Is the standard Fiat breakdown cover as good as separately purchased cover? (1 Viewer)

[BobtheBass]

My new motorhome came with the standard Fiat 2 year breakdown cover. I know this covers Europe as well, but how does it compare in other respects with stand-alone cover you can buy say from your insurer? Does it cover the same things, if I had a puncture for example, would they come out to help? Or would I be better off buying cover myself? I accept there would then be an element of dual cover but it's not expensive for peace of mind.

 

[Clarky]

A fellow Carthago owner had a horrendous time when the gearbox failed on their new van just a few miles into a trip through France.
It took weeks for Fiat to sort it out while they and their dog were stuck in a French hotel.
If they had taken additional insurance they would probably been repatriated to the UK.
If you are a member of Carthago Owners the details are on the Facebook group.

Richard.

 

[SteveandSue]

We had 2 punctures on previous van both covered quickly by Fiat - both quickly -
We would be happy to use Fiat assist again and not take out extra cover - to each his own

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[Tony Roberts]

Had a puncture in France. No reply from Fiat when we rang so got it sorted ourselves. They refused to reimburse us.

 

[GWAYGWAY]

From what has been said to me when asking about Hymer breakdown is that it is YOUR RESPONSIBILTY to get it to the base makers nearest dealer, for MB but FIAT might have a better system. Still need to have cover, I use Nationwide Bank account just in case.
Makers warranty seems to be be rather bad in some ways. standard answer TAKE it back to the seller dealer,

 

[nelly]

I wondered the same thing and toyed with the idea of not having the insurers breakdown cover but it is cheap and i decided to keep it just for peace of mind. I did use it once on my old van and it worked great in Germany. I know it is a bit doubled up but so be it.

Neil

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[Camdoon]

Pay £75k for a motorhome then risk being stuck in the middle of France while waiting for a Fiat dealer to turn up? The Fiat warranty is based on commercial vehicles i.e. they would lend you another Ducato if they cannot fix it immediately not another motorhome. It is cheap covering yourself through your insurance or Nationwide; why take a risk for a couple of hundred pounds or .3% of the purchase price.

 

[cornish boy]

Pay £75k for a motorhome then risk being stuck in the middle of France while waiting for a Fiat dealer to turn up? The Fiat warranty is based on commercial vehicles i.e. they would lend you another Ducato if they cannot fix it immediately not another motorhome. It is cheap covering yourself through your insurance or Nationwide; why take a risk for a couple of hundred pounds or .3% of the purchase price.

We have just taken delivery of a new Kon Tiki based on a Fiat chassis cab and it comes as standard with 3 years 'Fiat Camper Assist' which is an European wide breakdown and recovery product and supported by a very neat app on the iPhone (could well be an android version as well) and operated by the RAC on Fiat's behalf.

Having looked at what the Fiat product offers, it is very much focused on Motorhomes rather than being based on commercial vehicles and offers a good all round package to recover, repair or repatriate our 8.5m+ motorhome and its passengers.

The app adds a number of additional features and benefits including nearest parking, nearest campsite as well as things such as checking the chassis number for any up-dates and warranty recalls each time you log in.

 

[rickwiggans]

We've needed Fiat Assist twice, once each on different vehicles, both times in France. Cannot speak highly enough.

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[gus-lopez]

& ADAC is even cheaper

 

[Camdoon]

We have just taken delivery of a new Kon Tiki based on a Fiat chassis cab and it comes as standard with 3 years 'Fiat Camper Assist' which is an European wide breakdown and recovery product and supported by a very neat app on the iPhone (could well be an android version as well) and operated by the RAC on Fiat's behalf.

Having looked at what the Fiat product offers, it is very much focused on Motorhomes rather than being based on commercial vehicles and offers a good all round package to recover, repair or repatriate our 8.5m+ motorhome and its passengers.

The app adds a number of additional features and benefits including nearest parking, nearest campsite as well as things such as checking the chassis number for any up-dates and warranty recalls each time you log in.

OP was talking about the standard 2 year Fiat offering. Your package appears more like what is required for a motorhome, recognising the weakness of the standard offering.

 

[Jasz]

We have just taken delivery of a new Kon Tiki based on a Fiat chassis cab and it comes as standard with 3 years 'Fiat Camper Assist' which is an European wide breakdown and recovery product and supported by a very neat app on the iPhone (could well be an android version as well) and operated by the RAC on Fiat's behalf.
Having looked at what the Fiat product offers, it is very much focused on Motorhomes rather than being based on commercial vehicles and offers a good all round package to recover, repair or repatriate our 8.5m+ motorhome and its passengers.

The app adds a number of additional features and benefits including nearest parking, nearest campsite as well as things such as checking the chassis number for any up-dates and warranty recalls each time you log in.

It's worth reading through the Fiat Camper Assist paperwork that comes with the new van. On the face of it, it looks as though it's for 3 years but ours did say that for motorhomes it's 2 years. I'm not quite sure what gets the 3 year cover - possibly van conversions?

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[petenshirley]

Had to call on Camper Assist for a slow puncture, whilst in Scotland. Couldn't fault the call centre or the tyre guy that came out. 5/5.

 

[pyro]

We had 2 punctures on previous van both covered quickly by Fiat - both quickly -
We would be happy to use Fiat assist again and not take out extra cover - to each his own

Our experience with Fiat has been second to none, fast, responsive and helpful. We have and additional cover, but we prefer to be safe than sorry

 

[stewartwebr]

Way back in 2008 we had a Fiat based motorhome and towed a Smart Car on a trailer. The van had covered 6000 miles when the clutch failed on the M6 just before the M55 junction, we were heading North back up to Edinburgh.
I called Fiat Camper Assist and it was nothing short of a nightmare. It took about 4 attempts to get through and when I did the operator did not speak English and I had to call back again, it appeared that when pressing as directed number 3 for English it was actually connecting you to the Spanish Operators. I eventually got through, but not what you need when you are stranded on the hard shoulder of a motorway. I explained that there was no point sending a patrolman as the clutch was clearly U/S and no way of fixing. I advised they should send a recovery truck and when they do they should be aware I also have a car on-tow on a trailer.
After a wait of about 30 minutes I got a call back to say that the Fiat Camper Assist only covers the Fiat and I would not be covered for the recovery of the Smart Car and Trailer, it was the RAC I was talking too who I assume where contracted to Camper Assist. I explained that I also had RAC cover for the Smart Car which was a few months old. Not a problem I was told. 30 minutes later I got another call to say that they would not be able to recover the Smart using the RAC cover as technically it had not broken down...fair point. They quoted and additional price to recover the trailer as I intended to head home in the Smart. It would have been cheaper to leave the trailer at the side of the road than to pay what they were quoting.
When the recovery contractor guy arrived (not RAC employee) 2 hours after the saga commenced he was not in the slightest interested in the trailer and just lifted the front of the van up and off he went towing the motorhome and the trailer behind. I was very lucky he was so accommodating.
Anyway, a long story to get to the point. If you are relying on Fiat Camper Assist and you are towing be aware you are not covered for the trailer.
I have been a member of the RAC since then and its a reasonable price for European cover and I don't have to worry about anything.

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