General Held to Ransom by Fiat

[sludgeguts]

Go to fiat website & send them an email. Be calm and factual about your complaint & ask them what they intend to do to rectify the problem.
To be fair, name one car (that is within the reach of the working man) that is perfect from new.

My dad's new cars...
Nissan Bluebird - nearside front wing, door, rear door & rear wing, all the paintwork on these panels blistered within 2 months of leaving the showroom. The paint was stripped right back & repainted. Within 2 months it had blistered again. We were given a new car.
Talbot Alpine. drove 5 miles, car stalled & refused to start. Choke cable had been knotted. 2nd August the whole gear linkage fell off in the road. 30th July the following year it fell off again.
Austin Princess. 65mph on the M62, the whole suspension dropped. 10pm 1st August.
Mercedes (can't recall the model but it was a huge beast). At 1 month old the timing belt/chain went as we were hurtling along the motorway, had to have a new engine, the 'old' engine had done less than 100 miles!
Volvo 340. Clutch & pressure plate disintegrated mid december (5 months old).
Honda civic (2003) boot leaked like a sieve. Their engineers fixed it with a tube of silicon sealant - just whacked loads in around/under the rear glass!
Battery drained after radio left on for half an hour OR car stood idle for a week.

My new cars...
Nissan Stanza. Dashboard went crazy 3 days before first birthday.
Metro. Petrol guage stopped working within first week.
Astra. Week 1 Radio refused to work, new radio kept blowing fuses (needed new powered aerial). 3 months, front suspension failed, starter packed up & head gasket blew.
Astra GTE Electronic dash went berserk on day 2 (Apparently, I was driving at 300mph & whilst parked (handbrake on, in neutral) I was doing anything between 0 and 200 mph! 3 months later, the new dash showed I had covered some half a million miles.
VW caravell - blew both fuses for the two radiator fans sometime during first month, during a particularly hot September, the engine seriously overheated resulting in the cap off the header tank blowing, covering the engine compartment in boiling antifreeze.

My 06 dobbie is doing really well by comparison (OK, I didn't own it for year 1).

 

[T14086]

LOL some 'classic' cars there Sludge

cphawk......get the DET to check your car then request a fiat engineer as he has most 'clout' in these circumstances.

 

[oilrag]

..get the DET to check your car .

Quickfit have a DET Technician in the area, but seemingly not Fiat:chin:

 

[cphawk]

Yes i know what you guys are saying and yes i have been down most avenues. And i stand by my first posting engine is brilliant! car has NOT let me down. Ihave had fiat techs look at car nothing, i have sent car in for a week at a time in all about 8 times.I reqested a replacement some time ago on severel occasions telling them it had electrical probs . when i had given them weeks and weeks of time to cure problem.But the very minute i reqested a replacement they immediatly stopped the conversation and said right you will have to get a independent evaluation good buy sir!! the last time my car was in was for a service and to look at the faults again.Car serviced faults remain the conclusion of this is there is a software issue on facelifted doblos as richdoblo has experienced with abs and i believe he took it in and got same result as me ! sorry we cant find anything. I have actually been at the dealership when its faulted and they have run out with examiner results nothing.I have and always will have a passion for cars they fascinate me my first ownership of my new car has somewhat dampened my spirits. i have nearly seven children its not easy keep running back to dealer all the time! and can be costly so you can see guys i yes im a little p-----d with car with dealers with fiat tech and these dealers were good until i said the word replacment .Ive forgot how many times they have said we,ll cure it dont worry! anyways guys i,ll live with it i suppose but its not right is it.

 

[sludgeguts]

Actually, I have an apology to make. In one of my earlier posts, I said I hadn't bought a new car in 30 years. Having just looked at my list (above) I realise that the last new car I bought was the Stanza in 1983 - so 24 years ago & I kept it about 6 years.


I seem to have 'lost' 6 years of my life
I'll blame it on the alcohol:devil:

 

[T14086]

Yes i know what you guys are saying and yes i have been down most avenues. And i stand by my first posting engine is brilliant! car has NOT let me down. Ihave had fiat techs look at car nothing, i have sent car in for a week at a time in all about 8 times.I reqested a replacement some time ago on severel occasions telling them it had electrical probs . when i had given them weeks and weeks of time to cure problem.But the very minute i reqested a replacement they immediatly stopped the conversation and said right you will have to get a independent evaluation good buy sir!! the last time my car was in was for a service and to look at the faults again.Car serviced faults remain the conclusion of this is there is a software issue on facelifted doblos as richdoblo has experienced with abs and i believe he took it in and got same result as me ! sorry we cant find anything. I have actually been at the dealership when its faulted and they have run out with examiner results nothing.I have and always will have a passion for cars they fascinate me my first ownership of my new car has somewhat dampened my spirits. i have nearly seven children its not easy keep running back to dealer all the time! and can be costly so you can see guys i yes im a little p-----d with car with dealers with fiat tech and these dealers were good until i said the word replacment .Ive forgot how many times they have said we,ll cure it dont worry! anyways guys i,ll live with it i suppose but its not right is it.

Did you not read my last post I deal with cases like yours all the time (with fiat & other makes) but if your just going to repeat yourself over & over then i'll save my breath!

Arrange with your dealer to get a field engineer to look at the car,it's their job to do this as a service provided by fiat (you dont pay!) also arrange collection of your car while providing you with a courtesy car....because chances of getting a replacement car after all this time is very very slim.

 

[cphawk]

Did you not read my last post I deal with cases like yours all the time (with fiat & other makes) but if your just going to repeat yourself over & over then i'll save my breath!

Arrange with your dealer to get a field engineer to look at the car,it's their job to do this as a service provided by fiat (you dont pay!) also arrange collection of your car while providing you with a courtesy car....because chances of getting a replacement car after all this time is very very slim.

Perhaps T14086 its not sunk in what i did say THAT I HAVE BEEN DOWN EVERY AVENUE.Ihave had engineers from fiat lookat the car.I HAVE HAD EVERYBODYFROM DEALERSHIP AND FIAT THEMSELVES LOOK AT MY CAR THOSE OF A POSITION WITH AS YOU SAY CLOUT!did you not read in my last post about software issues now listen to this the last thing they said to me was software problems with dash AND AS YET FIAT HAVE NO FIX FOR THIS WHAT T14086 DO I SAY TO THAT. and further to your last post i beleive your getting a little hot under the coller.I DONT remember asking for your help AND critiscm iwas sharing my thoughts and opinions with similar people on this forum with similar problems. YOU are supposed to be resident mech on this forum people look to you and any one else on this forum for help and sound advice. Take a look at your last post to me! your not talking to some kid learn some tact and manners!!!!!! if a posting pisses you off DONT POST A REPLY! your position on this forum if im not mistaken is to give advice NOT TALK DOWN TO FELLOW MEMBERS.So please dont try it!!!

 

[T14086]

cphawk........firstly I did not 'talk' down to you,I restated what is the correct procedure (which the garage should be doing on your behalf anyway!) on getting your car repaired to your satisfaction,something I mentioned to you months ago yet you still repeatedly post mirror postings.Yes I understand you want your car fixed,everyone else here (including myself!) does aswell but theres only so much people can do on a forum.Your posts dont go un-noticed & if someone has a similar fault which has been succesfully fixed i'm quite sure you will be the first to know.

Anyway if I appeared to come across rude then I do apologise but I can assure you it was not intentional.What I find it hard to believe is that you have just accepted the situation...there are people here than can give you advice on succesfully rejecting a car but as I stated the longer you have the car the harder it will be.

I looked back through some of your posts yesterday & could find no mention of field engineer looking at the car,this is the next logical step to take (I assume you have you spoken with your area warranty manager?) which is why I mentioned it again as you didn't answer last time.

I have now just checked all your posts & can find no mention of a field engineer looking at car or is this what you mean by fiat techs

(p.s. please dont shout)

 

[NumanR]

You seem to be forgetting cp that T is a VOLUNTEER who HELPS people like you and others everyday. If he was getting paid for giving advice and you had donated money to the forum then I would still not be happy about you talking like that. Please accept that T is trying to help and not trying to antagonise.

Maybe if you, me and T arrange a chat in the chatroom we could try and assist with your problem "face to face"

 

[luvduvs]

I have now just checked all your posts

Shouldn't you be spending more time with your wife instead? :devil:

 

[T14086]

Shouldn't you be spending more time with your wife instead?

Sshhhhhhhhhhhh.....dont remind me

 

[cphawk]

You seem to be forgetting cp that T is a VOLUNTEER who HELPS people like you and others everyday. If he was getting paid for giving advice and you had donated money to the forum then I would still not be happy about you talking like that. Please accept that T is trying to help and not trying to antagonise.

Maybe if you, me and T arrange a chat in the chatroom we could try and assist with your problem "face to face"

No im not forgetting that he,s a volunteer numanR read any of my posts and i am always curtious i simply was sharing my experiances not asking for advice! after servicing cars for twenty years im quite capable of seeing and dealing with dealers and my problems myself.If you read the post it is unacceptable I TREAT OTHERS AS THEY TREAT ME! sorry if this offends you but fair is fair look at my posts!

 

[cphawk]

cphawk........firstly I did not 'talk' down to you,I restated what is the correct procedure (which the garage should be doing on your behalf anyway!) on getting your car repaired to your satisfaction,something I mentioned to you months ago yet you still repeatedly post mirror postings.Yes I understand you want your car fixed,everyone else here (including myself!) does aswell but theres only so much people can do on a forum.Your posts dont go un-noticed & if someone has a similar fault which has been succesfully fixed i'm quite sure you will be the first to know.

Anyway if I appeared to come across rude then I do apologise but I can assure you it was not intentional.What I find it hard to believe is that you have just accepted the situation...there are people here than can give you advice on succesfully rejecting a car but as I stated the longer you have the car the harder it will be.

I looked back through some of your posts yesterday & could find no mention of field engineer looking at the car,this is the next logical step to take (I assume you have you spoken with your area warranty manager?) which is why I mentioned it again as you didn't answer last time.

I have now just checked all your posts & can find no mention of a field engineer looking at car or is this what you mean by fiat techs

(p.s. please dont shout)

Right T14086 I do accept your apologies please accept mine for my reply! theres no easy way explaining this but here goes firstly i did take car in as soon as problem was seen when they could not find problem i did reject car.I told them they said we are doing all we can to resolve problems i sought legal advice.They told me while ever fiat was working towards curing car of problems i could not reject car.Ihad to give them time to find fault btw as regards field engineers they told me fiats own techs would come with blueprints for my car and they did while they have been working towards a cure so much time has passed that rejection is not a option btw i only ever dealt with warranty manager and principal.As for accepting the situation when after all ive been through with fiat the warranty manager and the principal of the dealership and both these persons have had talks with fiat and concluded that it is a dashboard soft ware problem on facelift models with [sorry to shout] NO CURE AT ALL BY FIAT OR ANY BODY ELSE then i will sit tight and wait till they resolve this problem.Can u see now what i mean. like they said to me when i lost my cool with them we have no cure until fiat rewrites software or makes a softwarechange no cure will be possible! and that the car was still reliable and the abs did still work. So neither yourself or numanR can help unless you can redo my dash software. My opinion for all its worth they should have a cure for ALL problems on there cars its not fair to the general public who pay good money and have faith in there product. still ive got a smile

 

[oilrag]

Maybe if you, me and T arrange a chat in the chatroom we could try and assist with your problem "face to face"

Why not invite CP into one of your respective dealerships and have a go at fixing his car

 

[NumanR]

No problem, book it in and I will see what I can do.

 

[sludgeguts]

Some time back I owned a PUG pickup. I had bought a zanussi washing machine (quite expensive as machines go) & the main motor burnt out just outside the 12 month warranty. The shop weren't interested as I hadn't extended the warranty & Zanussi could only offer a new motor for £270.
I put the machine on the back of my pickup & made some large signs, basically, letting people kow how 'happy' I was with the machine & sat outside the shop for a few days.

I don't know why but after I'd sat outside all day for a couple of days, the manager came out and offered me a free replacement washing machine.

Maybe you could do the same with your car? Sometimes, after every avenue has been explored, the only option open to us is direct action.


Interestingly, one model of volvo had a problem a year or two back whereby the car would suddenly go into limp mode whilst you were hurtling down the motorway. In the UK, it wasn't a recognised fault & cost owners plenty. In the US, where everyone is accountable for everything, volvo recalled the affected models & sorted them free of charge.
Same fault, just a different attitude (we're too complacent in England)

 

[cphawk]

Some time back I owned a PUG pickup. I had bought a zanussi washing machine (quite expensive as machines go) & the main motor burnt out just outside the 12 month warranty. The shop weren't interested as I hadn't extended the warranty & Zanussi could only offer a new motor for £270.
I put the machine on the back of my pickup & made some large signs, basically, letting people kow how 'happy' I was with the machine & sat outside the shop for a few days.

I don't know why but after I'd sat outside all day for a couple of days, the manager came out and offered me a free replacement washing machine.

Maybe you could do the same with your car? Sometimes, after every avenue has been explored, the only option open to us is direct action.


Interestingly, one model of volvo had a problem a year or two back whereby the car would suddenly go into limp mode whilst you were hurtling down the motorway. In the UK, it wasn't a recognised fault & cost owners plenty. In the US, where everyone is accountable for everything, volvo recalled the affected models & sorted them free of charge.
Same fault, just a different attitude (we're too complacent in England)

Nice one sludgeguts i agree!

 

[T14086]

I don't know why but after I'd sat outside all day for a couple of days, the manager came out and offered me a free replacement washing machine.

Maybe you could do the same with your car?

What swop it for a washing machine

 

[oilrag]

What swop it for a washing machine

I suppose, being associated with Fiat, you are more likely than us to know its current trade in value with the faults T :devil:

Ps, Any chance of you popping over to this post?

https://www.fiatforum.com/doblo/118833-1-3-multijet-what-sensor.html

I`m trying to learn more of modern systems so I can extend my DIY.

Thanks,

 

[T14086]

I suppose, being associated with Fiat, you are more likely than us to know its current trade in value with the faults T :devil:

Well hoover & zanussi models tend to hold thier value more especially if they are washer/driers,however most electrical outlets are offering good discounts at the moment so you have to consider this before you repair/renew.