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I bought a new Fiat Punto Grande 1.9 Sporting in September. I sourced the car by the Internet, and I am not happy with the supplying dealer. They have a dreadful reputation, and I have personal experience of them from when I used to run Alfas. The car is fine, no problems yet, but if there are any I really don't want to go back to the supplier. Can I go to any franchised Fiat dealer for servicing and/or repair work without affecting the guarantee? I have looked at the FAQ but I'd like to find what others might have to say with particular reference to Fiat.
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I'm not 100% sure about Fiat, but the advice I've had regarding Renaults and Kias is that anyone can do a service, if they are a VAT-registered garage, and stamp the service book if they use OE-spec parts. You can certainly take the car to ANY fiat dealership and they will honour the warranty, as it's with Fiat UK rather than an individual dealership, as long as the servicing routine has been adhered to.
Personally I'd never go to a main dealer unless getting something fixed under warranty, or buying parts for an independant garage to fit. Main dealer servicing is both expensive and unnecessary.
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Ford warranty says anyone as long as carried out in line with Ford service schedules.These are available (free) to anyone with a web connection.
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Exactly what GregSwain wrote, you can have it serviced at any vat registered garage as long as they service it in line with the manufacturers schedule and that they use OE parts.
That said, what I have tended to do with new vehicles is to have them serviced annually at franchised dealership with whom I'm happy with, (in my case it was always the supplying dealers), and then if any warranty claims arise there is little problem in getting them sorted.
I have only ever done this for the first annual service and the second annual service. That way I figure that if I have any warranty issues in the third year my backside is covered because the service history is up to date and done by the main dealer. By the end of the third year the warranty will have just expired and I therefore shun the main dealers in favour of someone else servicing the vehicle.
I hope this makes sense.
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Where does this " VAT registered garage" bit come from?
Since when did VAT status siginify competence? So what happens if you take your car abroad, (and chose to use a competent independent)?
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pmh (was peter)
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>>Where does this " VAT registered garage" bit come from?
When the legislation was adjusted/made so that you could have your car serviced at garages other than main dealers and still retain the maufacturers warranty cover, the stipulation was that it was done by a vat registered garage.
I know that being vat registered doesn't equate to being competant, but I suppose it means that your car will be maintained by someone other than a back street cowboy in it for a fast buck.
I think that it is a fair compromise anyway, at least you are not tied to the main dealer network anymore. It doesn't stop you servicing your car yourself, but if you do then its at your own risk of invalidating your warranty.
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Remember if your having your new Punto serviced outside the Fiat dealership network it will miss out on any software updates & TSB that Fiat release for it.
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Remember if your having your new Punto serviced outside the Fiat dealership network it will miss out on any software updates & TSB that Fiat release for it.
If it ain't broke don't fix it. If my car had a problem due to dodgy ECU software, I'd be at the main dealers straight away. My computer isn't running the latest version of Windows or Linux, but they still work, and as such I'm not about to tinker by upgrading to a version which may have bugs.
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This is an interesting subject. What you are referring to is a code of conduct which has been agreed with the OFT. It is not law and it is just a code which according to the OFT website, "all major" manufacturers have signed up to.
The OFT website also says "so long as the service is carried out to the car manufacturers' recommendations, even if this service is carried out by an independent service or repair outlet."
There is no mention of being VAT registered (that I can see on the OFT site) and this does not exclude self servicing by a competent person in my opinion.
I think the problem is having to prove the servicing was done according to the maufacturers recomendations in the event of a claim. If serviced at a main dealer then there is no proof needed.
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I was going on all of the guides on the internet that state that the garage should be vat registered for you to be safe with regards to your warranty. Google it and there are loads of links stating this.
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Requiring work to be done by a particular garage is an "artificial restraint on trade" and as such is against the law.
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The original post asked Can I go to any franchised Fiat dealer for servicing and/or repair work without affecting the guarantee?
So nothing to do with independents. Warranty certainly won't be affected by using a different franchised dealer.
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>>The original post asked Can I go to any franchised Fiat dealer for servicing and/or repair work without >>affecting the guarantee?
And I think his question was answered by the fact that it was stated that he could take it to any vat registered garage to have it serviced and his warranty would remain intact. I think that the fuller explanations given of the 'rules' regarding the servicing and warranty entitlement was much better than just a basic answer of yes you can.
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Thank you all for your responses. They have been most helpful. One question occurs to me in respect of using non-franchised service garages. Am I right in assuming that I would need to ensure that any parts fitted were genuine Fiat, and that I would need to be able to prove that should I need to invoke the guarantee?
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Don't know about Fiat,but if a Ford dealer fits non-Ford parts as he is allowed to do,then the warranty on the parts is his responsibility not Ford.
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