tui Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 I have found flaking paint on the roof of our Fiat van based motorhome after a warning from another motorhomer. Unfortunately our motorhome is now out of warranty. I have contacted Fiat and await a decision. Does anyone have experience of dealing with Fiat over this matter? Are there any tips which might result in a successful outcome? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 I hear that roofing felt is a good material for roofs. :D But seriously, if the paint is flaking it's obvious that it was not bonding in the first place.It will need rubbing down, cleaning and respraying, after re-priming if necessary. You may be lucky and get Fiat to pay for this, as long as there has not been seagull excrement sitting on the roof for months. This is very bad for paint as it's quite acidic. I remember seeing this on Silver ford Cortina's ages ago, usually on the bonnet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 Tui You might try asking about this on the Fiat forum http://www.fiatforum.com/ (though you may need to be diplomatic as to how you phrase it as some of forum members can be ultra-sensitive to Fiat-related criticisms!) Comments on the following link, unfortunately, are not optimistic as far as satisfactorily resolving your problem is concerned. http://forums.preloved.co.uk/fuseaction-forums.showdiscussion/thread_id-56555/e2c634a0.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 So at a guess it is PVC? what year, model? I have read of a couple of Sevel vans of the latest model having blistering of paint above windscreen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 Jez...does it ever stop with these Fiat vehicles! *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Hello, I have owned nearly 150 Fiat Ducato's registered between 1997 and 2010. Many have covered over 150,000 miles and all have lived outside throughout their lives with minimal care and attention to the bodywork because that is the sad life of a rental vehicle. We have NEVER experienced ANY paint issues at all. VW's, Mercs and Ford's are rust buckets by comparison. The paint will go dull over time but can be renovated (as we do before we sell them) but there is never any rust except for where there has been a bodged repair that we were not in control of. I can only suggest that the PVC in question was painted by the converter and not at the Fiat factory, or someone damaged the paint while in transit and did a poor job of covering up the accident. Either way I would be stunned if this problem is occuring on a factory finish. Obviously there could be environmental issues such as fall out from industrial incinerators or as said above; seagull poop but that would hardly be Fiat's fault. Fiat make plenty of mistakes but I just don't believe this one is theirs. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Maybe best to stick with white then? *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 euroserv - 2010-10-25 11:25 AM Obviously there could be environmental issues such as fall out from industrial incinerators or as said above; seagull poop but that would hardly be Fiat's fault. Fiat make plenty of mistakes but I just don't believe this one is theirs. Nick If your M/H has a metallic paint finish it will be more suseptable to "fall-out" than the White Vans I suspect Nick runs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Whilst your van may be out of the standard 'mechanical' warranty, it might not be out of the 'paint' warranty as this often lasts longer. Without knowing a bit more info about your van (age, conversion etc) it is difficult to give more specific answers I'm afraid. :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirage Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Judge mental, when will that chip drop off your shoulder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 You may be able to see if it has had a post factory repair. Get a little Cellulose thinner on a cloth and wipe the affected area with it. If paint comes off on the cloth, it has had a quick bodge up repair with Cellulose. If it stays clean it is probably factory finnish, as the laquer on top of the paint should be impervious to thinners as it has an oven baked Isocyanate finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhorsf Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 What year is your van? Fiat had a problem with some vans a few years ago see here http://www.motorhomexp.info/PaintFailure.htm seems to be the grey metallic colour mostly not properly bonded Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 mirage - 2010-10-25 8:11 PM Judge mental, when will that chip drop off your shoulder hardly a chip? I am about to buy a Fiat based panel van when I sell mine, so it was a serious question? better of with white or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tui Posted November 26, 2010 Author Share Posted November 26, 2010 Thanks for answering The result has been positive as Fiat have had the roof resprayed at their expense as ' a gesture of goodwill.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian0354 Posted November 26, 2010 Share Posted November 26, 2010 tui - 2010-11-26 7:10 PM Thanks for answering The result has been positive as Fiat have had the roof resprayed at their expense as ' a gesture of goodwill.' Tui, Glad to hear this is getting sorted out for you. Please can you tell me if they,FIAT, said if it is the original paint or something that has been repaired since factory build, ie, damaged in transit, etc? Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 26, 2010 Share Posted November 26, 2010 Was there no paint warranty? This frequently extends beyond the mechanical warranty, with the anti-perforation warranty lasting longer still. Something like three years on mechanicals, five years on paint, and 8-10 years anti-perforation. You have to keep up the inspections at whatever frequency, though, to maintain the warranty in force. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike88 Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 JudgeMental - 2010-10-25 10:37 PM mirage - 2010-10-25 8:11 PM Judge mental, when will that chip drop off your shoulder hardly a chip? I am about to buy a Fiat based panel van when I sell mine, so it was a serious question? better of with white or not? If you buy white you will be indistinguishable from the thousands of gypsies roaming around France. Whether this is good or bad is a matter of personal opinion. When I came to P/ex my Transit the silver colour attracted a higher price. Why spend many thousands on a panel van to look like white van man? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Mike88 - 2010-11-27 8:17 AM ............. Why spend many thousands on a panel van to look like white van man? I find this last comment unacceptably white-van-man-ist! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Brian Kirby - 2010-11-27 11:34 AMMike88 - 2010-11-27 8:17 AM ............. Why spend many thousands on a panel van to look like white van man? I find this last comment unacceptably white-van-man-ist! :-DAgreed...I dont think the hymer car 322 sportline, which looks the business in white, would ever be mistaken for a gypo mobile....anyway it is a silver Adria I am getting :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 JudgeMental - 2010-11-27 1:38 PMBrian Kirby - 2010-11-27 11:34 AMMike88 - 2010-11-27 8:17 AM ............. Why spend many thousands on a panel van to look like white van man? I find this last comment unacceptably white-van-man-ist! :-DAgreed...I dont think the hymer car 322 sportline, which looks the business in white, would ever be mistaken for a gypo mobile....anyway it is a silver Adria I am getting :DYou could always have bought a cheap white one and covered it with silver duct-tape. Think of the extra protection against scratches that would have offered and, if the paint underneath the tape had started to flake, nobody would ever have noticed. Might even have provided a bit of extra insulation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 ... but just think of the fun all the little local 'oiks' would have pulling all that lovely tape off! 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tui Posted November 27, 2010 Author Share Posted November 27, 2010 FIAT Customer Services made no comment as to the cause of the flaking paint - they simply said in a telephone conversation that they would pay for the respray as a 'gesture of goodwill'. They did not suggest any fault on their part. Hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tui Posted November 27, 2010 Author Share Posted November 27, 2010 The paint warranty lasts for three years, which is the same as the mechanical warranty. The anti-perforation warranty is eight years. Cheers Tui Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 Brian Kirby - 2010-11-27 11:34 AMMike88 - 2010-11-27 8:17 AM ............. Why spend many thousands on a panel van to look like white van man? I find this last comment unacceptably white-van-man-ist! :-DMy delivery van is red...........................cause it dont show the blood >:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian0354 Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 tui - 2010-11-27 7:35 PM FIAT Customer Services made no comment as to the cause of the flaking paint - they simply said in a telephone conversation that they would pay for the respray as a 'gesture of goodwill'. They did not suggest any fault on their part. Hope that helps Tui, Thanks for the clarification. Had it been anyone else at fault they wouldn't be picking up the tab but I would love to know if it is factory paint. As memtioned earlier in the postings Ford had a problem with Silver Fox mettalic paint on cars in the late 60's and early 70's so history shows manufacturers are not beyond having troubles with paint finishes although things have come on considerably since then. Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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