Stilo_ste
Member
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2004
- Messages
- 543
- Points
- 87
I have some really good news for everyone.
The Stilo that I have owned for 3 1/2 years has been sold.
It was simply too unreliable.
For a modern car far, far too many things have gone wrong which shouldn't have. Just to absolutely clear on my expectations and experiences, I am a fully qualified and experienced Mechanical Engineer working in the commercial vehicle sector as a development Engineering team leader within a Tier 1 supplier. Armed with this I feel I am in a very good position to comment as I understand the complexities of how cars work, and how the business works too. Also, I have another modern car to do a realistic and fair comparison to.
I bought the car second hand with 13,000 miles on the clock and 16 months old. It now has 36,000 miles (nearly) on the clock.
During the time I have owned it, the following issues have materialised, but in no particular order.
Engine ECU failed, warranty was a real hassle, and it took umpteen calls from me to finally get Fiat warranty provider to finally pay out.
All four ignition coils have needed replacement (not covered by warranty) at various mileages.
All brakes pads have needed replacing (before 30,000 miles) and I don't think that that is impressive in the slightest when compared to my other car (Vectra) which has just needed new rears at 68,000 and my last car which went to nearly 85,000 before pads needed changing.
Both front door interior handles have been damaged by normal usage (never, ever seen this before and others also seem to experience this issue)
Exhaust rear silencer corroded well before I would have expected it to. Again, the Vectra or my previous car never needed a replacement.
Numerous airbag failure messages, this gets really boring and tedious, even though the fix is relatively easy.
Numerous and spurious Engine Failure messages, which then disappear. (Battery has been checked and is in great condition)
Front head light bulbs not at all easy to change, takes a contortionist to do. Luckily I've got small hands.
Service due indicator can only be turned off by dealer (I have not had another car where this is necessary, and I consider it a con by Fiat)
Very uneven wear on front tyres, even though alignment has been checked OK
Dealers apparently don't know the product, and can only diagnose a problem if there is a fault code. Otherwise I seem to have imagined it and they can't do anything (or don't want to do anything) about it.
"Customer services" an absolute joke, totally.
The car feels weak, and as if it's about to break at any time. I have no confidence in it at all, it's as if I am waiting for the inevitable 'beep, beep, beep' and that is not a good thing.
The seats are horrendously uncomfortable, I simply cannot get comfy in it. I am a normal sized person (5' 10" and medium build), but it doesn't seem to be made for my frame.
Yes it has some great toys and the spec level is better than equivalent models from other manufacturers, BUT what is the use of toys when the car doesn't do it's primary function? ie go, whenever needed to????
The last straw really was the complete shambles regarding the fitment of the spring catcher bodge. I waited 6 days for my car to be done (while parts came in - I stupidly thought that there should have been parts available in dealer to support excessive spring failure rates!). I find this totally unacceptable.
I subsequently raised this issue, along with questioning the technical solution and wanting to see Fiats documentation to support their 'fix'. After emailing the MD of Fiat UK (who issued the recall) I was promised everything I had asked for, only to be let down completely and they then attempted to bribe me by a free service of the car.
I can totally understand why Fiat have dropped the name like a stone. It failed in the UK due to poor reputation (for several reasons), and therefore customer stayed away in droves. Sales were poor, residuals are poor, desirability is low, the main reasons are bad design work, insufficient validation and very bad after sales support (even Fiat agree with me on this one!). Bottom line is that it has a terrible name in the public mind, and abandoning it was the only choice for Fiat.
For these reasons, I have to let it go. I can't take the pain anymore. I've had enough. My frustration is clear.
I can totally accept that there are some very good models out there, with no issues at all. But I think these are in the minority.
The whole experience has put me off buying another Fiat ever again. Not just the poor quality of the car, but mainly the poor quality of the customer / after sales support. I doubt I will ever consider Fiat again, as the old saying goes - once bitten, twice shy. Just because I didn't buy it new from a dealer and have it serviced by them should absolutely not affect the support they offer - it hasn't done with other makes I have bought.
I have replaced it with a Mazda 6 diesel. Hopefully the exchange will take place next weekend. I will take up the free service, but someone else will see the benefit of that.
Here are some names, position and email addresses of people at Fiat UK 'Customer Support' for anyone that is interested.
[email protected] - Fiat UK Managing Director
[email protected] - Fiat UK Customer services manager
[email protected] - Fiat UK - UK Autonomy Manager
[email protected] - Fiat UK Customer Relations Executive
I have no malice towards anyone and truly wish everyone on here happiness and success and I hope you get satisfaction from your Stilo. Unfortunately, I didn't.
Cheers and best regards,
Steve
The Stilo that I have owned for 3 1/2 years has been sold.
It was simply too unreliable.
For a modern car far, far too many things have gone wrong which shouldn't have. Just to absolutely clear on my expectations and experiences, I am a fully qualified and experienced Mechanical Engineer working in the commercial vehicle sector as a development Engineering team leader within a Tier 1 supplier. Armed with this I feel I am in a very good position to comment as I understand the complexities of how cars work, and how the business works too. Also, I have another modern car to do a realistic and fair comparison to.
I bought the car second hand with 13,000 miles on the clock and 16 months old. It now has 36,000 miles (nearly) on the clock.
During the time I have owned it, the following issues have materialised, but in no particular order.
Engine ECU failed, warranty was a real hassle, and it took umpteen calls from me to finally get Fiat warranty provider to finally pay out.
All four ignition coils have needed replacement (not covered by warranty) at various mileages.
All brakes pads have needed replacing (before 30,000 miles) and I don't think that that is impressive in the slightest when compared to my other car (Vectra) which has just needed new rears at 68,000 and my last car which went to nearly 85,000 before pads needed changing.
Both front door interior handles have been damaged by normal usage (never, ever seen this before and others also seem to experience this issue)
Exhaust rear silencer corroded well before I would have expected it to. Again, the Vectra or my previous car never needed a replacement.
Numerous airbag failure messages, this gets really boring and tedious, even though the fix is relatively easy.
Numerous and spurious Engine Failure messages, which then disappear. (Battery has been checked and is in great condition)
Front head light bulbs not at all easy to change, takes a contortionist to do. Luckily I've got small hands.
Service due indicator can only be turned off by dealer (I have not had another car where this is necessary, and I consider it a con by Fiat)
Very uneven wear on front tyres, even though alignment has been checked OK
Dealers apparently don't know the product, and can only diagnose a problem if there is a fault code. Otherwise I seem to have imagined it and they can't do anything (or don't want to do anything) about it.
"Customer services" an absolute joke, totally.
The car feels weak, and as if it's about to break at any time. I have no confidence in it at all, it's as if I am waiting for the inevitable 'beep, beep, beep' and that is not a good thing.
The seats are horrendously uncomfortable, I simply cannot get comfy in it. I am a normal sized person (5' 10" and medium build), but it doesn't seem to be made for my frame.
Yes it has some great toys and the spec level is better than equivalent models from other manufacturers, BUT what is the use of toys when the car doesn't do it's primary function? ie go, whenever needed to????
The last straw really was the complete shambles regarding the fitment of the spring catcher bodge. I waited 6 days for my car to be done (while parts came in - I stupidly thought that there should have been parts available in dealer to support excessive spring failure rates!). I find this totally unacceptable.
I subsequently raised this issue, along with questioning the technical solution and wanting to see Fiats documentation to support their 'fix'. After emailing the MD of Fiat UK (who issued the recall) I was promised everything I had asked for, only to be let down completely and they then attempted to bribe me by a free service of the car.
I can totally understand why Fiat have dropped the name like a stone. It failed in the UK due to poor reputation (for several reasons), and therefore customer stayed away in droves. Sales were poor, residuals are poor, desirability is low, the main reasons are bad design work, insufficient validation and very bad after sales support (even Fiat agree with me on this one!). Bottom line is that it has a terrible name in the public mind, and abandoning it was the only choice for Fiat.
For these reasons, I have to let it go. I can't take the pain anymore. I've had enough. My frustration is clear.
I can totally accept that there are some very good models out there, with no issues at all. But I think these are in the minority.
The whole experience has put me off buying another Fiat ever again. Not just the poor quality of the car, but mainly the poor quality of the customer / after sales support. I doubt I will ever consider Fiat again, as the old saying goes - once bitten, twice shy. Just because I didn't buy it new from a dealer and have it serviced by them should absolutely not affect the support they offer - it hasn't done with other makes I have bought.
I have replaced it with a Mazda 6 diesel. Hopefully the exchange will take place next weekend. I will take up the free service, but someone else will see the benefit of that.
Here are some names, position and email addresses of people at Fiat UK 'Customer Support' for anyone that is interested.
[email protected] - Fiat UK Managing Director
[email protected] - Fiat UK Customer services manager
[email protected] - Fiat UK - UK Autonomy Manager
[email protected] - Fiat UK Customer Relations Executive
I have no malice towards anyone and truly wish everyone on here happiness and success and I hope you get satisfaction from your Stilo. Unfortunately, I didn't.
Cheers and best regards,
Steve
:yuck: I assume you went through a list of the most dull cars available and chose the dullest, then added a diesel engine to the equation!!!
