Service cost

What does your service schedule say, Ovy? I suspect you will be within the terms of the warranty requirement providing genuine Fiat products are used but your book and/or the dealer will confirm.

I've no idea what prices are charged in your area but we paid around £220 incl VAT for a 'small' service on our previous Merc Sprinter.

Thanks for your comments Tinwheeler. I will be getting our m’home out of storage on Sunday and will check very carefully the warranty documents that are in there. Your service costs seem a lot lower than mine. 

Contrary to popular belief, Ovy, we found Merc service and repair costs to be reasonable. We've yet to discover what the Pug will cost.

I assume you are using a Fiat commercial garage rather than a MH dealer who might well add a bit more to the bill. Can you get a quote from another garage to compare?

By the way, you may well find your service interval is 2 years but it can pay to have the oil changed every year if your mileage is very low, although opinion varies.

Hi Ovy,

You should be guided by your Fiat Pro Service Centre and the dealership where you bought the van, and of course your OEM.   Advice will be in your handbook.

I have a Mar 16 Ducato Swift and had my 1st Mech' service last week, I have done 13,500 miles and had the full 2yr first service.   It cost me £395, a Fiat fixed price at a Fiat Pro Centre.     At near £200 a year thats not too bad.

However, a word of warning; the garage informed me that my next two year service will include the timing belt, which is compulsory with that next service and will be a lot more expensive.    Even though cars usually have their timing belt changed at 80,000 miles.    I was also informed that I could/should have an oil change in 12 months, even though oil companies have developed oil to last 2yrs or around 20,000 miles and have increased the price of oil to reflect this.   Everybody just wants our hard earned cash!!

Make sure you are happy with what they do.   I queried the test drive they say they did after the service was complete, as my mileage had not changed.    I also asked them if they had greased my Alko chassis, which should be done annually, they said they had.

I have an Aldi heating system and that was serviced at the time of my 2nd Hab service, at my request on 2 years, at an extra charge of £120.

Make sure you start and use your van often and get your monies worth.....

BillC

Thanks Tinwheeler and Kontikiboy for your helpful comments. I am now out in our motorhome and able to study the details in the handbooks. I am using the garage recommended by the dealer and on the Fiat app, which is North East Truck and Van in York and will check carefully with them to ensure what they do is commensurate with the warranty. There is a 2 year Fiat warranty, which has nearly expired and the a further 3 years insurance backed warranty. I have the habitation service booked with the dealer and will confirm with them regarding servicing options for the base vehicle in future years. 

I have taken note of the comments about the timing belt and yearly oil change and will be watching this carefully. 

Thanks again. 

Ron O 

The problem i see here is unless you want to pay over the odds for a  Service do not  take it back to the dealer . We took our 2010 to our Local Garage where we had the MOT and a  service we was asked how many miles we had done in the last 12 months.We had a new filter and oil change the total charge was 146.00. I use the same people for my other car so i trust them. They told us the Motorhome was in good condition with no problems . So as long as the Garage can fit your Motorhome on the ramps you can get a better price than Just Motorhome dealers who charge the earth. I would rather have money in my pocket than pay over the odds.

Thanks for your comments Arrivakids. So far as I can ascertain (still to check on my documents) the service I had today, which was the one recommended by the Motorhome dealer and the Fiat app, now completes my Fiat warranty period. I will therefore be looking for options for the next service in two years. 

Considering the Fiat base had a two year warranty, is there a reason (real benefit) for having a Fiat Professional service just as this expires?

yes, if the warranty were for three years and the service due at two, by all means have a Fiat service to support the warranty...

Your expensive service has just prolonged your warranty for, perhaps, one month...so, apart from a 'proper' Fiat stamp in the book (nice to have but likely to be the only one) is there any advantage in spending the extra £100+?

why not have a trusted independent do the service just after the warranty expires, after all, as you say, won't you be using that 'trusted independent' next time around?

just a different view.....

That’s a very valid point BoleroBoy. As a newcomer to motorhoming after over 30 years as a caravanner who always used the dealer for service, I asked for advice from the dealer as to who could do the services. There is no Fiat Professional in our area and this garage, North East Truck and Van deals with all sorts of vehicles and all types of motor homes. They also did the PDI service on ours. 

I will be looking more intensely when next I need a service etc to see if there are other garages that can compete. 

Thanks for your comments. 

Ron 

I have to admit that I have little faith in many garages or mechanics. For around 12 months I had intermittent problems with the immobiliser on my motorhome.  After 2 visits from Green Flag, 3 visits to 2 different garages each time being told the problem was something different and around £700 lighter I was immobilised yet again so called out a mobile auto electrician/mechanic.  He attached the computer to the motorhome but couldn't find what was wrong but after a closer look at where the key goes into the ignition noticed that the silver ring around the top of the ignition was loose.  He fixed it with superglue and charged me £190.00 for the visit and for attaching the computer to the motorhome.  He was the only one out of 6 people to realise what the problem was, which quite frankly, is very alarming!