Warranty repair.

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Warranty repair.

johncard007

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An idea I had that I'm so glad I did.

My Panda Cross is coming up to three years old in three weeks so I booked it in for it's last service under warranty to ensure if there were any problems I could get them sorted before its first MOT.

I'm SO glad I did! yesterday the dealer (Stoneacre Stafford) informed me that during its service they noticed that the Lower suspension arm bushes were deteriorating (sealed into the arms) and the prop shaft intermediate bearing seal is deteriorating (integral part of the shaft so the shaft has to be replaced as a whole) and was quoted £200 each for the lower arms and £600 for the prop shaft, £1000 in total. Fiat have agreed to replace the parts under warranty (as they should). I dread to think what the outcome might've been if I had not booked it in within the three year warranty period, I'm pretty sure if I had left my wife to book it in for a service she would've procrastinated until a week or two out of the warranty period. To be honest I was a bit worried as previously I owned an Alfa Romeo Mito 1.4 Veloce which I bought privately just over three years old, three months after buying it the Multi air unit went tits up in the water, as it had a full service history I contacted Alfa Romeo/Fiat about getting it repaired as a matter of good faith, they had no interest at all and quoting me over £1000 for the repair, I ended up going to an excellent Fiat Alfa specialist.
 
Other manufactures (both VW and Mini do) get you in just before your warranty runs out to do a pre-first MOT inspection, specifically to look for problems that can be repaired/replaced under warranty and also to make sure your car doesn't fail its first MOT

For a long while the model was to sell a car on a 3 year deal and then get the car back/traded in before its first MOT was due. Sell the customer a new car and then the dealer would do the work to get the car MOT'd and ready for the next owner, However...

A few years back it became more common for people to stretch to 4 or even 5 year new car finance deals meaning that the MOT would be needed while the customer still owned the car.

The result of this was a lot of <3 year old cars failing there first MOT which had the knock on effect of making manufacturers look bad. Even though in many cases the main cause of these failures where things like Tyres and Wiper blades. So a lot of dealers now offer to inspect the car to make sure it passes its first MOT and they put any repair work through (obviously not tyres and wiper blades, unless its covered on a lease deal) as warranty work.

Fiat missed the memo on this one and continue to have a high rate of first MOT failures on their cars... you just had the common sense that fiat doesn't.

Also fiat dealers are almost impossible to get to do any warranty work in the 3rd year as the dealership takes on the costs.
 
Also fiat dealers are almost impossible to get to do any warranty work in the 3rd year as the dealership takes on the costs.

I'm not that sure i agree with you on this:

1) I've hade Fiat 3rd year warranty repairs with no issues

2) The so called Fiat 3rd dealer warranty is still fully paid for and backed by Fiat under their franchise agreement (I'm led to believe).

I think the way Fiat warranty systems works is:

Years 1 and 2 the dealer has total discretion for authorising repairs up to a certain *large* value. For expensive repairs they get authorisation from Fiat

Year 3 some items drops off the warranty coverage (e.g. battery ?). The dealers price threshold decision I think is reduced and more claims have to be approved by Fiat. Beyond this all parts and labour of Fiat approved repairs are refunded to the dealer.

In the 3rd year Fiat may say, for example, repair a drive shaft sub component as opposed to fitting a whole new driver shaft.

If I remember I'll ask my friend (ex. main dealer service/warranty manager) how the system works. All I can say is that I've never had to delve into the nitty / gritty of the Fiat warranty systems as I've NEVER had a cause to.

Fiat even approved a paint job well after 3 years where there was no "perforation" which is an 8 year cover.
 
Some of this could also depend on your relationship with the Garage in question

Get servicing and other work performed there.. you have some goodwill

Bought it elsewhere and service it elsewhere.. they dont see any financial benefit.

Yes I guess there is "this factor" to be bounced into the equation.

If this is the case? then the warranty roadmap might be:

o Buy new / second hand from dealer and have no real worries

o Go to a dealer which you have no history with and see how you fare?

Without detailed knowledge of how the dealers and Fiat work in year 3, and their business models, then it could be that a person rolling into a Fiat dealer they did not purchase from in year 3, where the dealer is already full of work, might get turned away. In reality FIAT should never ever let this happen for their brand reputation and if it happened to me I would be straight on to Fiat Customer Services shouting loud and clear.
 
I was always under the impression that the 3rd year of warranty the dealership bore the cost of warranty work but in my case they sought authorisation to carry out the repairs on my car with Fiat who agreed and is going in for the work in a couple of days.
 
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