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Yea - Nay on Dealer Service

3K views 33 replies 13 participants last post by  CDPond 
#1 ·
Background: took delivery of a new 2020 Lusso on 9/11/2019. Babied her (Sophia) with her own house (garage) and easy driving thru the break-in miles. Immediately found and joined this forum. As an old retired USAF pilot and aero engineer, I'm convinced that proper lubrication is vital. At 2,000 miles and one year of service I changed the big 3 fluids (engine, MT, and diff) with recommended AMSOIL product from a forum member and distributor. Here it is 21 months after purchase with 2,600 miles on the clock and it's never been to a dealer. I'm getting emails from MOPAR about an extended warranty and I don't know if I've already voided my warranty thru lack of dealer service.

My issues: Considering the dearth of Fiat dealers and the horror stories about inexperienced techs doing more harm than good I've been reluctant to turn the keys over to someone else. There's the issue of them draining out my AMSOIL with 500 miles on it and replacing it with something inferior. I've always believed that if it ain't broke don't mess with it and every time I drive her it's as if I'm on a test drive in a new car. It's absolutely perfect in every way without any complaint.

Possible courses of action: 1. take her to a dealer and get the service(s) taken care of and inquire on an extended warranty or 2. trust my baby to take care of me as long as I take care of her? BTW, I do keep a log book with milage/date and action taken with receipts but doubt they'll convince the dealer that I fulfilled my service commitments.

What say you?
 
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#2 ·
Unless you have an overriding reason to go into the dealership, like a warranty issue, I’d refrain from taking her there.

My 2018 Abarth with 14,000 miles has had three oil changes so far; all at the dealer.

As I explained on another thread, last week I got a pair of ramps; first time I ever look underneath. I found the shield at the bottom of the engine compartment loose and missing two bolts. The remaining bolts were loose as well.

After taking the car to the dealer for an oil change months ago, it had to go right back due to a loud rattle coming from underneath the car. They tell the technician to accompany me in the car so that he can hear the racket. We haven’t even left the the parking lot and the imbecile is already telling me that whatever is wrong with the car it has nothing to do with them. I tell him to shut up and listen. Sure enough, we drive around the block, he hears the racket and the car goes back in. They put the car on the lift and find out that they forgot to secure the shield. In so many words, the shield I found loose months later was AFTER those idiots had two chances to do it right.
 
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#3 ·
Unless you have an overriding reason to go into the dealership, like a warranty issue, I’d refrain from taking her there.

My 2018 Abarth with 14,000 miles has had three oil changes so far; all at the dealer.

As I explained on another thread, last week I got a pair of ramps; first time I ever look underneath. I found the shield at the bottom of the engine compartment loose and missing two bolts. The remaining bolts were loose as well.

After taking the car to the dealer for an oil change months ago, it had to go right back due to a loud rattle coming from underneath the car. They tell the technician to accompany me in the car so that he can hear the racket. We haven’t even left the the parking lot and the imbecile is already telling me that whatever is wrong with the car it has nothing to do with anything they did. I tell him to shut up and listen. Sure enough, we drive around the block, he hears the racket and the car goes back in. The put the car on the lift and find out that they forgot to secure the shield. In so many words, the shield I found loose months later was AFTER those idiots had two chances to do it right.
Thanx for the reply. So you change oil on mileage or time. My other 2 vehicles I change on mileage because I drive them more. But the Fiat won't see 3k miles by 2 years.
 
#6 ·
Yea, I've never loved a car so much or driven it so little. My quandary comes down to how to balance the need for service on mileage against the warranty requirements for service on time? I could own it 6 or 7 years before I hit 10k miles. If a warranty item hits while under time limits, will the dealer bounce the coverage because it's never been serviced?
 
#7 ·
Your warranty is A-OK. You do not need to have a dealer service your vehicle in order to keep your warranty in effect! Make certain you keep good records. If you, as you said, changed your own fluids then document the service performed, when the service was done, that you did this service and the products used in performing this service. You also want to list all additional items on this service record that you attended to during this service. Did you check the accessory belt, the coolant level, air the tires, the washer fluid, the battery? List everything you checked, attended to and dealt with during this service. Do that and as long as you perform the the recommended and/or required services at the recommended and/or required service intervals using products equal to or better than the OE specified maintenance products you're golden.
Also be aware that any time you might happen to take you Spider to a dealer for service for whatever reason you can specifically tell them to keep their grubby paws off any specific part or system that you do not want them messing with and have those instruction specifically noted on the service order before you sign it.
I would trust your baby to take care of you as long as you are taking care of her. That is the agreement I have with Moonracer. I'll give him a nice home, keep him well feed with only top tier top quality fuel, tend to his every maintenance need/requirement/desire and pamper his every wish for any special do-dads he may have a desire for all while operating in a sane manner. And in return I expect and hope for dependable consistent performance with constant ever enjoyable driving experiences. So far so good.
 
#9 ·
Your warranty is A-OK. You do not need to have a dealer service your vehicle in order to keep your warranty in effect! Make certain you keep good records. If you, as you said, changed your own fluids then document the service performed, when the service was done, that you did this service and the products used in performing this service. You also want to list all additional items on this service record that you attended to during this service. Did you check the accessory belt, the coolant level, air the tires, the washer fluid, the battery? List everything you checked, attended to and dealt with during this service. Do that and as long as you perform the the recommended and/or required services at the recommended and/or required service intervals using products equal to or better than the OE specified maintenance products you're golden.
Also be aware that any time you might happen to take you Spider to a dealer for service for whatever reason you can specifically tell them to keep their grubby paws off any specific part or system that you do not want them messing with and have those instruction specifically noted on the service order before you sign it.
I would trust your baby to take care of you as long as you are taking care of her. That is the agreement I have with Moonracer. I'll give him a nice home, keep him well feed with only top tier top quality fuel, tend to his every maintenance need/requirement/desire and pamper his every wish for any special do-dads he may have a desire for all while operating in a sane manner. And in return I expect and hope for dependable consistent performance with constant ever enjoyable driving experiences. So far so good.
Just what I was looking for. The elephant in the room concerning our service needs and dealers is the lack of any, not just good, dealers going forward. Like the number of spiders that are growing fewer by the day, it seems that holds for dealerships also. Thanx for weighing in.
 
#17 ·
The dealership experience depends a lot on the dealership , there are plenty of good , and bad dealership experience stories. Genesis in Macomb Co Michigan has repeatedly gave me the best service I've ever received at any dealership , but they are primarily an Alfa dealer , and treat every customer life they're driving a Quadrifoglio . Towards the end of both of our Fiats factory warranty , I went back and added another 4years/ 48000 mile Mopar bumper to bumper Warranty for about $1700 w/ $100 Deduct. These cars have an enormous amount of Mazda reliability built in and seldom return to the dealership. But if you have the fancy Headlamps , need a turbo , radio, touchscreen , PCM ect...,one repair could easily be thousands of dollars . You just have to check the numbers and weigh your odds , and NO ONE knows your FIAT better .
 
#18 ·
The first Spider I test drove was a used 2017 Abarth sitting at an Alfa Romeo-Maserati dealership in a posh Seattle neighborhood. The experience was shit, though: the front of the car had a small accident, the price was way too high, and the salesperson was both arrogant and pushy.

I ended buying my Spider, new, from a Fiat-Alfa Romeo dealer in dowdy Tacoma. The experience was good: my salesman was excellent, the paperwork was handled by the business office inside a large CDJR dealership across the street, which means it wasn’t posh but was relatively efficient.

I live 125 miles north of my selling dealer, so going there for service is not really an option. My servicing dealer is located 25 miles south of me; they are okay. It is a large CDJR dealer that sees a lot of Ram truck and Jeep traffic. They added a Fiat franchise relatively late in the game. They never sold any Spiders themselves, but see two come in for regular service. Last time I was there, they had only one Fiat-trained tech in staff.
 
#19 ·
All great comments from everyone. Such a valuable forum for sharing thoughts and experiences. I'm of the mind that as Fiat dealers become more vaporus I'll end up visiting various Chrysler dealerships here in Indy and interviewing the service manager as to his tech's training, experience, etc.
 
#20 ·
I am fortunate to have two CDJR dealerships around that also include Fiat. The one I bought my spider from is about 70 miles away, but the other is only 10 miles. I have tried both one time for service, and was much happier with the one closer to me. That’s a pretty lucky result for me.

Both sold spiders, where I bought was based on available inventory - manual transmission was a requirement for me!

Likely to switch over to doing all work myself pretty soon. Dealers are fine, but I will certainly pay more attention to detail on my car than the mechanic working on his eighth car of the day is going to.

Have almost 12,000 miles on my toy car in about 16 months, grinning ear to ear for every single mile!
 
#21 ·
I am fortunate to have two CDJR dealerships around that also include Fiat. The one I bought my spider from is about 70 miles away, but the other is only 10 miles. I have tried both one time for service, and was much happier with the one closer to me. That’s a pretty lucky result for me.

Both sold spiders, where I bought was based on available inventory - manual transmission was a requirement for me!

Likely to switch over to doing all work myself pretty soon. Dealers are fine, but I will certainly pay more attention to detail on my car than the mechanic working on his eighth car of the day is going to.

Have almost 12,000 miles on my toy car in about 16 months, grinning ear to ear for every single mile!
Smiles by the mile. Me too. It's my time machine. Downshifting on the curvies I'm no longer a 73 yo but a 25 yo pilot back in the day of flying F-4s and feeling invincible.
 
#22 ·
I'll take my Abarth to a dealer for service if and when I have to. As long as I can still do the required maintenance myself I'll do it. At 73 I no longer bounce up and down quite a nimbly and speedily as in days gone by so it sometimes takes me a bit longer to accomplish the task at hand. In fact I occasionally wonder if I'm actually going to ever get back up, but I digress, so that's the main reason I purchased an oil extractor for doing oil changes. Working on, fussing with Moonracer is a positive and good for both of us, and at my age I'll take my pleasurable experiences where I can get them. :cool:
 
#26 ·
We bought my wife's 2019 Lusso in October 2019. Not one single problem since. As for service, I'm not sure which of us is worse: you are a pilot & aero engineer -- I'm a dentist! I change the oil just like you do, every year, which is MAYBE 3,000 miles, but a tech at one of the recommended oil companies told me that I really shouldn't go longer than a year regardless of mileage. As for the extended warranties & service agreements, I had a terrible experience with the Finance guy at our dealership -- a liar and and a crook. The contracts were totally inappropriate for us (e.g. service is based on mileage ONLY, never on time) and they were charging about twice the Mopar price. I have read some posts by satisfied customers, but my experience was bad and the car has performed flawlessly. You should consider the cost vs. the potential need vs. your personal comfort with or without the service/warranty contracts. BTW I had an encounter with the yellow wrench myself -- it came on based on a calendar schedule, not based on service history or need. There is a way to reset it yourself.
 
#27 ·
According to my research, the Fiat 124 Spider has the lowest cost of ownership of any true sports car (2 door convertables). My local dealership in the outskirts of Seattle charges $71.76 (including tax) for an oil and filter change utilizing Fiat recommended products. I get this service accomplished once a year, no matter the mileage. The 124 Spider has a tried and tested engine, and thus I don't recommend purchasing the extended warranty. This is a simple, relatively inexpensive, and reliable vehicle. But it just doesn't look it. It looks expensive and exotic. And I just love it.
 
#28 ·
Thanx Starshine and Bill L. The one extended warranty I bought eons ago I never used so extended warranties are intended for one thing: money source for the seller, wether for cars or major appliances. My wife's 2018 Honda Cr-V had a air conditioning discharge fail 4,000 miles out of factory coverage. Hondas are usually bulletproof but this hose, with no real usage wear or tear let loose at 40k miles. I told the dealer that the part was either poorly designed by Honda, poorly manufactured by the vendor or poorly assembled by Honda. They extended warranty for this $850 repair but charged me a $200 deductible. That's never happened to me so in general I don't think your chance to come out top is low. Like dating your sister, ok I guess but not very satisfying. I don't buy lotto tickets either.
 
#29 ·
Well,I just wanted to chirp in here, I purchased my 124 Spyder Classico in July of 2019, Fiat of Melbourne, FL.and like the orig poster, I too love the ride but due to an injury, do not take it out as much as I want, so, that said I also have very low milage with only 4K mile and at times have thought about selling to make another lucky person happy, but, have not completely come to a decision yet. Now, I bring it in every year for an oil change and other basic look see's, my problem is that each time I have brought it into the dealership they have had to replace the freakin' water pump due to leaking and that has been a TOTAL PIA. I also have found a few bolts missing on the underside which the mechanic, (shout out< SAM) whom I have become very comfortable with and now have complete trust in his fantastic skills and workmanship, he gives it a personal stare down on each visit. All in all it's the little things that piss me off , thankfully I also purchased the 8 year extended warranty just for those things that we can't see. So if i decide to part with my sweet Florida ride ,check in now and then with me..............Glad to be a part of this very informative community.........
 
#31 ·
I know it's a little late, but under no circumstances will my Abarth ever go back to a dealer. I had a really bad experience at a Fiat/Maserati/Alpha/VW dealer (high mileage heroes?) and there is no way I'll let anyone touch her again!

If you can find a trustworthy mechanic that you trust...go for it, but I'll be doing ALL my own work from now on......

my $0.02
 
#32 ·
Late to the party, but FWIW, I do my own oil and filter changes. I have taken the maintenance schedules from the owner manual and converted that information into an Excel workbook that defines the punchlist of items that need to be performed at each maintenance interval (which is the earlier of either date or mileage, whichever triggers first). I maintain a log book of that service with religious fervour, which as a pilot I'm sure is something you can relate to.

Thus if anything should go awry while the vehicle is still under warranty, I have documentation to cover the fact that all the requisite service has been completed. In my case, I have a technician at my dealership that does all the work on my car for me (aside from the oil/filter changes), and I have a great business relationship with the service manager and his team. So I have zero reluctance about bringing my vehicle to them when I need to. To take that one step further, while the engine is under warranty, I'm still buying my oil and filter via the dealership, and when I pick up my supplies, they record the mileage in their system as if they were performing the oil/filter change themselves. Then I bring the used oil and filter back to them for disposal. But that only works if you have a dealer service department that you trust. I'm fortunate in that regard. Not all owners are.

Why do I do my own oil and filter changes? a) because I can, b) because I'm more careful and tidy than the lowest paid member of the service team who would normally be tasked to do this, and c) I have a very expensive anodized aluminum oil filter billet cap that I don't want scraped up. Okay, and I'll add d) because I find it kind of therapeutic. I'm bonding with my Spider. lol
 
#33 ·
Late to the party, but FWIW, I do my own oil and filter changes. I have taken the maintenance schedules from the owner manual and converted that information into an Excel workbook that defines the punchlist of items that need to be performed at each maintenance interval (which is the earlier of either date or mileage, whichever triggers first). I maintain a log book of that service with religious fervour, which as a pilot I'm sure is something you can relate to.

Thus if anything should go awry while the vehicle is still under warranty, I have documentation to cover the fact that all the requisite service has been completed. In my case, I have a technician at my dealership that does all the work on my car for me (aside from the oil/filter changes), and I have a great business relationship with the service manager and his team. So I have zero reluctance about bringing my vehicle to them when I need to. To take that one step further, while the engine is under warranty, I'm still buying my oil and filter via the dealership, and when I pick up my supplies, they record the mileage in their system as if they were performing the oil/filter change themselves. Then I bring the used oil and filter back to them for disposal. But that only works if you have a dealer service department that you trust. I'm fortunate in that regard. Not all owners are.

Why do I do my own oil and filter changes? a) because I can, b) because I'm more careful and tidy than the lowest paid member of the service team who would normally be tasked to do this, and c) I have a very expensive anodized aluminum oil filter billet cap that I don't want scraped up. Okay, and I'll add d) because I find it kind of therapeutic. I'm bonding with my Spider. lol
Seems like you have a great setup. I'm somewhat torn that after 2 years with 2500 miles on the clock I'm expected to open the drain plug and discard Amsoil that has the appearance on honey. I recognize that the service interval does have a time requirement that applies if the car has 0 miles on the fluid, but still. And she has never been to a dealer because she has never needed to. Seems wasteful for a kid with spots to take my money and tell me "yea like new - she's good to go".
 
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