Fiat Garages Suck!!!

[BlackBeauty]

For the last few weeks I’ve been hearing what I though was my brakes going!

So just to be on the safe side I decided to booked her in for a check….took her to Fiat near my work simply coz it was easy access….they called me up and said my brakes were in desperate need of stripping down and cleaning ‘a minimum of 1 hours work’ at the grand old price of £88 :shock: …..obviously as soon as they told me that I told them to whistle for it. Well my exact words were ‘are you kidding me!!! I ain’t paying that’….so I almost pegged it there to rescue her from the clutches of the evil fiat men!!! (when I got there while handing me the keys which took them nearly 45 mins to do they were still trying to feck me over)

In the mean time my little car ‘knowing’ friend came back from his hols and kindly took a little look….he said as far as he could see there was nothing wrong with them……well obviously curiosity got the better of me so I took her to another garage in scary ‘byker’ (that’s another story :lol: ) bless their little heart they called me back after an hour and said there’s nothing wrong with them at all….eh????? :? (btw….if they did need a clean the byker garage were only going to charge me £30)

How the hell can fiat get away with all the BS they come out with??? (I’ve had other dodgy dealings with Fiat, I just never learned… I HAVE NOW THOUGH)

Surely with all that money they were gonna charge me I could have actually got new pads etc…instead of just a shitty clean!?!?!?

Strange rant over!!!

I feel much better letting it all out now

 

[Ryanfaescotland]

Yeah I hate garages since I have no clue about cars I just believe what I'm told and hope they ain't ripping me off. Thankfully most the time my cars end up in garages it's cause I've crashed and they're in through the insurance

Did you find out what was annoying you and made you put it in in the first place?

 

[Venters]

I'm not completely sure why your ranting.

Is it because your brakes are making a noise and the main dealer has suggested that stripping them and cleaning them should fix it?

Or that a main dealer that has overheads way larger than a backstreet garage charges more?

Or that despite the brakes making a noise somebody else has told you there is nothing wrong?

 

[BlackBeauty]

I'm not completely sure why your ranting.

Is it because your brakes are making a noise and the main dealer has suggested that stripping them and cleaning them should fix it?

Or that a main dealer that has overheads way larger than a backstreet garage charges more?

Or that despite the brakes making a noise somebody else has told you there is nothing wrong?

LMAO....i think its pretty clear really lol....funniest thing i've read all day ...thanks

Simply the fact that they tried to charge me for something that wasn't needed in the first place and tbh charging such prices really they ought to not take the **** don't you think?

And I’m ranting for the same reason as everyone rants to feel better!!!

 

[BlackBeauty]

Yeah I hate garages since I have no clue about cars I just believe what I'm told and hope they ain't ripping me off. Thankfully most the time my cars end up in garages it's cause I've crashed and they're in through the insurance

Did you find out what was annoying you and made you put it in in the first place?

No i don't have much idea really but i try and i won't let people take the 'p' just coz i'm a 'girl' plus i've got a few knowledgable mates ...the dude said it was just a little dust...i'm light footed so i've not been braking hard enough occasionally..... so i went to some back street and sorted it out :lol:

 

[imported_Mark]

Surely if they are making excessive noise then there must be some sort of issue(s) with the brakes?

Dealerships are always going to charge more to look at cars, whether we like it or not they claim to be the "specialists" on Fiats and can get away with charging £50 an hour. As I said in the MAF thread its always handy to have a good mechanic you can trust working on your car,

But getting back to the brake issue, id still be curious as to why they were making excessive noise to begin with.

 

[M21MFS]

As Mark said, it's probably best to find someone you know/trust to work on the car, as they generally wont cost as much to goto!

I can't see why, in this day and age with warranty work being valid it pretty much any garage now*, anyone would neccesarily go running straight back to the main dealer - but some seem happy to. As pointed out, they're going to be more expensive (rightly or wrongly)

I'm lucky in that the few times the cars needed repairs by a garage I've found a guy near work who'll do the work for a decent rate (26 quid an hour) and without the hassle or bullshit.

*I think this is correct, but could be wrong

 

[BlackBeauty]

I know about dealers being expensive i only took her there because it was the closest place to work....fiat can charge all the money in the world if the job actually needs doing!!!

I did best of three my mate said the brakes were ok...he used to help his dad out (mechanic) b4 becoming a copper and the other place said the same so i kinda took it that fiat were trying their luck :?

I'll keep my ears out anyway and if i notice anything, i'll take her somewhere else.

Thanks lads

 

[Goldywaggon]

why the hell do u keep taken it back to garages if your "mechanic friend" looked and said they were fine??? :?


stop moaning lol

fiat are bumpy they make prices up half the time u just need to deal with it lol

 

[BlackBeauty]

why the hell do u keep taken it back to garages if your "mechanic friend" looked and said they were fine??? :?


stop moaning lol

fiat are bumpy they make prices up half the time u just need to deal with it lol

I never said he was a "mechanic" i said his dad was....imo i can do what i want with my car!

any reason why the 'hell" you're always so tetchy :lol:

 

[Venters]

I'm not completely sure why your ranting.

Is it because your brakes are making a noise and the main dealer has suggested that stripping them and cleaning them should fix it?

Or that a main dealer that has overheads way larger than a backstreet garage charges more?

Or that despite the brakes making a noise somebody else has told you there is nothing wrong?

LMAO....i think its pretty clear really lol....funniest thing i've read all day ...thanks

Simply the fact that they tried to charge me for something that wasn't needed in the first place and tbh charging such prices really they ought to not take the **** don't you think?

And I’m ranting for the same reason as everyone rants to feel better!!!

But surely if your brakes are making a noise they will suggest the course of action they think will cure it?
If they had come back and told you there was nothing wrong then would you then have had a rant because they were useless and couldn't figure out what was wrong with your brakes.

A dealer will rightly or wrongly always charge more than a back street garage or a Friend that does work on his drive. Because if a dealer tried to charge £30 an hour for labour the service department would within a day or 2 become a loss making department. £60 an hour isn't just a techs wage. It's the service advisers, drivers, the workshop controller and service managers wages. It's the money to send techs to courses Fiat puts on in order to give techs insight into various systems the cars use. These can easily cost £700 per tech and Fiat puts them on for every model. Then there is the cost and the up keep of 3-4 courtesy cars. Also they will have bills to pay aswell. Sales department can't support an entire dealership on it's own. If it could all people would then complain about is how much cars cost.

A little understanding can go along way. Thats on both sides.

Also can anyone with mechanical experience please tell us please tell us if stripping and cleaning brakes can cure noisey brakes?

 

[BlackBeauty]

Thanks for all the great advice everyone…I’ll be sure to keep it in mind for future reference.

 

[ABZSTILO]

Also can anyone with mechanical experience please tell us please tell us if stripping and cleaning brakes can cure noisey brakes?

Yup But there are so many variables and a lot depends on the type of caliper and if it's 'wedged' in like many Fiat/Lancia/Alfas were. Lack of regular maintenance, washing and 'odd' pad choice makes a huge difference too - but we all knew that

As those who've read the MAF thread will now I'm less than happy with my local Fiat branch at the moment, but I'll resist whinging here even more. Suffice to say that if you can find a good local garage you know you can trust implicitly (cherish them) there's little reason to go elsewhere these days IMHO.

 

[imported_T14086]

For the last few weeks I’ve been hearing what I though was my brakes going!

So just to be on the safe side I decided to booked her in for a check….took her to Fiat near my work simply coz it was easy access….they called me up and said my brakes were in desperate need of stripping down and cleaning ‘a minimum of 1 hours work’ at the grand old price of £88 :shock: …..obviously as soon as they told me that I told them to whistle for it. Well my exact words were ‘are you kidding me!!! I ain’t paying that’….so I almost pegged it there to rescue her from the clutches of the evil fiat men!!! (when I got there while handing me the keys which took them nearly 45 mins to do they were still trying to feck me over)

In the mean time my little car ‘knowing’ friend came back from his hols and kindly took a little look….he said as far as he could see there was nothing wrong with them……well obviously curiosity got the better of me so I took her to another garage in scary ‘byker’ (that’s another story :lol: ) bless their little heart they called me back after an hour and said there’s nothing wrong with them at all….eh????? :? (btw….if they did need a clean the byker garage were only going to charge me £30)

How the hell can fiat get away with all the BS they come out with??? (I’ve had other dodgy dealings with Fiat, I just never learned… I HAVE NOW THOUGH)

Surely with all that money they were gonna charge me I could have actually got new pads etc…instead of just a shitty clean!?!?!?

Strange rant over!!!

I feel much better letting it all out now

You dont say what car you have (model/year etc) also was the garage talking about front or rear brakes?

 

[BlackBeauty]

Punto... 1.2 - o6 reg.....the garage were talking about the front brakes .....still makes a noise and feels a bit wierd when i brake but the mojority ruled that there was nowt wrong so i'm presuming its fine :?

 

[Ryanfaescotland]

Punto... 1.2 - o6 reg.....the garage were talking about the front brakes .....still makes a noise and feels a bit wierd when i brake but the mojority ruled that there was nowt wrong so i'm presuming its fine :?

And when they give in hopefully you'll live to know the majority was wrong. :?

 

[mountainmachine]

A strip and clean is often a good idea, i do that every time i change the discs/pads... most garages dont so you get a build up of dust which can cause the pad not to return to its original position and float. Having done it when not changing components due to noise from the mk1 punto, or when a build up of dust was causing a brake imbalance for an mot in my S40. Its amazing what a good clean and some copper slip (and quite a bit of time) can do.

It takes as long to change the discs and pads as it does to clean all the runners and components, and thats without servicing the pistons etc.

End of the day fiat are £50/hr I only use them now when i need the examiner tech service. I do most of the work myself with a friend and use local £20-30/hr garages for stuff when i dont have the time or space to do the job.

Sometimes noise can be something as simple as a small stone stuck on the pad surface and a quick blast with a pressure washer will cure it, sometimes you need to strip down, sometimes you strip down clean inspect and the noise is still there. If you take it to a garage then obviously you have to pay.

Lesson... dont take it to fiat unless the engine managment light comes on, if you want to save some cash. Or as you did get a friend to have a look.

 

[scottyJTD]

I'm not completely sure why your ranting.

Is it because your brakes are making a noise and the main dealer has suggested that stripping them and cleaning them should fix it?

Or that a main dealer that has overheads way larger than a backstreet garage charges more?

Or that despite the brakes making a noise somebody else has told you there is nothing wrong?

i have offen wanderd,why is the main dealers overheads higher than your run of the mill back street garage?

 

[Venters]

i have offen wanderd,why is the main dealers overheads higher than your run of the mill back street garage?

Well it's Ts department so he can proberly answer that better than me but. Compare a small back street garage and a dealer service department.

My local guy who is very good, Has a corrigated Iron unit tucked away at the back of an industrial estate. Parking for 2 cars and a bit of waste land round the corner for parking other cars. Inside he has more tools than a workshop of fiat techs put together but a pit instead of a couple car lifts. He employs 2 other people are second mechanic and his nephew as gofor. Admin and reception are both done by him often he has to leave his tools attached to whatever he is working on to answer the phone.
He doesn't need to pay £700 to send his other mechanic on a course to learn about the new T-Jet engines and their use in the Bravo and then 6 months later do the same again but for the 500. He also doesn't need to spend £5K on a Fiat examiner because he works on all types of cars and getting examiners for all marques would not be viable cash wise. Thats why he also reckons he may not be around in a few more years time as cars become more advanced electronically more and more stuff will become dealer or specialist only.

It's also why we often recieve calls from small garages asking for advice because they don't specialise in a car they need dealer help (which is provided free of chrage).

In contrast a dealer service deparment has dues to pay on a site that is often 5-6 times bigger than a small garage. Then maintenance on that building aswelll. As a dealer service department has to be clean and well presented, oil on seats in customer waitng area for instance is a complete no no. Wages for just admin and receptionists can often add up to the same or more than an entire wage output for a small garage. For instance Arthurs garage has 3 productive people. Gofor helps out when extra hands are needed. Our department has 6 non productives 2 service advisors 1 adminastrator a workshop controller a driver and a service manager.

It's these types of thing and no doubt lots more I'm missing out that increases the overheads in a dealership service department.

 

[scottyJTD]

Yep i can understand all that,and very well put to cheers but dosent a main dealer have a higher turn over of cars through the work shop,to conpansate for more Mechanics? or why dont they keep the sale's and workshop seprate as running biusnes ,na i know what your gona say to that,forget that

I just dont see why people should pay in some cases double or more an hour for labour because the place doing the job have overhaeds that are higher, it is beyond me why people do?? but they do :?

Oh well (scratching my head here)

Cheers Scotty.