I've come to the end of the road with my 06 Multijet Eleganza. I've spent over £1200 on repairs since last January, and the niggling faults, and major ones, keep coming. This, coupled with the infuriating attitude from the Fiat dealership, has made me decide to have a change.
I had a blow out a couple of months after I'd bought the car, and it was found to have a fault in the suspension that meant the tracking would never be right. Consequently, we've had 4 tyres for the front, and they're nearly ready for replacing again. The alternator decided to stop working and was replaced. If someone other than the dealership services it, the oil light flashes constantly. I seem to have a new noise every day, knocking in the steering, screaming brakes – sometimes, the bonnet won't shut (the latch has been adjusted, it's a seized cable, apparently), and this is the first car I've owned, in 30 years, where you have to wait for the brakes or gears to unfreeze in cold weather before you can drive. If it's damp, the left indicator may or may not work, and the front courtesy light has failed since about month 4 of ownership. Ask at the dealership about this, and they say it's £72 per hour to look at it.
Today, the car was at the garage all day to find out why the 'engine control faulty' light had come on. A lot of blather later, which cost £90, and I have to decide whether they get some part in to test if that's the problem. If it's not that, they'll check the wiring, which could cost. (What a surprise.) If it's not that, it's something with the word 'integral' in it, which sounds extremely expensive. Then he went through the 'visual check customer advisory' (they seem to have lost the ability to speak English at this place), which included the clutch, front brakes, tyres, suspension bush, and the windscreen wash being 'inoperative'. Yes, that'll be because it was frozen. AAAAARGH!
The car was brought round from the workshop, and the warning light had gone off. Don't worry though, it popped back on before I came home.
If I was a mechanic, I'm sure I'd be able to live with all this. But I bought a car to move from A to B, not spend lots of time in a pricey dealership garage. It was fun to drive for a while, but I just don't think I trust it any more : (
I had a blow out a couple of months after I'd bought the car, and it was found to have a fault in the suspension that meant the tracking would never be right. Consequently, we've had 4 tyres for the front, and they're nearly ready for replacing again. The alternator decided to stop working and was replaced. If someone other than the dealership services it, the oil light flashes constantly. I seem to have a new noise every day, knocking in the steering, screaming brakes – sometimes, the bonnet won't shut (the latch has been adjusted, it's a seized cable, apparently), and this is the first car I've owned, in 30 years, where you have to wait for the brakes or gears to unfreeze in cold weather before you can drive. If it's damp, the left indicator may or may not work, and the front courtesy light has failed since about month 4 of ownership. Ask at the dealership about this, and they say it's £72 per hour to look at it.
Today, the car was at the garage all day to find out why the 'engine control faulty' light had come on. A lot of blather later, which cost £90, and I have to decide whether they get some part in to test if that's the problem. If it's not that, they'll check the wiring, which could cost. (What a surprise.) If it's not that, it's something with the word 'integral' in it, which sounds extremely expensive. Then he went through the 'visual check customer advisory' (they seem to have lost the ability to speak English at this place), which included the clutch, front brakes, tyres, suspension bush, and the windscreen wash being 'inoperative'. Yes, that'll be because it was frozen. AAAAARGH!
The car was brought round from the workshop, and the warning light had gone off. Don't worry though, it popped back on before I came home.
If I was a mechanic, I'm sure I'd be able to live with all this. But I bought a car to move from A to B, not spend lots of time in a pricey dealership garage. It was fun to drive for a while, but I just don't think I trust it any more : (
