Fiat motorhomes

[Jodi]

We are looking to buy a motorhome and hubby has a real big thing against Fiats and I wonder is this just him or is there a good reason for his prejudice. It does restrict the sort of vans he will consider. Would love to hear your comments.

[Mike88]

I suggest you look at the thread about 5 spaces down. Manual gearbox versions suffer from gearbox judder. Some say the problems have now been resolved but others say even new vehicles still judder.

 

The only way to avoid the problem is to buy a 3 litre automatic gearbox version but they are expensive. That is what I have done.

 

I agree its very difficult to find a decent selection of models not on a Fiat base. I was adamant that I would not buy one but in the end the lack of alternatives forced my hand.

[colinfrier]

Aviod FIAT especialy X250 2007 onwards while there are many good reports of the Automatic (comfortmatic) it is early days and I would say the Jury is still out,

Aslo consider the way FIAT have treated their customers that says volumes.

[euroserv]

Hello,

 

While I think the comments so far are completely justified regarding the x250 (2006 onwards) It would be unfair to not point out that the previous vehicles from 2002 to 2006 with in particular the 2.8JTD engine are brilliant and have no more inherent problems than any other make.

 

You do not have to be concerned about rust or any of the historical Fiat problems and there is a very wide network of specialists that can look after it for you.

 

My advice would be to hire one for a few days and see what you think.

 

Nick

[AliB]

You will have to make your own decision. If you read the threads on Fiat you will find lots of people who are happy with Fiat and lots of people who are not.

For what it is worth I have an X250 2.3 litre 6 speed which has had the well documented modifactions and now has no problems. I also had no complaint regarding Fiat customer service.

No doubt the next poster will totally have a different view.

In my opinion it is more important to choose a layout that suits your travelling style.

[Brian Kirby]

I agree about hiring before you buy.  Apart from helping to resolve how you feel driving a relatively large vehicle, it also helps to put a number of other things into perspective.  For example, you may well find that what seems an ideal layout when assessed in a showroom, seems less satisfactory when used in anger! 

Nick (Euroserve) knows his Fiats, and his comments are based on very wide experience of the Ducato vans.

I would just add to consider where/how you intend using the van.  If you think you will stay in lowland areas, and use mainly campsites, you may find the problems with the recent Fiat/Peugeot/Citroen vans (Collectively referred to as Sevel vans, after the location in which they are made) do not cause you concern.  However, if you may venture into hill, or mountain, territory, or just off the beaten track, (and who with a motorhome doesn't, sooner or later?) then the difficulties many have experienced in reversing these vehicles uphill will be far more liable to smite you!  Some even object to reversing over grass, or just uneven surfaces.  If you want to be sure, and have peace of mind, therefore, it would be wise to avoid these models, designated X250, with the possible exception, as stated above, of the 3 litre automatic.

I would also suggest buying and reading this, http://tinyurl.com/yj9hucq before you buy a van, although it seems it is currently out of stock with the publisher pending a new edition in June.  Still, if you can wait till then it is invaluable, and could well save you a pretty penny!

[mike 202]

I would not touch a Fiat x250 in any guise including the 3L automatic. I had a new x250 and kept it for a few months and then traded it in for a similar vehicle based on Ford. Although it cost me several thousands of pounds I have never looked back and regreted my decision.

 

What ever you do Please read the thread already mentioned above, then if you decide to ignore hubby's intuition then, I hope he never has to say "I told you so".

 

You have already made one good decision by raising your question on this forum, so Good Luck with your search

[Brock]

The new Fiats have a bad motorhome press for justifiable reasons of reliability although they are probably the most stable van base for handling. The commercial media seems less critical of the vehicles. Older Fiats - and I am on my 4th trouble free Fiat - tend to be reliable.

 

Finding someone to service a Fiat in the UK is not as easy as finding a Ford or Mercedes dealer although Fiat has at least tried to increase its coverage. A class vans are harder still to get serviced.

 

Most motorhomers in the UK would probably choose a rear wheel drive Transit if they could not afford a Mercedes. Both Ford and Mercedes get critical comment for reliability and build quality.

 

I would not buy a new Fiat based van.

[Mel B]

Hi Jodi

 

We have had the previous 2 incarnation of Fiat and found them both very good indeed. There was some problem with the 5th gear on the earlier Fiats but this was pretty much sorted by around 2002 onwards I believe, so if you're looking at second hand vans on Fiats from 2003-2006 Fiat you should be okay. If you're looking at a new Fiat though, you need to do your research and decide for yourself, as it is a purely personal decision. Some say the Fiat X250 3 litre automatic is fine, but there have been some problems with them too, and it is a very expensive way to try to get a base vehicle that does what it should if you don't need an automatic!

 

We currently have a Mk 6 Ford and have been looking for a new 'van but the Fiat fiasco made us very, very wary, however, we recently found a van that will suit our needs almost perfectly and best of all it is on the Mk 7 Ford. As we tend to go to out of the way places, and have ended up in the past having to reverse up hills (a problem for some of the new X250 Fiats), I certainly did not want to find out the hard way that a van we had bought had a problem. By getting it on a Mk 7 Ford we won't be worrying about it.

 

Why not try to decide on what layout you want first and then, if there is a choice of base vehicle you can decide then if you want the alternative to the Fiat. If not, and the layout you want is only available on a Fiat, you'll need to weigh up the likelihood of getting a Fiat judderer and whether or not you could take the risk.

 

Happy hunting.

[Jodi]

Thank you for all the replies. Is the Peugeot x250 the same as the Fiat version.

Brian and the others suggestion of hiring before buying may well be the way we go as our thoughts on which motorhome changes each today. We had thought of a van round about the 18 foot such as the A/S Nuevo's which would fit on the driveway and would be able to go most places, but having looked round a couple of dealers yesterday we fell in love with firstly an Autocruise Starburst, then even more in love with an Autotrail Cheyanne T40s (with the fixed twin beds). This starts to change things as the much larger Autotrail would need to be kept at a storage site and we would probably tow a small car and I have some questions to ask you all on that (new thread any minute now (lol) ) I noticed then the Autotrail has the Fiat JTD engine which it seems from the above replies, to be a good option. Still very undecided what to do re buying a motorhome as its a lot of money to spend and we have a perfectly nice caravan, but our lives are changing as we come up to retirement and aged parents to keep an eye on at the moment, which is why I'm bombarding you all with questions :-D

I can see us doing more touring rather then spending a lot of time in one place and would like to investigate spending time abroad during the our winter months.

[Mr. Grumpy]

Hi Jodi,

Check your inbox.

[Way2Go]

We have a 2007 X250 Fiat and love her to pieces.

Yes we have a judder in reverse (being sorted in 2 weeks time) but considering they give you 6 forward and only 1 reverse gear I guess they consider you'll be going forward most of the time.

There is a bit of a judder when we use reverse to park but I've never had to drive at 70mph down a motorway in reverse - so far.

We have the excellent Bessacarr E560 body with fixed bed.  The layout is the best we've seen and the Fiat drives as though it were a car.  It looks very attractive and we've never once regretted our purchase.

The water ingress has been sorted out without further problems and the reverse gear/judder thing is being sorted out in 2 weeks time.

Despite all the hype generated in these forums - we would buy another one tomorrow without question.

That's our unbiased opinion.

W2G

[DWC66]

Hi, we also had a Fiat 2007 3 litre Kon - Tiki which we loved, it was the ideal layout for us - end lounge, nice & comfortable. Hubby also said it drove like a car, joy to drive etc. But because of the water ingress problem (we had the scuttle done) it causes problems later as it doesn't fix the water problem it diverts the water onto other components, same as the judder fix, it doesn't really fix it just covers it up. Anyway this happened to us in early January (possibly water freezing with the low temp,(also reported with same problem on MHFun or MHFacts forums from other owners) the engine management light coming on - loss of power- limp home mode- couldn't get up a hill. We had to call the RAC and got taken home on a low loader. Into Fiat garage major component gone -Throttle Body- £500 pounds thankyou very much - of course not under warranty (though it was only 2 years 3 months and less than 5000 miles) And of course Fiat didn't want to know!!

 

So because of the continuous worry of owning a Fiat based motorhome (though the Swift part was lovely) we very reluctantly part ex for a Ford based and very glad we did, as it is brilliant. My husband says it drives even better than the Fiat, better visibility and just as comfortable.

 

Just have a look about and see how many Fiat based (2006 onwards) are up for sale and seem quite cheap!! I know the majority are based on the Fiat, but so many 2006 onwards makes me suspicious. Then TRY and find Ford based as it seems everyone wants one at the moment. We searched for ages until we found the layout (end lounge) as they seem to be snapped up (unlike the Fiat based)

 

 

So it seems some maybe ok at the moment, but are like a "timebomb" waiting to go off.

 

Oh,when they are out of warranty of course.

 

Jan.

[emmbeedee]

DWC66 - 2010-03-13 2:00 PM

we very reluctantly part ex for a Ford based and very glad we did, as it is brilliant. My husband says it drives even better than the Fiat, better visibility and just as comfortable.

 

Just have a look about and see how many Fiat based (2006 onwards) are up for sale and seem quite cheap!! I know the majority are based on the Fiat, but so many 2006 onwards makes me suspicious. Then TRY and find Ford based as it seems everyone wants one at the moment. We searched for ages until we found the layout (end lounge) as they seem to be snapped up (unlike the Fiat based)

 

 

So it seems some maybe ok at the moment, but are like a "timebomb" waiting to go off.

 

Oh,when they are out of warranty of course.

 

Jan.

 

 

Hi, could you please advise which motorhome you have now, as we have tried, so far without success, to find an end lounge design based on a Ford?

[njw]

The new tribute coachbuilts are on a ford one of my friends has just ordered one because of base vehicle he was not happy with his fiat which he has only had 6 months

[DWC66]

emmbeedee - 2010-03-13 2:17 PM

 

DWC66 - 2010-03-13 2:00 PM

we very reluctantly part ex for a Ford based and very glad we did, as it is brilliant. My husband says it drives even better than the Fiat, better visibility and just as comfortable.

 

Just have a look about and see how many Fiat based (2006 onwards) are up for sale and seem quite cheap!! I know the majority are based on the Fiat, but so many 2006 onwards makes me suspicious. Then TRY and find Ford based as it seems everyone wants one at the moment. We searched for ages until we found the layout (end lounge) as they seem to be snapped up (unlike the Fiat based)

 

 

So it seems some maybe ok at the moment, but are like a "timebomb" waiting to go off.

 

Oh,when they are out of warranty of course.

 

Jan.

 

 

Hi, could you please advise which motorhome you have now, as we have tried, so far without success, to find an end lounge design based on a Ford?

 

Hi, we have an Autosleeper Ascot 2009. It has a lovely bright and comfortable "u" shaped lounge 2.4 RWD.

 

Jan.

[Rayjsj]

Jodi,

X250 is the Model from late 2006, (the 'Bug eyed' one) yes, the Puegeot new boxer/ Citroen (Jumper I think?) and Fiat Ducato are all produced on the same assy. line in Italy at a place called Sevel.

There are some minor differances one or two engines are differant, but basically they are 'Badge Engineered' (the Same) However the Problem Gearboxes (6 speed) are common to all.

The 3 litre manuals are potentially the most expensive to repair(for this fault) as they have a ' DMF' (dual mass flywheel) which also needs replacing if the clutch fails (and is very expensive) Also Fiat refuse to acknowledge that these vehicles have a problem (so no Fiat 'Fix').

The Clutch is specifically Excluded from the 3 year warranty.

 

So, with ALL that, Do You feel Lucky !!

No, neither did I.

Ray

[mel wood]

Jodi - 2010-03-13 11:29 AM

 

Thank you for all the replies. Is the Peugeot x250 the same as the Fiat version.

We had thought of a van round about the 18 foot such as the A/S Nuevo's which would fit on the driveway and would be able to go most places,

 

 

we would probably tow a small car

 

The Peugeot Boxer IS NOT THE SAME AS THE FIAT VERSION but is very similar.

We have a 58 plate 2.2 Peugeot Boxer with a 5 speed gearbox and have

been very pleased with the base vehicle. We have had no reverse gear problems (although some people have).

 

Ours is an Auto-Sleepers Symbol ES (panel van conversion) which is 18 feet 6 inches long (including the fixed rear step). It provides sufficient living and storage space for us for 7 week long European holidays and is OUR ONLY VEHICLE. Day to day usage is fine and we can go anywhere we wish and have not found parking a problem. We have covered over 13000 miles and although we initially did have a number of CONVERSION problems which should not have occurred, when they were sorted we were, and are, pleased with the van.

 

If you do decide to buy a motorhome I advise a good road test and a THOROUGH inspection on handover. It is essential to check everything before taking delivery.

[The Decorator]

Jodi

 

My view of the recently produced FIAT's is that I would not wish to buy or own one.

 

Even those who like them will say there is a problem which they manage to avoid, some have to make hard decisions on where they camp and how.

 

Only you can decide, the future is unknown, would you buy a vacuum cleaner or a cooker or a posh dress which you knew to have possible faults and may cost you later in its use, no I doubt you would, then use that same notion when looking at M/H's.

 

Don't be smitten with dreams, look at it as a business. At the end of the search its your cash.

 

Jon

[Tomo3090]

Ray, I know you don't like the FIAT's, but isn't the clutch outside the warranty of any vehicle, FIAT, Ford or Mercedes?

 

This is a subject without any real solution. We've got a 2008 FIAT and it doesn't judder, and doesn't have a water problem. I have read of people with all makes of base vehicle having problems and at the end of the day, we as consumers of motorhomes, are limited by choice of base vehicle, layout and manufacturer and so at some stage we have to compromise on the type of van we want against the availability of a particular base vehicle. It would be interesting to find out once and for all and compared to how many FIAT base vehicles are out there how many people are having problems and those not.

[Mike88]

I thought all new Fiat had DMFs and not just the 3 litre.

[arthur49]

Jodi

 

This is our experience of 2.3 litre X250 from an earlier thread'

 

"I fully appreciate all the efforts, frustration, anger and heartache by many on this forum so when I say what I'm going to say below please bear that in mind!

We purchased an X250 2.3 in July 09 knowing full well that there were issues with the gearbox etc - our dealer did not deny this. We test drove the m/h and found no judder or vibration.........but then it only had a few miles on the clock and issues may well develop with mileage. I did have a concern with the reverse gear ratio however. Seemed to be hellish fast in reverse! However, it was otherwise a great drive. (Yes, tall passengers need to duck down a little in rain to look through the cleared windscreen but its not an issue for my passenger)

Some may say we were reckless or had too much money (we don't) or both in buying an X250 but after viewing about 150 m/h - didn't drive them all!!! - we really liked the one we chose, and still do. It best suited our needs and taste so we went for it.

After about 2000 miles noticed a 'slap' on starting (not too bad) and a slight judder on taking up drive going forwards. Strangely nothing in reverse .......... but that reverse ratio was definitely too high and, to me, the issue that was likely to do damage. I know our chassis was made in May 2008 so is the 'original' gearbox.

Spoke to Fiat and I've had mods a) and b) done ie mounts etc and lower reverse ratio ........ and I have it in writing. What a difference - no trace of 'slap', judder or vibration and now reverses at a sensible speed.

The service from Fiat and my dealer was excellent. We loved our m/h before the mods and now its even better.

I'm writing this not to upset anyone - for instance I've no idea about the issues regarding the 3litre as I've not driven one. I'm writing this to share our experience (as thats the point of a Forum?)

Would I buy another X250 2.3 litre? Definitely.

Arthur"

[AliB]

Brock - 2010-03-12 6:35 PM

 

 

 

Most motorhomers in the UK would probably choose a rear wheel drive Transit if they could not afford a Mercedes.

 

That's a bold statement. Is it based on facts or is it just an opinion?

[jhorsf]

Mel B - 2010-03-12 11:25 PM

 

Some say the Fiat X250 3 litre automatic is fine, but there have been some problems with them too, and it is a very expensive way to try to get a base vehicle that does what it should if you don't need an automatic!

 

 

 

 

MelB how do you justify your above statement?Are you aware of some problems with the 3 litre auto that everyone should know about? are you in receipt of facts? if so I would be most interested to hear them as of yet I have not found 1 person that actually OWNS a comfortmatic that does not think it is the best driving van available ,so please tell all

[Mickt]

I think yu will find Homecar on a Ford with end lounge