car problems & advice from dealers-Updated situation

celticsprite

goldspanners wrote: »

if its broke then its not polluting. genius!

lol = nice to be cheered up! Thanks for that

cs x

celticsprite

jeannieblue wrote: »

These silly manual/auto gearboxes should be avoided like hell! Regardless of make. Designed to bring down emissions (yeah right) and are generally, totally unreliable..

thanks jeannieblue - wish I'd thought of checking out the gearboxes on here before I bought it, but to be honest I love my panda dearly & am not looking forward to buying a replacement.

Will see what the week brings;)

cs x

celticsprite

hi,

this is an update on my situation. The garage has said that something worked itself loose in the gearbox (ever felt that you were being patronized?? - that is as much detail as they'll give me!) & that it punctured the gearbox, so we'll need a totally new gearbox.

It has nothing to do with my driving, or use of the car. Fiat have offered to pay for the labour, but we're expected to pay for the new gearbox.

The garage keep putting me on "we're expecting it by tomorrow" etc, but have not as yet actually given me a date. Have spoken to a different supplier and they can have a gearbox for me within 48 hours, but garage have said they will not fit this, it has to come from Fiat themselves.

Upshot is, we've been without a car for almost a month, and still no sign of getting mobile anytime soon. Garage can't give me a courtesy car, as they have none available till the end of February (strangely had none available "till end of January" last month )

We're getting fed up now. Any advice?

thanks in advance,

celticsprite

liam8282

"The garage has said that something worked itself loose in the gearbox"

I had a similar problem with my car, what actually happened was one of the teeth on the cogs inside the gearbox broke off, with the speed that the cogs are spinning when this happens it is like a bullet and fires through your gearbox.

It is just wear and tear, so it is just unlucky if it happens to you!

I got a reconditioned gearbox and had it fitted for less than £400. (leeds)

celticsprite

liam8282 wrote: »

"The garage has said that something worked itself loose in the gearbox"

I had a similar problem with my car, what actually happened was one of the teeth on the cogs inside the gearbox broke off, with the speed that the cogs are spinning when this happens it is like a bullet and fires through your gearbox.

It is just wear and tear, so it is just unlucky if it happens to you!

I got a reconditioned gearbox and had it fitted for less than £400. (leeds)

Hi Liam,

The place I looked at could give me a re-con one, which was a helluva lot cheaper than the one we're waiting to come from Fiat. Strangely the re-con one has a 2 yr guarantee, but the official one has only 1 yr:(

The customer service at the local dealership is rubbish to be honest. I now try and take her to the one 30 miles away - she just can't get there at the moment

cs

liam8282

I would just go for the re-con if I were you, especially if you can get it quicker, cheaper and have a longer guarantee.

Anihilator

liam8282 wrote: »

I would just go for the re-con if I were you, especially if you can get it quicker, cheaper and have a longer guarantee.

Yes but it wont be fitted for free.

OP its frustrating but the offer you have is very good and hold off. If it goes wrong again you will be a lot more protected.

liam8282

^ It won't be fitted for free, but the cost of a re-conditioned gearbox and fitting from a non dealer garage, will cost a lot less than the cost of a brand new gearbox alone from a dealer.

It's not really a good offer that the OP has had, considering the price is extremely high, it is taking such a long time, and the guarantee is a year less?!

As I said, it cost me less than £400 for a recon gearbox for a mk4 golf, fitted, about 1 year ago.

Obviously prices will vary for different cars, different areas, but the OP has already said they have been quoted a lot less.

celticsprite

hi guys,

I have decided to wait for the part to arrive in the dealers. Would rather go elsewhere, but they have kept me hanging on for so long.

However, Fiat assure me that the gearbox will be with the dealer by wednesday (although it's been nearly a month!:eek:) & I've been told it will be fitted on the same day.

Obviously if this isn't correct, I'll go elsewhere - I think they just wear you down with the stress of dealing with them.

Thanks for all the advice though not happy with the situation - but I've got a lot more knowledge now than I had before. As for the dealer, I'm just peeved that they couldn't/wouldn't give me a courtesy car, especially as they have the same model on the forecourt.

I've always got the details of the other company if this goes south again. Will also check with Fiat tomorrow that it's on it's way - I've been given so much B/S by them I don't know if I believe them anymore.

Used Fiat anybody???

thanks for all the help,

cs x