A year ago I was delighted to buy a 2010 Fiat Panda automatic. I bought it from an independent garage, but three months ago (when the car was four years and two months old and had completed about 11,000 miles) it broke down.

A faulty accelerator potentiometer was diagnosed and replaced for £316. One month later, the same fault occurred when I was again far from home. This time the AA patrolman re-set something and all seemed to be well again. One week later the same fault occurred yet again. This time I was on the M25! Once more the AA relayed me home and the car has been there ever since. The dealer has been unable to diagnose and therefore sent for a senior technician to visit from main importers. He diagnosed corrosion of the under dashboard wiring loom so this is on order and will cost £1100 to supply and fit.

I contacted Fiat customer relations to ask for a goodwill contribution on the grounds that a four year old car of exceptionally low mileage should fail in something for which the user could not possibly have contributed any cause. Fiat has refused to help at all. They say that the car is over 4 year old -(yes, by two months!); That the car has not got a full service history and finally that I had purchased the car from an independent dealer.

I feel that I have been shabbily treated by Fiat. My local agent have been sympathetic and helpful, supplying me with a good new courtesy car but they can do no more I have been without my own car for almost a month and also stand to be £1,400 out of pocket too. In your opinion is there any further action that I can take?