Fiat update, sort of

"smobgirl" (smobgirl)
05/27/2020 at 20:10 • Filed to: None

I have been calling and leaving messages with specific people as well as calling the general service department to request a call back for over two months now. I even emailed the manager of the dealership directly.

Crickets.

So today I was going for a bike ride anyway and figured out it’s actually a rather pleasant 30-mile ride nearly door-to-door on bike paths.

(Cropped to hide my neighborhood)

Basically my initial service writer was fired, the file was a left a mess, I was reassigned to someone else but that person was never told, and I think the GM was also replaced in the last few days. Quality shop, right? It took 4 people to sort it out and explain it to me.

The good news is, they aren’t charging me a diagnostic fee or anything for the work they already did to the car.

The bad news is, it sounds like it needs a new or rebuilt engine and the labor fees are about 25 hours for either. Also they don’t really want to do the work.

I’m just going to tow it home . If any of you have any terrible ideas and want a non-running Abarth, let me know!

(Also, in the two hours between my outbound and return trips, the creek totally flooded a good chunk of the bike path. Pretty sure I ended up splattered with, essentially, sewage water. Yum.)

DISCUSSION (32)

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > smobgirl
05/27/2020 at 20:31

Just do the classic Italian move, throw a Molotov cocktail through the window of the Abarth and buy a Camaro.

MUSASHI66 > smobgirl
05/27/2020 at 20:36

Ouch. I did that ride a few times and it’s long for my fat ass and it sucks when those underpasses flood - which they always do and the money they spend on them every year seems to do nothing.

About the Abarth... what are the specs? In particular,

-what year?

-how many miles?

-it’s manual, right?

-leather or fabric?

-sunroof or no?

-beats or no?

-dual climate or no?

Shot me an email with the price - Darkxs at hotmail dot com

I just talked to the wife and we sort of decided no more cars for a while and we’ll just buy our next car in a while , but Abarths have a special place in my heart and I am not sure if I can pass up a good deal.

Thomas Donohue > smobgirl
05/27/2020 at 20:50

I’ll assume that’s the Cherry Creek path, next to the actual Cherry Creek in Cherry Creek....my company used to have offices in the Galleria and I always stayed right along the creek and S Colorado Blvd. It was always either dry, or flooded.

The path by the creek was always a little sketchy to me, as was the parking lot to Shotgun Willies just across the street. I do miss the Cherry Creek Grill, and smelling like a campfire the second you would walk into the place. (Also missed: the days of my generous expense account when I worked there!)

Good luck with the 500....I still toy with buying a cheap 500e out west and having it shipped to the NYC area. I’ll drive it for a bit, then sell it for a profit. That’s the plan, anyway.

Phase 1: Buy small, sight- unseen, unreliable car and have it mailed to me.

Phase 2: Drive it 70 miles at a time.

Phase 3: PROFIT!

facw > smobgirl
05/27/2020 at 20:53

That sucks. Have you tried contacting FIAT corporate about the crappy service? Always a chance they might do something to help you, certainly worth shooting off an email or something.

At least you got a good ride (minus the flooding) out of it.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > facw
05/27/2020 at 21:04

This...if FIAT would do something about the really poor service and you could get a discount on the work at another dealership that could do the engine swap, it could be viable?

Also...I don’t get how a car that likely had the engine installed into it in a matter of minutes by robots at a factory could require people to take over a theoretical DAY straight-time to remove and reinstall a replacement engine...I mean...25 hours is the same as 2 guys working straight-time for one and a half 8-hour shifts...

I mean, I get that cars are complicated nowadays, but it’s not like the Abarth is a terribly complicated car...? Pardon me if I’m not in touch with how hard it is to swap an engine in a 500, but that seems a bit long to me...?

Chariotoflove > smobgirl
05/27/2020 at 21:20

So you took a bath on the way home, but at least you didn’t take a bath in dealer charges.

I honestly don’t understand a dealer service department that doesn’t want to at least try and sell you a new engine with install. They must be so lazy that they’re allergic to profit.

Oh well, time for necessary Unnecessary Car Shopping ™ ?

3 Jeeps and a Mazda wants a Fiata > smobgirl
05/27/2020 at 21:33

Im a local (Brighton) with a decent sized garage and lots of tools (Mechanic). Wouldnt mind taking a crack at the little guy, not sure on the history of what happened to it though as i dont always catch up on all my oppo reading.

CTSenVy > smobgirl
05/27/2020 at 21:48

Got anybody nearby that can give you a second opinion?

smobgirl > facw
05/27/2020 at 22:04

I’ve considered it but it doesn’t seem to me like they give a rats ass about Fiat here anymore. The BBB indicates that other customers at this dealership have already gotten FCA involved for missing vehicles and it doesn’t look like it did much.

smobgirl > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
05/27/2020 at 22:05

I don’t know. I’m not a mechanic either, he just kept saying it’s not like a truck where you can just order and install, but that Fiat sells engines in pieces and all of them need replaced? I don’t know.

smobgirl > Chariotoflove
05/27/2020 at 22:07

I really think they’re trying to phase Fiat out. It used to be a separate dealership down the street and that went out of business. Not even sure how many”certified” techs are left.

smobgirl > Thomas Donohue
05/27/2020 at 22:08

I love the 500e! And yeah, that’s the one. It’s not too bad right now, didn’t seem to be a ton of camping or homeless folks but they keep relocating them around the city.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
05/27/2020 at 22:08

When the drivetrain gets installed on the assembly line, there’s a whole lot of shit that’s not in the way that gets assembled on the car afterwards

facw > smobgirl
05/27/2020 at 22:09

Any independents in the area who have a Fiat specialist? Seems like it would at least be worth a call to see what they’d charge.

smobgirl > MUSASHI66
05/27/2020 at 22:10

Happy to email you the specs but thought I’d let you know that the car is also pretty heavily hail-damaged so it may not even be worth considering. I’d mostly just like to recoup what I spent in wheels and tires in the last 6 months.

smobgirl > CTSenVy
05/27/2020 at 22:11

Not really? I’ve had some indy shops work on it but when I called about a flashing check engine light everyone had a flat no. I’ll do some research before I make a final decision though.

smobgirl > 3 Jeeps and a Mazda wants a Fiata
05/27/2020 at 22:13

I’m honestly not that sure myself - not paying for the diagnostics meant no sheet with info either. I’ll keep it in mind though! I’m too unemployed to make any huge decisions right now anyway.

CTSenVy > smobgirl
05/27/2020 at 22:16

That’s too bad there isn’t an easy 2nd option. I really get some bad vibes about that service department after hearing this story.

smobgirl > facw
05/27/2020 at 22:16

None. There’s a couple Fiat shops but they only service the old ones.

MUSASHI66 > smobgirl
05/27/2020 at 22:23

In that scenario, I think I’ll pass. Good luck! Maybe part it out on fiat500usaforum?

smobgirl > CTSenVy
05/27/2020 at 22:24

Agreed. Though I went from super pissed off to feeling sort of sorry for them once I showed up. It doesn’t look like anyone has put any money into anything at this place in decades. It’s still absolutely shitty that people are falling through the cracks but it’s more surprising that anyone doesn’t. Definitely not what I’m used to seeing at a branded dealership.

For Sweden > smobgirl
05/27/2020 at 22:59

Riding a bike to pick up a Fiat?

Did you pick up some fresh pasta, balsamic vinegar, and prosciutto?

Chariotoflove > smobgirl
05/27/2020 at 23:08

Oh, that makes the pictures clearer.

smobgirl > For Sweden
05/27/2020 at 23:11

Yeah, only I went through the canals instead.

And no, I just ordered Dominos like the good little American I am. It’s as Italian as the modern Fiats, no?

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
05/27/2020 at 23:41

I get that, but what would really need to be removed? The engine is already on a subframe:

But the engine should really just come out the bottom? That’s how it goes in? I mean, remove the front fascia and bumper bar, maybe to get to the exhaust/headers or whathaveyou, but...?

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > smobgirl
05/27/2020 at 23:42

Damn :(

pip bip - choose Corrour > smobgirl
05/28/2020 at 05:26

DIY repairs

in the words of Jeremy Clarkson, how hard can it be?

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > smobgirl
05/28/2020 at 07:31

I imagine there would have to be a used engine SOMEWHERE...

3 Jeeps and a Mazda wants a Fiata > smobgirl
05/28/2020 at 11:32

Ive got a snap-on Solus scanner and compression tester so that's where id start. Looked back at your older posts and it sounds like you had oil consumption issues, turbo seals possibly too?

Dusty Ventures > smobgirl
05/29/2020 at 21:52

Sounds like a good starting point for a rally car to me

smobgirl > Dusty Ventures
05/29/2020 at 21:55

I’m not opposed to that idea? But I need help from someone smarter and more mechanically inclined

smobgirl > 3 Jeeps and a Mazda wants a Fiata
05/29/2020 at 21:58

It had been consuming a bit of oil but either went way over what I was used to or something else went wrong. But it had otherwise been running fine until it all went horribly wrong on the interstate.