got recall letter through for the wives car.....

**bobby-tupper** · 21st January 2010, 14:48

got a letter through the post this morning from fiat/vosa about an urgent recall on the fiat punto grande models!!! the letter stated that a serious fault has been found on the main steering joint and if this part fails then it would cause an accident

so rang my nearest fiat main dealer to book in for the said recall as on the letter it states it needs checking urgently.
the guy on the other end of the phone said "we arnt booking any recalls in until 11th of feb"!!! WTF!!

so i asked him why the letter stated it was urgent and if part fails it will cause a crash, his reply was "it could break at any time and as your wives car is 2yrs old then i guess it will last until the 11th of feb"!!! nice
where has all the customer service gone????????????

**Big Sig** · 21st January 2010, 14:52

Ask for his name and report the attitude to his boss/fiat.

**Birchy63** · 21st January 2010, 15:34

It may be that the failing parts are out of a certain date/batch code, but the factory weren't operating an efficient fifo (first in first out) parts system and quality inspection records, which is probably one of the reasons why Fiats are one of the least reliable cars on the road.
Having dealt with Italians in the automotive sector, I can tell you they're a bunch of lazy good for nothings "if a jobs worth doing, leave it 3 months and see if its still worth doing".

They probably have no idea what cars have what parts, so they're forced to recall thousands (or even all) of them instead of just a few hundred....

The parts that do fail, probably fail very quickly, hence his response.

The car is most likely perfectly safe, but in my opinion his "technical" response is overruled by quality standards and his response is simply not acceptable.

**bobby-tupper** · 21st January 2010, 20:42

not had any mechanical problems with the new punto and as for recalls the vectra has had a few in its time too.
just dont understand why they write to you and tell you that there is a problem that needs sorting asap,but when you try to sort it,the garage doesnt seem in a rush to check it out for you.

**nick_s** · 21st January 2010, 20:45

I would so put a complaint in to the dealership management. His response was rude and inconsiderate.

Surely if a recall is put out on safety grounds, then they should be actioning the work immediately, not 3 weeks time!

**bobby-tupper** · 21st January 2010, 20:46

Originally Posted by nick_s

Surely if a recall is put out on safety grounds, then they should be actioning the work immediately, not 3 weeks time!

thats what i though too

**tonyord** · 21st January 2010, 21:04

my partners car had a noise on steering over xmas so phoned benfield motors ,they said bring it staight in and they changed this part while i waited what great service even though her car was not on recall list it was same faulty part

**Birchy63** · 21st January 2010, 21:14

Originally Posted by tonyord

my partners car had a noise on steering over xmas so phoned benfield motors ,they said bring it staight in and they changed this part while i waited what great service even though her car was not on recall list it was same faulty part

Oh dear, seems I was right about them not keeping records of what batch numbers go into what cars........