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General Yet more problems with my 500.. :(

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General Yet more problems with my 500.. :(

306maxi said:
Yes they've changed one side only. Pretty poor effor really.

I'd be making some noise about that.
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Surely I've not got a leg to stand on as that side didn't fail the MOT.. So I've just got to wait for that side to break too.

To be honest, I might just write to the main Fiat people explaining the whole experience of dealing with them.. I think as you can tell by my initial post, I'm not really happy with the level of service I've received and really won't be shocked if I get to the MOT place on Saturday and they fail it again.
 
Kay500 said:
Surely I've not got a leg to stand on as that side didn't fail the MOT.. So I've just got to wait for that side to break too.

To be honest, I might just write to the main Fiat people explaining the whole experience of dealing with them.. I think as you can tell by my initial post, I'm not really happy with the level of service I've received and really won't be shocked if I get to the MOT place on Saturday and they fail it again.
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It's good practice for them to replace both sides. I wouldn't go as far as to say that it's dangerous because the damper is only 3 years old so they won't be as mismatched as a new damper and a 10 year old damper, but I would imagine Fiat CS would be fairly sympathetic.
 
306maxi said:
It's good practice for them to replace both sides. I wouldn't go as far as to say that it's dangerous because the damper is only 3 years old so they won't be as mismatched as a new damper and a 10 year old damper, but I would imagine Fiat CS would be fairly sympathetic.
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Have you ever had any luck with Fiat service..? And have you ever written to them?
 
Kay500 said:
Surely I've not got a leg to stand on as that side didn't fail the MOT.. So I've just got to wait for that side to break too.

To be honest, I might just write to the main Fiat people explaining the whole experience of dealing with them.. I think as you can tell by my initial post, I'm not really happy with the level of service I've received and really won't be shocked if I get to the MOT place on Saturday and they fail it again.
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I'm amazed that only one side was replaced. With 32K on the clock and looking at the bump stop it looks like a bit worse for wear. On my Sport it was the one on the drivers side that was gone so both were replaced. I posted a link from the GP section on how to replace a shock absorber on an earlier posting. Maxi is probably correct about making some noise. For me I'd just order a new matching shock absorber and ask for trade price and put it in yourself. At least the rear of the car will be correctly balanced with 'even' wear on the shocks.
 
Sounds like a good suggestion.. I was considering aftermarket shock absorbers before, but I don't know if I want to spend £500 on this car. I think at the moment, I'm going to see if it will stay together for the rest of the summer and then I will keep it. If I get more big problems (not like the spare key thing), then I'll consider replacing before 2012 :( But I really don't want to, I've just started to really love it.

So, do you think the rest of the suspension needs replacing soon?
 
Kay500 said:
Sounds like a good suggestion.. I was considering aftermarket shock absorbers before, but I don't know if I want to spend £500 on this car. I think at the moment, I'm going to see if it will stay together for the rest of the summer and then I will keep it. If I get more big problems (not like the spare key thing), then I'll consider replacing before 2012 :( But I really don't want to, I've just started to really love it.

So, do you think the rest of the suspension needs replacing soon?
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If it was my car I would get the other shock done.

Wait until 2012.

AVO do a cheaper shock than the Koni FSD for around £180 a pair but you have to get ones specifically matched to the 'Sports' springs on the 1.4. There are other ones GAZ, etc.

If you reckon that you might upgrade to an Abarth 500 you could get the Koni FSD - they should fit the 500, Standard A500 and the esseesse 500 - this cost around £520 for a set of 4. Front ones are harder to fit than the rears.

Others would go for Coil overs and are now priced competitively or a set of Eibach springs & matching shocks plus fitting.
 
I will certainly get the other shock done.. I'll try writing to Fiat and see if they will fix the other one. If not, I'll fix it out of my own pocket. Then I'll let it run out of the extended warranty (Feb 2012) and if I still have the car, suspension will be the first thing I change :)
 
loveshandbags said:
If it was my car I would get the other shock done.

Wait until 2012.

AVO do a cheaper shock than the Koni FSD for around £180 a pair but you have to get ones specifically matched to the 'Sports' springs on the 1.4. There are other ones GAZ, etc.

If you reckon that you might upgrade to an Abarth 500 you could get the Koni FSD - they should fit the 500, Standard A500 and the esseesse 500 - this cost around £520 for a set of 4. Front ones are harder to fit than the rears.

Others would go for Coil overs and are now priced competitively or a set of Eibach springs & matching shocks plus fitting.
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Here you are getting ahead of yourself again michael ;) Talking about coilovers and other stuff ;)

Like I said, make some noise and get the other shock absorber replaced, I don't think it'll be hard to get them to do it. It'll last another few years at least. Otherwise if you want to keep the car (you really should) then just buy a decent set of aftermarket dampers.
 
I do want to keep it.. I'm just saying.. :p IF the engine falls out, or the ignition stops working, or the car blows up, or something equally as serious happens, then I think I'll give in and sell it/scrap it, haha.

I might have a look around and see what you guys have done to your 500's. My partner was suggesting black alloys, but I'm not so sure. We seem to have opposite tastes in wheels, he loves multi-spokes and I prefer chunky wheels :) My wheels were brand new with no mark to be seen until I bumped a curb a month or two back :( So don't want to replace them, just needs a small repair.
 
Kay500 said:
I do want to keep it.. I'm just saying.. :p IF the engine falls out, or the ignition stops working, or the car blows up, or something equally as serious happens, then I think I'll give in and sell it/scrap it, haha.

I might have a look around and see what you guys have done to your 500's. My partner was suggesting black alloys, but I'm not so sure. We seem to have opposite tastes in wheels, he loves multi-spokes and I prefer chunky wheels :) My wheels were brand new with no mark to be seen until I bumped a curb a month or two back :( So don't want to replace them, just needs a small repair.
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Trust me, the 500 is a fundamentally good car, the Panda which it's based on doesn't have any major issues. Spend the money now and enjoy the effect it'll have on the car, if you're forever waiting for something to go pop then you'll never spend any money on the car and it'll be a heap that you won't like :)
 
306maxi said:
Here you are getting ahead of yourself again michael ;) Talking about coilovers and other stuff ;)

Like I said, make some noise and get the other shock absorber replaced, I don't think it'll be hard to get them to do it. It'll last another few years at least. Otherwise if you want to keep the car (you really should) then just buy a decent set of aftermarket dampers.
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A problem most individuals face on enhancing (note I didn't use the word modifying) is that money spend on the car ends up being 'dead money'. If you can take out the bits that made the car really good and re-use them and put the old bits back in then it lessens the impact on the cost of doing the job. This is only feasible if you're 'handy' and you don't have to pay someone to do the work for you. I thought the advise I gave on the FSD was good and would be valuable to other individuals on the FF. Quite a lot of 1.4 drivers have ended up in A500 and our OP sounds like a candidate. So maybe I am jumping ahead of myself. :eek: I hope I have confused the issue.
 
loveshandbags said:
A problem most individuals face on enhancing (note I didn't use the word modifying) is that money spend on the car ends up being 'dead money'. If you can take out the bits that made the car really good and re-use them and put the old bits back in then it lessens the impact on the cost of doing the job. This is only feasible if you're 'handy' and you don't have to pay someone to do the work for you. I thought the advise I gave on the FSD was good and would be valuable to other individuals on the FF. Quite a lot of 1.4 drivers have ended up in A500 and our OP sounds like a candidate. So maybe I am jumping ahead of myself. :eek: I hope I have confused the issue.
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I don't see it as dead money. Firstly you'll have to pay more to get the genuine dampers replaced every three years and the genuine dampers are terrible so there's the benefit of being rid of them.
 
Don't worry, I don't see it as dead money.. I like modifying. Just not so much it starts to affect insurance :) Guessing I wouldn't need to declare the shocks though, if they're similar but just a bit better. Same as putting my brembo pads and discs on surely.
 
Kay500 said:
I keep noticing you guys say 'OP' a lot.. :p I hope you're not refering to me as an Old Person! I'm only 23 ;)
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The OP refers to the Opening Post which essentially is yourself. It keeps the focus on the 'problem on hand' and helps us to not to get side-tracked (although that happens occassionally) or if the Poster disappears we might have a bit of 'fun'. :)
306maxi said:
I don't see it as dead money. Firstly you'll have to pay more to get the genuine dampers replaced every three years and the genuine dampers are terrible so there's the benefit of being rid of them.
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I kinda of agree with you here and if you lived where alfatastic lived it would need some 'special' shocks. :). My last 500 lasted 13 months and the new owner got the benefit of the replacement shocks - made no difference on the price I got for it.
Kay500 said:
Don't worry, I don't see it as dead money.. I like modifying. Just not so much it starts to affect insurance :) Guessing I wouldn't need to declare the shocks though, if they're similar but just a bit better. Same as putting my brembo pads and discs on surely.
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Quite a few insurance companies don't load your insurance if the modification does not increase the bhp of the vehicle. I understand that Adrian Flux is of the 'same mindset'. (learned this from the Abarth forum ;) - practically all of them seemed to have modified par Grimwau). If you decided to fit coilovers and it dropped the suspension 50mm then you might get a few wobbly questions but if you replaced the standard shocks to a more robust item then I could not see that as an issue. The brembo pads you've put in should technically be declared because they're non-standard but I've learned the hard way 'to error on the safe side'.

Are your discs the standard type or did you increase the size of them or change them to grooved / slotted ones ? :eek::)
One thing I did notice on the 60-0 stopping times for the 500 1.4 and the A500 is that the time reduced from 3.2 secs to 2.6 secs but I'm unsure if you would get this reduction on a 500 if it had the bigger discs. (going slightly off topic :)).
 
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