Faulty Fiat Punto 61 plate recently out of warrenty - advice needed!

Lunaris2015 · 3 September 2015 at 1:15PM

Hi All. I am really in need of some advice here...

So I bought a Fiat Punto in April 2013, the car is a 61 plate model. I recently discovered that my gearbox has gone, so I have taken it to my local Fiat dealer to have a look at the issue and to see how much it will cost to fix. I've had a quick google, and suffice to say I am bricking it - this could cost me around £1,000, depending on what other damage has been done.

I'm really not happy. I have only done 36,000 miles on the car, and have kept up to date with servicing, MOTs, I drive carefully etc, so I am incredibly shocked that the gearbox would go on a car that's not even old! This makes me wonder whether the car was fit for purpose when I originally bought it, although it will be hard to prove that.

I just wanted to find out if anyone else has had a similar issue, and whether Fiat have any legal right to fix the problem? I know I am out of warranty. Fiat have said that depending on my case, they might put some money towards getting it fixed, although it wont be very much.

Any thoughts / advice on this would be incredibly helpful.

Thanks

movilogo · 3 September 2015 at 1:19PM

If you have full Fiat service history, then they should provide some goodwill gesture by contributing towards the cost of repair. However, they are not obliged to do so as it is outside warranty period.

In general, French and Italian cars are not very reliable.

PS: I thought Fiat offers 5 yr warranty, so 2011 model should have warranty until 2016.

Lunaris2015 · 3 September 2015 at 3:16PM

Thanks for the reply - very useful! I do have a full service & MOT history with Fiat. Unfortunately, the warranty is definitely not 5 years. I bought the car second hand - the warranty ended last year

which is pants, considering I'm still paying for the car on finance each month.

What would deem to be a reasonable goodwill gesture? I think they said that they could offer around 40%, although they cant say until they have had a look at the problem.

Also, I'm guessing that they might not need to replace the entire gearbox? Perhaps naively I assumed that there could be various things wrong with the box, and the garage may not necessarily need to replace the entire box.

dannyrst · 3 September 2015 at 3:32PM

Being honest, you've bought a second hand car and been unlucky. You could buy 100 more second hand cars and have no issue at all. It's all a lottery and part of buying/owning a car. I don't think Fiat will offer to put anything to it and you certainly shouldn't start shouting if they don't.

Lunaris2015 · 3 September 2015 at 3:50PM

Thanks for the reply. Yeah its bad luck on my part - this is the first major issue I have had with a second hand car. I guess my issue is that I did all the ‘right things’ that they tell you to do when you buy the car to keep it running smoothly - including regular services, MOTs, winter checks etc – and a major issue still happens. I’ll have to wait and see what they say – anything that they might contribute is better than nothing I guess!

AdrianC · 3 September 2015 at 4:46PM

Lunaris2015 wrote: »

I bought the car second hand - the warranty ended last year which is pants, considering I'm still paying for the car on finance each month.

TBF, you knew that the finance would last longer than the balance of the warranty when you bought the car, right?

What would deem to be a reasonable goodwill gesture? I think they said that they could offer around 40%, although they cant say until they have had a look at the problem.

That sounds like a fairly good offer to me.

Also, I'm guessing that they might not need to replace the entire gearbox? Perhaps naively I assumed that there could be various things wrong with the box, and the garage may not necessarily need to replace the entire box.

Whilst they might well not need to replace the entire 'box, it will probably be cheaper to do so, and will almost certainly be a better long-term solution.

Your other option is to get the gearbox removed and rebuilt by a non-Fiat franchised transmission specialist, or get a used box fitted. Whilst either of these would wave goodbye to any goodwill contribution from Fiat, they may still work out cheaper.

forgotmyname · 3 September 2015 at 4:56PM

Lunaris2015 wrote: »

. I’ll have to wait and see what they say – anything that they might contribute is better than nothing I guess!

Maybe not, their prices will be way above getting a reconditioned box from a reputable company so even if they offer 50% you may still be able to get the job done cheaper.

Tilt · 3 September 2015 at 7:17PM

If the car is on HP then it legally belongs to the finance company so it follows they should be equally responsible for a major malfunction outside of wear and tear.

Just to add that I have owned 15 Fiats since 1978 and the majority have been trouble free. Only can recall issues with two of them, both were rectified under warranty. If you bought the car from a Fiat approved dealership with up to date service history, Fiat will (from my experience) contribute even if the car is outside of the warranty.

facade · 3 September 2015 at 8:25PM

Has the Fiat dealer actually diagnosed the fault, and given you an estimate?

"Gearbox is gone" could mean anything. (I assume not the obvious though - "gone" as in missing

)

If it won't go into some of the gears, it could be as simple as a bolt holding a selector cable come out, or even a small plastic bush in the lever mechanism broken.

Lunaris2015 · 4 September 2015 at 12:47PM

facade wrote: »

Has the Fiat dealer actually diagnosed the fault, and given you an estimate?

"Gearbox is gone" could mean anything. (I assume not the obvious though - "gone" as in missing )

If it won't go into some of the gears, it could be as simple as a bolt holding a selector cable come out, or even a small plastic bush in the lever mechanism broken.

Just spoken to Fiat. They have said that I need a new gearbox

they offered me 50% off of parts and labour, which sounded like a fair deal until I found out that the total cost of the work was £2,000 +VAT!!

Have written to head office to see if anything else can be done. I have been to my local transmission specialist who said that the cost of the work would be around £900 including VAT, so if I am going to pay that much I might as well get it done properly. I don't know how much these things usually cost! :eek:

Lunaris2015 · 4 September 2015 at 12:49PM

Tilt wrote: »

If the car is on HP then it legally belongs to the finance company so it follows they should be equally responsible for a major malfunction outside of wear and tear.

Just to add that I have owned 15 Fiats since 1978 and the majority have been trouble free. Only can recall issues with two of them, both were rectified under warranty. If you bought the car from a Fiat approved dealership with up to date service history, Fiat will (from my experience) contribute even if the car is outside of the warranty.

Thanks - I hadn't thought of this. It is on HP and I still have finance left on the car to pay. I shall give them a call next!

Faulty Fiat Punto 61 plate recently out of warrenty - advice needed!

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