First service Fiat 3L Comfortmatic < 4000 miles !!?

[jocie]

My Devon Aztec will be 1 year old on Sept 1st, but has less than 4 k miles and is running perfectly. Must I have an oil change etc now to maintain the warranty, and must it be done by a Fiat Dealer- the nearest ones are Cambridge or Milton Keynes, and I live in Letchworth. Any expert advice welcomed please.

[Brian Kirby]

What does the warranty document say?  You need to follow it to the letter and, as warranty conditions vary between models, and even over time, only your document is safe to consult.  So, sorry, go forth and read!  :-D

Usually, in cases of low mileage, the maximum recommended interval between services is one year, but for some vehicles it is less, and for others more.

So long as the service record is correctly completed, it should not matter who does it, but only authorised garages can carry out recall work or warranty work, should this be required.

Beyond that, if you go to an authorised garage with a problem, and they have previously serviced the vehicle and regard you as a customer, you should get a better response - at least while it is under warranty.

[tonyishuk]

I come from the old fashioned school who maintains that oil and filter should be changed annualy.

 

The thought of old oxidised oil sitting in a underused engine would worry me.

 

The thought that having spent a few thousand on a 3 litre auto, why cut corners?

 

If I was buying secondhand, the first item I would check is regular servicing.

 

Rgds

[colin]

If you wish to use a dealer that is familier with the van, then use your local Citreon dealer, apart from comformatic box thier van is vertualy identical.

[747]

Hi there,

 

You should be able to have your service done at any Fiat/ Peugeot/Citroen dealer without affecting the warranty.

 

Then there are authorised service centres which can be M/home dealers or private garages authorised by manufacturers. Have a look in the Fiat book that came with the vehicle (the one listing allof the dealerships), there could be a closer one.

 

As for service intervals, the services are sub-divided into categories. There is such a thing as a 'light use' service. They also do them for high mileage vehicles as well. If you find a more local garage, ensure that it does not breach the warranty terms. Bear in mind that if the dealer you bought from has his own mechanical workshop, he will tell you that he must be the one to do the work even if that is not so. Well, he would would`nt he. :D

[Mel B]

Hi jocie - welcome! :-D

 

Once you have read the warranty terms, even if you are permitted to go beyond a year for your first service, I would advise you to still get it done. A service is not only a 'warranty' matter but a safety matter to, any issues that may be developing can be spotted whilst being serviced and rectified, before they get worse or cause major problems.

 

A mechanic friend of mine has always advised us to have vehicles serviced at least once a year, regardless of mileage. Once a year should be sufficient for low mileage ones, but for any that do higher mileages he always recommended at least a basic oil and filter change in between. Remember that just because a vehicle may not be used much, the oil is still sitting around and deteriorating.

 

As for where to get the servicing done, this can normally be done at any VAT registered garage but you must ensure that they use genuine replacement parts and the recommended oil as given in the servicing handbook. Failure to do this would invalidate your warranty.

[colin]

BTW, don't be fooled by the Fiat website that tells you Marshalls in Hitchin are Fiat van agents, that branch isn't.

[jocie]

Many thanks to you all for these sensible suggestions. We have a local Peugeot dealer whom I shall contact , and it would make sense for me to try to find out which of the Fiat Dealerships reasonably near (Cambridge and Milton Keynes) would be best for any future Motorhome warranty work (the Fiat bit, as I can carry out most of the conversion bit myself at least as well as most dealers and have already done so....) .

[Mike88]

As I recall you can have a low mileage first service from any Fiat dealer. Please check your warranty carefully.

 

It is true you can take it to any dealer BUT in order for the warranty to remain valid the garage must use Fiat parts and the receipt must be accompanied by a printout of the actual part numbers used. I have read a post somewhere where a Fiat owner was refused work under warranty because of the absence of such a printout. You can challenge this of course but is it worth the hassle?

 

So, in practice you should use a Fiat dealer. Also if something were to go wrong with your vehicle during the warranty you are more likely to get a sympathetic response from Fiat if an approved Fiat dealer is used.

 

Basically Fiat owners are sucked into using Fiat dealerships even if they want to go elsewhere. Although Citroen and Peugeot are identical vans I would use a Fiat dealer for the avoidance of doubt for as long as the van is under warranty. That is what I shall be doing.

[euroserv]

It depends very much on what type of warranty you have.

 

If your warranty book states that you have a two year unlimited mileage warranty then you may as well get all of your servicing done elsewhere. Any VAT registered garage can do it as long as they use parts and oils of equivalent quality to those specified by Fiat and this will not affect your ability to claim from Fiat if you need warranty during the two year period as long as you have a record of what has been done and when.

 

BUT

 

If you have an 'option' of a third year 'dealer warranty' then this is limited to 120,000 miles and is conditional on having had your vehicle serviced at a Fiat dealer during the preceeding two years.

 

Honestly though, I cannot imagine why anyone that has spent the equivalent of half a house on a camper van would want to save a couple of hundred quid in ensuring that it is in tip top shape. Our vans cost us between £10 and 17 grand and need a service every couple of months, so extended warranties are pretty useless to us but for your pride and joy???

 

Nick

[crappyhamper]

My friend is a delivery driver with the new Fiat van and he told me it only needs servicing at 28,000 miles, mind you to him thats about 7 months.

[jocie]

Thanks mike88 and euroserv, and yes I do have 3rd year warranty so will go to a Fiat dealer (Stormont truck & van in Dunstable are Fiat Professional and Iveco dealers so unless I get a better suggestion will try them). Crappyhamper thanks I know about the 28000 mile oil change intervals but I presumed at least once a year was also required, and it will take 4 or 5 years for me to do 28000 miles!

[lennyhb]

crappyhamper - 2010-08-06 1:51 PM

 

My friend is a delivery driver with the new Fiat van and he told me it only needs servicing at 28,000 miles, mind you to him thats about 7 months.

 

That applies to European sourced vehicles UK sourced ones with the 3 year warrant as Nick says require an annual service.

 

 

[tonyishuk]

Having admitted previously to my old fashioned outlook onchanging oil and filter annualy. I had the had the oil changed on my new 2.3 @ 500 miles !!!

 

I reckoned that by the time the vehicle had been sitting @ Fiats factory, then waiting @Rapidos factory, then sitting at the dealers as a show vehicle, the engine could do with a treat !

 

Rgds