FIAT 500 - Water pump and cam replacement after just 19k?

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Tue 18 Sep 2012 20:53
FIAT 500 - Water pump and cam replacement after just 19k? - dinlondon

My garage who are currently servicing my Fiat 500 have told me that the water pump Fiat 500 needs replacing. The car is only 4 years old, 19k on clock and for the first year only did 20 miles (it was pre-registered and owned by Fiat). The quote for replacing the water pump and cam is an eye watering 385 quid (on top of the 250 for the service). Does this sound right to you? Why would a water pump give up so quickly? Currently booked in at an 'approved dealer'. Any advice / thoughts appreciated as I'm thinking of booking in my car post service to a local garage instead.

Cheers, dinlondon

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Tue 18 Sep 2012 21:07
FIAT 500 - Water pump and cam replacement after just 19k? - VR6

£385 for a cambelt and waterpump change sounds reasonable. £250 for a service sounds a bit high though.

My guess is that the waterpump is fine, but its a good idea to change it as its eaily changed during a cambelt change, and is normally a low cost part. If it were to fail before the next cambelt change you would be paying a lot in labour to change a cheap part.

My mechanic has suggested the same thing on my car at next cambelt change.

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Tue 18 Sep 2012 21:18
FIAT 500 - Water pump and cam replacement after just 19k? - dinlondon

Many thanks for the quick and reassuring reply! :)

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Wed 19 Sep 2012 14:55
FIAT 500 - Water pump and cam replacement after just 19k? - matt1086
thats a bit soon i can check auto data for you in the morning also my missus had a 500 sport with nearly 40 on the clock i was gunna change hers then as it hadent been changed but she wrapped it up not with a big pretty bow but a lovely focus st lol. but i recommend around 40000 is a time to change it also its good practice to change the waterpump with it, due to the waterpump not coping with the stain of a tight new belt. to that fact most garages wont change a cambelt without doing so or at your own risk regards matt.
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Thu 20 Sep 2012 16:59
FIAT 500 - Water pump and cam replacement after just 19k? - dinlondon

Hi all,

Thanks for your help and suggestions. I ended up going for it and getting the whole thing done. In fact they noticed another leak while they did the procedure which they apparently fixed with sealant (they showed me the photo of where coolant had leaked - I'm wondering whether it's just the residue from me spilling coolant when I did a top up!). Anyway, all done with a nice blow to the credit card... To the garage's credit when I noted as I was leaving that the tread on one of my tyres was approaching minimum (according to the MOT report), they offered to switch the tyres around there and then after I told them that Kwik Fit had just replaced two rear tyres but not offered a swap.

With all the great advice on here it looks like I'll need to become a more regular visitor to this site, it's great!

Cheers

dinlondon

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Sun 23 Sep 2012 19:45
FIAT 500 - Water pump and cam replacement after just 19k? - VR6

Glad you got it sorted. The leak was probably real - if you're having to top up coolant it means you're loosing coolant from somewhere.

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