Saw the ad on TV yesterday.
Fiat is giving unlimited mileage 5-yr warranty on Bravo.
Surprising - where did they get confidence from?
Fiat Sedici is basically Suzuki SX4 - but is Bravo something similar?
Otherwise really commendable move from Fiat.
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Yeah, I saw this too. Thought it was a bit like a 0% interest deal to get you to buy the car and don't know what T's and C's are.
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No doubt Fiat have protected themselves with a good financial product to limit the loss if all goes pearshape.
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5 year warranty makes sense for the manufacturer and the dealer, if only they would realise it.
Manufacturer does not warranty every trivial bit of the car for 5 years. Consumables are not covered. The main oily bits are covered but these days on a mid-range mass market car these are pretty reliable.
5 year warranty keeps the car dealer serviced for longer so the dealer is happier. In fact, in some cases it means servicing is actually maintained longer rather than neglected altogether, so long term reliability of that car improves. Dealer and manufacturer get to sell and fit more consumables.
5 year warranty may well improve future values, good for reputation of the brand.
Keep the buyer visiting the dealership beyond a 3 year cycle and you are more likey to sell them the next model.
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5 year warranty makes sense for the manufacturer and the dealer
I wonder why other manufactures (barring a very few) are now unwilling to offer this!
If a so called unreliable brand like Fiat can offer this, it would be an embarrassment if other "reliable" brands can't match it.
I think soon (2-3 yrs down the line) we'll see standard 5-yr warranty for all cars :)
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"it means servicing is actually maintained longer rather than neglected altogether"
Indeed. And since it is usually a condition that it is done by a main dealer, it guarantees them a fair wedge, too. A garage man opined to me some years ago that VW owners tended not to get their cars serviced, because they thought it wasn't necessary!
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I would check the small print of the Fiat warranty very carefully! One of my siblings had a Punto that allegedly had a three year warranty. The third year was provided by the dealer network.
Several trivial faults were covered and fixed. Clutch failed (broke up) at about 1 year/12000 miles - Not Covered. Stereo/CD (built into dash) went wrong about 6 months later - Not Covered - cost of the order of £125 to fix it. At about 2-1/2 years old the ECU connector was rotted out and failed - Not Covered - massive bill for new loom and all the labour to fit it. Also the wiper switch broke up, but I fixed that for her. All in all it was an expensive three years for a car supposedly covered by a warranty. She chopped it for a Pugeot last September which has been OK so far.
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If the warranty is pretty comprehensive I would predict Fiat will be picking up a fair few repair bills if my experience with a hire car are indicative of the brand's reliability and build quality. We rented a brand new 1.3 diesel something or other in 2006 and the back door flew open when going round a roundabout in France. My son almost fell out of the car (seatbelt saved him!). I pulled up and tried to close the door, but some small pieces of broken plastic fell out of the lock aperture on the door edge. We could not actually close the door, so my son had to hold it closed while I drove to a nearby Renault garage where a mechanic managed to get it to close but advised us to leave it closed and locked. Car was ok otherwise but felt a bit flimsy and the door incident was not a good advert.
The car in the TV ad looks good but I would need some convincing about build quality and warranty before I bought one!
Pat
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Few months back I was given a Fiat Bravo/Brava [?] by dealer as courtesy car (1-month old car).
After I left my stuff in the boot (& closed) and sat on driver's seat - the car refused to start!
The mechanic failed to make the car started. (in fact he didn't have a clue, what went wrong).
I was then given a WagonR. Fine, I asked "Can I get my briefcase out of the Bravo's boot"?
"No sir, we are unable to open the car. It's boot & doors are locked. Could you please collect your stuff tomorrow?"
"Excuse me, I have some important documents inside which I need TODAY"
After half an hour, the mechanic somehow managed to open the door/boot and I got my stuff back.
Hope they will Fix It Again Tomorrow (for next 5 years instead of current 3)
:)
Edited by movilogo on 14/04/2008 at 18:21
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>>Surprising - where did they get confidence from?<<
It is possible they have calculated a certian yield in the business case - a bit like Amstrad did - they knew that a % of products would fail and they would just swap for new. It didn't really matter because the stuff was so cheap to make.
So they may be doing the same to a much lesser degree.
Having said that - good on em - providing they back it up with the service it is great news for consumers. You have got to give Fiat credit for trying though.
It does seem that 5 & 7 year warranties are becoming more common place.
I wonder if those offering variable service regimes can afford to do this though ?
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Well we run one of these (though purchased before the5yr warranty was offered :( ), and 6 months and 12k miles down the line really happy with it. Its a 150 Multijet Sport, so has all the kit, and averages 50mpg. One niggle is a noisy window seal which will be replaced when we can get it in.
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I saw a "rugged" looking one today traversing the outer reaches of our local Tesco car-park. Have to say it looked quite good to me.
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JBJ said on servicing: And since it is usually a condition that it is done by a main dealer, it guarantees them a fair wedge, too.
I thought EU Directive something-or-other says anywhere for servicing is ok for warranty provided genuine, in this case Fiat, parts used?
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You're right - when I bought the Skoda the sales guy actually mentioned that I could do this
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Fiat UK are really trying hard to change their reputation on reliability and poor quality dealers. When my Grande Punto was last serviced , I received a phone call a few days afterwards from both the dealer and Fiat UK asking for my opinion on the quality of servicing. Give them credit for trying,even if if it`s not before time.
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Indeed. My GP had its first (18,000 mile service) last week. Dealer pointed out that there was a bit of a rattle from driver's door lock and a slight knock from the steering rack. I had noticed these but, frankly, forgot to mention them when I took the car in as they are both very slight and intermittent. Dealer told me he'd order up the parts and call me when they are ready to fit.
Edited by Pugugly on 16/04/2008 at 00:06
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