Service and habitation check.

[binlicker]

I have a Pilote Galaxy 740G A class on a 17 plate with the euro 6, 2.3 150BHP engine. I have just had it serviced by a independent garage and was surprised by the cost. The hab service was £245.00 and all I got for the damp check was a piece of paper with a drawing of a m/home on saying DRY.. £120.00 for engine service parts ( oil filter, fuel filter, engine flush.) Oil was £85.00. The labour for the service was £210.00. and a MOT £50.00. Is this about the going rate or would other owners consider it expensive? I was also informed that a new directive from Fiat stated it now needed the timing belt changing at 4 years and because it was an A class it was going to be approx. £600.00 without water pump and up to £1000 with it. Is this really the going rate or do other owners who have had the belt changed think it's expensive? It's done 17000miles. Thanks Steve

[Don636]

This year I paid £259 for a minor service and MOT on my 2014 Fiat Ducato van at a Fiat garage. Last year I paid £470 for the timing belt change without water pump, again at my local Fiat dealership.

[Derek Uzzell]

Steve

 

The following links are to the check sheet that a motorhome owner might expect to be provided wih after a habition service had been carried out at an NCC Approved Workshop, plus the separate damp report.

 

https://www.motorhomes.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Motorhome-Annual-Habitation-Approved-Workshop-Name-and-Address-Service-Check-sheet.pdf

 

https://www.motorhomes.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/AWS-Motorhome-Habitation-Damp-Report.pdf

 

It’s not easy to comment on the cost of a Ducato service as this will depend on the labour-rate, what tasks were performed and whether the parts used were ‘genuine’ Fiat or ‘pattern’ (with the Fiat parts usually significantly more expensive). For example, a recent MOT and an oil + oil-filter change at a local Fiat Professional agent cost me £122.67 (VAT inc) with the MOT charged at £46 (no VAT), the labour charge £30, the parts £33.89 and VAT £12.78. The oil cost £26.62 which proves that it was not SELENIA. Your £85 charge for oil should indicate that SELENIA oil was used.

 

In March 2020 I was given two estimates for a timing belt and water-pump change. One estimate was £854.54 (Fiat parts) and the other was £604.54 (pattern parts). The labour charge in both cases was £351. (All prices VAT inc) As you were told, ‘engine compartment’ work on A-class motorhomes tends to cost more because of access difficulties.

 

I’m not sure about the Fiat new directive...

 

Fiat’s most recent Ducato Owner Handbook advises as follows reagarding the timing belt

 

Recommended maximum mileage 192,000 km. Irrespective of the mileage, the timing drive belt must be changed every 4 years for heavy-duty use (cold climates, town use, long periods of idling) or at least every 5 years.

[binlicker]

Thank you for your replies. I have used this garage for my last 2 m/homes and I suppose I have been happy with the work but always thought him expensive but in the last 2 years his prices have increased quite a lot, example the Hab test was £165 + vat now it's £205 + vat and as you say the base vehicle service depends on parts used but his labour charges have gone from £60+vat to £69.50+vat both increases in the last 2 years. Maybe i'am a little behind the times, the wife always says I don't know how expensive things have become. I will ring around regarding the timing belt and water pump and get some prices. Thanks Steve

[Derek Uzzell]

A follw-up regarding the Fiat ‘directive’ relating to a timing-belt change at 4 years.

 

I came across this 2014 forum discussion

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Cam-belt-09-x250/35749/

 

that includes the following statement:

 

When it came to the 4 year service and MOT on our 2007 X250, the Fiat garage simply refused to do the MOT unless the cam belt was first changed. I believe this is a FIAT directive to them that it has to be changed every 4 years...this to avoid any claim against the garage/MOT testing station if it breaks whilst the MOT is being done- which they all claim is a possibility.

I did check with several FIAT garages ,and got the same response, and I suppose the argument they put forward in support is that as the belt is 'rubber' or similar, it technically, like tyres, starts its 'active' life from the day it is put onto the vehicle, and that therefore means it is not mileage base but age related.

It does seem to me it is one of these requirements which tests the engine well beyond what would happen in real usage, just for some paperwork to say the emissions are at a certain level.

 

When my Ducato-based motorhome was at the local Fiat Professional agency last month for a MOT test, I happened to be standing at the entrance to the MOT bay when the vehicle’s motor was revved for the emissions check. The guidance for carrying out the ‘smoke test' on a diesel-fuelled vehicle is provided here

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/8-nuisance#section-8-2-2

 

and includes the caveat that the smoke test should not be performed if "the camshaft belt is in an unsatisfactory condition”, but it’s hard to see how the tester can be sure of this and many vehicle owners won’t know what a camshaft belt is, let alone what condition it’s in.

[binlicker]

Thanks for the answer, I suppose it make sense baring in mind a chassis for an Aclass or for that matter a coach built could have been made 12/18months before a buyer takes delivery. The guy at at the garage only told me after it had been MOT'd and serviced. I've booked it in at another garage and it's going to be changed. Once the seed is sown I suppose you know what I mean. I rang the Fiat Professional garage in my home town the receptionist said some one would ring me back they never did maybe too busy who knows. Thanks again Steve

[Brian Kirby]

binlicker - 2021-04-05 11:03 AM

I have a Pilote Galaxy 740G A class on a 17 plate with the euro 6, 2.3 150BHP engine. I have just had it serviced by a independent garage and was surprised by the cost. The hab service was £245.00 and all I got for the damp check was a piece of paper with a drawing of a m/home on saying DRY.. £120.00 for engine service parts ( oil filter, fuel filter, engine flush.) Oil was £85.00. The labour for the service was £210.00. and a MOT £50.00. Is this about the going rate or would other owners consider it expensive? I was also informed that a new directive from Fiat stated it now needed the timing belt changing at 4 years and because it was an A class it was going to be approx. £600.00 without water pump and up to £1000 with it. Is this really the going rate or do other owners who have had the belt changed think it's expensive? It's done 17000miles. Thanks Steve

Steve, just wondering! You state that a "garage" carried out the habitation check. Don't know if I'm reading too much into that, but "garages" as I understand them, do the oily bits, and habitation checks do not involve any oily bits. I am aware that some motorhome dealerships have workshop staff competent to carry out normal routine base vehicle servicing, but few of these are accredited repair workshops able to carry out base vehicle warranty work or recall work.

 

I'm not familiar with Pilote's warranty terms, but most motorhome manufacturers these days issue water ingress warranties covering 5, 6, or more years - on condition that the vehicle is inspected for damp at least annually (in some cases also dependent on a full habitation service being carried out), and that the work can only be carried out by an accredited dealership for the brand (in your case Pilote), with its completion recorded in a warranty booklet and entered onto the manufacturer's database (usually within specified time periods from the date of first registration).

 

If the water ingress requirements are not fully complied with (in terms of who does the work, records its completion, and when) the warranty becomes void.

 

Your 2017 van should still be well within its water ingress warranty period, but your description of the "garage", and the document you received after the habitation service, make me think that this may not be what Pilote require to maintain the warranty.

 

Have you checked exactly what Pilote's warranty says is required to keep it valid, and whether the work you had carried out meets their requirements?

 

If not, I'd suggest contacting your nearest Pilote dealership a.s.a.p. (ideally the one that supplied the van) to see whether whatever check/s remain outstanding can still be completed to maintain the warranty in force.

 

I am aware the some manufacturers have extended the critical dates during the pandemic, so you may have a larger time "window" at present than would otherwise be the case. An invalid water ingress warranty would be likely to prejudice the value of your van should you decide to sell - so maybe worth checking?

[binlicker]

Yes Brian you are perfectly correct. I have had the work done at this garage from new as also my last m/home which was an Adria. The garage has a NCC technician who comes in and carries out the Hab service which is usually fine. This year I got the same docs but no values for the damp test. Regarding the Pilote warranty it's got a year to run to 5 years. I suppose Pilote wouldn't honour the water ingress warranty because it was not carried out by them. The Adria could be Hab serviced by a NCC technician and I naively carried on. The supplying dealer did not inform me of the need to return it to them for the seam check, my understanding is you can have the hab service done by a NCC technician but the seals and seams have to be checked by the dealer, the dealer is 100miles away. I know it's not really a good excuse. Steve

[Brian Kirby]

binlicker - 2021-04-08 1:54 PM

 

Yes Brian you are perfectly correct. I have had the work done at this garage from new as also my last m/home which was an Adria. The garage has a NCC technician who comes in and carries out the Hab service which is usually fine. This year I got the same docs but no values for the damp test. Regarding the Pilote warranty it's got a year to run to 5 years. I suppose Pilote wouldn't honour the water ingress warranty because it was not carried out by them. The Adria could be Hab serviced by a NCC technician and I naively carried on. The supplying dealer did not inform me of the need to return it to them for the seam check, my understanding is you can have the hab service done by a NCC technician but the seals and seams have to be checked by the dealer, the dealer is 100miles away. I know it's not really a good excuse. Steve

You might like to try Signature Motorhomes & Leisure, of Imperium House, 72 Roman Way, Longridge Road, PR2 5BB Preston, who are listed by Pilote as one of their UK dealers. Don't know your exact whereabouts, but they are about 60 miles from central Leeds. Any use?

[binlicker]

When I bought the Pilote I don't remember them as a dealer but no harm in looking. I know when I bought the Pilote there was a Bavaria dealer in Barnsley because we were going to buy from them but when we went to order it the guy who dealt with us was really hard work so we left and went for the Pilote because it's identical except the graphics. The reason I was a bit put out by the last damp check was because of the lack of values for the damp test. It say DRY but at the end of the day it really means nothing I just think it's slack workmanship how long to write the %. Steve