--I think this rumour started-a few yrs ago when some 2.8s with aircon pumps suffered camshaft belt failure--for a while(I think) Fiat refused to acknowledge a problem then did & made a modification--
We have had a fiat ducato motorhome from new for the last 3 years we had early problems with fuel guage not working, cigarette lighter not working, immobilizer problem where we just had to disconnect it and lately the engine overheats after 1/2 an hours driving and won't start untill it cools down
we have also had problems with the boiler and heater and even after being fixed problem re-occurred and now it is out of warranty!!!
Freebird is a 15 year old 2.5D Fiat based motorhome that has brought me nothing but joy. She got me through 3000 kilometres in Scotland and even over some very narrow roads in Clachtoll and Stoer. She has never abandonned me and I feel totally comfortable with her.
Why not rent a few brands and then make up your mind instead of relying on negative banter and opinions based on rumours and crappy anagrams on here?
Ive had 2 ducato`s and havent had one single problem with them at all, travelled thousands of miles in Europe and UK
The latest a 2.8 turbo is excellent, yes the Fifth gear is high but when cruising at 60 the engine is doing a paltry 2000 revs and the fuel economy knocks spots off the competition.
Pulls the 3.8 tonne Autotrail with motorbike and trailer with ease.
only 2 issues with our only fiat - 1. it was underpowered and no fun to drive.. and 2 the dealers were abysmal. now have VW which is streets ahead on both counts.
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But it´s all right now, I learned my lesson well.
You see, ya can´t please everyone, so ya got to please yourself
Ricky Nelson
Some of these comments may be reasonable but when comparing engines between different marques the engine size and vehicle weight are crucial factors and must be considered. Power is very proportional to size and weight and without qualifing the vehicles doesnt give a very fair representation. As regard to dealers these are all franchises and as such are not controlled manufacturers therefore if a dealer changed marque then you could receive the same level of service.
With reagrd to the comments about boiler and heating problems these are the responsibility of the convertor not the base vehicle provider and should be addressed to them.
I can add that I have dealt with Fiat customer service and found them not to be the most accomodating but then again as my 3 year old Ford is rusting away neither have Ford customer care either.
We can all pick faults with any manufaturer as I have said before but remember these vehicles were intended for the commercial market where 100K over 2 years is quite common (ask the courier drivers) and just lok how many older vehicles of each marque are still mobile.
I was quite confident that the Ducato would have gone on and on and on, but it was only really at its happiest on short runs, ie doing the job it was designed for.
Franchises can be lost if the dealer is not giving satisfactory service, or if the marque are unhappy in anyway, [Subaru used to be famous for dropping any suspect dealers for any reason in no time flat] Fiat obviously didn't care about that aspect of their rep.
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But it´s all right now, I learned my lesson well.
You see, ya can´t please everyone, so ya got to please yourself
Ricky Nelson
It could be that Fiat don't require their dealers to have a workshop which can take a motorhome.
I used to take mine to a Peugeot dealer who was excellent, but couldn't do warranty work of course, so I made sure that I bought the Talbot/Peugeot version to get round that particular problem.
You can have the same chassis as a Citroen also and even an Alfa Romeo, although you are unlikely to come across one of those.
Fiat my be lower on performance than some of the other makes but they are easily tuned with an add-on tuning module for £150, it takes 15 minutes to fit is easily done by a diy person. and improves the performance by at least 25BHP plus lots more Torque which is what you need with heavy campersand in my case towing.
It basically alters the fueling and increases the power low down and mid range we are not really interested in top speeds.
Having one and going on holiday in Europe i found a vast difference it was a totally different engine and a pleasure to drive, with the high fifth gear and a lot of Autobahn an motorway driving, i was able to stop in fifth were before i would have to go into fourth on occasions. Cruise control is happier with the extra torque. This gave me better fuel consumption so basically its paying for itself.
With the new European Omittions coming into force engine power will be sacrificed to keep within them.
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Topic: Dont buy a Fiat ????
