Fiat Professional Servicing

[mapman55]

Hi All,

Looking at buying a new FIat Ducato campervan. The dealer does all warranty work but not servicing of the vehicle.
Can anyone recommend a reliable Fiat Professional Service Centre they have used in or around the Newcastle upon Tyne area or a reliable service centre (as understand they don’t have to be Fiat Professional) as long as they use Fiat parts.
Never had this problem in the past as have always had VW’s with good dealer on the doorstep who did both.
Have been searching but no luck so far.

Thanks
Mark

 

[Hettie's Crew]

NET&V in Hull were OK, it’s just that as a private motorhome you’re not their priority.

 

[Brocksford]

I used NET&V Carlisle. I can't recommend them, trucks are their priority. The way they process the work you can't actually speak face to face with the person doing your van.

 

[mapman55]

I had a service and MOT 'done' by Tyne Valley in October and my tracker data shows it was taken to Charlotte Street Garage in Stanley. They have very good reviews on Google.

so that’s the garage they use, I knew it was around Stanley ish

Thanks

 

[mapman55]

I used NETV Dunston had a nightmare with them told I would be fit in once their bread and butter customers had been seen too never again.
I now use Sherwood's Washington done servicing and warranty work and have been spot on I understand Tyne Valley take their vehicles there.

Not looked at Sherwood’s and just up the road.

Thanks

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[PlymBob]

Today I took my new Fiat Ducato based PVC to Vospers in Plymouth.

I had previously phoned and asked if the battery was covered by warranty as it was not holding it’s charge and I’d already had to jump start it a couple of times. They said it would be and to bring it in today. I had a secondary issue in that after abrupt stops it does not always pick up again straight away, so you can put your foot on the throttle and nothing happens. That was added to “the ticket”.

They phoned me 3 hours later and told me that neither of these were warranty issues and that I have a bill of £188.

Apparently the battery is fine, and the diagnostics say that I have had my foot on the throttle and the brake at the same time a few times which may have caused the hesitation in pick up as the electronics does not like this. It’s an automatic, has anyone else experienced this.

If I’d known about the possible magnitude of this bill in advance I don’t think I’d have booked it in. Does this seem reasonable to others?

 

[Pausim]

Today I took my new Fiat Ducato based PVC to Vospers in Plymouth.

I had previously phoned and asked if the battery was covered by warranty as it was not holding it’s charge and I’d already had to jump start it a couple of times. They said it would be and to bring it in today. I had a secondary issue in that after abrupt stops it does not always pick up again straight away, so you can put your foot on the throttle and nothing happens. That was added to “the ticket”.

They phoned me 3 hours later and told me that neither of these were warranty issues and that I have a bill of £188.

Apparently the battery is fine, and the diagnostics say that I have had my foot on the throttle and the brake at the same time a few times which may have caused the hesitation in pick up as the electronics does not like this. It’s an automatic, has anyone else experienced this.

If I’d known about the possible magnitude of this bill in advance I don’t think I’d have booked it in. Does this seem reasonable to others?

Fiats don’t allow any acceleration if your foot is in contact with the brake pedal. The ECU doesn’t allow it. I can’t comment on the battery but jump starting should not be needed. The bill might seem heavy but main dealer labour rates are high.

 

[PlymBob]

Thanks Pausim, It's an expensive way to find out, they'd have done better for future customer relations if they'd just told me that when I said I had a problem...

 

[Pausim]

Thanks Pausim, It's an expensive way to find out, they'd have done better for future customer relations if they'd just told me that when I said I had a problem...

I guess they can only be sure of what is happening when they have run the diagnostics on the vehicle. Until then they might have their suspicions but no one will thank them for making a wrong guess and you ending up stranded on the roadside. One of the benefits of Motorhomefun is that there are a lot of us and very often someone else will have had a similar problem and can give you some pointers. I have learned a great deal from other people on here.

 

[dash300]

The unnerving engine failing to accelerate has happened to me a few times, and it was through this forum I discovered pressure on the brake was the cause.

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[CAB96]

Today I took my new Fiat Ducato based PVC to Vospers in Plymouth.

I had previously phoned and asked if the battery was covered by warranty as it was not holding it’s charge and I’d already had to jump start it a couple of times. They said it would be and to bring it in today. I had a secondary issue in that after abrupt stops it does not always pick up again straight away, so you can put your foot on the throttle and nothing happens. That was added to “the ticket”.

They phoned me 3 hours later and told me that neither of these were warranty issues and that I have a bill of £188.

Apparently the battery is fine, and the diagnostics say that I have had my foot on the throttle and the brake at the same time a few times which may have caused the hesitation in pick up as the electronics does not like this. It’s an automatic, has anyone else experienced this.

If I’d known about the possible magnitude of this bill in advance I don’t think I’d have booked it in. Does this seem reasonable to others?

I'd have thought that they should have warned you of the possible cost

 

[RV72 SAM 🏴]

I’m looking at getting the extended warranty as you say some expensive stuff can go wrong.

Thanks

Surely with any warranty in my experience, more so with paid extended policies they are transferable, normally at a small transfer fee of £25-£50 is worth checking on a dealer network.
Registration number's dont alway's work,cas a lot of us have private cherished plates and ten to register on them.
I would ask a Fiat Pro to enter your chassis number etc to confirm, alway's worth a try

 

[Pausim]

Surely with any warranty in my experience, more so with paid extended policies they are transferable, normally at a small transfer fee of £25-£50 is worth checking on a dealer network.
Registration number's dont alway's work,cas a lot of us have private cherished plates and ten to register on them.
I would ask a Fiat Pro to enter your chassis number etc to confirm, alway's worth a try

The OP is buying new so can get the Fiat extended warranty which is much better than the insurance based warranties pushed by many dealers. It can only be bought from a Fiat Professional and must be done within a few days of first registration. Some dealers go quiet about the Fiat warranty because they get commission for selling insurance based ones. Some Fiat Professionals seem clueless about the Camper warranty but it can be done by phone with Adams Morey, Portsmouth who understand motorhomes and their users.

 

[dash300]

Anyone down in the Southwest Chelston Motorhomes just off M5 at Wellington is Fiat Professional workshop as well.

 

[PlymBob]

Anyone down in the Southwest Chelston Motorhomes just off M5 at Wellington is Fiat Professional workshop as well.

That's worth knowing. I'm sending a complaint letter to Vospers in Plymouth for their derisory handling of my warranty claim. Exeter Fiat is also Vospers, so Wellington may be my closest alternative.

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[SpeedyDux]

I am not surprised it is getting more difficult to find a Fiat Professional workshop near where you live that has the right mix of MH-friendliness, expertise, attention to detail and affordable pricing especially when it comes to timing belt replacement.

My nearest one, Simonstone, suddenly closed because it was financially insolvent. Big surprise, at least to me. The site remains empty and overgrown.

Some Fiat Professional dealers / workshops seem to cover the whole Stellantis range that includes Fiat, Abarth, Alfa, Jeep, Citroen, Peugeot, Vauxhall. A long way from a one-make franchise. Expecting them to be experts on so many marques and vehicles from cars to MHs to commercial vans and all their variants and models seems a bit optimistic. It might be a big ask to expect 100% expert diagnosis on Ducato MHs, and scrupulous servicing to Fiat schedules. Although we are paying top rates.

There were 162 Fiat Professional dealers in the UK out of 6,500 across Europe. How many are still franchised Fiat Professional dealers/workshops? Difficult to find out. Fiat has been culling its "underperforming" dealers over the past 2 years, reducing the number from 125 to 100 (June 2023).

I assume "underperforming" is all to do with not shifting their allocation of new vehicles, and has nothing to do with satisfaction with their workshop.

 

[Pausim]

That's worth knowing. I'm sending a complaint letter to Vospers in Plymouth for their derisory handling of my warranty claim. Exeter Fiat is also Vospers, so Wellington may be my closest alternative.

Before you alienate your local workshops you might want to check that Chelston can take yours. At one point I heard that they were only taking bookings from clients who had bought their motorhomes from them. The Fiat Professionals associated with motorhome dealers may well be smaller workshops that were introduced so that they could provide a comprehensive services to their buyer clients rather than general services. I have never seen any none motorhome commercial vehicles there which suggests they are not dealing with wider business.

 

[dash300]

Before you alienate your local workshops you might want to check that Chelston can take yours. At one point I heard that they were only taking bookings from clients who had bought their motorhomes from them. The Fiat Professionals associated with motorhome dealers may well be smaller workshops that were introduced so that they could provide a comprehensive services to their buyer clients rather than general services. I have never seen any none motorhome commercial vehicles there which suggests they are not dealing with wider business.

Good point. However I bought my Van through.Highbridge and when registering and purchasing the Fiat Warranty through Chelston I was assured they will deal with any Fiat MH Servicing and Warranty work irrespective of where purchased. Not put them to test however as van only just a year old.

 

[Pausim]

If they sold you the warranty you are a customer and you have had an assurance. Should be fine.

 

[Hettie's Crew]

I assume "underperforming" is all to do with not shifting their allocation of new vehicles, and has nothing to do with satisfaction with their workshop.

This is what happened to a brilliant Citroen dealer near us, they had been Citroen for as long as I can remember and had old DS’s, 2CV’s, XM’s and the occasional C6 in their yard and workshop, real Citroen enthusiasts. The problem was they were unable to compete with Evans Halshaw regarding new car sales.
We had our Citroens serviced there until they went out of business after loosing their Citroen franchise.
We didn’t buy our Citroens from there, so we were guilty of not supporting them, but when we bought our C4 Picasso the exact same car was £2400 cheaper at Evans Halshaw. Nobody can afford to support a local dealer at those prices.

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[mapman55]

Surely with any warranty in my experience, more so with paid extended policies they are transferable, normally at a small transfer fee of £25-£50 is worth checking on a dealer network.
Registration number's dont alway's work,cas a lot of us have private cherished plates and ten to register on them.
I would ask a Fiat Pro to enter your chassis number etc to confirm, alway's worth a try

It’s a brand new van I’m getting

Thanks

 

[Pausim]

It’s a brand new van I’m getting

Thanks

The Fiat warranty includes 5 years recovery and I found it worked really well when I broke down last year.

 

[mapman55]

I am not surprised it is getting more difficult to find a Fiat Professional workshop near where you live that has the right mix of MH-friendliness, expertise, attention to detail and affordable pricing especially when it comes to timing belt replacement.

My nearest one, Simonstone, suddenly closed because it was financially insolvent. Big surprise, at least to me. The site remains empty and overgrown.

Some Fiat Professional dealers / workshops seem to cover the whole Stellantis range that includes Fiat, Abarth, Alfa, Jeep, Citroen, Peugeot, Vauxhall. A long way from a one-make franchise. Expecting them to be experts on so many marques and vehicles from cars to MHs to commercial vans and all their variants and models seems a bit optimistic. It might be a big ask to expect 100% expert diagnosis on Ducato MHs, and scrupulous servicing to Fiat schedules. Although we are paying top rates.

There were 162 Fiat Professional dealers in the UK out of 6,500 across Europe. How many are still franchised Fiat Professional dealers/workshops? Difficult to find out. Fiat has been culling its "underperforming" dealers over the past 2 years, reducing the number from 125 to 100 (June 2023).

I assume "underperforming" is all to do with not shifting their allocation of new vehicles, and has nothing to do with satisfaction with their workshop.

I was surprised at being unable to find a garage or Fiat professional garages around the north east. Do like Camper uk, Chelston Motorhomes and Adams Morey looking at reviews but everyone is a good days travel away. Happily travel for yearly service but would prefer local if possible and if I’m unable to travel due to warning lights that’s when it’s difficult.
Had new VW California’s in the past with one from a local dealership and one from a North Yorkshire dealer. My local dealership done all warranty work no problem with the one from Yorkshire.
Find it strange when people are saying they didn’t buy from this or that dealership so they wouldn’t do warranty work. Found plenty will sell me extras like, bike racks, tvs and fit them

Thanks

 

[mapman55]

The Fiat warranty includes 5 years recovery and I found it worked really well when I broke down last year.

I think it’s worth taking out.

Thanks

 

[Skez]

Before you alienate your local workshops you might want to check that Chelston can take yours. At one point I heard that they were only taking bookings from clients who had bought their motorhomes from them. The Fiat Professionals associated with motorhome dealers may well be smaller workshops that were introduced so that they could provide a comprehensive services to their buyer clients rather than general services. I have never seen any none motorhome commercial vehicles there which suggests they are not dealing with wider business.

Didn't buy through Chelston, and they have been happy to service and MOT my van. Received a good service from them and cheaper than the quote I had from other Fiat Pro garages.

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[Mikeyv60]

I know they have a 6 bay workshop & are approved to do hab' & base vehicle service, repair & insurance work. Mind you Brownhills have a huge Fiat Professional sign on their showroom but send their customer moho's to a 3rd party for MOT's.

A lot of garages outsource the mot,s these days, its a lot of hassle and return vs outlay doesnt add up sometimes.

 

[Mikeyv60]

The Fiat warranty includes 5 years recovery and I found it worked really well when I broke down last year.

You mean if you take out the extra warranty?

 

[Apacheman]

Has anyone experience good or bad for newer Fiat Ducato servicing or repairs nearer the Leeds area?

Only main dealer near Leeds for Fiat is Northern Commercial at Brighouse. Think they are mainly Ford/Daf but also Fiat commercials. Ok to use if it’s warranty and Fiat are footing the bill, but they took 4 days to fix an airbag warning light on mine.
Out of warranty better to find a local garage you can trust.

 

[Pausim]

You mean if you take out the extra warranty?

I thought we were discussing the extended warranty but yes.

 

[G30rge]

I use Sherwood’s at Washington and normally pre-arrange with them to wait while the Service is done.
They’ve also carried out a couple of recall works on my 2020 Ducato based PVC

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[mapman55]

I use Sherwood’s at Washington and normally pre-arrange with them to wait while the Service is done.
They’ve also carried out a couple of recall works on my 2020 Ducato based PVC

Sherwood’s just along the road for me and have had a few people recommend them now.
Thanks for info