Fiat Extended Warranty

[Minxy]

Sorry just read this, can anyone tell me if this would relate to a new Swift Ducato based van, I quite like the idea of an extended warranty, is this done from brand new and is it the motorhome dealer you go to or a Fiat garage? Thanks

Yes it will relate to a Swift with a Fiat Ducato base, you MUST extend the warranty within 15 days of it being registered NOT purchased, so if your dealer registers it at the beginning of the month and you don't pick it up until the 3rd week, you're stuffed.

It appears that some dealers will do it, others won't, some Fiat garages will, others won't, best to do your homework BEFORE it is registered so you know exactly who to contact to get it done by the deadline.

 

[596]

Yes it will relate to a Swift with a Fiat Ducato base, you MUST extend the warranty within 15 days of it being registered NOT purchased, so if your dealer registers it at the beginning of the month and you don't pick it up until the 3rd week, you're stuffed.

It appears that some dealers will do it, others won't, some Fiat garages will, others won't, best to do your homework BEFORE it is registered so you know exactly who to contact to get it done by the deadline.

Thanks just sent an email to dealer

 

[carolyn]

It is very confusing. When we bought our brand new IH 4 and 1/2 years ago we were told it had a 2 yr Fiat Professional warranty. When we had a couple of warranty issues dealt with at two different Fiat Professional Dealers , one at Frome plus Adam Morey in Southampton they were most adamant that we had 3 years! Online it said we had 3 , we even phoned Fiat and they said we did but must have paid extra! Apparently quite a lot of UK converted PVCs have or had 3 years but not coachbuilts but not all.

We are picking up another brand new IH630RD on the 10th october and have been told it’s 2 years but I don’t think we’ll believe what we’ve got until we have it and get and enter the VIN number!

 

[596]

It is very confusing. When we bought our brand new IH 4 and 1/2 years ago we were told it had a 2 yr Fiat Professional warranty. When we had a couple of warranty issues dealt with at two different Fiat Professional Dealers , one at Frome plus Adam Morey in Southampton they were most adamant that we had 3 years! Online it said we had 3 , we even phoned Fiat and they said we did but must have paid extra! Apparently quite a lot of UK converted PVCs have or had 3 years but not coachbuilts but not all.

We are picking up another brand new IH630RD on the 10th october and have been told it’s 2 years but I don’t think we’ll believe what we’ve got until we have it and get and enter the VIN number!

Thanks very useful indeed, I will be checking mine

 

[Gellyneck]

I could be wrong but I think UK converted \ built Fiat motorhomes used to have 3 years Fiat mechanical warranty whereas European only have 2 years but that changed in last year or two to 2 years for all.

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[carolyn]

I could be wrong but I think UK converted \ built Fiat motorhomes used to have 3 years Fiat mechanical warranty whereas European only have 2 years but that changed in last year or two to 2 years for all.

We think you could be right but we are hoping you are wrong! We will let you know as we are getting the dealer to register our van from the 1st october in the hope that the V5 will arrive before the 20th otherwise nice Byron at the DVLA says I have to phone up on wednesday 16th october and ask them to email me aTemporary Export Certificate to take with us on the ferry. Obviously if we were sensible we would go to Spain in the old van and collect the new van in December on our return , how dare IH get it ready on time !

 

[Pausim]

Perhaps the difference is that a UK bought van gets the 3 year UK warranty and this carries on despite the conversion. An A Class or Coach Built is on a commercially sourced motorhome chassis and gets the 2 year (+3) Italy based Camper guarantee. It might be worth checking whether the 3 year UK van warranty has all the benefits of the continental camper one.

 

[Deneb]

Perhaps the difference is that a UK bought van gets the 3 year UK warranty and this carries on despite the conversion. An A Class or Coach Built is on a commercially sourced motorhome chassis and gets the 2 year (+3) Italy based Camper guarantee. It might be worth checking whether the 3 year UK van warranty has all the benefits of the continental camper one.

Not just a UK bought van. It has to be ordered from, imported and delivered by a UK Fiat Professional network dealer. The third year warranty is effectively a Fiat UK promotion for vehicles sold through their dealer network and is nothing to do with the manufacturer in Italy.

PVC converters who buy their vans from UK Fiat network dealers will have the third year warranty attached to their vehicles (assuming it is still being offered by Fiat UK on new vans, I haven't checked). UK MH converters building on MH chassis or cab only conversions won't because those vehicles have to be ordered direct from Fiat Italy through the conversion scheme and don't go anywhere near a UK Fiat Pro dealer, although the UK dealers are of course obligated by their commercial agreement to deal with warranty claims for the 2 year period of the manufacturer's warranty.

The extended warranty is a separate scheme and is basically an insurance backed warranty. It used to only be available through Fiat network dealers, but a couple of years ago Fiat introduced a system where MH and other converters who are registered to access their technical portal can buy and resell the extended warranties to their end customers.

 

[Deneb]

Interesting that the last year works out a lot dearer than the previous 2 years' extension, in 'theory' it should be £769 but is actually nearly £100 more at £866:

1 year: £253
2 years: £516
3 years: £769 but the cost is actually £866

So is it worth extending it for the full 3 years, or just 2?????

Do they know something we don't!

It is effectively an insurance backed warranty provided by Fiat. Obviously their intention is to make money from it, not act as as source of goodwill to their customers, so it is priced according to their claims experience and likely cost to them across all insured vehicles the same as motor insurance premiums.

 

[Minxy]

Some dealers will do it, others won't, some Fiat garages will, others won't, best to do your homework BEFORE it is registered so you know exactly who to contact to get it done by the deadline.

It is effectively an insurance backed warranty provided by Fiat. Obviously their intention is to make money from it, not act as as source of goodwill to their customers, so it is priced according to their claims experience and likely cost to them across all insured vehicles the same as motor insurance premiums.

So ... are there any other warranty insurances out there as an alternative to the Fiat one that gives as good a cover????

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[carolyn]

Nick has just phoned Fiat in Italy about the warranty on our brand new IH630RD as we were confused. IH and Northern commercial thought it was 2 years. We have registered it as of yesterday even though we are not collecting it until the 10th in the hope that the V5 arrives in time for our trip to Spain on the 20th. The first thing the nice Italian lady said was that everyone is confused! However for all UK registered vans it is 3 years. Nick did not clarify if this was just PVCs but it only took 2 minutes to get through so well worth a phonecall as clearly a lot of the dealers don’t really know and may well be selling a 3 year extended warranty when a 2 year one would do.

 

[Deneb]

The first thing the nice Italian lady said was that everyone is confused! However for all UK registered vans it is 3 years. Nick did not clarify if this was just PVCs but it only took 2 minutes to get through so well worth a phonecall as clearly a lot of the dealers don’t really know and may well be selling a 3 year extended warranty when a 2 year one would do.

I refer you to post #38 above

 

[carolyn]

I refer you to post #38 above

I know but you did say in your post, paragraph two, that you hadn’t checked and we have today. We bought an IH630RL four years ago and were told it had a two year warranty but Adam Morey in Southampton said we had a 3 year one and that we must have paid for an extra year which we hadn’t so we were aware that there had been confusion around this for years.

We were just trying to be helpful with an actual update from the horses mouth!

 

[Deneb]

I know but you did say in your post that you hadn’t checked and we have today. We bought an IH630RL four years ago and were told it had a two year warranty but Adam Morey in Southampton said we had a 3 year one and that we must have paid for an extra year which we hadn’t so we were aware that there had been confusion around this for years.

We were just trying to be helpful with an actual update from the horses mouth!

I meant I hadn't checked if Fiat UK were still providing the 3 year dealer backed warranty on vehicles they import directly. The information regarding which vehicles are covered (UK spec vans ordered through and supplied by the UK dealer network having been directly imported by Fiat UK) is correct, so it doesn't apply to back to back cabs or bare chassis delivered directly from Fiat Italy for coachbuilder conversions.

 

[Minxy]

As an aside to this thread what are people's views about whether it's worth buying the extended warranty or not?

We'll need to decide soon and aren't quite sure what to do ... we've never bothered with any other MHs or campers and never had issues but never had an auto box before either.

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[Stealaway]

Does this mean you must have Fiat Professional service the vehicle every year?

They don't tend to do you many favours with their prices

 

[Deneb]

As an aside to this thread what are people's views about whether it's worth buying the extended warranty or not?

We'll need to decide soon and aren't quite sure what to do ... we've never bothered with any other MHs or campers and never had issues but never had an auto box before either.

Averaged across the total number of warranties sold, it's intended to make a profit for Fiat. Of course, if you have a very costly failure that is covered by the warranty, you'll no doubt be glad of it, but more customers will pay for it and not use it or get relatively little out of it, than will be in that position.

I've never taken out an additional warranty for any vehicle I've owned, but then I do my own servicing and as many repairs as I am able, accepting that in the relatively unlikely event that I were to face a large bill it would be down to me. As I've never been in that position in 45 years though, I'd probably still have saved money compared to what the warranties would have cost me over that period.

To paraphrase Dirty Harry, it all comes down to how lucky you feel I suppose!

 

[Millcourt]

As an aside to this thread what are people's views about whether it's worth buying the extended warranty or not?

We'll need to decide soon and aren't quite sure what to do ... we've never bothered with any other MHs or campers and never had issues but never had an auto box before either.

Expect there will be mixed views about value of the extended warranty.

I decided to go ahead because of the comfortmatic gearbox being a likely costly fix if problems are encountered after the 2-year only Fiat standard warranty (on a German PVC conversion, which Fiat in Italy were adamant only had 2 years, not 3, unlike direct UK van imports where Fiat UK/the dealer network add a third year). Also you get the full 5 years covered by the Euro-wide breakdown/recovery "Camper" support included. As we expect to keep our new Campscout until we become too old to carry on and as we normally tour on the continent for several months each year, I will recover some of the cost by not needing to pay for breakdown/recovery in years 3, 4 and 5. ?

 

[Minxy]

Does this mean you must have Fiat Professional service the vehicle every year?

They don't tend to do you many favours with their prices

No, you can still use a VAT registered garage elsewhere.

 

[Minxy]

Expect there will be mixed views about value of the extended warranty.

I decided to go ahead because of the comfortmatic gearbox being a likely costly fix if problems are encountered after the 2-year only Fiat standard warranty (on a German PVC conversion, which Fiat in Italy were adamant only had 2 years, not 3, unlike direct UK van imports where Fiat UK/the dealer network add a third year). Also you get the full 5 years covered by the Euro-wide breakdown/recovery "Camper" support included. As we expect to keep our new Campscout until we become too old to carry on and as we normally tour on the continent for several months each year, I will recover some of the cost by not needing to pay for breakdown/recovery in years 3, 4 and 5. ?

You get breakdown/recovery for the third year anyway ... it's in the handbook as Lenny mentioned on another thread, look at the Fiat Camper Assist pages, its on page 37 of my warranty booklet and says:

Campers registered in United Kingdom are entitled to 3 years of road-side assistance.​

​

So in effect you're paying for 3 x years of extended warranty and 2 x years of breakdown/recovery.

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[Millcourt]

You get breakdown/recovery for the third year anyway ... it's in the handbook as Lenny mentioned on another thread, look at the Fiat Camper Assist pages, its on page 37 of my warranty booklet and says:

Campers registered in United Kingdom are entitled to 3 years of road-side assistance.​

​

So in effect you're paying for 3 x years of extended warranty and 2 x years of breakdown/recovery.

Thanks for this, Mel. You are of course correct. I should have taken more care and read the warranty booklet! Still feel happy that I have peace of mind with 5 years in total covered for both base vehicle warranty and roadside camper assistance. Will be great if I do not need to use either...… fingers crossed. ?

 

[Minxy]

Thanks for this, Mel. You are of course correct. I should have taken more care and read the warranty booklet! Still feel happy that I have peace of mind with 5 years in total covered for both base vehicle warranty and roadside camper assistance. Will be great if I do not need to use either...… fingers crossed. ?

Until Lenny mentioned it I didn't know either!

 

[carolyn]

We’re dithering about whether to see if anyone will sell us 2 years as this is the first time we have had a Comformatic gearbox but after the confusion last time when even the ones who said we had 3 years said we must have paid for a year who knows how we’d get on!! I have a feeling we may just follow the “keep all paired organs crossed approach”.

 

[Minxy]

We’re dithering about whether to see if anyone will sell us 2 years as this is the first time we have had a Comformatic gearbox but after the confusion last time when even the ones who said we had 3 years said we must have paid for a year who knows how we’d get on!! I have a feeling we may just follow the “keep all paired organs crossed approach”.

We've pretty much come to the 'cross everything' conclusion too and not bother with the extended warranty. If we are concerned after the initial 2 years we could always see if we can get a warranty elsewhere just to cover major stuff.

 

[SpeedyDux]

As an aside to this thread what are people's views about whether it's worth buying the extended warranty or not?

We'll need to decide soon and aren't quite sure what to do ... we've never bothered with any other MHs or campers and never had issues but never had an auto box before either.

Isn't that the real question.

Having read the extended warranty T&Cs it seemed a lot of money, yet not complete peace of mind. Buyers should read it for themselves. The devil is in the detail. Check which items you are worried about are excluded or covered.

Comfortmatics have been around since about 2008 so there must be many examples that haven't failed. Dual mass flywheel and clutch problems also affect the manual gearbox anyway.

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[Stealaway]

We've pretty much come to the 'cross everything' conclusion too and not bother with the extended warranty. If we are concerned after the initial 2 years we could always see if we can get a warranty elsewhere just to cover major stuff.

I'm with you Mel.
I've always had a cavalier attitude towards insurance and would hate to think I'd wasted my money on something I didn't need.
It is a commercial vehicle that should be good for the time I'm likely to have it. It's the wear and tear on the inside that's more of a concern for me.

 

[carolyn]

Nick made the mistake of entering our registration and VIN number on the website this morning and a red alert has appeared. We don’t collect it until next Thursday. Northern Commercials are looking into it as they haven’t had any notifications from Fiat. Not really what we want to be hearing! Supposed to be going to Spain on the 20th.
Apparently it’s a brake hose retaining clip and they don’t know if they have one nor if they can get one before our hols. One of those things that if we hadn’t known about it would have been fine but once you know you can’t really now say you’ll just hope for the best. Oh bums knew we should have waited until December when we came back from Spain before we got the new van.

 

[Newfie]

Here is what is covered

£555+VAT <br> for 5 YEARS<br> PEACE OF MIND

Benefit from the new 5 year Peace of Mind Offer. Fiat Professional UK has special promotion on new vans. 5 year warranty, roadside assistance & servicing. Explore!

www.fiatprofessional.com

 

[Tighchris]

Erwin Hymer Centre (Travelworld) set mine up when I asked although I don’t have any paperwork except for the order form. Just mentioned on another thread that I wasn’t sure if the breakdown cover That is part of the warranty actually covered non- manufacturing incidents such as accidents, lost keys, misfuelling, punctures etc. Anyone know?

 

[Newfie]

Nick made the mistake of entering our registration and VIN number on the website this morning and a red alert has appeared. We don’t collect it until next Thursday. Northern Commercials are looking into it as they haven’t had any notifications from Fiat. Not really what we want to be hearing! Supposed to be going to Spain on the 20th.
Apparently it’s a brake hose retaining clip and they don’t know if they have one nor if they can get one before our hols. One of those things that if we hadn’t known about it would have been fine but once you know you can’t really now say you’ll just hope for the best. Oh bums knew we should have waited until December when we came back from Spain before we got the new van.

It’s usually a 5 min check, & if a new clip is required no more than 30 mins to fit.
Not sure why they were not aware as recall is over a year old now

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