General How about a servicing sticky?

[T14086]

None of dealers i've been to been interested in doing warranty work on problems that weren't staring them in the face, Just 'NFF' put next to most items on my list and they don't listen to what you tell them.
Four attemts to fix inoperative courtesy light, three to fix boot light, two trips to fit an alternator it didn't need, can't hear wipers that banged so loudly at top of screen sounded like gun being fired! deaf to wind noise, rattle in door, rattling instruments!!!!!!! I could go on.
Fortunately its out of wrranty now a I can fix it myself and two dealers have lost my servicing trade

I can't understand that,warranty work is a basic income lets face it Fiat ain't gonna 'bump' the dealer & not pay for work carried out.Obviously 'retail work' generates more profit but you shouldn't bite the hand that feeds!
2 visits max to dealer to fix fault,one to diagnose & one to get parts fitted to cure fault.....ok three as parts department get wrong parts 4 attempts to fix a interior light is bad,it's no wonder they have lost your custom.

But when there's nothing actually wrong & the computers just generating a error !!! £60 is way to steep for 30 secs work + there's no guarentee it won't do it again. It's not just a Fiat problem though 60% of car dealers do the same !!

Lets be honest it's not 30seconds work.A proper diagnostic should involve initial basic checks,scan for codes then active diagnosis/routine,this part can be lengthy depending on the actual fault.Also remember intermittent faults can be awkward to locate & it's not unknown for there to be double faults that work against each another creating a fair bit of confusion during diagnosis.Unfortunally alot of techs just read the codes & change relevant parts...this is wrong as the actual parts should be tested along with it's relevent circuit.The part must be 'proven' to be faulty before it is changed especially if customer is paying for it.

THe problems never got fixed - " we can't find a fault....just see how you go and any problems just bring it back in ".Then after Warrenty has expired they wan't £80 just to re-gas the air con. When i asked them why they didn't re-ags the air con during warrenty they said it wasn't neccesary then !!!

Unfortunally the case does arrive for 'see how it goes',the other is 'let the fault develope' excuses? A tech cannot spend hours driving around waiting for a noise to appear or a warning light to come on.Best thing in these cases is for a courtesy car to be arranged for a few days to give the tech a 'fighting chance' of finding the fault,not ideal I admit but what else can be done.
Unless the air-con isn't operating correctly not alot can be done,how to you check the air-con system beside checking the temperature? You can carry out a recover & vacuum test...but who is going to pay for this?

 

[Puppy]

Actually Fiat are very good with warranty claims (I deal with them everyday) & personally I think alot of customers are lucky considering alot of them cant even be bothered to get a simple service once a year! Only last month a warranty claim was accepted even with no history (car was 2 years old) worth over £150 & previous to that £4000 worth of work for reason other than Fiat being generous...I would of told them to f**k off.
Try phoning Ford customer services then maybe you will realise how good Fiat are.BTW all warranty limitations & clauses all openly available,read the litreature that came with your car!

In response to this, it really depends on the people that you deal with. You had a nasty experience with Ford, nice with Fiat, in your area. FYI, I had a nasty experience with Fiat (in Aberdeen!!), but have had really nice warranty dealings with Ford, Vauxhall, Citroen and Nissan, all in Aberdeen, all without hastle. My issues are not with Fiat (Main), they are with the Fiat dealer, whom you probably have not encountered. Fiat themselves have been very helpful in dealing with my issues regarding, "Dealer Warranty", and at the risk of being defensive, FYI, I already know what is, and should be covered by the warranty and I have kept my side of the deal, i.e. servicing the car at the correct intervals, going back to the Fiat dealer to get said services done and referring any, and all issues I have regarding my car, back to said dealer. My main issue is; the fact that the paintwork does not have sufficient depth and when my issue was first raised with the dealer here in Aberdeen, I was fobbed off and told the lack of painted coverage on the bonnet and boot lips, was wear and tear. Blatant rubbish because;at that point the car only had 1060mls on the clock!!This was rectified only after contacting Fiat direct. Since then, I have had two other warranty related issues and again I was fobbed off. As you can see, I have my reasons for frustrations towards "my" Fiat dealer.

 

[Koa]

Just got my car back from it's first service. I took it to Mike Stokes Motorsports, that's where I go for all me upgrades and I trust these guys 110% so I felt like I could just get in my car and drive it away without any need to check all the bodywork over.
That's the service I expect from Fiat but it never happens so I will never be paying fiat for any work like this now that I know it can be done elsewhere.
Cost me just £88 and they fitted a new hose from the rad too, although I was not charged for that I did provide my own Oil though, which was nearly £30 so all together it was £118 and I'm well happy that my car has come out of something I was absolutely dreading, with not a single problem
Maybe my luck is changing

 

[T14086]

In response to this, it really depends on the people that you deal with. You had a nasty experience with Ford, nice with Fiat, in your area. FYI, I had a nasty experience with Fiat (in Aberdeen!!), but have had really nice warranty dealings with Ford, Vauxhall, Citroen and Nissan, all in Aberdeen, all without hastle. My issues are not with Fiat (Main), they are with the Fiat dealer, whom you probably have not encountered. Fiat themselves have been very helpful in dealing with my issues regarding, "Dealer Warranty", and at the risk of being defensive, FYI, I already know what is, and should be covered by the warranty and I have kept my side of the deal, i.e. servicing the car at the correct intervals, going back to the Fiat dealer to get said services done and referring any, and all issues I have regarding my car, back to said dealer. My main issue is; the fact that the paintwork does not have sufficient depth and when my issue was first raised with the dealer here in Aberdeen, I was fobbed off and told the lack of painted coverage on the bonnet and boot lips, was wear and tear. Blatant rubbish because;at that point the car only had 1060mls on the clock!!This was rectified only after contacting Fiat direct. Since then, I have had two other warranty related issues and again I was fobbed off. As you can see, I have my reasons for frustrations towards "my" Fiat dealer.

My experiences are based on what I have personally encounted and seen,I have worked for both Fiat & Ford for many years,so what I 'see' comes from the inside.
As far as your problems are concerened if you are not getting satisfaction at your dealer can you not go to another,assuming there is one in your area?
Can I ask what was done about the paint (or lack of it!) problem on your car?

 

[Puppy]

My experiences are based on what I have personally encounted and seen,I have worked for both Fiat & Ford for many years,so what I 'see' comes from the inside.
As far as your problems are concerened if you are not getting satisfaction at your dealer can you not go to another,assuming there is one in your area?
Can I ask what was done about the paint (or lack of it!) problem on your car?

After weeks of trips back and forth to the dealer and countless phone calls, I asked to deal with Fiat's "Zone" manager and he was very nice, very helpful. He confirmed that the paint job was not finished and that it was to be corrected. He ordered the Dealer to get the car finished and back to me. Without him, I would not have gotten anywhere. It is at this point again, where more problems with the paintwork have emerged and yet again, my dealer is unhelpful and yet again I find myself having to seek advice from the Zone manager. The problem with going to another dealer is that the car is in it's 3dr year Dealer warranty, the other Dealer is doubtful of taking on that work as he is only a small outfit and besides, he is 50miles away from Aberdeen and then the next Fiat Dealer is up in Elgin, some 100mls away.

 

[Stilo_ste]

I will never go to the main dealer for any make of car. As their extortionate prices are not value for money. Warranty work only will go to them. But everything else is done elsewhere.

The above info is simply just diabolical and should not happen. I would have thought these inactions by the stealer would make you steer well clear from Fiat in future? It would me.

 

[T14086]

You pay your money,you make your choice! Many people are happy with dealers.

 

[Argonought]

You pay your money,you make your choice! Many people are happy with dealers.

I think it very much depends on the approach you take. If you tell the dealer exactly what you want done rather than asking what needs doing then you tend to come away with a much more positive outcome

I've used this approach with various dealers (VW, Rover & Fiat) and can't say I've ever had a problem worth shouting about. My worst experiences have always been with independent or back street garages (which is not to say ALL of them).

I've had floor members crushed due to wrong jacking points being used and worst case of all was a garage that turned a high performance car of mine into a death trap and had the nerve to issue an MOT pass with it ! They were unable to even carry out a routine job, I'd actually previously done myself, and also clearly had no grasp of certain advanced features of the car.

I think you'd be hard pressed to get this level of incompetence from a main dealer

 

[T14086]

Most dealerships do 'health checks',basically a check sheet of problems or soon to be problems with your car (done free by the way) this generates work for the dealer while pointing out any work needing done to the customer.I come across on average at least 5 illegal tyres a week & a couple of brake pads needing done very soon or on the metal! Customer is under no obligation to get work done there & can freely get work done elsewhere,but if you show the customer the work required I find they are normally grateful & willing to pay.
If done over the phone I leave any renewed parts in the boot just to prove they were needing changed.
Alot of people just assume their car is fine until next service which as you know is not always the case but on the other hand I see alot of really well cared for cars that are a credit to their owner