A little over a year ago I took my then 4 year old Panda MJ to a certain main FIAT dealer in the east of Manchester for its service and MOT. Outside of the warranty period I usually avoid main dealers as there's no warranty to consider, but on this occasion they sent me several letters telling me how they could do the job for less because I'd been there before.
On enquiring they told me it needed a side repeater bulb, not because it had failed but because it had lost its "orangeness". It also needed a new wiper blade. I agreed to them doing the jobs and went to collect it. On arrival they informed me that it had an oil leak and it needed a couple of front suspension bushes. I'd half expected the bushes as it had been making some noise from that area but the oil leak was a surprise. As the car hadn't really used any oil I decided to "suck it and see". The estimate for the bushes was around £100 and it needed a new oil pump which would set me back a little over the 200 quid mark.
A few weeks later I bought what it really needed, namely a couple of anti roll bar drop links from BMS motor factors which were about £18 each and my local independant garage fitted them for £20 a total of £38. I wasn't too worried about the £62 difference given the one man band across the road and the main dealer.
But, in January I started to notice a few drops of oil where the car had been parked. In March we started to look for a replacement car for Mrs. Beard and looking for an Alfa 156 we ended up at Heath Road Garage in Sandbach as it had been recommended by the Alfa Owners site. We bought the Alfa.
While there I asked the owner Alfie if he could look at my oil leadk and he cleaned away the excess oil and after a few minutes he decided that the leak was coming from the oil filter which he thought hadn't been fitted properly.
Yesterday I took it in for its service and it was done in the predicted 2 hours and as had been thought the oil leak was caused by the oil filter seal/gasket being pinched when it was fitted.
So, here's the question: Was the oil filter incorrectly fitted and the mechanic too embarassed to own up to his mistake, or was this a failed attempt to get me to cough up for a reply I didn't need to pay for; in other words, attempted fraud?
I have been told that this FIAT main dealer has been fined by the local Trading Standards department in the past. If this is the most successful FIAT can be at improving its dealer network, then I'm afraid they're screwed.
On enquiring they told me it needed a side repeater bulb, not because it had failed but because it had lost its "orangeness". It also needed a new wiper blade. I agreed to them doing the jobs and went to collect it. On arrival they informed me that it had an oil leak and it needed a couple of front suspension bushes. I'd half expected the bushes as it had been making some noise from that area but the oil leak was a surprise. As the car hadn't really used any oil I decided to "suck it and see". The estimate for the bushes was around £100 and it needed a new oil pump which would set me back a little over the 200 quid mark.
A few weeks later I bought what it really needed, namely a couple of anti roll bar drop links from BMS motor factors which were about £18 each and my local independant garage fitted them for £20 a total of £38. I wasn't too worried about the £62 difference given the one man band across the road and the main dealer.
But, in January I started to notice a few drops of oil where the car had been parked. In March we started to look for a replacement car for Mrs. Beard and looking for an Alfa 156 we ended up at Heath Road Garage in Sandbach as it had been recommended by the Alfa Owners site. We bought the Alfa.
While there I asked the owner Alfie if he could look at my oil leadk and he cleaned away the excess oil and after a few minutes he decided that the leak was coming from the oil filter which he thought hadn't been fitted properly.
Yesterday I took it in for its service and it was done in the predicted 2 hours and as had been thought the oil leak was caused by the oil filter seal/gasket being pinched when it was fitted.
So, here's the question: Was the oil filter incorrectly fitted and the mechanic too embarassed to own up to his mistake, or was this a failed attempt to get me to cough up for a reply I didn't need to pay for; in other words, attempted fraud?
I have been told that this FIAT main dealer has been fined by the local Trading Standards department in the past. If this is the most successful FIAT can be at improving its dealer network, then I'm afraid they're screwed.
