General Good Stilo, Bad Stilo...

[JTD_Liam]

Hi all,

Good Stilo...
Since alot of posts on here are negative about the Stilo, thought i'd post some fairly good news for a change! My JTD Dynamic has been parked on the drive doing nothing since April - i lost my job last year, her MOT expired and i've not had the money to do the work so she's been mothballed till this week.

I put the battery on charge yesterday as it was obviously flat as a fart. It had some charge by last night but when i turned the ignition on i was greeted with 'Checking, Loose Connection, Airbag Failure, ABS Failure' so i went no further Left it charging today and tried again. This time i had 'Checking' but no failures Will it start i thought. Turned the key and off it went straight away, sounded just like it always does, was well happy The battery is obviously knackered, it was on its way out anyway i think.

Bad Stilo...
Went to reverse gently as i knew the brakes would be sticky, but strangely they wernt, but the front passenger side wheel was juddering really bad. Me & Dad played around with the calliper but to no avail, i slowly drove it up the road to see if that sorted it but it didn't. So i phoned the RAC as i needed to move it to our new house as we move in the morning. The guy arrived within 20mins (well impressed) and to my shock he straight away said 'your coil springs snapped & is stuck in the tyre' . I was relieved it might not have been the brakes as i shouldve known not to leave it stood with the brakes on for all that time, but horrified that even tho it's got a spring catcher fitted, the spring had ripped lumps outta the tyre, just from a 100yard drive up the road at 10mph. Took some photos as i'm gonna speak to Fiat about it. Granted the spring catcher stopped it dropping right down but if that had dug in the tyre at speed it'd have been curtains for me (or curtain airbags).

Got the space saver spare on & replaced the battery after going through the different spec options with the guy. Luckily the spring goes knowhere near the spare tyre as it's alot thinner than my 17" alloys, so the RAC guy said he'd be happy for me to drive the car to the new house but would follow me incase of any problems. Got to the new house with no problems, the car's running fine and everything seems to be working so happy about that, but not quite so happy about the spring wrecking a tyre and the looming massive bill to get the service, cambelt, waterpump, tyre & spring(s) replaced. At least she's not cost me anything for the last 2 years!

Happy Motoring n all that!

Liam

 

[vladof]

Sorry to hear about it mate. Looking forward to seeing some of the pictures you took. Weird enough, I haven't heard of a spring snap while the vehicle is stationary before.

 

[JTD_Liam]

Thanks. Sorry for rather delayed response, moved house on Friday so not been abit hectic!

I will have to get those photos uploaded at some point, they show a sharp piece of spring pushed right onto the surface of the tyre. I've gotta phone Fiat UK & have a word too, tho i can't see much happening.

It's weird because i've not heard of a spring snapping when the car's parked either. Kinda lucky it did in this case because i think it could've been pretty nasty if i'd been driving, looking at how it's gone into the tyre.

 

[JTD_Liam]

Well cheers for all the replies guys, nice to know all my advice to others over the last couple of years is noticed Anyway, will try turning the tables and ask some questions myself for a change, see if this gets me anywhere.

Had the MOT on the Stilo today. It failed, but mostly on what i expected:

*Front passenger side spring & tyre damaged, as i knew
*Front drivers side spring fractured (knew nothing about this one)

Advisories:

*Rear brake pads worn down
*Front brake discs pitted


Decided to get most of the work done where it's been MOTd as they have a good reputation. Prices came in as follows:

*MOT - £54
*Front Spring x2 - £96.04 plus VAT
*Tyre - £64.00 plus VAT
*Rear Pads £38.13 plus VAT
*4 hours labour @ £45/hour = £180
*Total Approx £550

Seem about right? Tyre was abit more than i thought considering i picked a cheapo one to match the cheapo one on the other side but everything else seemed ok. Just wondered if anyone else had experience of cost on these items?

Cheers,
Liam.

 

[volxstu]

That sounds perfectly reasonable too me. I presume that its not a tyre shop so they wont get them massively cheap.
Can you get VAT discount for cash?

 

[Davren]

Well cheers for all the replies guys, nice to know all my advice to others over the last couple of years is noticed

I (and perhaps the other 140 people that read your post) didn't think you were asking for any advice.

*MOT - £54
*Front Spring x2 - £96.04 plus VAT
*Tyre - £64.00 plus VAT
*Rear Pads £38.13 plus VAT
*4 hours labour @ £45/hour = £180
*Total Approx £550

Parts prices are about right but 4 hours labour for a garage with all the correct tools to fit front springs and rear pads is slightly exccessive. £45 per hour, however, is very low so overall the total £510? is reasonable.

 

[Oakley28]

Bet you cant wait to get her back on the road.

 

[vladof]

Looking forward to seeing some of the pictures with the coil snapped, if you had a chance to take them.

 

[JTD_Liam]

That sounds perfectly reasonable too me. I presume that its not a tyre shop so they wont get them massively cheap.
Can you get VAT discount for cash?

Nah it's just a fairly large local garage that does servicing, MOTs and car sales. I wouldve got the tyre done somewhere else but i dunno if it's worth the faff to save maybe £15 quid. I've not asked about VAT discount for cash, that's a good point as i could pay cash!

I (and perhaps the other 140 people that read your post) didn't think you were asking for any advice.

Parts prices are about right but 4 hours labour for a garage with all the correct tools to fit front springs and rear pads is slightly exccessive. £45 per hour, however, is very low so overall the total £510? is reasonable.

Wasn't so much asking for advice at that point but thought people mightve commented. Never mind i guess.

I did think the Labour time was abit OTT too (apparantly 1.5 hours per spring) but like you say £45/hour is cheap so that softens the blow abit.

Bet you cant wait to get her back on the road.

Your not wrong. Not used her properly since February. Gave her a couple of runs in March & April but apart from that she's been sat doing nothing while i got the money together to sort everything out. Big up the Crystal Green Gang

Looking forward to seeing some of the pictures with the coil snapped, if you had a chance to take them.

I've uploaded them to my laptop now so i'll attempt to post them shortly

 

[JTD_Liam]

Right, here's the pics. The second one is the clearest, tho bear in mind the car was jacked up at this point hence the spring looking really long. As you can see the spring was touching the tyre and before it was jacked up it was digging right into the tyre, which isn't really what i believe should happen with the Spring Catcher fitted.









I've contacted Fiat UK and theyve asked me to email them the pics for them to investigate. Dunno if that's just standard practice or whether they really intend to look into it. We'll see. Would just like a contribution to the spring and/or tyre really, bearing in mind i'd have been in hospital & the car wouldve been a wreck if it'd gone into the tyre at high speed. Though i appreciate the car's now 6 years old so i'm not too sure how i'll get on.

 

[ABZSTILO]

Interesting..... so presumably that means that a replacement spring (was it a Fiat replacement?) went pop and the spring failure capture device (well, seems like a good title to me..... maybe should have suggested that to Fiat ) didn't entirely fulfil its function.
Bad luck, but as you say at least it didn't happen on the road.

Did you get all the parts to fix it yet you might find better prices on a well known internet auction site.

 

[Oakley28]

Big up the Crystal Green Gang

WOOP! :slayer:

 

[JTD_Liam]

Interesting..... so presumably that means that a replacement spring (was it a Fiat replacement?) went pop and the spring failure capture device (well, seems like a good title to me..... maybe should have suggested that to Fiat ) didn't entirely fulfil its function.
Bad luck, but as you say at least it didn't happen on the road.

Did you get all the parts to fix it yet you might find better prices on a well known internet auction site.

As far as i know they were the original springs, so 6 years old & done 62,000 miles. According to Fiat UK the spring catcher recall was carried out December 2006 but yes, it didn't entirely do its job Im onto Fiat at the moment so we'll see what they say.

The garage has mended it now. I am a fan of the well known internet auction site but i wouldnt trust myself to fix the car. It cost £495 for everything in the end (MOT, rear brake pads, two new springs and new front tyre), so bit less than originally quoted. The springs were £96.04 for the parts, plus £135 labour (3 hours apparantly). Bit steep, but the brakes were alot less than i expected so it balanced out in the end.

Now just the service, cambelt & waterpump to do. Great!

 

[Argonought]

The springs were £96.04 for the parts, plus £135 labour (3 hours apparantly).

That is a bit on the steep side.

My local Fiat specialist only charges £75+VAT to change all FOUR

Mind you, I think they've had plenty of experience doing the job

 

[JTD_Liam]

Well just thought i'd update people on this thread. I emailed Fiat with the photos of the broken spring incase there was anything they could do. I mentioned that it was my third Fiat & that i'd recommended them to alot of mates who had subsequently bought new ones, but i was just expecting a £100 voucher at the most tbh.

So this evening i get home & check my emails and was amazed. Fiat couldn't contribute to the repair as they didn't see the vehicle in a broken state. However, to show that i'm a valued customer they have offered me £300 worth of vouchers to spend on parts, servicing or a new/used Fiat or Alfa :slayer:

I was stunned, but so happy. I've sung their praises to mates & family for years & thought it'd come back to bite me on the arse, but this has totally proved me wrong.

So just abit of good news, to prove that sometimes Fiat really do care. Well done Fiat UK :worship: