19th Feb 2001, 17:44

I just had my new Volvo V70 serviced for less than my wife's 12 month old Seicento cost at local Fiat dealer.

Not happy at all with Fiat service - and I appear to be not alone!!

Bill Ward

24th Feb 2001, 19:09

The cars are great, the dealers are expensive and the quality of service varies greatly between them, from the acceptable to the completely hopeless. As a member of Clubcento I hear a lot of stories of their incompetence. Some are scary, like a car coming out of a service with no oil in it...

My own car has now done 28K in a year and a half, and, apart from new valves at 15K, and a dodgy electical connector, the only gripe is the huge bill every 9000 miles.

Brian.

1st Mar 2001, 12:54

Further to the noisy engine saga:

Fiat have still not acknowledged that there is a fault, but after much pressure from me and the dealer they have agreed to construct a special deal to replace the car. Rather than have a Seicento Series III (with the new engine), I have opted to pay more for a Punto 16 valve. My fingers are now firmly crossed in hope that this one is not a dud.

Incidentally, all customer complaints to Fiat UK, Slough are dealt with by Turin. No wonder it takes so long to get a response to a complaint.

16th Jan 2002, 10:52

I had a Seicento SX as a courtesy car whilst my usual Golf received attention after falling victim to a hit and run in the pub car park!

I have to say that I was scared and delighted in equal measure by it.

The engine sounded like the tappets were about to come through the cam cover - which would appear to bear out the stories I have read on this page.

Surely people cannot test-drive these things. £6000 gets you a lot better (albeit second hand) metal for the money!

29th Jul 2002, 01:46

Incidentally, all customer complaints are dealt with by Arese, near Milan and not by Turin.

1st Aug 2002, 04:01

I have had nothing but trouble when dealing with Fiat re my Punto 2000 ELX from the day I bought it to date. They simply ignore you when you go to them with a fault and then you end up chasing them until you are near to a heart attack with stress. I am soon selling my Punto before I end up either in hospital or in prison for murdering someone at the dealership, which incidentally is Ancaster on Bromley Road in Catford.

3rd Jun 2003, 16:37

My wife has a Sporting model which is going fine. We got it for £6000 pre-registered and have been very happy with it. Mind you, the clutch did go at only 9k miles!

It's still good value I think with CD, electric windows, alloys, central locking etc - plus you can park it anywhere. The local fiat dealer in Portsmouth have been very good. The other bonus with this car is that other owners wave at you as they pass.

23rd Jul 2003, 14:19

I bought a brand new Seicento SX as my first car.

Within weeks I discovered a very strong smell of petrol if I filled the tank - and I mean a really strong smell, we were choking as we were driving along.

Within 6 months the sunroof started leaking, it got to the point that the car smelt musty and wouldn't dry out - I got fed up of driving courtesy cars and sitting on towels and plastic bags. After 12 months the stereo volume broke.

By now the front seats wouldn't clip into place without repeated slamming. Bits of plastic and springs had fallen out of the front doors and the boot.

It made horrible noises and slowed down when driven through puddles.

Most of this was during the 12 month warranty period; with the sunroof I took it in many times. The dealer didn't want to know about most of my problems; they treated me as if I was imagining half of it, and told me the sunroof seal just needed cleaning until I brought it in several times, still dripping.

They never fixed any of these problems, and in the end I couldn't cope with the car any more and sold it after 1 1/2 years at a huge financial loss. It's a shame because it was a gorgeous speedy, nippy car with fab handling and looks. But I'll never buy Fiat again!

28th Oct 2003, 06:59

I bought my Seicento Sporting second hand, 2 1/2 years ago when it was only a year old. I had upgraded (if you can call it that) from the Cinquecento which I had from brand new. I was very happy with the Seicento to begin with, what with booting it at traffic lights when boy racers are having a go. But in the last 8 months it has needed a clutch cable, an exhaust and is now in need of a radiator. Its only just done 30k miles, and is only 3 1/2 years old. Needless to say, I have decided to trade it in for a Renault Clio 1.4 dynamique. Fiat no longer do it for me.

9th Jan 2004, 06:20

This is a question for the writer with the brand new Seicento SX as my first car (23rd Jul 2003)

I've just purchased a second hand sporting and had the exact same problem... smell of petrol when I completed filled the petrol tank. Seems to be some leaking just in front of the rear left tire... what did you find out about it (a repair shop I called thinks the brake fluid could be leaking).

6th Oct 2005, 05:17

Can anyone out there let me know where I can buy a ecu for my fiat seicento citymatic 899cc w reg 2000?

6th Feb 2011, 03:18

My wife and I just moved to Europe, and we needed transportation ASAP, so guess what, we found this little great run around Fiat Seicento with 80.000km for just 1000 euro. What happened to an old car like this with probably no service?

So far, radiator new, clutch cable new, new clutch, new air filter, new spark plugs, new gas tank, they all leak, even a new one, when we fill the tank on turns, smells like petrol a lot inside, so I opened it and saw the mechanic put a tank with a small stud broken, so you cannot tighten enough that side, so fuel leaks as you turn.

Now we having lots of smoke, oil leaks and lots of consumption of petrol. Parts falling and rust in the back. Water leaks on top by the antenna, and on and on... will never buy a Fiat again!!!

By the way, the car was made in Poland.

6th Oct 2011, 13:58

Seicento SX, bought from outside a pub in Bristol two months ago for £500. Rattles, leaks, burns oil. Still running at about 45 mpg. Looks OK, but will probably die by the end of month three. So it will have cost me about £40 per week plus fuel. Cheaper than a hire car, then I scrap it!