General No Car, No Diagnostic, What to Expect……??

[crow99]

I took my car into Fiat today as it's been going into Limp Mode and showing ESP Failure as it enters it.

Arranged it direct with Fiat and was told it would cost approx £88 for a 30-45 minute diagnostic.

Took it in today and talked the DET/DT (That's what it sounded like) through the fault and was told it's going to take up to 2 1/2 hours to work out the problem and that it would cost me upto £260 for that.

Called this afternoon and it seems a engineer may have looked at it (at first they said noone had and then that someone had but couldnt work out what was wrong ) but they need the DET/DT to check it out which won't happen until Saturday or Monday.

Anyone have any idea what I should expect next? Could it be loads of things wrong or is there a common fault? But miffed as the inital cost seems like it could be a lot and never had anything go wrong with a car before (last one was a company Punto)!

 

[doctorchris]

What a cheek to even consider charging you £260 just to diagnose a fault!
On top of that, they don't even know when they will get round to doing the job!
You should complain at the top of your voice in service reception. Make sure plenty of other customers are around.
If you don't have the nerve for that, which I would understand, phone around a few other Fiat dealers and independents for a more sensible approach.
Fiat dealers are taking the Mickey over servicing and repairs at the moment. Basic annual servicing on Pandas seems to cost around £200 which is BMW and Audi territory.

 

[crow99]

Well I've left it there at the moment so I guess I will need to let them look it and see what they say and then pay the bill

I'm a bit miffed by the whole thing at the moment, maybe I'll get a call on Monday to say they have diagnosed the fault and repaired the issue without a need for parts and bill me for less than the £260.

I really don't know what to expect??? Wishing I would have stumped up the cash and gone for a new car already!

 

[HP]

..... Basic annual servicing on Pandas seems to cost around £200 which is BMW and Audi territory.

£120 for my first year, £180 for the second.

It seems a bit expensive to diagnose a fault, some places offer you the diagnostic price back (or a part of it) if you allow them to fix it.

 

[NumanR]

I wonder why its a cheek to charge that price? A garage sells the technicians time and testing takes time, it depends how deep the diagnosis goes and to what extent it is effected by other systems etc. If I went to a Bupa hospital thet dont say ok give us £100 and we will diagnose whats wrong with you, they say ok lets do this test, cost x pounds, then we will do this test, cost x pounds etc etc. Exactly the same principle applies.

 

[stephenbeetleman]

Whats cheeky is quoting £260 for pressing a few buttons on their 'computer'. Loads of people diagnose their own faults now with OBD fault finders and then just pay to get parts replaced as necessary. No dealer should think they have the monopoly to charge that amount just to diagnose a fault these days given that other independents can do it sooo much cheaper. Sure staff members need paid for their expertise and time but there isnt any need to be extortionate.

 

[D4nny8oy]

Whats cheeky is quoting £260 for pressing a few buttons on their 'computer'.

If it were that simple, then I'd have expected the fault to have been diagnosed within the initial check.

The time soon racks-up when it's not a simple/common fault and starts to involve wiring checks/component removal/testing/etc. If the Tech gets lucky they'll start at the right-end of the list of possible causes and the costs will be considerably less and everyone is happy, but it's good practice to quote the 'worst case scenario' rather than repeatedly phoning the customer and requesting authorisation for further diagnostic time (and money).

 

[T14086]

Whats cheeky is quoting £260 for pressing a few buttons on their 'computer'.

 

[crow99]

Thanks for the replies guys - I think Dannyboy is right and the aim is to not keeping calling and actually determine the fault.

My question is how long do these thing tend to take to diagnose? What happens if I pay for a new part but it continues to happen? Does anyone have exerience of this fault and how much it may cost and how long I will have no car for?

I know a lot of it is speculative but thought someone might have had this happens before

 

[candlestickchimney]

The auto electrician, who had the latest version of the Snapon diagnostic equipment (£4k of touchscreen technology according to him!?), charged me £45 for a ECU check, and he even came to my work. On the other hand, I remember taking my old Cavalier to Vauxhall a few years ago, for them to do exactly the same, and they charged me £85 plus vat, and didn't come up with anything!

 

[crow99]

OK. So recieved a call from the dealers and have been told the following;
The fault is with the Throttle Body and I have two options:

Option 1:
They will clean the Throttle body and this may fix the fault - £264.70

Option 2:
New throttle body installed - £609.70

Obviously the new throttle body seem the more reliable solution although seems pricey based on what someone else posted here

Need to get back to them today - so any thoughts please??????

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

How old is the car. What mileage?

 

[crow99]

How old is the car. What mileage?

Its a 05 Panda with 40K on the clock

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

I'd seek legal advise as even though car is out of warrentiee (sp?) its not fit for purpose and thus Fiat should be fixing it for free.

Try Citezens (sp?) advise, or other such places

 

[Visorfett]

If it were that simple, then I'd have expected the fault to have been diagnosed within the initial check.

The time soon racks-up when it's not a simple/common fault and starts to involve wiring checks/component removal/testing/etc. If the Tech gets lucky they'll start at the right-end of the list of possible causes and the costs will be considerably less and everyone is happy, but it's good practice to quote the 'worst case scenario' rather than repeatedly phoning the customer and requesting authorisation for further diagnostic time (and money).

I agree, I work in a dealership (admittedly Truck dealership- but the same principles apply.) We have an official Renault Trucks Diagnostic machine which is an absolute fortune and we recently bought an "all makes" diagnostic machine which was £18k. These need to make their money back eventually, and thats not including technicians time and all the overheads of garages etc. We charge £60 to "simply plug the computer in" But its a lot more complex than that. The computers run tests and go through a system of checks at various operating temps, engine speeds, throttle pos etc etc. and then once the area of fault is identified, you have to identify the fault exactly which requires a technician actually trying various other tests.
On the other hand, our All makes diagnotic machine, isnt anywhere near as accurate or good as a genuine one. Producing fault codes is one thing finding the fault is another.

Just my two pence worth.

 

[Visorfett]

I'd seek legal advise as even though car is out of warrentiee (sp?) its not fit for purpose and thus Fiat should be fixing it for free.

Try Citezens (sp?) advise, or other such places

Its probably out of warranty by over a year? why would Fiat want or have to pay anything?
Ive got a 15 year old Mercedes, with a faulty switch, should that be paid for by Mercedes? Where do you draw the line? I think its when the Warranty runs out. or exceptional cases of time and mileage.
:devil:

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Consumer goods act draws the line a 6 years and reasonable domestic mileage

 

[Visorfett]

Consumer goods act draws the line a 6 years and reasonable domestic mileage

doh!

but I will remember that!

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

doh!

but I will remember that!

It does come in handy

 

[T14086]

Consumer goods act draws the line a 6 years and reasonable domestic mileage

so your infact wanting a 6 year warranty on your car?