..... and what can I say, it's been rubbish!

I'd heard that Fiat/Alfa dealer network were a little wanting in their customer focus, but from my first experience it's already not looking good.

My girlfriend has decided that she wants a 500, we saw them in Italy in September and have been eagerly awaiting for the UK launch. Been online chosen the spec etc, now for visit to the dealer.

Sunday morning, the salesman was nice enough, but knew nothing about the car! Took our details, gave us a trade in price, let us loose for a test drive. Everything's going great, promised to get back to us on Monday with a finance quote.......

We haven't heard anything from them, so my girlfriend called today. They had no record of our visit, couldn't identify which salesman it was even though there were only two of them working! So took our details again, offered us less as a trade in price, questioned why my girlfriend wanted to trade her car in against a new 500 as her cars got a better spec and more 'toys'!

They've quoted a July deliver date because of the spec we'd chosen. 1.2 Lounge, red, red and ivory leather and the italian strip over the top.

We'll be going to a different dealer, fingers crossed they're better!

Rant over. It's my first post too.

Oh dear, this is what will let the 500 down... where do you live?

Hey there
Please dont judge the first experience and put all FIAT delaers in the same bucket.
You will find a few dealers on here who are more than willing to help out and sort out a car for you.
I'd love to myself but i'm kinda in the wrong area!

From what i have heard the 500 is a great little car and is well worth the money, stick with it, try another dealer and get the car
Sorry to hear your first experience was a bad one, it can only get better!

I wish someone could point me in the direction of a good dealer down south... our best is now part of the dreaded westover group...

We're in Gloucestershire, so we'll try the dealer in Worcester or Warwick next. What worries me is that if they are like this now when we're trying to spend money, what will they be like if we have a problem.

I know every dealer network has it's bad apples, so hopefully I've just been unlucky with my first experience of Fiat's.

More of a 'individual' that let you down than a dealer.

i have had one bad experience and that was with picadilly fiat in Wakefeild customer service was poor

without wanting to sound oike i am making excuses, the dealers will be pretty busy with the 500 at present i would guess.
It is no reason for them not to log customers etc though.
Try another dealer and i hope it restores a little bit of faith in the Fiat Dealer network

End of the day, every dealer will have fans and people who hate them. So far I like the one Ive gone to purely because the salesman is into Fiats, hes had loads of the 60s and 70s models, and he sold my old Fiat 126 originally in 1987, how weird is that.

I will be getting him to get me a test drive and also to complete the sale, I just hope it goes well

T14086 said:

More of a 'individual' that let you down than a dealer.

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Agreed sounds to me like a single salesman has made your experience what it was.

Makes the rest of us look bad.

nuovapanda said:

I wish someone could point me in the direction of a good dealer down south... our best is now part of the dreaded westover group...

Click to expand...

how far south? or can you come a bit east to slough? ab & collegues at thames were very good

HK Phooey said:

We're in Gloucestershire, so we'll try the dealer in Worcester or Warwick next. What worries me is that if they are like this now when we're trying to spend money, what will they be like if we have a problem.

I know every dealer network has it's bad apples, so hopefully I've just been unlucky with my first experience of Fiat's.

Click to expand...

Did you go to the Gloucester Fiat dealer? I've ordered mine from there and the service was superb. Go and see Simon (he's Scrogg on here) he'll sort you out

I have lost count of the number of times I have been promised a call back & it has never happened.

I'm afraid the 500 will suffer as a result of the majority of dealers being useless.

Mark Elvin said:

I'm afraid the 500 will suffer as a result of the majority of dealers being useless.

Click to expand...

It seems the reverse is possible too. Allegedly the GP came off the line with build issues that took a long time to resolve. Then dealerships seemed to take the hit with customer dissatisfaction, even though it was not their fault.

Another chance with the 500, but crucially this seems priced in the `Quality` bracket so faults may be less tolerated.

While there is seemingly a `new broom` going through the dealerships

http://www.motortrader.com/26581/Fiat-500-launch-heralds-change.ehtml

its also (allegedly) previous car build quality that has caused customer dissatisfaction and that`s not the dealerships fault even though they take the blame.

That`s not to say that the odd dealership that doubles up the labour (and so on) should be let off, but I sometimes wonder why some good dealerships don`t just ditch the marque and go with something else.

Its the honeymoon period for the 500, lets hope the production line and component quality control have received as much `attention` as the current focus on dealerships, some of which seem to really deserve a better break.

Regards

T14086 said:

More of a 'individual' that let you down than a dealer.

Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more, but it's the individuals that make or break our perception of an organisation.

To further that thought, my better half has been in contact with the Sales Manager, Simon, who's been brilliant. He really couldn't have done more to build our confidence in buying a 500 and the service we should expect from our local dealer.

HK Phooey said:

I couldn't agree more, but it's the individuals that make or break our perception of an organisation.

To further that thought, my better half has been in contact with the Sales Manager, Simon, who's been brilliant. He really couldn't have done more to build our confidence in buying a 500 and the service we should expect from our local dealer.

Click to expand...

We all have good & crap days :tempt:

HK Phooey said:

To further that thought, my better half has been in contact with the Sales Manager, Simon, who's been brilliant.

Click to expand...

I told yer Simon was the chap to deal with Brillant chap, I look forward to every dealership visit, and it's all because of him! Hahah. We'll have to have a mini-Glos meet up

HK Phooey said:

..... and what can I say, it's been rubbish!

Sunday morning, the salesman was nice enough, but knew nothing about the car!

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I sometimes think that product knowledge actually disqualifies a person from developing a career in car sales. It's not just a FIAT thing, but something I've encountered in my experience of people trying to sell Alfa, Fiat, Renault, Citroen, Audi, Ford, Mazda, Seat, Volvo & Honda.

My favourite example still has to be the Alfa salesperson who, on going to give me a test drive of a 156, could not find the rear door handle! (OK it was her third week, but this surely suggests that no-one in the dealership thinks that even the most basic product training is remotely relevant to flogging a car...)

I also find that when I ask questions or make comments based on my own knowledge of a car, some sales people bull**** (like the SEAT salesman who insisted that the Ibiza is a Golf clone when I said I'd read that it was a Polo clone - which of course it is!), and others come close to rolling their eyes as though to say "Why should I be expected to know that". One even used the words: "Well you'd know that. It's not something I'd know anything about", as though the very idea of knowing anything about a car you are attempting to sell would be rather odd.....

There used to be Renault dealer near my home at which the sales staff treated any visitors as though they were unwelcome intruders: friends & colleagues also marvelled at how it survived. We used to think that it must be a front for an international espionage organisation, and that the Renault showroom was a sham, like the laundry in "The Man from Uncle". To buy a car you would have to have been very assertive. It did fail in the end, but only after several years....

alfabarry said:

There used to be Renault dealer near my home at which the sales staff treated any visitors as though they were unwelcome intruders: friends & colleagues also marvelled at how it survived.

Click to expand...

If you happen to stray onto the forecourt of a certain Honda dealer when they are closed (like on a Sunday when people are often looking at used cars), you are greeted with a prerecorded message along the lines that you are a trespasser and the police have been called

Fortunately a Fiat dealer (no longer in business I might add) had a much more friendly message for out of hours visitors to their forecourt. So at least some Fiat dealers get it right, so to speak

have to say I wasn't / am not impressed with many aspects of my local dealer.

The salesman fibbed about the interest rate on fiat's finance, as did the finance person (rate finally disclosed 2 days after we'd signed for the car / finance) (he also fibbed about the trade in)

Reg - we were given a choice of reg from an emailed list, 3 days later, we are told, on the back of a conversation about the free insurance, that they had registered the car on a different reg

Freebies (ref the above) - on the day of collection, we were promised a free set of mats. I called the parts dept, enquired about stock / avail, yes in stock. When I turned up at the dealer (pre organised delivery time), the salesman hadn't enquired about the 'free' mats. Luckily, I had arrived before they closed for the day, mats sorted, if grudgingly

1st fault - clutch fault, creeping when clutch pedal pressed etc etc. Took car in, on the day I spotted the fault, a sunday. Let the salesman drive it / showed him the fault. Called the dealer on the monday, booked the car in, explained the fault, told them the salesman had driven it. G/friend drops it off, later that day, she gets a call to pick it up. No worries. Anyway, me being me, called service, asked what the fault was. Turns out, the tech couldn't find the fault, there wasn't a fault, take the car back and see what happens. Hmmm. Faced with the prospect of the g.friend stuffing the car, I refused. Was asked to go to dealer to demonstrate fault, when I got there, the service person was quite rude, and advised they'd be fitting a master cylinder to it anyway.

So who am I to comment? Well, I'm a warranty admin for Volvo trucks, and we're subject to constant meetings / training sessions about looking after the customer, the total package, blah blah blah, how to improve market position etc etc, so yeh, I hear all the customer complaints and how best to learn from them.

Above and beyond that, me & D are customers, new Fiat customers, and i'm sorry but poor customer care is in-excusable these days

I pray, and they have every opportunity, that this dealer proves me wrong. We love the car, but if the back up is crap, this relationship could turn sour very quickly