New motorhome going nowhere

[Dub Dog]

You may have seen my thread about my lovely brand new motorhome.
Well I went out today to move it to give it a clean and a good polish ready for our first trip out this weekend. When I looked where it had been parked since we brought it home there was a puddle of oil left on the drive.
So I looked under the engine to find oil dripping. After a whopping 135 miles on the clock I was by no means a happy bunny.
So I flicked through the manual to find the nearest Fiat warranty dealer. Most of which were truck centres which I didn't relish the thought of a 20 stone grease monkey who had just been crawling round under a dustcart sitting in my brand new Captains seat in his oily overalls.
So after a bit of looking through the different dealers I came across Marquis in Northamptonshire. So gave them a ring and there warranty department wasn't in today, which I couldn't really understand.
Next I thought I'd call Fiat assist and see if they could get me sorted any quicker. To my amazement they sent out the RAC out to tell me I had an oil leak. Thanks guys.
He did narrow it down to a rear diff seal and said he would send in a report. But it's still my job to get it booked in still which I really don't think is right. Fiat should be arranging this I think. So I'm going to see if Marquis get back to me in the morning like they said they would but I will believe it when I get the call. Just thought I'd create a thread as I'm still in a bit of shock really about all this. I wouldn't expect it from a new van.
Update to follow.

 

[Dub Dog]

Quick update. Not much news. Fiat did ring yesterday afternoon but I missed there call,but they left a message to say they will try again tomorrow. Rather than waiting I rang them this morning and they had chased the garage yesterday and they have looked at it and ordered the parts.
Good point is there doing it.
Bad point. We are not going away this weekend

 

[davidathomas42]

Dub Dog

I am only looking at the positive. They collected it to save you any hassle. Diagnosis is done and parts ordered.

Fix will be swift all been well and they will bring it back and you can put it behind you along with some open road and go enjoy it

Did you ask what the fault was? Care to share?

Dave

 

[Dub Dog]

Dub Dog

I am only looking at the positive. They collected it to save you any hassle. Diagnosis is done and parts ordered.

Fix will be swift all been well and they will bring it back and you can put it behind you along with some open road and go enjoy it

Did you ask what the fault was? Care to share?

Dave

Hi Dave. Apparently it was a split gasket which they had to order and they also had to order special G/box oil.

 

[Dub Dog]

Ok quick update. Had a phone call This morning at 9 on the dot from my new friend Dawn at Fiat for my daily update. They have the gasket and it was already fitted and the garage was just waiting for the gearbox oil to be delivered to complete the job.
She said she will chase the garage later today and call me tomorrow.

Then I got a call (which I missed) from RAC commercial to say it's all done and what time tomorrow could they deliver it back to me.

I'm away working tomorrow so sadly I can't take delivery. (Gutted) so I'm wondering.........

Should I go and collect it so I can go over it with a fine tooth comb for any scratches, greasy marks etc or let them deliver it back to me and pray and hope for the best.
What would you guys do???

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[wigster]

Glad to hear its being sorted , Enjoy your van , forget about all this hassle i say

 

[Dub Dog]

Glad to hear its being sorted , Enjoy your van , forget about all this hassle i say

Jack Daniels helps me forget and forgive

 

[davidathomas42]

Great stuff.

Id let them bring it back to you and just let the delivery guy wait a while while you check condition before signing for it. Offer him a cup of tea and a slice of cake while you pour over it.

Glad its sorted for you......... Now get out and use it

 

[wigster]

Not while driving i hope , mind you jack does help you cope

Really glad your getting it sorted

 

[Puddleduck]

Then I had a call from Fiat UK to apologise again and say how they will do all they can to get it turned around as soon as possible as they know how much we want to get away in it.
They also said they will ring the place it's going to in Hemel Hempstead this afternoon to make sure it got there ok and keep them pushing the job on as we are waiting to use it.
So I'll update tonight with any news I have. But I can see the light at the end of that famous tunnel. Also the sun is out. So I feel a lot happier now.

We had great service from FIAT UK which is why I suggested you called them.

Thinking about it - I might suggest going for at least one "free" service & habitation check ?

We were given a credit note towards any work done at a FIAT Professional garage, we didn't even have to ask for it.

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[Dub Dog]

Great stuff.

Id let them bring it back to you and just let the delivery guy wait a while while you check condition before signing for it. Offer him a cup of tea and a slice of cake while you pour over it.

Glad its sorted for you......... Now get out and use it

Thanks David. Been reading about your trip to Castleton with envy. We stayed in the YHA near the site you stayed on back in August this year and love that town and of coarse the pubs.
Might be a good idea for a site to have our first outing at.

 

[Dub Dog]

We had great service from FIAT UK which is why I suggested you called them.



We were given a credit note towards any work done at a FIAT Professional garage, we didn't even have to ask for it.

Yes can't fault there customer service.
I've never been given anything for free without a fight in compensation before so would be lovely if they did offer something.

 

[TheCaller]

I have always found Fiat motorhome assist (which is dedicated just to motorhomes) very good to deal with. The lady I was dealing with was in Milan, but spoke perfect English, with a South African accent.

That would be Dawn. She dealt with my out-of warranty airbag ECU replacement. Very good to deal with & she follows up with the dealers too which means that the job keeps moving through the system.

My impression is that if you have a Fiat base vehicle problem, it's worth contacting Fiat Assist even if it's a straight forward warranty issue that contractually rests with the supplying dealer - especially if the supplying dealer isn't also a Fiat Professional dealer, because they won't be doing the warranty work anyway. Fiat then manage the whole job for you & keep it moving forward.

 

[Gilbs]

Glad to hear it's all sorted, hopefully you'll get a trip in before Christmas

 

[swanseajack13]

@Dub Dog just seen this thread FIAT (fix it again tomorrow) we had a number of problems with our fiat on a new 2013 rollerteam 746 5,300 miles in 3 years first mot seal leaking only a 2 year warranty on it, now have a dethleffs A class on a bloody fiat had problems with the ignition and light cluster spoke to fiat in Milan spoke to dethleffs asked if I could extend the warranty told it must be done within the first 15 day of buying it ,spoke to the dealer they would not help ,to sum up on a 2016 A CLASS fridge broke down,ignition recall ,light cluster, now the heater will not blow heat to the front of the m/h ray xx lol still lol the fun of the m/h o I forgot loads of damp in my roller team as well

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[BusyBuilder]

Remember FIAT = Fix It Again Tomorrow

 

[SteveB123]

Remember FIAT = Fix It Again Tomorrow

More reliable than Mercedes I think

 

[Peter JohnsCross MH]

You should take it to your nearest Fiat main dealer for warranty work on the actual Fiat chassis, your MH dealer whilst he did supply the completed vehicle cannot normally carry out any Fiat warranty rectification,
You basically have two warranties, one for the MH conversion with say Swift. Autotrail etc which your supplying dealer can carry out and one for the actual vehicle manufacturer, eg Fiat, Ford, Mercedes etc

The oil spillage on the drive is not large, a drop of oil spreads over quite a large area, check the oil level, I doubt if it is that low and top up if required before driving it

Peter

 

[Arewethereyet]

I wouldn't be put off by using the Fiat truck centres to be honest, most of these guys know that these motorhomes are peoples pride and joy and treat them with respect, I have had a few issues with Fiat base vehicles over the years and I always have taken ours to our local Fiat truck workshop in Theale near Reading, the service manager there is only a young chap but very knowledgeable and good at fighting your case with Fiat if needs must, I have had parts replaced under warranty even when the vehicle itself has been out of warranty, and I have never found any grease or damage done to my M/H unlike I hasten to say when it has been back to dealer for repair work.

 

[cornish boy]

I wouldn't be put off by using the Fiat truck centres to be honest, most of these guys know that these motorhomes are peoples pride and joy and treat them with respect, I have had a few issues with Fiat base vehicles over the years and I always have taken ours to our local Fiat truck workshop in Theale near Reading, the service manager there is only a young chap but very knowledgeable and good at fighting your case with Fiat if needs must, I have had parts replaced under warranty even when the vehicle itself has been out of warranty, and I have never found any grease or damage done to my M/H unlike I hasten to say when it has been back to dealer for repair work.

Taking our Kon-Tiki 669 into HTC at Theale on Friday to have the brakes on the rear axle looked at as they are slow to release now and again. I have been speaking with Jason in the service department who couldn't have been more helpful.

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[Ex-caravantugger]

More reliable than Mercedes I think

Hi. According to Practical Motorhome February 2017 (latest issue), page 45. "The Mercedes Sprinter has been named as the most reliable van in a survey of leasing companies for the second year running, and for the third year in total since 2011. The FN50 awards are compiled from a survey of 50 leasing companies in Britain."
My last two vehicles have been MB and my only grouch is the price of servicing. Ouch !!

 

[SteveB123]

Hi. According to Practical Motorhome February 2017 (latest issue), page 45. "The Mercedes Sprinter has been named as the most reliable van in a survey of leasing companies for the second year running, and for the third year in total since 2011. The FN50 awards are compiled from a survey of 50 leasing companies in Britain."
My last two vehicles have been MB and my only grouch is the price of servicing. Ouch !!

Im just speaking of my own personal experience. I have owned many different makes of vehicles averaging around 35k miles per year. Mercedes was by far the most unreliable but I did only have 1 of them a 2005 220cdi I think.

 

[Ex-caravantugger]

I am too. I've had two ML's, the second is only a year old but I did have to have the wiper blades changed just after delivery, did not clear the screen!!
The other one had sensor faults but never did I "break down" in 75,000 miles.
Regards, Mike

 

[peterc10]

My only experience of Mercedes was also with a car - an E class. After that I vowed never to use Mercedes or their dealers again. I am still awaiting a twice promised phone call from our local Merc dealer, and it is now over 10 years since I got rid of the dam thing.

 

[davidathomas42]

I went to a Merc dealer today looking to buy a Horn of all things.

I googled the part to see how it sounded (not good enough) but I did find various prices coming up from £8 ebay to £22 Euro Car parts.

Mercedes wanted £65+ VAT - But it comes in a Mercedes cardboard box so of course lol.

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[Dub Dog]

Ok so the final chapter to this little story. After getting a call to say they will be delivering it back to me I then got the smile wiped from my face when they (fiat motorhome assist) told me there's no way they can deliver it back to me as for one they haven't got anything big enough to do the job (even though they collected it) & then they decided it wasn't policy to deliver it back.
When I told them that it wasn't collected on a low loader anyhow they said they have been charged for one my the dealer, so then got stuck in an argument between Fiat assist and the dealer and ended up sending photos proving the dealer didn't use a low loader as that is what they were charging Fiat assist for.
Anyway back to the MH. Turns out as it's over 30 miles away they don't mind coughing up for a taxi. Another day off work then. Not only that I'm not the worlds best passenger in a car. So I wasn't looking forward to this but needs must. I want my MH back.
Taxi was booked for 11am which turned up at 11-45 so was fuming by then. Anyway as I said needs must. Got in sat down and the driver said how does he get to where we are going, unbelievable I thought but by this time I really had lost the will to live so put google maps on my phone and got us there an hour later.
Walked in to the dealership explained why I was here and asked what has been done, only to get a blank look and the keys thrown back to me. No paperwork to sign or anything.
Had a good look round my MH, no scratches or dents thank god, but bloody hell a clean would have softened the blow of all this. It was filthy from dust blown up from the truck yard and then a damp night made it look awful.
I got in and just wanted to get it home.
Really really pi**ed off at the moment with Fiat. So off to count to 100 again and fingers crossed all will be ok.

 

[jezport]

Its better they didnt washit. They would have used a pressure washer with traffic film remover and then scratched it with a mucky brush.

 

[Dub Dog]

Its better they didnt washit. They would have used a pressure washer with traffic film remover and then scratched it with a mucky brush.

Yeah that true.

 

[Larrynwin]

Hope all is ok now, a wee dram tonight may help

 

[Dub Dog]

Hope all is ok now, a wee dram tonight may help

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[Anthea M]

Hopefully it will all look good tomorrow and I hope you get a trip out in her very soon. dont let all this put you off , it really is a lovely relaxing lifestyle ..... Usually!!!