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Fiat registration and Mopar extended warranty; a cautionary tale.


richarddgjames

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I was very keen to buy this at the time I bought my Ducato based van but it was thwarted by the combined misinformation from the importer, the local Fiat dealer and Fiat customer services along with the importer deciding it was quite a good idea to ask the DVLA to allocate a registration date that was 5 weeks earlier than the delivery date.

 

The Mopar extended warranty is normally purchased at the time that you purchase a Fiat from a Fiat dealer, but in any event has to be purchased within 15 days of the first (DVLA) registration date.

 

If a Motorhome is purchased via any of the normal importers they will not be able sell you the Mopar warranty unless they are also approved Fiat dealers, which as far as I can see most are not. It is essential to insist that the DVLA registration date is for the expected handover date (to within a couple of days). The DVLA registration for an imported conversion is not simple and requires lots of documents to posted to the DVLA, and cannot be done on the spot like a new car can but an appropriate registration date can be requested in advance when the application form is sent.

 

As soon as you have the V5C contact your local Fiat Professional approved service centre and get them to register the van with Fiat and then sell you the Mopar extended warranty. This is probably going to need you to go in person armed with ID and the V5C but arrange by phone first to ensure the right person will be present and to confirm which documents will be needed.

 

Under no circumstances accept that you can do it online or through Fiat customer services. My extended efforts were doomed from the start by the premature registration date but I could easily has slipped past the 15 day window of opportunity thanks to all the misinformation from all concerned.

 

It seems you also need the van registered with Fiat to get any warranty or breakdown help but my dealer says they see a lot of vans without their warranty registration.

It is a good idea to contact Fiat customer services a few weeks later to check they have the correct address for you otherwise you wont get the recall letters (my recent one went to the importer)

 

Oh, and Fiat are utterly immovable; the registration date is the absolute start date for everything so I lost 5 weeks warranty too.

:'(

Richard

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Richard

That sounds about as big a faff as I had trying to convince Ford that my Benimar Tessoro had a 5 year extended warranty and not just the standard 3 years , even though I pointed to the website of the Ford media centre press release which stated just what I had said.

Why do manufacturers make it so difficult for customers and then act all surprised when they get a rap in the press.

 

It’s a pity that we have to deal with the likes of Fiat, Ford , Peugeot etc. They are such huge concerns that they don’t give a monkeys. If only one of the lower volume manufacturers would produce a motorhome chassis it might give the big boys a rocket where it’s needed.

 

Colin

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