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Thanks Amit !!

I am fuming currently. Punto buying experience is doing a good job of testing my patience.

I dont think its not normal to get rust in drive shaft, that to in to be delivered car.

first thing, its not ordinary mild steel, its tempered steel grade, by the way, though steel will get rusted, but it should be protected by an coat of primer+paint over it. I have seen new drive shafts from shops, which is in military green color paint coated. If its the case of replacement spares, why not in new car, that too from an world car,

Its defect of Fiat india, which had cut costs by not painting it as an OE. It didnt think their customers is sufferers after few monsoon months and take their car back to dealer to claim warranty and Fiat's cost cutting fails at that point with thier reputation. Most other manufacturers will paint in black for drive shaft.

Thats my personal view.

FIAT should have painted it !! Thats their fault. But rusting disc brake is normal.

Thats just Unacceptable,if i were you,i'd flat out refuse to take the car.

Either get them to get it completely repaired or get you a fresh one.
On second thought,get a fresh car.

amogh, the disc barkes (seen from outside) have rust. Thats normal.
But rust at all these other parts don't seem right.

One thing is generally such problems occur if a car is sitting idle at dealer's yard for months together (I remember this rusted problem in some guy's new NHC and had to really fight Honda for this).
Since your car is relatively new, it shouldn't have such stuff on it.

Can you check a few other cars from the dealer and see if they have same problem?
Else, just ask for a different car. I am sure they'll have a few more blue puntos.

yes.. we did check another car that is newer than mine and it has also started developing rust on the exact same part. Have photographic evidence of the same.

I seriously think this is a manufacturing fault and Fiat has tried to save money by not going for anti-rust coating.

BHPians,

After a lot of thought, I have decided to cancel my Punto booking.

I don't think Fiat deserves to get a penny from my hard earned money. As far as I am concerned, Fiat is a corrupt auto-maker looking to dish out low priced cars using sub-standard materials.

Only thing that can make me reverse my decision is GTO's verdict. I have PMed him about the rusting on my Punto. If I hear anything from him today, I will re-think my decision.

Amogh

I think you did the right thing. If you are not 100% happy with a vehicle before purchase, its better to drop the plan. And if this is the quality of a new car, i can't imagine what it would be like, 5 years down the line. Go for something which offers you more peace of mind!

Even if fiat replaces those parts or provides a new car the same problem will be faced again.

As someone else mentioned these parts are generally painted with some anti-rush coating. If this is not done there will always be rusting on these parts. Fiat should have painted these.

However, to put things into perspective, this is not a major issue at all. The shafts cannot get spoilt. If it really bothers you im sure you get some under body treatment that could be done.

Just applying an anti rust coat should solve the issue.

I have mailed this thread to a person who works at "Fiat corporate quality"
Let's see what they say.

I hope there is no cost-cutting involved by Fiat in this matter. They are doomed if they do.
Rest, we know that such rusting happens on disc brakes even when exposed to elements for 1 week (across all manufacturers).
Maybe its the same phenomenon being exhibited with these other parts also?

It is perfectly normal to see rust on discs, ESPECIALLY during this rainy season, it is nothing to be alarmed about. The other parts that show rust are all Iron parts, hence the rust.

We must appreciate that due to non use, in this weather, with humidity content in the air, rust is bound to set in. Though I agree that parts that are prone to rust should have a coating of anti rust from the factory.

Hope that helps..




Cheers

Even I'm waiting for my baby to get delivered this week.If I find the same problem in my car or even something of this sort,I won't mind canceling the booking immediately no matter how much ever hassles I have to face.

After looking at these pics, I feel this is totally unforgivable on Fiat's part, this shouldn't have happened at all,that too from a company that has least respect with the buyers.

Would wait for the replies from Fiat authorities to move about.

Not at all Good Fiat, Just not at All.. You are ruining yourself!!!

Wake up or else You will be doomed,doomed forever!!!

@Ricky_63
I would beg to disagree with you, even rusts on disc brakes is totally unacceptable on new car.
In India since we receive cars like that,we tend to accept it as a common thing, but it's not.
No new car should be sold with rusted parts...

[quote=CliffHanger;1380445]Even I'm waiting for my baby to get delivered this week.If I find the same problem in my car or even something of this sort,I won't mind canceling the booking immediately no matter how much ever hassles I have to face.

After looking at these pics, I feel this is totally unforgivable on Fiat's part, this shouldn't have happened at all,that too from a company that has least respect with the buyers."

@CliffHanger - Are you serious? Why don't you walk into a Honda stockyard, remove the wheel of a brand new Honda City (since it does not have alloys), and then go ahead and cancel your booking. I will bet that 6 out of 10 cars in the stockyard in the monsoons will have this issue. It is VERY VERY NORMAL.
The only way this can be prevented, is to have anti oxidation paint put on it (you know the rust coloired paint ?) but that can't be done for some parts like the discs and other moving parts. It will go away after some rolling resistance.

Even i had these rust on the disc brakes when i went to see the car in the stockyard. But those rust marks were gone by the car came to the showroom. In my opinion this is pretty normal. I took the delivery of my car on 2nd July and so far i am running on the temporary number and the RTO problems continue and has not been resolved in Bangalore yet.

Oh man terrible :Frustrati
The rust on discs is normal, its there on my car too but that underbody rusting i dont know.
Why dont you ask other GP owners about this issue by the time GTO replies.

If you do cancel, best of luck for a new car.:D

I wanted to know, how has the showroom reacted ?
Are they willing to replace parts/car or are they trying to avoid the issue?