Cridon
Free Member
Hello y’all, bought a new Autotrail 736Tribute on a Fiat Ducato chassis recently and picked it up on 2nd April. After one trip out and returning from Spinneys, the dealer in Cheshire after a few minor tweaks, it broke down 3 times in as many miles with the engine management light coming on. Being new it is covered by the Fiat assist programme who duly called out the RAC who diagnosed an EGR fault which is part of the exhaust gas recirculating system to prevent pollution. This meant it had to be recovered but Fiat quickly stated they had no garages available to take it so it would be stored at the recovery agent. It then took a week before it was accepted at a dealership in Hyde, Cheshire called Stoneacre Hyde. I am writing this now with the knowledge that in 5 days the garage has confirmed what we already knew but due to other work will not get to it until next week at the earliest.
The bottom line is that we have done 274 miles on a new engine, have as of today owned the motorhome for 19 days and it has been in a garage for 11 of them. So beware, if you think the Fiat assistance programme will ensure your dream vehicle stays on the road as much as possible then think again! So far, the combined might of Spinneys, Autotrail and ourselves has failed to elicit any response from Fiat other than “we have booked customers to deal with and they take priority!” Considering whether this is false advertising and what action to take as had we been aware of this, we would not have bought any motorhome on a fiat chassis. Any similar experiences or contact details of high ups in Fiat would be most welcome.
The bottom line is that we have done 274 miles on a new engine, have as of today owned the motorhome for 19 days and it has been in a garage for 11 of them. So beware, if you think the Fiat assistance programme will ensure your dream vehicle stays on the road as much as possible then think again! So far, the combined might of Spinneys, Autotrail and ourselves has failed to elicit any response from Fiat other than “we have booked customers to deal with and they take priority!” Considering whether this is false advertising and what action to take as had we been aware of this, we would not have bought any motorhome on a fiat chassis. Any similar experiences or contact details of high ups in Fiat would be most welcome.