The last time I saw my Seicento was yesterday at 3:30, pulling away on the back of a low loader.
I figured it would be atleast a week before I saw it again, it wasnt like it was booked in with the dealer when I rang up to ask for help with the leaking fuel tank.
To my suprise and I have to say utter delight, it just appeared on my driveway just 25 hours after it left! The fact that the guy who delivered it on the lowloader didnt ring doorbell and put keys thro letterbox is a minor annoyance as my dad thought he was seeing things when he went out the door and there it was! I didnt believe him when he called me down either! So funny at the time.
They have replaced the fuel tank and refilled the tank with fuel so hopefully all is good now with 'Mario'.
I rang them up on discovering the car there just to check it wasnt a mistake!
Turns out someone forgot to ring me to let me know and he couldnt understand why the delivery driver hadnt rung doorbell, but its back and thats the main thing.
I think that was a very impressive turnaround, esp when you consider it didnt arrive at their place until the end of the working day yesterday and its a 25 mile journey between my house and dealer.
All in all, Lutterworth Ford have got my vote and they certainly put my local Ford dealer in the shade.
Ford dealers can be very hit and miss - they are certainly a hit as far as Im concerned.
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Ford dealers can be very hit and miss - they are certainly a hit as far as Im concerned.
the technician will have been happy to work on something different and easy so it will have got priority over mundane blue badge things
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Am I the only person that likes to read a positive story on this board without other people trying to find something negative to add to it. Not specifically you OM 'cos I always value your posts, but there are other people here who seem to have a goal of looking for fault or blame where it doesn't exist. It's getting boring now. Please stop.
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if i can answer your question David if i get anything thats different from a normal bread and butter car in i always go on a beeline to it to see how its made, how it ticks and where all the bits are.
i was being deadly serious about the ford technician
i know what you mean about blame etc though, but i have this vision they are all secondary skool teachers that wear shorts a bit like the hippopotamus in sunshine desserts
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"Am I the only person that likes to read a positive story on this board without other people trying to find something negative to add to it."
I'm almost afraid to comment!
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How did this discussion become such a downer.
I'm almost afraid to comment!
-For example
All Bellboy noted was that the service may not be as good if you had a ford, as opposed to some other make of car.
What intrests me (without any knowledge of how car dealers work) is how a Ford garage could source parts and repair a fiat so quickly. Maybe next time I should buy a volvo from a vauxhall garage to get good customer service?
Hope all problems are now sorted with the fiat and you enjoy owning it.
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Torque means nothing without RPM
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I shouldnt think that make of car has much to do with it. I think its to do with the general attitude of this particular dealer which is smaller than your average Ford supersite with a handful of staff instead of 50+.
Even when I was in the buying process, I was impressed with their attitude to presentation and preparation such as the use of genuine Fiat parts and service schedule - he said they could as easily use the cheapest method, but he said its better value all round to use genuine parts and they know aswell as the customer that the car has been prepared aswell as possible. The valet the car had was superb aswell, incredibly through and as a valeter myself, Im extremely picky.
I think they must have jumped on this job first thing this morning and the local Fiat dealer must have had the tank on the shelf, so it wouldnt have taken that long to get it delivered or collected. Its certainly possible to get the car turned round in a morning from assessing the car, ordering the parts and fitting them, but it still demonstrates a tight ship that likes to sort problems rather than sit on them.
Just what you want when your car does go wrong.
So far Im enjoying it very much, far better than I had expected and hoping to get some good economy returns on my monthly trips to Lincoln ( where it was first registered funny enough ).
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I wish my dealer was like that. My Seicento went in about half a year ago for the fuel tank, and I'm still trying to get it fixed. It was done as part of a recal, so the replacement didn't cost me anything, but it's still leaking. Here is a list of what's happened, and the costs:
When they replaced the tank they broke a valve (they claim it was blocked, which is doubtful) - £35 + an extra day
They then said the fuel filter was leaking, which was only a few months old - £20 + DIY
Then it was a connector, which would be over £100 (whole filler part), but I sawed it off DIY'ed it - £10
They found a pipe that had 'popped' out - day off work
The leak is better, but it's still not fixed, and I can't open the windows when driving. The dealer's attitude has been good, but it appears that their mechanics are incompetant. It's just taking up too much of my time now and I just want it fixed. If I go back will they even be able to fix it? What should I do, just keep going back?
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Well I should point out that this is a secondhand car that was purchased under the Ford used car scheme and I only deal with the supplying dealer who as Ive said, are a small, personal touch kinda place - why it has taken so long fo ryours to be fixed is weird - changing a tank isnt an especially difficult job.
Id take it to a good garage and pay the money to be it sorted. If a Ford garage can change a tank in a few hours, id expect its pretty easy as mine certainly doesnt leak!
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You've had the car 5 minutes, from a main dealer and it needs a new tank!?!
that's pretty shocking.
Personally i'd put said dealer into your friends and family list.
Still a siecento, you were warned.
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It already needed a new tank when I bought it but it remained undetected due to the low level of fuel in the car when I bought it - the leak was along the seam which is half way up, so this is why it passed its MOT and the dealer didnt spot it - just one of those things and a well known issue with the Seicento - it didnt cost me anything.
Not really shocking given the wealth of info out there on these cars - since the fuel tank is one of the main problems, its one less thing to worry about as far as im concerned.
Only shocking thing if anything is that it proves that the MOT is far from perfect as a safety check - the exhaust ran underneath part of the tank where it was leaking, so a hot exhaust plus the fuel could have been dangerous to say the least.
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>>just one of those things and a well known issue with the Seicento>>
Somewhat worrying...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Looks like good service from the dealer, as you say there has been a recall on the tank ( long standing)
You can now look forward to owning a galvanised car that will not suffer from rust like some of its popular peers.
regards
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>>there has been a recall on the tank ( long standing)>>
Surprisingly that the previous owner(s) didn't have it done.
Unless it was done more than once.......
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Fiat did try to contact everyone, but cars get sold on, people move house and the car never see the Fiat dealer again.
What I particularly like about these cars is the outstanding corrosion protection of full body shell galvanising, a new fuel tank on it now too.
IMHO. (without naming that popular small car that we all know that rusts) even some of those models now leaving the factory will have severe corrosion long before this 10 year old Seicento..........
Parts are readily available from breakers and the galvanised shell makes keeping it another 10 years a viable option, if so desired.
Regards
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>>there has been a recall on the tank ( long standing)>> Surprisingly that the previous owner(s) didn't have it done. Unless it was done more than once.......
I think it perhaps got missed as the previous owner ( who owned it from new ) moved around the time of the recall although since that recall, the car has been serviec by a Fiat dealer who youw ould have hoped would check for recalls having been done, but then, it is a Fiat dealer and my local one is not one of the best.
It was only rusty around certain parts of the seam, mainly where the mountings are and on the new tank, they have painted on some coating after it was mounted, specifically around the mountings, suggesting that this is to protect it from rust again?
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