Brand new Auto-Trail Tribute 670 - My Experience so far (1 Viewer)

sludgesurfer

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May 2, 2018
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Hello,

Just thought I'd post my experience of the first 2 weeks with my brand new Auto-trail tribute 670.

I wanted a van that could take a roof rack for about 80 kg of surfing and windsurfing equipment.

Settled on the Autotrail Tribute 670 2.3l 130BHP with 'GT' and 'Drivers pack'. Included Fiamma rear ladders, roof rack, bike rack, solar panel and an awning I don't want. All in, not much change from £43k

Being scottish, I'll focus on the negatives:
I can't for the life of me get the Hill holder assist to function. The handbrake position is a pain in the ass especially if the armrest is down so hill hold would be beneficial. The pre-requisites seem to be a hill above 5%, in 1st (going forwards) or reverse (when reversing) and foot on the footbrake. Nothing.

The gearbox 'crunches' between 4th and 5th. Its clearly not synchronising correctly. Some googling has shown this to be an issue with older vehicles but on an engine with less than 600 miles on it....worrying.

Its booked into a Fiat garage in a couple of weeks but my experience so far has made me consider the Fiat extended warranty, extending cover from 2 years to 5 years. On this, there appears to be some confusion. The dealer is saying I have 30 days from the point of purchase and it doesn't cover breakdown assistance....the Fiat website says you have 15 days and it does. Is it 15 days from point of registration or point of purchase...who knows. Either way, my experience so far suggests that it might be £800 well spent (especially if it includes breakdown assistance).

Hopefully both will be simple easy fixes and I'll roll off merrily into the surf...

Advice, experiences with new Tributes more than welcome.
 

Lenny HB

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Oct 18, 2007
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Do you have the Hill Holder it's not listed on the spec sheet. If you have a Comformatic box you may have it, it is a no cost Fiat option with the Comformatic box but the converter still has to specify it.
As for the warranty have you contacted Fiat Camper assist they will be able to sort it out Tel: 00 800 3428 1111
 
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Nov 23, 2011
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Just got our Autotrail Tribute 625 last week. When I ordered it last November the extended fiat warranty from 2 to 5 years was £600 which I was considering taking out. It could only be done at the time of purchase. but last week the price had increased to over £800. Not worth it at that price.

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MC 55 FUN

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U.K. registered / sourced vehicles have a minimum of a conditional 3 year base vehicle warranty ?

All ours certainly have done.
 

raysalaugh

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U.K. registered / sourced vehicles have a minimum of a conditional 3 year base vehicle warranty ?

All ours certainly have done.

Well my Autotrail doesn't come with three years base vehicle warranty, when the airbag ecu packed up in the 3rd
year I contacted Fiat and they said it's only a 2 year warranty on motorhomes.
And in the handbook it actual states exactly that.

Ray
 
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sludgesurfer

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May 2, 2018
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Thanks for the replies. Regarding the hill assist - the vehicle has the drivers pack which in the pdf download from the autotrail website includes it. However, on the web page spec it does not. My experience so far suggests it does not.
The extended warranty price is quoted as £649 on the Autotrail website 'options list' but it seems that you cannot purchase directly from them. It must be done through the dealer with the associated markup. I'm in two minds about it. I normally shun these things and I'm happy to 'self-insure' but the gearbox issue has me concerned.

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hilldweller

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The gearbox 'crunches' between 4th and 5th. Its clearly not synchronising correctly.

At 600 miles, if you can demonstrate that to the dealer surely it's a case of "fix it now or I reject it" or maybe "I might accept a free extended warranty".

We've got to stop these people walking all over us.
 

MC 55 FUN

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Feb 18, 2016
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Well my Autotrail doesn't come with three years base vehicle warranty, when the airbag ecu packed up in the 3rd
year I contacted Fiat and they said it's only a 2 year warranty on motorhomes.
And in the handbook it actual states exactly that.

Ray

Odd, our Peugeot base Majestic 195 has 3 years conditional warranty, so do both our cars & it's stated in the respective handbooks.
 
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Sep 28, 2015
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I think traction control is part of the same option, so if the right side button on the centre lower dash isn’t makes TC you don’t have it.

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sludgesurfer

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May 2, 2018
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Thanks. Further evidence suggesting that this option is not installed on my vehicle.
 

Gellyneck

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More than toes wet now!
Well my Autotrail doesn't come with three years base vehicle warranty, when the airbag ecu packed up in the 3rd
year I contacted Fiat and they said it's only a 2 year warranty on motorhomes.
And in the handbook it actual states exactly that.

Ray
Don't knoiw what year \ model your motorhome is but here's the extract from the 2013 Autotrail warranty handbook -
ADDITIONAL FIAT PROFESSIONAL WARRANTY
Once the 24 month warranty has expired, Fiat Professional
will warrant the vehicle for an additional period of 12
months from date of registration subject to terms and conditions available upon request.
Under this Additional Warranty, the Dealer is obliged
to repair components which are DEFECTIVE due to manufacturing defects by replacing them with genuine Fiat Professional spare parts or reconditioned Fiat Professional
parts free of charge.
Operations under Warranty carried out by the Fiat
Professional Service Network include:
 repair or replacement of the faulty component
 labour needed for the replacement or repair
 supply of consumable materials needed to carry out the
repair under Warranty.

This extended warranty is for UK converted base vehicles only Autotrail which, obviously, is.
I got a new clutch switch (minor) and two dashboard consoles in the third year. There was also something else but for the life of me I can't remember!:doh:
 
Nov 23, 2011
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It may have applied in 2013 but the 2018 warranty clearly states only 2 years fiat warranty which can be extended to 5 years but only through a dealer.

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MC 55 FUN

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Feb 18, 2016
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Well my Autotrail doesn't come with three years base vehicle warranty, when the airbag ecu packed up in the 3rd
year I contacted Fiat and they said it's only a 2 year warranty on motorhomes.
And in the handbook it actual states exactly that.

Ray

https://www.fiatprofessional.com/uk/mopar/warranty

With our WARRANTY, you have a comprehensive service with the repair or replacement of the defective part, its labour time and the supply of the necessary consumables for 24 months, with a further 12 months Dealer Warranty, starting from date of vehicle registration.
 

EX51SSS

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welcome animated smiley3.gif
 

Jonno1103

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This is current for Autotrail marques from 2018:

  1. Fiat Base Vehicle Warranty – provided by Fiat
    1. Fiat provide a manufacturer's warranty for the base vehicle of your motorhome, which is a Fiat camper assist. Fiat’s base vehicle warranty is for 2 years from date of registration of the motorhome and can be extended for a further 3 years at the point of purchase (or up to 15 days afterwards). Your supplying Auto-Trail dealer can advise you about the cost of this warranty extension. If the extension cover is taken, this then takes Fiat’s warranty cover for the base vehicle up to 5 years or 30,000 miles (whichever is the first to expire).
    2. Fiat’s base vehicle warranty is subject to the terms and conditions contained in the Fiat handbook supplied with the vehicle, which includes a requirement that the base vehicle must be serviced in accordance with Fiat's requirements. For any issues with the Fiat base vehicle warranty, please contact your local Fiat dealer.
 
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sludgesurfer

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May 2, 2018
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I received the following from Autotrail this morning. I'm in two minds about it. £866 is steep even with roadside assist. Had I not had a gearbox issue within the first two weeks, the thought wouldn't even have crossed my mind. The van is booked into a Fiat garage in Glasgow in a week or so - work commitments mean I couldn't get it in quicker. Keen to see what they have to say.

From Autotrail:
Hill hold is not standard on Tribute but does come if Auto (comfortmatic) is ordered. Auto is only available on the 130, 150 and 180 engines.

Standard Fiat warranty is 2 years with an option to purchase a warranty extension called Mopar (Fiat backed). This can be ordered through us or a dealer can do it direct with Fiat. It is on our options list, attached.

Our price for this extension is £866.40 including VAT. Fiat ask that this is taken within 30 days of registration (handover) but to be fair we have had some instances where they will accept the purchase after the 30 days. At the end of the day the customer is paying so they normally allow the purchase to be undertaken.

I think the problem would occur if the option was asked for some months down the line after the vehicle has been used.

Just checking the website under “options” and it still reads £649 which is incorrect, I will ask for this to be updated ASAP. Apologies’ for this mistake.
 

SuperMike

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I thought the Consumer Rights Act 2015 gave you rights that, for example, the expected life of a motor vehicle. For them to say to you that for all this money it will only work satisfactorily for two years must be restricting your rights which is not allowed. I would expect much longer than that and would fight them as appropriate. For example, I know not vehicle based but, we bought a new table and chairs from John Lewis a while ago and the seat fabric began to give up the ghost. Naturally JL said tough, until I pointed out to them that it would be expected that a dinning room chair of the value we paid would be expected to last a very long time. Further I pointed out that our old set, which we had given to Managements mum years ago was still going strong. They paid for all six chairs to be recovered. :gum:

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Jonno1103

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Me, I'd invest in the warranty as the van and all the options were discounted.
 

ludo

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The Fiat extended warranty has to be taken out within 15 days of first registration, not 30!

There are 3 levels of extended warranty to choose from. 30,000 miles, 48,000 miles or 60,000 miles. We chose the latter which was £800 +. The lower mileages are cheaper! This is, perhaps, why there is confusion about price.
 
Nov 23, 2011
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There was no mention of millage when we ordered out motorhome last November just the cost of £600 to extend the warranty from 2 to 5 years. Last week when we took delivery it had increased to £870. With reference to the extended warranty where mileages are mentioned is this with Fiat Professional as the mileage of 60,000 seems to be for a van not a motorhome.

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ludo

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The Fiat extended warranty has to be taken out at a Fiat Professional dealership and it is for a motorhome, not a van!
 

raysalaugh

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There was no mention of millage when we ordered out motorhome last November just the cost of £600 to extend the warranty from 2 to 5 years. Last week when we took delivery it had increased to £870. With reference to the extended warranty where mileages are mentioned is this with Fiat Professional as the mileage of 60,000 seems to be for a van not a motorhome.

Possibly the cost increases when they become more aware of the likelihood of problems with reliability.

Ray
 

ludo

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There was no mention of millage when we ordered out motorhome last November just the cost of £600 to extend the warranty from 2 to 5 years. Last week when we took delivery it had increased to £870. With reference to the extended warranty where mileages are mentioned is this with Fiat Professional as the mileage of 60,000 seems to be for a van not a motorhome.


Try to go to https://www.fiatcamper.com/en/product/fiat-ducato-camper-van

Then call the freephone number, 00 800 342 811 11, and ask your questions. All will be revealed from the horses mouth. (y)

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ludo

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Incidentally, when you sell your van the extended warranty stays with the van. A benefit to the new owner and a good selling point.

If you have a serious costly problem, gearbox, engine, turbo, etc., you will be pleased that you have it. In our view, it is worth every penny and backed by Fiat!
 
Nov 23, 2011
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Having thought about all the options and advice regarding the extended Fiat warranty I contacted two Fiat Proffesional dealers who service motorhomes and was told the extended warranty cannot be set up through them, only through Fiat themselves. Contacted Fiat and was informed it can only be set up through Fiat Proffesional . What a run around. I finally found it can only be set up through Autotrail via the purchasing dealer at a price of £866 to extend it from 2 to 5 years. No options on the number of years or mileage and only up to 15 days after purchase.
 

ludo

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Jul 12, 2011
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Having thought about all the options and advice regarding the extended Fiat warranty I contacted two Fiat Proffesional dealers who service motorhomes and was told the extended warranty cannot be set up through them, only through Fiat themselves. Contacted Fiat and was informed it can only be set up through Fiat Proffesional . What a run around. I finally found it can only be set up through Autotrail via the purchasing dealer at a price of £866 to extend it from 2 to 5 years. No options on the number of years or mileage and only up to 15 days after purchase.

Not quite correct!

The last Globecar we bought had the extended warranty applied by Ford and Slater, commercial dealers for DAF and Fiat Professional and not a motorhome dealer.

Our current Globecar was bought from SMC Newark who, although Globecar, Pilote, Frankia and Autosleeper dealers, are not Fiat Professional dealers and could not, therefore, sell the Fiat extended warranty or deal with Fiat warranty isssues.

Instead, the extended warranty was sold and applied by Brownhills, Newark, who are Fiat Professional dealers, in September last year.

Furthermore, there is a choice of mileages but the price difference is so little that we went for the 60,000 mile choice.

As a matter of interest, did you buy the extended warranty?

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Last edited:
Nov 23, 2011
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Yes just bought it. When did you do yours as i think it may have changed. The mileage was up to 100,000mls only.
 

ludo

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Yes just bought it. When did you do yours as i think it may have changed. The mileage was up to 100,000mls only.

We bought the van new and took delivery on 1st September last year. The extended warranty was purchased the same day from Brownhills. I could have also bought the extended warranty from Lowdhams but in the event went to Brownhills.
 

motorhomer

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I thought the Consumer Rights Act 2015 gave you rights that, for example, the expected life of a motor vehicle. For them to say to you that for all this money it will only work satisfactorily for two years must be restricting your rights which is not allowed. I would expect much longer than that and would fight them as appropriate. For example, I know not vehicle based but, we bought a new table and chairs from John Lewis a while ago and the seat fabric began to give up the ghost. Naturally JL said tough, until I pointed out to them that it would be expected that a dinning room chair of the value we paid would be expected to last a very long time. Further I pointed out that our old set, which we had given to Managements mum years ago was still going strong. They paid for all six chairs to be recovered. :gum:
This confuses 2 quite different things. As the poster quite rightly says the consumer rights act does give you rights, but they are time limited to 6 years (5 in Scotland) and you have to show that it was an inherent fault in the product, and also your rights are with the people you bought from, ie the dealer not the manufacturer. Does not include normal wear and tear.
A warranty is entirely optional, is often given by manufacturers and your warranty contract is between you and whoever issues the warranty. They can put any terms in they like.
So if not covered by a warranty a fault MIGHT be covered under the Consumer Rights act but the burden of proof is on you (after 6 months I think).

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