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Is this poor Fiat Engineering - or just bad luck?
My wife bought a Fiat Panda Cross in Dec 2014 on a PCP. By Aug 2015, the rear differential was leaking oil and needed replacing. Over the period of the three year warranty several other issues came up including the replacement of two ECUs and the reconditioning of the turbo. Now seven months after the warranty has expired and four months before the PCP is paid off, the gearbox has started to grind and shakes. The dealership now thinks the car is worth less than I have left to pay on it and tells me that I will need to pay to have the gearbox investigate or replaced if I want to hand the car back. The car has done less than 58,000 miles. Should I expect a Fiat gearbox to last for longer?
Asked on 27 July 2018 by Tim Hebberd
Answered by
Honest John
Tell the dealer and the finance house that you would prefer to settle the matter in the Small Claims track of the County Court. Basically they have sold you a car that has not even lasted the four year repayment period so cannot be considered "of satisfactory quality" under the Sale of Goods Acts. See: www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/ Rear diff failure is common on Panda 4x4s. But please tell me if this is a TwinAir or a Multijet diesel.
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