Puncture whilst with dealer

[Stupeo]

Dropped the missus Fiat 500X at the dealer yesterday for it's first service and to get squeaky brakes looked at (car is 1 year old, done 5.5k miles). Service was done and an apparent* road test came back with no problems with squeaky brakes. Fair enough, so I went to pick it up this morning and couldn't drive it away as it had a totally flat tyre.

Dealer agreed to get the tyre sorted - but have just rang me to say that no puncture, just it had lost all its air overnight.

I am not sure I believe a tyre can lose it's full air content, overnight. It was fine yesterday when I dropped it off (the car has onboard tyre pressure monitoring and I last checked all tyres about 2 weeks ago). They've just pumped it back up and said it's fine.

I have trust issues with this dealership, so if i pick up the car and tomorrow I have a flat again, where do I stand?

• I also don't believe they road tested the car - but can't prove it. The service guy was next to useless.

[Jonno02]

Take it to a part-worn place and ask them to check it? Wouldn't cost more than the price of a coffee and they'll probably just do it free anyway.

If you find a puncture, get back onto the dealer. Or just get it plugged then and there if it's fixable.

[Adz The Rat]

Stupeo said:

• I also don't believe they road tested the car - but can't prove it. .

To be fair to them, I wouldnt drive a 500X either.

[Stupeo]

Adz The Rat said:

To be fair to them, I wouldnt drive a 500X either.

But this poses the question - how did they get it from the car park, to the service bay? Or do they service it in situ, in the car park? Hmmm..

[xjay1337]

may not be a puncture, maybe corroded alloys?
but if you're concerned take it to a proper tyre shop

[Adz The Rat]

So is it flat today?

[TooMany2cvs]

Did that wheel have a dustcap on the valve? Sure about that?

It's entirely possible that they checked the pressure, and a bit of grit or grot got stuck in the valve - I've had it before. I left work on a full set of inflated tyres, got about a mile, and one rear was utterly flat. No obvious cause, so I just reinflated it, and it was fine until it was replaced.

[Stupeo]

Good news is, it seems OK today.

I ddi however check the dash cam, no road test as I suspected. Ahh well, next time I will use a different dealer.

[Stupeo]

TooMany2cvs said:

Did that wheel have a dustcap on the valve? Sure about that?

It's entirely possible that they checked the pressure, and a bit of grit or grot got stuck in the valve - I've had it before. I left work on a full set of inflated tyres, got about a mile, and one rear was utterly flat. No obvious cause, so I just reinflated it, and it was fine until it was replaced.

Yeah - they did check pressure as part of the service check, so I expect this is what happened. It definitely had a dustcap on.

[300bhp/ton]

Stupeo said:

Good news is, it seems OK today.

I ddi however check the dash cam, no road test as I suspected. Ahh well, next time I will use a different dealer.

The other easy thing is make a note of the milage on the ODO, i.e. photo it with your phone. If it's the same when you go to pick the car up, then it hasn't obviously been anywhere.

[andyxxx]

If they lied about the road test and didn't inspect the squeak you reported how can you be sure they did any part of the service?

I would refuse to pay them anything.

[Stupeo]

andyxxx said:

If they lied about the road test and didn't inspect the squeak you reported how can you be sure they did any part of the service?

I would refuse to pay them anything.

Good points, but it was one of the new Fiat "check and test" services. As the car is 1yr old and has only done 5.5k, then it doesn't need an oil or filter change etc. I only really wanted the stamp in the book - it was only £40.

[Momentofmadness]

Have they fixed the squeaky brakes?

[Stupeo]

Momentofmadness said:

Have they fixed the squeaky brakes?

Nope - can't find the problem apparently.