[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

What about the dirt from the wheel hitting the rear bumper? Wont tar/ sand hit the portion below the rear bumper (and behind front wheel arches) and destroy the paint gradually?

I shampoo car every Sunday & the cleaner washes her daily, so that takes care of it.

Its been one year & no issues as of yet.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

Aaahhh... the joy of owning a FIAT -

Got a call from the A.S.S. that part is unavailable!

The part is still not available. Shot off a mail to Mr. Mangesh. Got a quick reply that he will look into it. Lets see what is in store.

[raj_5004]

UPDATE: Really happy with FIAT!

My Punto had a rear wheel bearing issue as mentioned in detail over here.

After shooting off mails to Mr. Mangesh, the parts arrived in just two days, that is, on Monday. Both the service advisor & the spares manager from Fortune Cars accommodated my car the next day itself.

I promptly gave my car to the A.S.S. & I was returned the car the same day itself after replacing the wheel bearings & testing. They drove my car for about 11 kms.

NOT JUST THAT, they even did two free upgrades on my car. The rear dead axle was upgraded (reference pic attached) & the power steering pipe was upgraded. Also the AC pipe was found to be loose, so even that was rectified & the AC refrigerant was refilled.

Total cost : Rs. 0/- (everything taken care by warranty)

Total experience was really impressive. Reasons -

1) I have not seen the higher ups in any car manufacturer to be so approachable & so helpful.

2) I have also not seen an A.S.S. who is proactively upgrading the cars free of cost unless there are serious issues reported, except in case of XUV5OO recently.

Overall I am happy now (after a bit of frustration) & my faith in FIAT is restored.


Pic of the new rear dead axle (torsion bar) -



Pic source: Team FIAT

[neoonwheels]

Its good to see that you are happy with the work.

My personal request: Please update the thread in which you were cursing FIAT. People might miss your ownership thread and would always be under impression about how still FIAT parts are difficult to source.

PS: Opps just saw that you have updated it. Appreciate!!

[rameshnanda]

Happy to know this Raj. Have a great time ahead with your car.
Probably, you can request Mods to close the other thread which you have opened to avoid any further debates .

[S2!!!]

So the wait finally paid off. Has the sound coming in the cabin completely gone now or it has reduced??
Your thread can surely convert a potential Fiat buyer into an actual one seeing your love for your Fiat.

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

NOT JUST THAT, they even did two free upgrades on my car. The rear dead axle was upgraded (reference pic attached) & the power steering pipe was upgraded.

Is this an upgrade, or did they change in under warranty because they found some issue with it? If this is really an upgrade, can you please get us the details? My car will be going to the service station soon to repair some dents and I want to ask them about this upgrade then.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

So the wait finally paid off. Has the sound coming in the cabin completely gone now or it has reduced??
Your thread can surely convert a potential Fiat buyer into an actual one seeing your love for your Fiat.

Yes!

The sound has completely disappeared.

So, when are you buying a Punto?

Originally Posted by StarrySky

Is this an upgrade, or did they change in under warranty because they found some issue with it? If this is really an upgrade, can you please get us the details? My car will be going to the service station soon to repair some dents and I want to ask them about this upgrade then.

This is an upgrade. There was no fault with the axle in my car or with the power steering.

Sadly, I dont have any details like part number, etc. as it is not mentioned in the invoice. Even my A.S.S. mentioned that mine is the first car to have such an upgrade, from their A.S.S.

The older rear dead axle, from what I read in FIAT forums, was known to cause uneven wear on rear tyres. In extreme cases, because of abuse, some cars were even known to have small cracks. Later FIAT changed the vendor of the axle & proactively upgraded all the cars with the older axles to the newer ones. This is in 2010 cars although I am not sure which batch. Mine is a Jan '11 car & was still covered under this.

So it is not necessary your car should be covered under this upgrade. Also, no difference can be noticed after the upgrades.

[scofield]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

This is in 2010 cars although I am not sure which batch. Mine is a Jan '11 car & was still covered under this.

Raj,

I got the delivery in Jan 2011, though my car was produced in Oct 2010 I guess.
My VIN ends with KNZ. Can you tell me with what alphabets your VIN ends.
So I will get an idea whether to go for the same upgrade as yours from FIAT.

[S2!!!]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

Yes!

The sound has completely disappeared.

So, when are you buying a Punto?

Whenever a turbo-petrol Punto is launched, I will purchase the car. I am yet not a fan of diesels.
BTW on gaadi.com I read about Fiat launching the Bravo in May priced at around 8-9 lakhs. Dude if that happens I am sure the T-jet would come in it at 10L on road Mumbai. (I know it is wishful thinking but IMAGINE!!!)

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by scofield

Raj,

I got the delivery in Jan 2011, though my car was produced in Oct 2010 I guess.
My VIN ends with KNZ. Can you tell me with what alphabets your VIN ends.
So I will get an idea whether to go for the same upgrade as yours from FIAT.

Mine is AMZ.

Originally Posted by S2!!!

Whenever a turbo-petrol Punto is launched, I will purchase the car. I am yet not a fan of diesels.

Buy the Linea T-Jet then.

BTW on gaadi.com I read about Fiat launching the Bravo in May priced at around 8-9 lakhs. Dude if that happens I am sure the T-jet would come in it at 10L on road Mumbai. (I know it is wishful thinking but IMAGINE!!!)

What about 1.6 Multijet with 120 bhp & 300 NM torque?

[raj_5004]

Not again.... for no fault of mine.

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

Not again.... for no fault of mine.

If its the rear bumper in Mumbai, Its the front bumper here in Bangalore.
Though in my case it is just scars and not a misalignment.

Very sorry to see this on any car. smashing against the wall is the only emoticon available here to depict the feeling...But I know how it feels...Its much more than that.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

Not again.... for no fault of mine.

On the brighter side - there's hardly anything visible except for a slightly mis-aligned bumper. Whatever happened - the bumper seems to have taken the impact really well.

But ya - it really pains to see the car getting hit for no fault of ours!

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

If its the rear bumper in Mumbai, Its the front bumper here in Bangalore.
Though in my case it is just scars and not a misalignment.

Very sorry to see this on any car. smashing against the wall is the only emoticon available here to depict the feeling...But I know how it feels...Its much more than that.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

On the brighter side - there's hardly anything visible except for a slightly mis-aligned bumper. Whatever happened - the bumper seems to have taken the impact really well.

But ya - it really pains to see the car getting hit for no fault of ours!

It was a mini jam & my car was stationary, there was no hard braking or anything of that sorts. Then suddenly I hear this HUGE bang.

Visibly, even I felt that there is no serious damage but when I tried to move my car, I could hear the bumper scraping against the tyre. I could somehow pull it back & drive it to the A.S.S.

They inspected & told me that the metal bar inside has taken a hit & is bent.

Estimate given: Rs. 4000/-. I am not claiming insurance.

It hurts because no matter how much we pamper our car, there are always careless drivers like these on the road.