me selling someone a pair of boots and saying my mate will repair them if he feels like it only if they haven't been worn in the rain or outside the house!
As for the mass volume of vehicles argument, I've personally seen around twenty other Dobins clattering about, then why not help out and ensure repeat sales and customer loyalty to lets face it an ugly bugger of a car even when washed and waxed?
My Doblo is on an 03 plate and will be three in July. So far the wiper mech failed, central locking packed up and now the rad is leaking from the centre of the core with no apparent damage or trauma to the area. And lets not even mention the voracious appetite for front tyres which it consumes at an alarming rate. Crap design, poor R+d, foist a problem on the paying customer and turn a deaf ear......... Who Fiat, nah never......:mad:
 
flying shed said:
T, are you employed by Fiat???
Click to expand...

No.

Why are you having a go at me/fiat/dealer for....complain to your 3rd year warranty company.The leaflet provided by them clearly states what is & what is not covered its as simple as that.
I am just telling you the facts & one is that wiper linkages are not covered,not my/fiat/dealer fault what more do you want me to say?
In my opinion i'd rather be rid of the third party third year warranty but thats the way it is.All manufactuers have clauses built into their respective warranty schemes & I personally find Fiat alot more generous that most,maybe because I see it in operation on a daily basis wether you only see it when something goes wrong with your car.
Like I said,you will be glad of 3rd year warranty if your heater matrix goes with a repair bill of £670+vat! Hopefully it will not but its nice to know if it does your covered or your ECU goes down or diesel pump packs up(assuming you have a diesel.
We service fleets of doblos for taxi drivers,some with over 100,000 miles on them,some are used 24hours a day 7 days a week! & the general opinion is they are on the whole reliable cars.
 
The wiper mechanism fell apart at 23 months on my wife's Doblo, ie still in warranty with Fiat - an unlimited mileage 2 year warranty. Fiat found a way of not paying. I'm too busy working to take them to court and needed the vehicle back on the road. Like I said - Tossers.:tosser::tosser:

We'll never, ever buy anything with a Fiat badge on it and will happily tell anyone who asks why. Plenty of potenial buyers put off at the courier firm my wife subcontracts for.

Its a shame as the Doblo Cargo seems relativley good but the vehicle is only part of a package. If the manufacturer isn't prepared to back up their products then the package is not worth buying.

Tossers!!!:tosser::tosser:


Not that I hold a grudge..........


Tossers.....:tosser::tosser:
 
T..... I'm not having a go at anyone just venting my spleen at the absolutely pants after care I've experianced, that is so well advertised in the brochures, for the benifit of other Dobin owners. Just so that they know what to expect when something packs up or falls off their 'van' that they've parted with their hard earned for. Cheers:cry:
 
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flying shed said:
T..... I'm not having a go at anyone just venting my spleen at the absolutely pants after care I've experianced, that is so well advertised in the brochures, for the benifit of other Dobin owners. Just so that they know what to expect when something packs up or falls off their 'van' that they've parted with their hard earned for. Cheers:cry:
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Just to chip in ,,, I have had problems with the local dealer + after care. I have personally found that if : email fiat UK customers services + The customer services manager for the dealer goup , not the actual local dealer and cc the mail to watchdog (bbc) , Things get resolved...... done it twice... both times the branch manager phoned me to arrange a fix... But when you go in to the dealers with the DOBO, don't expect them to be all smiles...:mad: , check your car and take pictures of the body work before taking in , maybe a one off but the odd ding to the bonnet may occurr (couldn't prove it) , I suppose it's to get their own back ? Please note I will be taking the dobo for its next service at another dealer group which is some 50 miles from home.... and I will point out to them at the service why I have come the them, thus hopefully ensuring a good service... :eek:
 
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Niall_G said:
The wiper mechanism fell apart at 23 months on my wife's Doblo, ie still in warranty with Fiat - an unlimited mileage 2 year warranty. Fiat found a way of not paying. I'm too busy working to take them to court and needed the vehicle back on the road. Like I said - Tossers.:tosser::tosser:
Click to expand...

Well thats partly your fault is it not? If the part was under manufacturers warranty at the time the fault was reported & the garage was wrong then you should of pushed the point it was covered.What was the reason thay gave by the way?

Niall_G said:
We'll never, ever buy anything with a Fiat badge on it and will happily tell anyone who asks why. Plenty of potenial buyers put off at the courier firm my wife subcontracts for.
Click to expand...

Bit childish to be honest,then again you have your views & are entitled to them.May I suggest you buy a Ford Transit & within the first 2 years it will be returned to dealers for rear brake drums,diesel pump,locking problems,doors needing realigned,wind noise,indicator failure etc.

Ashy....are you implying doblo owners get less respect/treatment than others?
How did you know the bonnet was damaged in the workshop...did you check it beforehand,are you 100% sure? I'm also quite sure a garage wouldn't damage a car on purpose to get their own back.Accidents do happen of course they do & will do no matter what garage you go to or whatever business you are in.
 
As Ozzie says, dealers will vary so you may need to travel further to get a good one. I mostly do my own maintenance but I did use Arnold Clark in Elgin for a diagnostic check when the head gasket went.Other than that I've only bought spares there but they remember who I am and address me by name when I go in there. On the whole I have been happy with them but I am disappointed with the poor reliability of the Doblo. I've had more bother with it in 6 months than I had with my previous Ford Courier in 3 years. I can't afford to change it for a while but I'm thinking in terms of a Ford Connect van next time. It's a real shame because the Doblo is the ideal size and shape for my purposes. If I could change anything it would be the double rear doors, I would prefer the big one to be on the offside rather than the nearside. They clearly did it that way for the left hand drive models and could not be bothered to make special doors for the UK version.
 
It's only cause I went round the dealers looking for one that I found two that gave me good service, one I eventually bought a car off, but the other recommended the other garage and told me the car was there. The others I found very pushy and had quite an attitude so i'll be leaving them alone.
 
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